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[Syreal]

Is there any benefits for wearing, say, plate mail and chainmail, or even just plate mail with some leather armor. If there are any benefits, do they outweigh the extra weight? (outweigh. . .lol)

[Maximus]

I'm kinda under the impression that you shouldn't be able to wear chain and plate at the same time, and there's clothes-layering issues that still need fixing.

[Syreal]

Yeah, that makes sense. It is really heavy to wear plate and chain though they used to do that in the medieval ages.

[Somagu]

I'm sure ever little bit helps against those damned arrows.

[Capntastic]

I think shields and blocking do more against arrows than armor.

[Syreal]

I've been lucky so far, while wandering in a Dark Fortress I came across a goblin crossbow twice, I dodged the first shot, then went into sneak mode and threw rocks at his pancreas. . .  

[Momaw]

It does seem to stack up properly... I've got a high-level character wearing all the armor they can, and very VERY rarely does a hit do anything but glance off (assuming it gets past my shield).

However...

- It is not a mistake that the player can wear a tunic, coat, and mail all at the same time on their upper body.  In fact that is the historically accurate and sensible way it works.

- Cloaks and capes at the same time makes no sense. One or the other, they serve the same purpose.

- Instead of gloves and gauntlets at the same time, consider gloves/mittens/gauntlet (hand) as one item with vambraces (forearm) being another.

- Leg armor... Chausses and greaves are effectively the same thing though their exact definition is variable depending on the place and time. To clarify, consider having chausses/leggings/greaves used interchangably (thigh and calf), and sabatons (foot only).

- Wearing a skirt over your leggings is accurate and not girly; skirts should be available in metals; since many types of armor had something either suspended from the belt line or continuing from the torso, made of mail, lames or rivetted leather to protect the hips, groin and (depending on length) the thighs.

- Caps, helms and hoods are not a conflict; a cap is what you wear on your head to cushion the helm, the helm is the protection, and headscarves/turbans/hoods are either for protection from the weather or as decoration.

[Syreal]

Very well put, Momaw.

[JT]

quote:Originally posted by Momaw:
<STRONG>- Wearing a skirt over your leggings is accurate and not girly</STRONG>

That part is very true.  I once asked a Scotsman about it and he spit in my eye.

[darknight]

LOL Anyone that thinks wearing a Scottish kilt in the traditional manner is girly, should give it a try. They would quickly find out just how manly they truly are! The kilts are and were usually wool, and traditionally they wear nothing under them. YE-OUCH! And to wear those things that way with the kind of cold damp weather they often get? DAY-UM!!

No wonder Scottish warriors were about half crazy.

[Momaw]

Common misconception:   wool is not inheritely scratchy.  Hand-spun wool yarn can in fact be extremely soft, similar to other "luxury" fibers like mohair or silk. Garments made from hand-spun wool are, likewise, quite comfortable.

Where you get the modern-day scratchiness from is the fact that wool is no longer hand-spun on a commercial level.  Instead, the wool is chopped up into short segments, and then vigorously twisted by a machine.  The scratchiness is from all the cut ends of the fiber sticking out of the twisted bundle.  When hand-spinning, the ends of the fiber are inside the yarn, since the fiber is drawn through the orifice and onto the bobbin by the fiber that preceeded it.

Essentially, hand-spinning makes a continous yarn because the fiber is pulling itself out of a handful of loose stuff, while machine spinning chops it all up short and feeds it mechanically, which creates stiff, irritating hair ends.

Add to this the fact that modern-day wool is washed with some very nasty chemicals to clean it (removing the beneficial oil lanolin, incidentally), which often irritates people's skin.

Other useful information regarding wool:  when wool gets wet, is in fact WARMER than when it is dry. Woolen fibers are actually hollow;  when they get wet, the water seals up all the pores, forming air-tight cells. Which are tremendously good at insulating.  

There are many times when I've worked outdoors in the rain, even when it's bitterly cold, wearing a canvas coat to keep the dirt off and a woolen sweater underneath for warmth. Even when I get soaked through, I stay toasty warm.

Now, pop quiz:   True or false:  Momaw knows somebody who hand-spins and/or knits...  

[Xombie]

quote:Originally posted by Maximus:
<STRONG>I'm kinda under the impression that you shouldn't be able to wear chain and plate at the same time, and there's clothes-layering issues that still need fixing.</STRONG>

Man this is the way armor was used - plate over chain(or just chain). Read a books or something. Nobody wears plate armor over naked body, except heroes of diablo, oblivion and other arcade games.

[Lord Blue]

quote:Originally posted by Xombie:
<STRONG>
Man this is the way armor was used - plate over chain(or just chain). Read a books or something. Nobody wears plate armor over naked body, except heroes of diablo, oblivion and other arcade games.</STRONG>

Actually, no. Chain mail is useless without some kind of padding underneath. The poor man would go clothes -> thick cloth armor made of many layers of cloth sewn together -> chain. A knight, however, was rich, and could afford clothes -> plate (for padding) -> chain -> tabard with family crest/coat of arms.

[Cerej]

Um, no.  Plate mail was worn over the chain mail.  But it wasn't a full suit of chain mail, just a little bit to cover areas the plate mail didn't cover.

And plate was always applied from the bottom up, by someone else.  Except maybe for people who didn't know how to get the best use out of their armor.

[JT]

quote:Originally posted by Lord Blue:
<STRONG>A knight, however, was rich, and could afford clothes -> plate (for padding) -> chain -> tabard with family crest/coat of arms.</STRONG>

Cerej already pointed out that this isn't true, but I also have to point out that if you're using plate armour for padding, you aren't taking advantage of what plate armour is for.

Plate armour is intended to deflect blows.  This makes it excellent against swords and light commoners' weapons like clubs, but makes it poor against everything else -- bodkin arrows, axes, maces, flails, etc.  Chain armour and padded doublets fill in this gap by absorbing blows beneath the plate armour.  While you're more or less screwed if you get hit by a bodkin arrow, regardless of what armour you're wearing, maces and flails will have a tough time hurting you because the chain maille and padding underneath will diffuse the blow over a large portion of your torso.  It'll still hurt like hell, but better that than getting rattled around like a bird in a cage.