Heavy Armor (AEG)

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== Brigandine Armor (AC 6) ==
Description: A development of both scale mail and studded leather, brigandine armor is composed of a layer of small metal plates riveted to an undercoat of soft leather, thick cloth, or coarse canvas. A further overcoat of cloth is applied to the exterior of the suit, making for a layered protection that is lighter than scale mail. An alternative configuration is for the plates to be sandwiched between two layers of soft leather.
Campaign Use: Brigandine is a light armor of composite construction, often worn by brigands and other rogues. The armor is essentially a variant of studded leather with an overcoat of cloth. The cloth covering serves both to strengthen the entire framework as well as to make the armor less conspicuous from a distance. Brigandine armor is quieter than chain, splint, or banded mail, but less quiet than studded leather or leather armor.
Brigandine weighs more than hide but less than scale mail. It is generally more flexible than hide, but its three layers make it somewhat stiffer than scale mail.
Brigandine armor is generally the best armor a run-of-the-mill village armorer can make and still get good results. For anything with a higher armor class, a professional master armorer is required. This means that brigandine armor is the highest level of protection afforded many low-level AD&D® game cultures and campaigns.
This represents the limit for the early Middle Ages period AD&D campaign. If a campaign resembles the Dark Ages more than the Age of Chivalry, scale mail and brigandine armor probably represent the pinnacle of personal armor.
Pirates and bandits (i.e., brigands) find that brigandine can be made from anything on hand from sails to canvas sacks, and from coins to brass shavings. Such armor still offers decent protection against most slashing attacks (the most common types encountered in these professions).
As mentioned, brigandine is easier to muffle than most metal armors and mails and thus is the armor of choice among many rogues and the less reputable members of the campaign society.
Rangers often own a set of brigandine as a field combat backup to their normal armor of either studded leather or leather. Poor or novice rangers and warriors might be able to afford or acquire brigandine armor when other armors might not be accessible.
Brigandine armor can also be useful for smugglers, allowing items to be concealed within its multiple layers. Not only coins and precious metals might be concealed, but treasure maps, personal defense traps, and concealed weapons are all possibilities for the clever character. Whether these are actual machinations of devious minds or just rumors spread to discourage personal thievery is a subject of some debate among adventurers and legal authorities.
What is known is that it is possible to conceal such items, either within the padding or by interleaving them with the metal plates. This potential for use (or abuse) of brigandine armor in the campaign should not be overlooked by the DM or player. Secret pockets for use by thieves or prestidigitators might be revealed in the heat of combat, or local authorities may miss a valuable clue the PCs are lucky enough to discover on their own. Much like gnomish workman's leather (described later), an adventurer's set of brigandine may hold many welcome or unwelcome surprises.
== Chain Mail (AC 5) ==
Description: Chain mail is made of interlocking metal rings. It is always worn over a layer of padded fabric or soft leather to prevent chafing and lessen the impact of blows.
Campaign Use: Chain mail is the standard medium armor in most fantasy campaigns. In many places, it is so common that the price of a good suit of chain mail may actually be cheaper than less sophisticated armors like scale mail and brigandine. This makes the appeal of chain mail armor very high indeed.
Chain mail is only slightly heavier than hide or brigandine armor and much lighter than any of the plate armors. Important to the wearer, however, is the fact that the weight of a suit of chain mail does not rest evenly upon the body. Rather, most of the burden of a chain suit rests upon the shoulders, making chain armor feel heavier than it really is.
In game terms, this means chain mail can be worn for only about a day before the shoulders of even the strongest warriors begin to fatigue. Experienced warriors usually carry a second set of lighter armor (often leather or studded leather) for use when traveling or at night when not on watch.
Optional Rule: Prolonged shoulder fatigue from wearing chain mail more than one day at a time affects combat (-2 to hit) and leads to headaches and backaches.
In general, chain mail is worn by mid-level fighters, guardsmen, mercenaries, and men- at-arms with some official capacity. The price of chain mail is equivalent to many years income for most peasants, and is thus out of reach for most common folk. However, some middle-class families have a set or two of heirloom chain mail armor handed down from glorious days past for use in dangerous days to come.
