Armor (V7)
"Armor is very, very complicated when you get down to the nitty gritty."-Bangor
Contents
From the Rulebook Glossary
Armor stops blows that would otherwise wound or kill the target. Armor is rated on a scale from one to seven depending upon its ability to stop damage. Some monsters may have more than seven points of armor. Normal armor may be Mended.
Father Thomas and Slyddur at Spring War 2007
Rating Armor:
The Monarch, Champion and Guildmaster of Reeves rate armor. Armor is rated on its ability to stop blows. The rating ranges from 1 to 7 points, though some monsters can have more. Armor should weigh close to actual historical standards to receive full value. Straps and other such material that hold your armor on do not count as part of the armor, for either coverage or averaging purposes, unless they are specifically built as such. Standard criteria are 16-gauge steel for metals and 1/16 inch for leather. All armor must be safe, with no protruding edges that could injure someone. Armor values may never be greater than 6 points unless you are a 6th level warrior or certain monster classes. Armor is rated as the material that it most resembles, thus plastic and other non-metallic armors can never be disguised nor passed off as plate or chain mail.
| Base Armor | Point Value |
|---|---|
| Padded Cloth | 1 |
| Quilted Cloth | 1 |
| Light Leather | 1 |
| Heavy Leather | 2 |
| European Chainmail | 3 |
| Augmented Chainmail | 4 |
| Riveted Chainmail | 4 |
| Brigandine | 5 |
| Double Mail | 5 |
| Lamellar | 5 |
| Plate Mail | 6 |
Armor Types:
- Padded Cloth: four layers of cloth sewn together.
- Quilted Cloth: two layers of cloth with padding in between sewn together.
- Light Leather: leather of at least 1/16” thickness.
- Heavy Leather: leather of at least 3/16” thickness.
- Chainmail: must be at least 16-gauge, with an internal diameter of, at most, 3/8 of an inch. Regular chain armor consists of butted links.
- Augmented Chainmail: chain augmented in some fashion from the standard ‘4 in 1,’ such as plates attached to each other by chain, or
any of the Persian/Chinese weaves.
- Riveted Chainmail: chain in which all the links have been individually riveted together.
- Lamellar: plates that have all been joined in an overlapping fashion by cord or chain link.
- Brigandine: closely spaced or overlapping plates riveted between two layers of leather. Heavy cloth such as canvas or denim may be
used instead of leather, but incurs a –1 penalty for sub-standard materials.
- Double Mail: ‘8 in 2,’ or a mail in which a standard pattern is woven with two rings replacing every single ring.
- Plate Mail: solid metal armor with riveted metal articulations to increase mobility. *Example:* Lorica Segmentata.
No armor list can be completely exhaustive, and armors not mentioned should be ranked according to their composition (metallic vs. non-metallic) and their protective value relative to other armors in the table.
Armor Modifiers:
Non-authentic materials refer to materials that were not in use to create armor at the time, such as plastic. For comparison
of metals, 16-gauge steel is the standard weight and toughness, so lighter or softer metals, such as aluminum, will incur this penalty, while stainless steel will not. Subtractions for inauthentic material may never exceed –2, though completely inappropriate materials may receive no points (i.e. aluminum foil, cardboard, etc).
Poor workmanship refers to an inexperienced or incomplete assembly by the creator – the use of non-period items such as hot glue, tape, or shoestrings to hold the armor together. Subtractions for poor workmanship may never exceed –4.
Artificial appearance refers to the overall appeal of the armor and its ability to accurately resemble historical armors. Subtractions for appearance may never exceed –2.
Heavy gauge material is material that exceeds the 16 gauge standard for rings or plates.
Exceptional craftsmanship is reflected in the overall construction and function of the armor as compared to other armors of its type, and is awarded on a case-by-case basis. Bonuses for construction may never exceed +2.
| Construction | Point Value |
|---|---|
| Non-authentic materials | -1 or -2 |
| Poor workmanship | -1 to -4 |
| Shoddy/artificial appearance | -1 or -2 |
| Heavy gauge material | +1 |
| Superior Construction | +1 or +2 |
Combat With Armor:
Armor is rated on its ability to stop blows. The rating ranges from 1 to 7 points, though some monsters can have more. The same damage rules apply to armor. Each strike will remove one point of value from the armor. Certain weapons and effects deal more damage to armor as noted in their descriptions. Damage only applies to the armor on the hit location that was struck. Armor only protects the area that it covers. *Example:* if you have armor on the front of your leg, but a gap on your thigh, then a strike to the location left open by the gap would wound you, though the armor itself would be unharmed.
Armor Construction
The Monarch, Champion and Guildmaster of Reeves rate armor. Damage to armor only applies to the hit location that was struck, and armor only protects the area it physically covers. Damage that exceeds the armor value (i.e. arrows, Berserk Barbarian Weapon, Great Weapon, etc.) wounds or kills the target. Armor that is mixed (multiple types of armor covering the same body area) will be averaged. Armor may not be stacked or layered to increase or add value unless explicitly stated in these rules. Armor worn under tabards or garb must be partially visible, and must be announced if asked. Armor should weigh close to actual historical standards to receive full value. Armor only protects the area it physically covers. Straps and other such material that hold your armor on do not count as part of the armor, for either coverage or averaging purposes, unless they are specifically built as such. Example: the leather strap across your back holding on your steel breastplate does not protect you from blows.
Standard criteria are 16-gauge steel for metals and 1/16 inch for leather. All armor must be safe, with no protruding edges that could injure someone. Armor values may never be greater than 6 points unless you are a 6th level warrior or certain monster classes. Armor is rated as the material that it most resembles, thus plastic and other non-metallic armors can never be disguised nor passed off as plate or chain mail.
Things to note
Who can wear Armor?
- Anti-Paladins can wear up to 4 points at 1st level.
- Archers may wear up to 3 points at 1st level.
- Assassins at 4th level can wear 2 points.
- Barbarians may wear 2 points at 1st level.
- Paladins may wear 4 points at 1st level.
- Scouts may wear 3 points at 1st level.
- Warriors may wear 4 points to start, then may wear 6 points at 2nd level and at 6th level they may wear 7 with the Armor of Quality Trait.
Invulnerability Armor
Invunerablity armor is magical and granted by a magic class. It cannot be used in concert with Natural Armor or standard armor.
Armor of Quality
This ability allows you to exceed your normal class maximum on armor by one point with a maximum of seven. Warriors gain this at 6th level.
Armor-piercing Arrow
An arrow with a blue ribbon tied to it or having a bule Cover You may or may not hear the Archer declare loudly “Armor-piercing Arrow”. A strike from this arrow will destroy all non-invulnerable armor on the location struck and will continue through to wound the target. It will only deal one point of damage to Invulnerability and Invulnerability Armor. Archers gain this ablity at 5th level.
Armor Definitions:
Armor in action:
- Example 1: A person with two points of torso armor that covers his chest and back is struck in the back with a regular sword: One
point of armor is removed from the torso armor, leaving one point on the armor covering the chest and back (chest and back are included together under torso armor).
- Example 2: A person with two points chest armor and no back armor is struck in the back with a sword: Person is dead.
If you would like to make some armor and need some help contact the Amtgard Armorers Guild.
If you would like to know more about Armoring in A&S check Armoring Entries See also Sir Reynen's Armored Lizard
