Samurai Armor Generations

### Intro

Crucible Armors are the armors created after the formation of the Verditian Steel-Works. Much like the War-Bound Generation Weaponry, they are further classified into Prototypes and Generations.

### The Prototype

The prototype was the first real attempt to make a suit of samurai armor. The prototype ended up being a completely functional piece of armor, but there were some issues with it:

The lacing holes were adapted from a previous leather sode, so they were spaced further apart than traditional armors. This resulted in the improper odoshi appearance of X's and separated lines.

**Features**

* Painted 1.22MM unhardened mild steel plates
* Spooled shooter-lace for odoshi
* 4-plate square kusazuri
* 4 plate front tateage / 4 plate back tateage (upper chest/back plates)
* Round profile in the front and back
* Small wakiita (the plates under the armpits)
* European weave chain-portions
* Prototype varients of the kote, haidate, and suneate

**Problems**

* The lacing condensed more than expected, making the punched holes very visible.
* Paint chipped very quickly
* The lacing on spools easily frayed and caused a lot of problems when attempting to reduce waste.
	+ While unknown at the time, not having aglets was a major contributor to excessive fraying.
* The kusazuri, not being hardened, would actually bend when a lothtarian rammed into them.
* the tiny wakiita left major gaps in the front of the armor, and didnt offer proper support for the tateage (upper chest plates)
* The watagami (shoulder straps) were made from 1.22mm steel, so it would bend under pressure
* The round profile of the armor left major gaps in the armor
* The rivets were not always strong enough
* Aluminum oval rings

### Generation One

The steel works in central didn't have access to any samurai armor when they developed the prototype. So as they worked on it many issues became obvious. The jump from prototype to generation 1 was massive. Not only did the armors look a lot better, but they felt better to wear. In generation 1, many verditians received armor and for the first time ever, Japanese armor became the new normal armor.

**Features**

* Different finish options
	+ Ranging from a 7-stage painted finish, to a 4-stage enameled finish
* Hardened 1.22mm mild steel on the sode, kusazuri, and watagami
* Thicker odoshi with aglets
* 5-plate tapered kusazuri
* 4 plate front tateage / 4 plate back tateage (upper chest/back plates)
* Curved back plate to properly make a tighter fit on the body.
* Properly shaped bottom plates of the do to allow better movement
* Larger wakiita (the plates under the armpits)
* Properly spaced lacing holes to make a full and proper look
* Introduction of decorative options
	+ Including ridging, expanded lacing, etc.
* Introduction of differing styles of Do (chest armor)
* 1.52mm watagami (shoulder straps)
* Padding under the watagami
* Japanese-styled kusari (chain)
	+ Iron oval rings
* Upgraded to heavy-duty rivets
* Introduction of style options for kote, suneate, etc.
* Added an Antioch symbol stamp for leather portions of the armor
* Added sinew as a stitching material

**Problems**

* The finish on armor was still not durable enough to withstand heavy use. Armors had to be touched up every month
* Some plates in the armor were put under too much strain and it would cause the lacing to rip
* The kusari portions included iron connector rings that would rip apart
* Despite our best efforts, the bottom-weight fabrics used for the armor were not strong enough to withstand heavy abuse
* Sode straps often broke
* Sode would flap up and strike the wearer in the head
* Sometimes the stitching between plates and fabric bases would rip

### Generation Two

Even through all the major improvements in generation 1, there were still some daunting issues that we couldn't seem to correct. It took major investments into R&D to finally be able to reliably do in-house powder-coating. Not only that, but all armor pieces were hardened or tempered to ensure they would not rip apart.

The new finish on armor, while obviously not indestructible, was extremely durable comparatively. So much so that removing it from the plates took special compounds, flap disks, and a lot of elbow grease. It also allowed for more options and impressive gloss levels.

**Features**

* Powder coated finish
* Full tempered stainless kusari
* Reinforcement stitching to reduce odoshi ripping in high stress areas
* Doubled up stitching on plates connected to fabric
* Utilizes much heavier grade fabric to avoid ripping
* More decorative options
* Introduction of Tatami armor
* Tiatanium kote and suneate
* Better drafting techniques to ensure odoshi holes line up
* Better tools for securing and shaping plates
* 5 plate front tateage / 6 plate back tateage (upper chest/back plates)
* Stronger connections between the sode and watagami (shoulder straps)
* Better full-sleeved kote
* Development of full-suneate
* Introduction of hachigane (armored headbands)

**Problems**

* New connection system for sode still was prone to breakage
* Kusazuri would sometimes warp from combat
* Kote snagged in key areas, creating shifts in the armor

### Generation Three

Generation 3 armors took the foundation established in generation 2 and expanded upon it to introduce not only more reliable and secure options, but better looking options as well. Generation 3 armors are the culmination of both Derath's and Torrens' forges, effectively merging the best practices into a single-build and building upon that. As such they branch into more authentic decorative options and more convenient/comfortable practices. Gen-3 armors mark the official start of Reclamation Gusoku.

**Improvements**

* Straight Kusazuri/Do odoshi line
* Takahimo formally adopted in all armors
* New suspension system, finally eliminating tears in the connection between sode and do
* Titanium abilities extended to Do, Sode, and Kusazuri
* Reliable in-house methods of creating kabuto
* New strengthening/decorative options to make false-kozane styled plates
* New suppliers to make titanium and odoshi more accessible and affordable
* New strengthening/shaping techniques to reduce damage to kusazuri, sode, and kanagu mawari (upper plates of the do)
* Better drafted full-kote patterns that alleviate the snagging of earlier designs
* Better crafted suneate
* Access to hybrid grades of titanium, reducing weight even further.
* Introduction of kusari-kikko
* Better production methods to ensure consistent curves in all armors.
* Best samurai armor in foam-fighting by a **huge** and laughable margin.

**Problems**

* Unknown