Typically, town guards and noble patrols are bedecked in chain mail armor. It is perfect for short duty tours and gives the noble warrior a great advantage over the local rabble.
Just the difference between chain mail and leather armor alone can give the officer a significant advantage over most ruffians. Anyone wearing chain mail armor with any sort of heraldic crest or uniform is usually assumed to be a local official of some kind by the experienced and perceptive traveler.
In general, chain mail is the basis for all of the more advanced and more protective armors found in most AD&D® game campaigns. The potentially low cost of chain mail is a reflection of the fact that many sets of chain mail are bought as a base for banded mail and the more sophisticated plate armors.
Because chain mail armor is not usually worn for long periods at a time, its underlying padding rarely suffers the problems of padded armors. The metal mail, however, will rust if not oiled and scrubbed with a wire brush weekly. After a month of neglect, chain mail armor loses one level of armor class since it is no longer as flexible and links may have begun to rust. (Naturally, this applies only to ferrous armor mail and not to chain mail constructed of non-ferrous metals).
Chain mail is certainly the best armor value for adventurers who cannot yet afford the heavier armors.
== Ring Mail ==
This form of chain mail is made by sewing large metal rings to a leather or cloth backing. Ring mail has the same role in early-period campaigns that chain mail has in
later ones. In later campaigns, it is more expensive to buy than chain mail, weighs a comparable amount, provides worse protection (AC 7), and suffers all the maintenance problems of padded and studded leather armor. Few human groups, other than town militias and bandit gangs, use ring mail to any significant degree.
== Banded Mail (AC 4) ==
Description: Banded mail armor is made of overlapping horizontal strips of laminated metal sewn over a backing of normal chain mail and soft leather backing. Lamination in this context refers to a process in which many thin sheets of metal are hammered or riveted together to form each individual metal strip.
Campaign Use: This type of armor is most commonly worn by eastern warriors and would be as common as plate mail in a culture based on the Turks, for example, late period Mongols, or the Japanese.
In a western campaign, banded mail can be considered to be the precursor of plate armor. Since banded mail inevitably will have gaps between the metal strips, however, the total protection of vital areas is not quite as good as heavier plate armors. The result is the slightly poorer armor class rating of banded mail.
The strength and flexibility of chain mail makes it ideal for protecting the jointed areas where large metal plates are traditionally incapable of providing adequate protection.
One advantage of this metal-and-chain arrangement over chain mail alone is the fact that the construction of banded mail naturally restricts movement of the metal plates across the torso. The beneficial side effect is that the weight of the armor is more evenly distributed on the wearer, making it easier to wear banded mail for longer periods of time.
In game terms, while banded mail does have an overall higher level of protection than normal chain mail, the durability of banded mail, especially at the joints, is about half that of a standard suit of chain. While a fine set of chain armor might last six months or more, a set of banded mail rarely lasts three months, even with constant upkeep.
Much like chain mail, ferrous metal bands are subject to rust. However, since the metal strips found in banded mail are already inflexible and designed to remain that way, the armor class of rusty banded mail is no different from that of a new suit. However, the estimation of one's peers would certainly be diminished, as a well-tended suit of banded mail can gleam most beautifully if cared for properly.
== Splint Mail ==
Splint mail is a variant of banded mail in which the metal strips are applied vertically to the backing of chain, leather, or cloth rather than horizontally as in banded mail. Since the human body does not swivel in mid-torso as much as it flexes back to front, splint mail is more restrictive in battle.
In game terms, splint mail is to banded mail as scale mail is to brigandine: splint mail is the style of the earlier and less efficient armoring techniques. Much like scale and ring mail (q.v.), splint mail will be used by the less advanced cultures and poorer warriors. Its relatively low street price in a western campaign when compared to banded mail and even chain is due to the fact that few western warriors will even touch a set of splint mail unless they are destitute or desperate.
The protection splint mail affords is equivalent to that of banded mail, but it is much more fatiguing to wear in a lengthy battle. Furthermore, broken splints tend to work inward toward the wearer in the course of a battle. More than a few warriors have found themselves painfully cut across the ribs when broken banded mail would have merely shifted up or down. Maintenance problems for splint mail are otherwise the same as for banded mail.
