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Armor Rules
Armor is something that a character must physically wear to benefit from. It must pass safety inspection to ensure safety for both the user and other combatants. Characters in armor must still also wear appropriate costuming. This includes wearing racial make up under helmets. Wearing multiple armors at once will only give you the bonus of your best armor.
It is the responsibility of those wearing armor to learn when a legal hit takes place even if the armor prevents them from feeling it.
Different armors grants between 1 and 4 points of protection in the form of armor points also called physical armor points. Should armor be made of ineffective material or be visibly damaged it may have its armor points downgraded.
These points of protection only apply to where the armor is physically on your body. A hit to a spot where the armor is not covering cannot be applied to your armor points.
Helmets
You can gain an additional universal armor point for a helmet. Because the head is not a legal hit location, the point of armor from a helmet works like body and covers any possible hit location. The point from a helmet can break the cap on armor points making the maximum possible benefit from armor 5 armor points.
Plate and Half-Plate
Half-plate and plate armors count as monstrous armor. This benefit only applies in hit locations where you are wearing the half-plate or plate armor. If at least 75% of the location is covered by half-plate or plate the entire hit location counts as covered by that half-plate or plate.
When less than 75% of a hit location has plate or half-plate and some of the rest of that hit location is covered by other types of armor, a hit to that other type of armor will not benefit from monstrous armor. Damage in full will be subtracted from armor points, which is likely disadvantageous.
Limbs cannot benefit from monstrous armor if the armor on a player's torso isn't of at least the same quality.
Players wearing plate armor are required to wear some form of padding or safety equipment that is hidden (such as modern safety equipment like elbow pads) or props approved (such as a padded gambeson or arming jack).
Armor Values
One point armors include:
- A full costume approved by staff. (may not be combined with a helmet or other armor)
- Studded Leather (Leather too thin to count as light leather must have studs to count as anything)
- Light Leather
- Fur (Real animal hides with the fur on, unless the leather itself counts for a higher value)
- Brigandine (Light leather backing with light plates)
Two point armors include:
- Studded Light Leather
- Heavy Leather
- Scale Armor/ Lamellar (Overlapping light leather pieces)
- Brigandine (Leather or light leather with heavy leather plates)
- Riveted Aluminum Chain Mail
Three point armors include:
- Studded Heavy Leather
- Scale Armor/ Lamellar (Overlapping heavy leather pieces)
- Chain Armor (Interlocking butted or riveted metal wire, note that aluminum is only 2 points)
- Metal Scale or Lamellar Armor
- Brigandine (Heavy leather backing with heavy leather plates)
- Brigandine (Any backing with metal plates)
- Half-Plate (Metal armor, no articulated joints, up to 25% chain/leather)
- Lorica Segmentata is half-plate armor.
- A 2-piece back-and-breast is half-plate armor
- Half-Plate armor counts as monstrous armor.
Four point armors include:
- Articulated Plate Armor
- Plate armor with flexible joints that can bend and move with the movements of the player while still providing complete coverage. Must be a complete harness. For example articulated arms would contain a full vambrace, articulated elbow, rerebrace, and pauldrons.
- Wearing incomplete articulated plate (such as wearing a back-and-breast without fauld, tassets, and a gorget) make it half plate armor.
- Plate armor counts as monstrous armor.
Related Rules
Monstrous Armor
Monstrous armor points are gained from specific types of worn armor. These points takes damage just like ordinary armor points do but reduce any damage dealt to them without the "Slay" call to one. With monstrous physical armor only the physical armor points benefit from this damage reduction, damage dealt to magic armor and body are not reduced.
Monstrous armor does not give any of the other benefits granted to a monstrous creature.
Armor (aka Physical Armor) Points
When a player wears armor as part of their garb their character gets to enjoy the benefit of gaining points of "armor". Armor points are sometimes also called "physical armor points" in order to differentiate them from magic armor or natural armor.
