Light Armor (AEG)

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== Padded Armor (AC 8) ==
Description: Padded armor, also referred to as quilted armor, is the simplest form of manmade armor. It consists of two or more layers of spun cloth stuffed with thick batting and quilted together.
Padded armor typically covers the chest and shoulders, but full-length suits are sometimes seen.
Campaign Use: Padded armor is mostly found among the poor and unskilled. Only the poorest excuses for armed forces would be caught dead in padded armor. The bulky and restrictive nature of the armor makes it a poor substitute for a stout set of leather (q.v.).
Village militias, neophyte bandit packs, urban street gangs, and primitive barbarian hordes are the most common users of padded armor. In short, this includes anyone who cannot afford leather armor (i.e., the truly destitute), cultures without the technology to tan hide (i.e., the truly primitive), or those who have no other option at their time of need (i.e., the truly desperate).
Padded armor can be made by any race or nation. Thus, it is common protection for the poorer classes. Since making a padded suit of armor requires little more than a crude needle and thread, low-level or desperate adventurers in need of additional protection can usually whip up a set of padded armor in less than two days. The durability and level of comfort afforded by the homemade suit naturally varies in direct proportion to the skill of the would-be armorer. For game purposes, several layers of heavy cloth or furs can be considered padded armor for the purposes of determining a character's base armor class.
Padded armor, being little more than multiple layers of clothing, tends to soil and wear out easily. Although newly fashioned sets may sell cheaply, padded armor must be replaced often, even if it is well cared for. Lice, sweat, dirt, fleas, and insects all take their toll.
If the DM judges that a set of padded armor has seen its last days, the armor class of the armor drops one place (AC 9). The armor, now rotted and torn, is little more than bulky clothing. Importantly, heavily soiled armor reduces the wearer's saving throws against disease and disease-causing spells by -2.
Under ideal conditions, a set of padded armor should be replaced monthly. However, when travelling through heavily infested swamps or in monster-laden forests, padded armor may require replacement as often as every few days. On any long journey, spare sets of padded armor should be taken along as if they were spare sets of clothing. Too much frugality before a journey can lead to much discomfort later.
Naturally, those who have no access to better armor try to make the best appearance whenever they can. Nobody wants to appear cheap or desperate, especially when they are. Therefore, decorating one's padded armor is the most common form of "upgrading" the appearance of one's forces. All armies and nations have banners and shields adorned with their own colors, and these colors are often repeated in intricate patterns on their padded armor. This is most often seen when the local king or noble quickly recruits the local farmers' militia to defend his lands or aid him in launching an assault. The wives, sisters, and daughters quickly whip up anything they can to protect their ill-trained husbands, brothers, and sons. The colors of the lord are either quilted into the design of the armor in checkerboard fashion, or painted or dyed onto the hastily prepared-protection.
In similar fashion, the most nefarious of evil knights have been known to use quilted armor to camouflage their own soldiers as peasants of the opposing ranks, taking devious advantage of the militia's known lack of combat training.
This is only one of many reasons why 0-level fighters are neither feared nor respected by the armed forces. Certainly in the case of padded armor, one can tell a knave by his suit.
== Leather Armor (AC 8) ==
Description: Leather armor, despite the popular misconception, is not soft and supple like the leather used to make a ranger's boots or a druid's robe. That kind of leather offers no better protection than common clothing.
Leather armor is actually strong and stiff, having been hardened in boiling oil and then stretched over a wooden or stone model of a man's or woman's chest. The resulting breastplate and shoulder guards are combined with a tunic or kirtle and, in colder climes, leggings of wool or soft leather.
Campaign Use: This is the most common form of "modern" armor. The materials (leather and oil) are readily available in all civilized lands. Only the techniques for boiling and shaping the leather is necessary, and this is not a difficult feat for a leatherworker.
This armor is both inexpensive and durable. While the leather is extremely stiff, it is never fashioned into anything larger than a breastplate, which keeps restriction of movement to a minimum. Naturally, this arrangement means leather armor affords no protection to the joints, but this is true of most types of armor, and is a challenge all civilized races have been attempting to overcome since wars began.
In severe combat situations, leather armor may need to be replaced weekly. However, the armor is easily cleaned, reasonably unaffected by weather, and resists all but the severest of abrasions. This means a good set of leather can be worn daily for many months without need for replacement. Many retired warriors and middle-class militia have a set of leather armor stored away that they take out and polish at least annually.
