Armor Made Easy

The armor rules can look intimidating at first glance but it can be boiled down to a few simple rules that allow you to interact with the armor system in combat.

Armor stops hits by losing points in the location it is hit. Once a location is out of points the armor doesn't stop hits anymore and the player is hit. All hits remove a single point from the armor in the location struck unless the strike is Armor-Breaking or Armor-Destroying. The three most common Armor-Breaking strikes are from an arrow, a great weapon swung two-handed, or a strike from a Barbarian. Armor-Destroying strikes are much rarer.

Armor-Breaking strikes will reduce the armor to zero in the location struck unless the player struck is wearing more than three points of armor in that location. That can only happen if they are playing Warrior, Paladin, or Anti-Paladin. If the player struck has more than three points of armor in the location struck, then all hits to their armor remove a single point until they are at three points or less and then it behaves as stated earlier.

Armor-Destroying strikes will reduce armor to zero in the location struck regardless of how much armor remains.

Keeping track of your own armor is simple. If you are playing any class other than Warrior, Paladin, or Anti-Paladin then each hit removes a single point of armor unless it's one of the above types of strikes, which reduces your armor to zero. If you are playing a Warrior, Paladin, or Anti-Paladin and wearing more than three points of armor then all Armor Breaking strikes do one point in the location struck until you get to three points, and then it behaves as above. An Armor-Destroying strike gets rid of all of the armor, period.

There are a few more abilities that interact in different ways with armor, but this covers the vast majority of the situations encountered on the field of play. If you want more information read the Abilities section. If you run into a situation you are not sure of you can always ask a reeve or the player who affected you.

Armor Combat Rules

Armor is rated by its ability to stop wounds and is referred to as Armor Points. Armor with an Armor Point value rating higher than allowed to a Player Class may be worn for the highest value allowed to the Player Class.

1. Hits to armor in a hit location affect that hit location, regardless of if a physical piece of armor covers multiple hit locations. Example: Hitting the sleeve of a chainmail shirt will only affect that arm, and not the torso
   1. Damage to worn armor is tracked by hit location. Damage will be retained if worn armor is altered, replaced, or exchanged
   2. Armor cannot be reduced to less than 0 points in a location by any means
2. A hit to armor from any weapon will remove one Armor Point from the location hit
   1. Blows to armor can be modified by the following three Special Effects: Armor Breaking, Armor Destroying, and Siege. See Special Effects Defined for more information on these effects
3. Armor with no remaining Armor Points no longer interacts with hits from weapons, ammunition, Magic Balls, etc.
4. Armor only protects the area that it covers. Example: You have armor on the front of your leg, but a gap on your thigh, and are struck in the area left open by the gap. You are wounded and the armor itself takes no damage
5. Armor present on a wounded hit location will continue to function and stop blows as per normal. This does not exempt wounded arms from the requirement to be kept out of combat
6. Hits to armor covering a foot that strike below the ankle while that foot is on the ground have no effect on the armor or hit location
7. Armor worn under garb or other armor must be partially visible, and must be declared if asked

Armor Rating and Safety

1. The Monarch, Champion, Guildmaster of Reeves, and Game Reeves rate armor
2. Armor that is of mixed values across the same area will be averaged based on the percentage of each type of coverage of the area, rounding fractions to the nearest whole number. Example: An arm with a Plate bracer (6 Armor Points) covering 50% of the arm and a Cloth/ Padded sleeve (1 Armor Point) covering 50% of the arm will result in an armor value of (6 x 0.5) + (1 x 0.5) = 3.5, which rounds up to 4 Armor Points across the entire location
3. Straps and other such material that hold your armor on do not count as part of the armor, for either coverage or averaging purposes, unless they are specifically built as such. Example: the leather strap across your back holding on your steel breastplate does not protect you from hits
4. Armor that is initially rated as zero points does not count as armor. Armor that has been depleted continues to be considered armor, but does not continue to stop wounds until restored
5. Obviously modern materials and obviously modern protective gear such as sports shin pads and hockey chest pads may never be considered as armor; such materials and items may be used as a base for armor, but the final product must have the appearance of actual armor rather than modern protective gear. Wholly inappropriate materials such as cardboard, tinfoil, and foam may never be considered as armor
6. All armor must be safe, with no protruding edges that could injure someone. All corners on any armor that will not deform under contact must come to a point no sharper than the radius of a penny (3/8")

Armor Types and Modifiers

Each Armor Type is rated with base points equal to its tier. Armor may also receive bonuses and penalties, which change its rating by one Armor Point. These modifiers may not result in the armor type receiving more than its maximum rating, except for Heavy Helms.

