More realistic leather armours

[Ashtagon]

Hard Leather: Also known as cuir bouilli, this leather has been treated by a process of drying, tanning, and waxing. It is tough -- about as hard to cut through as wood. Historically, it appeared in Europe from about the 10th century AD, although it was in the Asian steppes much earlier, among nomad cultures.

In game terms, it is identical to the SRD leather armour.

Soft Leather: This leather has been treated so it will stay soft and supple. This is the kind of leather found in good-quality modern footwear.

In game terms, it is identical to the SRD padded armour. Unlike actual padded armour, it won't provide thermal insulation and can't be used as cold weather clothing (Frostburn); for cold weather purposes, treat it as standard leather armour.

Rawhide: This is essentially raw animal hide that has been allowed to dry on a shaper to achieve the desired armour shape. The technology to make this has existed since at least the Bronze Age.

In game terms, treat this as SRD leather armour, except it costs half as much. However, if it gets soaked (one minute of immersion, or one hour of rain), it loses all armour value. You can either take it back to the armoury to be re-made, or allow it to dry on your body. If you let it dry on your body, your maximum Dexterity bonus drops to +2. If you take it off and then allow it to dry, it loses the proper shape and cannot be worn again unless taken back to the armoury for reshaping.

[SilverLeaf167]

Do you really find it necessary to differentiate between these fairly similar suits of armor? Mundane things in D&D already have enough difficulties and random penalties, and most campaigns are supposed to be heroic; do you really want your heroes to take a long break to dry their clothes every time they get wet?

You also don't make it clear what you want to do with these variants: should they replace the normal armors, or what? Most characters would have no reason to choose any of those variants instead of typical leather armor.

[Marlowe]

Some people have nothing better to do than make up rules for others to follow.

[Teron]

And some people see nefarious intent in ridiculous places.

As for the new armour types, they're strictly worse than existing ones and I'd advise against house rules that don't do anything meaningful (you could just fluff padded/leather armour as soft leather/rawhide where appropriate), but if you're really keen on realistic NPC gear, knock yourself out.

[Ashtagon]

Do you really find it necessary to differentiate between these fairly similar suits of armor? Mundane things in D&D already have enough difficulties and random penalties, and most campaigns are supposed to be heroic; do you really want your heroes to take a long break to dry their clothes every time they get wet?

You also don't make it clear what you want to do with these variants: should they replace the normal armors, or what? Most characters would have no reason to choose any of those variants instead of typical leather armor.

I like to play at the mundane levels. I like to believe there are others who do too. These threads are dedicated to those fine ladies and gentlemen.

And yes, most characters would have no reason to choose these two new ones over standard (hard) leather armour. But in a Stone Age or Bronze Age campaign, standard leather armour hadn't been invented yet.

The earliest known use of hard leather was in 3000 BC for shields. The earliest documented use of it for body armour was the 13th century AD, although there is some evidence that the Romans made leather (as well as metal) lorica squamata (scale armour), and that the ancient Greeks made hard leather (as well as bronze) muscle cuirasses. This would put the invention as early as 800 BC.

So if you're playing in ancient Babylonia, no hard leather for you.

[Marlowe]

{{scrubbed}}

[Drelua]

What about studded leather? Is there a way to make that more realistic? I can't see how 5 pounds of studs spread out all over your body could make armour any better. I've seen some examples of leather with rings on it, that seems like it would make a lot more sense; a broad enough point wouldn't be able to get through, and it would certainly be harder to cut. It could also have metal bands around it, sort of like a cross between hard leather armour and a lorica segmentata. That seems to me like it would land somewhere between the two in both mobility and protection. What do you think?

I don't know much about armour, to be honest, and most of this is guess-work, but I'm rather interested in the subject and I'd like to have a way to describe any type of armour in core that makes at least some sense.

[Ashtagon]

Ah, studded leather armour, better known in its era as brigandine armour. Except brigandine gives a modern connotation of being associated with criminals. Not actually true, as "brigand" was simply a military term in the day. It literally meant "soldier's armour". In Europe, it became common in the mid 13th century. Depending on which Bible translation you use, it may be an ancient armour. Different translations use different terms, few of which refer to the same type of armour.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/jeremiah/46-4.html

Brigandine actually consists of a number of small (2" or so) metal plates hidden under soft leather, often with another layer of textile or leather backing. The studs that give it the common game name are simply the visible portion of those plates, where they are attached to the leather outer.

The studs aren't the armour. The studs are the places where the armour is attached to the jacket.

[Drelua]

Well, that explains why their description makes absolutely no sense. One can only assume that they simply saw a picture of brigandine armour and guessed that it was just leather with studs in it. The weight also makes more sense if it protects a smaller part of the body than plain leather, but protects it a lot better. Good to know.

Now, I think I should go to bed before the sun is the rest of the way up...:smallamused:

[Gavinfoxx]

You should really really really read the Codex Martialis book that talks about armor...

Its this one:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=77993&it=1

Though I would suggest getting the entire set:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/65250/Codex-Martialis-Set-%5BBUNDLE%5D?filters=0_0_10080_0_0