For characters with a light purse, splint mail can be picked up in seedier armor shops. Its price makes it ideal for adventurers who want the extra bit of protection over chain mail.
== Bronze Plate Mail (AC 4) ==
Description: The softest of the true plate mail armors, bronze plate mail is made of heavy metal plates attached to a layer of brigandine or composite layers of metal scales and leather or padded armor.
Campaign Use: Historically, by the time the armorer's craft had advanced to the point that plate mail had become common, steel had replaced bronze as the best metal for constructing armor. Thus, aside from ceremonial armor, most bronze plate mail appears in areas where copper and tin are plentiful and iron is rare. In general, since bronze plate mail is designed to be lighter and more flexible than normal plate mail (q.v.), bronze plate armorers use leather and padding under the bronze plates instead of the heavier chain mail. Also, to reduce the overall weight of the armor, there are no bronze plates attached to the moveable joints. A large bronze breastplate and greaves are often the only difference between bronze plate mail and bronze scale or brigandine armor.
Bronze plate offers better protection than normal brigandine or chain mail and a lower price tag than standard plate mail. Since bronze plate is usually backed with stiff layered armor rather than loose chain mail, bronze plate mail isn't as flexible as banded, splint, or plate mail.
Who would use bronze plate mail in a standard campaign, when so many other alternatives exist? Plate mail, as will be discussed later, is a sign of nobility to the general population. What does the lowly peasant or innkeeper know of the advantages and disadvantages of various types of plate mail? Little to be sure. In fact, this armor is one piece of equipment whose price is not determined by its true value in combat but by its perceived value to persons around the wearer.
Any knight worth his salt acquires full plate armor (q.v.) as soon as he can, even if it means selling prized items of magic or a stout warhorse. If a knight can scrape up 400 gold pieces but can't get the extra 200 gold pieces to buy a real set of plate, bronze plate is the only real choice open to him.
More than a few low-level adventurers with perhaps a little too much gold to spend and not enough experience or training in such matters often are cheated into buying bronze plate mail that has been painted silver. They immediately lose 200 gold pieces in the deal by taking home the inferior armor. After even one such sucker-sale, the charlatan salesman skips town for a few weeks or moves to a different part of the city. Naturally, such gullible warriors usually don't discover their mistake until the heat of battle, when a weapon strike that would have bounced off a real set of plate mail dents or cuts through the bogus plate. Caveat emptor!
Not all bronze plate is part of a hoax or scam, however. There are versions of bronze plate used by cultures who for one reason or another haven't learned the fine art of forging iron and steel. There is much precedent for this in history and fantasy, and many advanced cultures have lost the art or never struck the right mix of metals throughout their long history. These cultures may have developed the skill of forging bronze into a high art, making armor that looks like gold but wears like steel.
Note that these types of bronze mail last much longer than the typical medieval forms and may have a backing of solid bronze chain and leather. These suits wear like real plate, and the relative softness of the metal is often worked into a decorative design. Easy to emboss with one's family crest or tribal insignia, well-worked bronze shines like gold and can be polished to the sheen of a mirror. Some tribes have literally won entire battles on the distracting beauty of their exquisite armor alone.
== Plate Mail (AC 3) ==
Description: Plate mail is a combination of chain or brigandine armor with metal plates covering the vital areas such as the chest, abdomen and groin. Similar in construction to bronze plate mail, true plate mail comprises heavy steel plates riveted to a sturdy backing of chain and leather. These metal plates are often better constructed than those found in bronze plate and banded mails, relying on superior metallurgy and advanced lamination techniques to produce a lightweight steel with excellent combat characteristics.
Brigandine backing for this type of armor is rare, because the stiffness of brigandine armor makes this type of backing an unpopular choice among plate armorers and warriors alike.
For all of these reasons, plate mail protects the human body more effectively than bronze plate mail.
Campaign Use: The development of plate mail heralded the beginning of the age of chivalry and knighthood. Associated most often with classic French medieval culture, the names given to the segments of plate mail reveal their French origin to this day.