Armor Types

Tier	Max Pts	Armor Types
1	2	Cloth/Padded
2	3	Light Leather, Flexible Synthetic
3	4	Heavy Leather, Butcher’s Mail, Rigid Synthetic
4	5	Light Scale, Chainmail
5	6	Heavy Scale, Butted Plate (Splint, Kikko, etc)
6	7	Lamellar, Laminar, Brigandine, Plate
Special		Ambiguous Armor

Appearance

Exceptionally aesthetically pleasing armor may be awarded a bonus. Armor that is well below standard in appearance may be given a penalty.

Construction

Exceptionally durable or well-crafted armor may be given a bonus. Some examples of this would be being made from at least 75% steel, being made of significantly thicker material than standard, riveted or welded chainmail rings, and so on. A penalty may be given if armor is in poor repair, is made of thinner materials than standard, and so forth.

Layered Armor

Where multiple layers of armor overlap, such as chainmail over cloth or leather over chainmail, the overlapping area is given a bonus over the highest rated armor's usual rating.

Helm Bonus

Helms provide a bonus to the Torso location, and are divided into two categories: Light Helms, and Heavy Helms. The helm must cover at least 50% of the area from the base of the neck upwards.

• Light Helms must meet the requirements of at least a Tier 2 armor type. The torso bonus received for a Light Helm may not exceed the maximum value for the armor type.
• Heavy Helms must meet the requirements of at least a Tier 4 armor type. The torso bonus received from a Heavy Helm may allow the wearer to exceed the maximum value for the armor type.

Armor Material Thickness Requirements

Armor Material Thickness Requirements

Material	Minimum	Standard	Superior
Cloth	Cannot be substandard	1/16"	1/8"
Flexible Synthetic	Cannot be substandard	3/32”	1/8"
Light Leather	4oz (1/16”)	6oz (3/32”)	8oz (1/8")
Heavy Leather	Cannot be substandard	10oz (5/32”)	12oz (3/16”)
Rigid Non-Metal/Rigid Synthetic	Cannot be substandard	3/16”	1/4"
Aluminum Round Rings	18ga swg (0.048”)	16ga swg (0.064”)	14ga swg (.080”)
Aluminum Flat Rings	20ga swg (0.048”)	18ga swg (0.048”)	16ga swg (0.064”)
Aluminum Scales	20ga (0.030”)	18ga (0.040”)	16ga (0.051”)
Aluminum Sheet Metal	18ga (0.040”)	16ga (0.051”)	14ga (0.064”)
Steel Round Rings	20ga swg (0.036”)	18ga swg (0.048”)	16ga swg (0.064”)
Steel Flat Rings	22ga swg (0.028”)	20ga swg (0.036”)	18ga swg (0.048”)
Steel Scales	22ga (0.030”)	20ga (0.036”)	18ga (0.048”)
Steel Sheet Metal	20ga (0.036”)	18ga (0.048”)	16ga (0.060”)

Construction Requirements by Type

All armor must meet certain construction requirements according to its type.

1. Armor that is made from materials thinner than the minimum thickness is not allowed.
2. Armor that is made from materials significantly above the standard may qualify for the Superior Construction bonus.
3. All Tier 4-6 armor is assumed to be made of metal, as well as butcher’s mail.

If an armor type is not listed here, it has no special construction requirements beyond material thickness.

Cloth

Must be visually distinct from garb.

Butcher’s Mail/Sharkmail

This armor type is for machine-welded chain mesh. There are no material thickness requirements for this armor, and it may receive no modifiers for superior construction. Any weave pattern is permitted, but it must not allow a 1/8" dowel to pass through.

Rigid Non-Metal/Synthetic Armor

Rigid armor that utilizes unusual materials must meet any non-material requirements for the style of armor that it is mimicking. The density of the material must be at least equal to 0.9g/cm³, equal to HDPE plastic.

Chainmail

Any weave is permitted, but a 1/2" dowel must not pass through. Rings must have an aspect ratio (AR) of 8 or less.

Light Scale

Scales must overlap by at least 10%, and the backing must not be visible through the scales. Scales are individually mobile.

Heavy Scale

Scales must overlap by at least 10%, and the backing must not be visible through the scales. Scales are held rigidly together.

Butted Plate (Splint, Kikko, etc)

Plates are spaced no more than 1/2" apart, and cover at least 75% of the armor.

Lamellar/Laminar

Plates must overlap by at least 10%, and connect to one another with no supportive backing.

Brigandine

75% of plates must overlap by at least 10%. Plates are attached to a backing and are held firmly together when worn.

Plate

75% of the plates used must be large enough to cover 10% of the full hit location, excepting joint articulations.

Ambiguous Armor

Armor that doesn't clearly fit into any of the typical armor styles should be rated at the discretion of the reeve and matched to the nearest style. If it is not made of metal, it should be rated no higher than Tier 3.