Because raw leather comes from a by-product of medieval daily life (i.e., eating beef and other meats), in civilized societies leather armor is very common. Even rural communities have little trouble manufacturing leather armor for the troops within a few days.
Cows are not the sole source of hide for tanning. Horses, sheep, and camels can be used just as easily. In short, the creature must have a thicker skin than that of a normal man, but not quite as thick as that of an elephant of bear. The skins of these well- protected creatures, when tanned, becomes hide armor.
Irregular human forces (e.g., militias and levies, freemen, commoners above peasant level, barbarians, light infantry, and marines) are the primary users of leather armor, for the following reasons: A) leather armor is drastically cheaper and more readily available than metal armor; B) the armor can be worn for long periods of time without leading to increased fatigue or disease; C) the method or protection is so simple that many armies
can make new sets of armor from cattle seized in newly raided territories, often scant days before meeting the defenders in battle; and D) they can be stockpiled for years without the excessive maintenance required by metal armors that are prone to rust.
Another benefit of leather armor, much extolled by those of a more disreputable persuasion, is the ease which it can be silenced. While leather armor is not typically noisy, its buckles and fasteners tend to rattle and clink. Unlike metal armor, leather armor is easily muffled by clothing and as such makes little sound during normal movement.
Additional layers of clothing further dampen sounds made by the wearer while hiding. More rouges than can be counted owe their lives to muffled leather armor.
The freedom of movement, adequate general protection, lack of noise, high availability, and low price make this the armor of choice for the general human population.
== Studded Leather Armor (AC 7) ==
Description: Studded leather armor has little in common with normal leather armor. While leather armor is a hardened shell, studded leather armor is soft and supple with hundreds of metal rivets affixed. The rivets are so close together that they form a flexible coating of hard metal that turns aside slashing and cutting attacks. The soft leather backing is little more than a means of securing the rivets in place.
Campaign Use: Studded leather armor is known as "poor man's mail" because of its metallic components and low price. It is more common among the general population than most people would first believe because, unlike other types of mail armor, studded leather is relatively easy to make.
While a soft leather backing is the most durable and comfortable, any stout cloth can be used as a backing for the rivets. The rivets themselves are also easy to acquire, as everything from nails to pebbles have been substituted at one time or another in times of desperation. In general, as long as the backing is secure and the rivets are hard enough to withstand a glancing blow, the armor so comprised should be considered studded leather for purposes of weight and protection.
Studded leather, like brigandine (described later), is commonly worn by pirates and other seafarers. The protection afforded is better than normal leather armor, which is an important point during sea combat when a shield may not be practical (a shield is useless when climbing or fighting in a ship's rigging).
With regard to swimming, the weight of studded leather is significantly less than metal armor, and the flexibility of the soft leather backing is better for such demanding activity. Indeed, for short times in the water, it is as easy to maneuver in studded leather as it is to move in a normal leather breastplate. Therefore, most sea-going mercenaries and pirates prefer to wear studded leather as their all-purpose armor. Trained marine contingents, however, whose main function is boarding, usually wear normal leather and carry a shield.
Miserly merchants, who shave pieces of gold more than they like to admit, will often buy studded leather to outfit their hired guards. However, these copper-pinchers pay for the protection one way or another, as studded leather tends to wear out rather quickly.
Not only does the soft backing wear out as quickly as thick clothing, but the metal studs can be affixed only by driving them through the leather, considerably weakening the overall strength of the backing. Eventually, the holes open up and the rivets drop out.
Studded leather is also prone to the same problems of sweat, grime, and insects as padded armor (q.v.).
== Spiked Leather ==
A variation of studded leather that is sometimes seen among barbarians of northern climes (and, oddly, among some hill giant clans) is spiked leather. Much as it sounds, spiked leather armor is studded leather armor in which the rivets have been augmented by sharp spikes. (Most intelligent beings would be worried about mounting spikes into their armor, just in case they should trip and fall, not to mention the problems packing or storing the armor).
Overbearing and grappling while wearing such armor inflicts additional damage based on the wearer's size. A small creature inflicts 1-2 points of piercing damage, a man-sized creature inflicts 1-3 points, and a large creature inflicts 1-4 points. These values are considered for each individual attack, not for every round that a creature is grappled.
Spiked armor is usually made specially for the wearer and costs about 150% of the price of a normal set of studded leather.
Spiked armor is occasionally used to equip gladiators, pit fighters, and other specialists