The most important metal plate on the armor is called the plastron-de-fer, or breastplate. It protects the vital chest and abdominal areas from attack. Typically, the shoulders were protected by metal shoulder guards called epaulieres. Lower leg protectors, called grevieres (or greaves), and metal-plated chain gloves, or gauntlets, are also common accessories to a plate mail suit. Any manner of helm is also desirable (see the section on Helms).
Plate mail is the most common form of heavy armor in fantasy campaigns. It provides maximum protection for a fraction of the cost of field or full plate armor, and can take month after month of grueling combat punishment. It is only moderately heavier than banded or chain mail, and because of its custom fitting and sturdy straps, wears easierthan either.
Because the plates are carefully fitted to combine with the chain suit beneath, the layer of leather or padding beneath the chain is often much thinner and more flexible than that found in banded or brigandine armor. Many long years have gone into perfecting the construction of plate mail, which makes even the most basic of suits a wonder of medieval engineering. With regard to cost, the purchaser of a set of plate mail may have to fork out a considerable sum of money compared to banded mail, but no wearer of plate mail doubts for long the value and summary wisdom of his purchase.
Knights, royal guards, and mercenary captains often wear plate mail. Even as a prize of battle, plate mail is infinitely easier to fit to a new owner than either field or full plate armor. Plate mail is the preferred protection of the vast percentage of the world's most experienced warriors, because it is not nearly as cumbersome to don or remove as other heavier types of armor.
It is a matter of pride among many kingdoms that even the slightest improvement to the general plate mail design was quickly attributed to the armorer who invented the alteration and the king whose wisdom it was to accept the change.
As such, most sets of plate mail were constantly upgraded throughout the known world, and now are very similar indeed. In fact, the perfection of the basic plate mail design was so nearly complete that many armorers had already begun devoting most, if not all, of their time and resources to working field and full plate armor with similar care and precision.
Plate mail is the heaviest armor commonly used by adventurers, both as a matter of pride and for the general necessities of daily use and efficiency.
== Field Plate Armor (AC 2) ==
Description: Field plate is actually a more commonly used form of full plate armor (described later). It consists of shaped and fitted metal plates riveted and interlocked to cover the entire body. Like plate mail, a set of field plate usually includes gauntlets, boots, and a visored helmet (see Helms). A thick layer of padding must be worn under the armor.
Campaign Use: This armor is rarely used, except by noble knights on a military campaign. In theory, the bulk of a set of field plate armor is so evenly distributed over the whole body that the encumbrance rating of field plate compares quite favorably with that of plate mail and banded mail. In practice, the increased protection is paid for with reduced mobility and increased fatigue.
Each suit of this extremely rare and expensive armor is custom-made and fitted for its prospective wearer. Only a master armorer can create field or full plate armor, and only a master armorer can re-size captured pieces of a suit for a new owner. The new owner must be of at least a similar size and build as the previous owner, or the effort required to modify the piece in question exceeds the expense and effort necessary in forging an entire new set.
Aside from its expense, the main disadvantages of field plate armor are the lack of ventilation through the suit, which make moisture and fungus a problem, and the time
required to put it on and take it off. As detailed in the AD&D® 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, 1d6+4 rounds are required to dress in field plate armor with outside assistance. Triple that amount of time is required if the wearer is alone. Similarly, it takes 1d4+1 rounds to remove such armor, and half that time (fractions rounded up) if pressed for time or assisted by an attendent (see Full Plate Armor).
Field plate armor is typically used by the high knights of a kingdom, like King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table, for everything except formal ceremonies and triumphant battle celebrations. Full plate armor is reserved for such occasions where style is more important than combat.
Field plate can be fixed much more cheaply and easily than full plate, and is built to withstand the rigors of long-term use and combat. The entire body is encased in metal plates, and even the joints are protected with metal caps and sturdy chain mail. A great helm bearing the emblem of the house or name of a legendary knight is common and is one of the few ways a knight can recognize a friend or foe from a distance.