Points of physical armor only benefit you in places the armor covers. If an opponent hits a part of your body that is not covered by the armor you are wearing, you may not apply the damage to your armor points. Some rare magic items may give "floating" coverage which covers even places the armor does not.
Should your character take damage, physical armor soaks that damage. Attacks with the "Pierce" combat call, ignore any physical armor you might have (as well as any other armor such as magic armor or natural armor).
Monstrous armor points are gained from specific types of worn armor. These points takes damage just like ordinary armor points do but reduce any damage dealt to them without the "Slay" call to one. With monstrous physical armor only the physical armor points benefit from this damage reduction, damage dealt to magic armor and body are not reduced.
Your total physical armor is based on the armor you are wearing plus any effects that specifically improve your armor, such as a helmet, spells like enhance armor, or special magic items. Wearing a chain shirt and a leather vest will not stack together for a better armor value
Physical armor has a cap of 4 points.
Wearing a helmet allows a character to break the physical armor cap and have 5 points of physical armor.
Related Prop Guidelines
Armor Props
Players may wear armor which will benefit their character. There are requirements for armors that can be worn in the game, and all armor must be inspected by a safety marshal.
Armor must never impede normal movement in a fashion that endangers the wearer or prevents the player from following the rules of the game.
Armor must be attached or fitted on the body with proper integral closures such as buckles, laces, or snaps. Players are not allowed to attach armor to their body with tape, string, or similar temporary means.
Armor made of non-period materials (plastics, kydex, nylon, etc.) is not allowed. Non-period metals or alloys, such as aluminum, titanium, galvanized steel, stainless steel, nickel-plated steel, or anodized aluminum are allowed. No pleather, vinyl, or other synthetic leathers are acceptable.
Armor that consistently causes unreasonable damage to weapons will be removed from play.
Metal Armors
Players wearing plate armor are required to wear some form of padding or safety equipment that is hidden (such as modern safety equipment like elbow pads) or props approved (such as a padded gambeson or arming jack).
Metal plates must be at least .0478 inches thick. (18 gauge or thicker for ferrous metals, 16 gauge or thicker for non-ferrous metals). All edges of metal plates should be safely blunted or rolled.
Chain mail rings should be of no greater than one-half inch inside diameter.
Metal scales must be of at least .015 inch thickness (28 gauge or thicker for ferrous metals, 26 gauge or thicker for non-ferrous metals) and must overlap to provide armor value.
Metal brigandine is armor constructed of non-overlapping metal plates on a backing material. Brigandine plates must be within one-half inch of each other. Brigandine plates must have multiple points of attachment to the backing or to each other, or be held in individual pockets. Non-leather backing materials generally reduce the armor value of metal brigandine armor. These plates may be inside or outside the backing material.
Leather Armors
Leather brigandine is armor constructed of non-overlapping leather plates on a backing material. Non-leather backing materials do not contribute to the armor value of leather brigandine armor Leather brigandine plates must equal or exceed the value of the backing leather to be counted as armor.
Leather armor must be constructed of real leather of any thickness (unless otherwise specified). Studded leathers may be studded with metal spots, rings, washers or rivets. No bottle caps, brads or plastic may be used. Studded leather should have no more than 1 inch of un-studded leather on any part of it. The simple test used for this will be to try and place a US quarter dollar coin between studs. It should fit with a small bit of wiggle room, but no more. Leather scales must overlap to provide armor value. Light leather is leather of at least 6 ounce weight (3/32 inch). Heavy leather is leather of at least 12 ounce weight (3/16 inch). Leather is a natural material with natural variations that may result in irregular measurements. Players are free to request an average of multiple (up to five) measurements when their armor is measured for its armor point value. No layering of leather is permitted in any area being measured for armor point value.
Helmets
Leather helmets must have 3/4 head coverage. Metal helmets need a minimum of cap coverage. Regardless of material the helmet must meet the normal armor thickness requirements as mentioned previously in this page.
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