Field plate, while expensive and painstakingly crafted by master armorers, is normally not adorned with many trappings or embellishments. Since legendary knights make a habit of battling great armies and dragons almost daily, their armor rarely lasts longer than a year without needing to be completely replaced.
A DM may decide that being allowed to wear field or full plate armor is a sign of nobility or knighthood in his campaign. In such campaigns, wealthy warriors had better have a legitimate noble crest or recognized royal patron before parading themselves about town.
Optional Rule: This rule may be invoked if a player insists on wearing badly repaired or patchwork plate mail. Following every strong jolt to the wearer, whether from a good hit in battle or a fall from a cliff, the material binding the patchwork plate to the backing (as stated at the time of repair) must make a saving throw versus Crushing Blow. Failure means the plate falls off, while success means the next saving throw is made with a -1 penalty to the roll. Note that this penalty is cumulative, so any patchwork plate is bound to fall apart eventually.
== Full Plate Armor (AC 1) ==
Description: Full plate armor is the best armor a warrior can buy, both in appearance and protection. The perfectly-fitted interlocking plates are specially angled to deflect arrows and blows, and the entire suit is carefully adorned with rich engraving and embossed detail.
Campaign Use: Suits of full plate armor are as rare as powerful magical items in most fantasy campaigns. Magical sets of full plate are artifacts to be treasured and hidden away, the objects of glorious quests.
In most campaigns, the number of sets of full plate armor can be counted as easily as the numbers of crown knights who owe their allegiance to the king. In many kingdoms, it is a crime to possess a set of full plate armor without royal permission, as a wise king keeps any armorer capable of such craftsmanship at his beck and call.
Full plate armor is one of the greatest gifts a great lord can bestow upon his followers. It is a prize as coveted for the status it confers as its monetary value. A suit of full plate armor will often be a gift presented to great knights upon great service to the realm, or as an incentive to attract a knight errant of unquestioned prowess to the king's private circle.
In addition, full plate armor is the most technologically advanced armor available in the later medieval and high chivalry settings. The special touches and custom enhancements added by the few living master armorers are what give full plate armor its increased armor class rating over the more traditional forms of field plate. At prices that start at 4,000 gold pieces for a simple, unadorned suit, full plate armor represents the crowning achievement of the armorer's ultimate goal—to forge for man a new skin of steel, as flexible as his own, but as invulnerable as anything in the land.
This increased protection comes only with a price. While full plate armor wears well when correctly fitted, it is cumbersome to don or remove without assistance. Herein enters the attendent.
For most knights, the attendent is a vassal or squire who tends to the knight's every need. He sharpens his lord's sword and brushes his horse. However, the great knight chooses his attendent carefully, for he knows his life may depend on this decision.
Without the assistance of a capable attendent, a knight requires 1d10+10 rounds to don his armor. An attendent cuts this time by half. As most combat veterans know, cutting the average armoring time in half can mean the difference between being at the battle and missing it entirely!
Warriors in a hurry can cut this dressing time by half again. The ramifications of this haste is that a knight and his attendent who are extremely lucky might, at best, be able to get dressed in only 3 rounds (i.e., best roll of 1, add 10 equals 11 rounds; 11 rounds cut in half for attendent's assistance equals 6 rounds; 6 rounds halved again for rushing yields 3 rounds).
However, a knight hurrying in this manner suffers penalties in combat. His straps are not adjusted correctly, meaning his plates are too loose or too tight and will hamper his overall effectiveness in battle. The knights suffers a -1 to all attack rolls and his armor class likewise drops one place, meaning his hasty dressing has given him armor equivalent in protection to that of field plate armor.
If a knight discovers that his loose fittings are causing him to miss his mark or be struck by his enemies too often, he need only spend as many rounds tightening his straps as he neglected by rushing his preparations (twice that if unattended, of course).
Example: Sir Hujer rolls a 6 on 1d10 when attempting to don his armor, thus needing 16 rounds. An attendent reduces this to 8 rounds, and rushing reduces this further to 4 rounds. The rushing penalties would be removed if Sir Hujer took 4 rounds (attended) or 8 rounds (unattended) to readjust his armor.