Deconstructing Full Plate

[tedcahill2]

I'm working on a game that's based on the state of the world (technologically) in the 17th century.

This was a period where early firearms, swords, and armor were all seen to near equal proportions.

The armor in use had changed quite a bit though. People were rarely running around in buff coats, and there weren't a lot of tribals in hide armor. The breast plate was common, as was half plate, three quarters plate, and even full plate on occasion.

All four of those armors are essentially stages of donning for a plate armor wearing. You can wear just the breast plate or you can add pauldrons and vambraces (shoulder and arm armor) to make it half plate, adding cuisses (thigh armor) would bring that to 3/4 plate, and adding gauntlets and greave (hand and feet armor) brings us to full plate. An arming doublet (effectively cloth armor) is worn under plate armor)

Is there a good way to stat out each piece of armor so a player could pick and choose which pieces to wear and the AC bonus they get from it?

Could someone with a suit of full plate put on just the chest piece and have armor equal to a breast plate? Or only put on half of it and have armor equal to half plate?

[Hunter Noventa]

Pathfinder has a variant rule called Piecemeal Armor (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCombat/variants/piecemealArmor.html) that is exactly what you're looking for.

[hamishspence]

Early in 3rd ed, Diablo II: Diablerie, had something similar with "partial armour" but it was only really relevant if you didn't have a torso piece (the "standard armour" so to speak) - since none of it stacked with standard armour.

Belt, Gloves, Boots, Helmet, were the options.

Sort of the inverse of what you're describing.

[Nifft]

There was a Warhammer Fantasy rule that we used in one game, whereby:

- Attacks hit a specific location, based on tables specific to weapon types.

- Locations had armor values based on your armor -- this would easily support a piecemeal armor system.

- Damage to armor was tracked for each location -- after killing a bunch of dudes, you'd probably scavenge their armor for usable parts.


We found this viable for infrequent combat games, but IMHO a person would not want to do this in D&D unless there was some kind of software tracking support available.

[Zanos]

You want Sectioned Armor from the Planar Handbook:


Sectioned Armor: The owner of this specially constructed masterwork full plate can remove several of the large plate sections from it, reducing it to medium or light armor, so that he or she can sleep more comfortably or move more freely while retaining some of the armor’s defensive bonuses.

Half-plate doesn't relate to full plate the way you think it does. Half-plate is more of a bunch of thrown together armor, where full-plate was specifically constructed to be worn together.

[hamishspence]

I figured half-plate represented the war armour of the late medieval era - whereas full plate, represented mostly the gothic plates:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_plate_armour

[tedcahill2]

Maybe it isn't as simple as I'm thinking about it, but to me:

Breast plate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breastplate) is essentially 1/4 plate.
Half plate (https://www.google.com/search?q=half+plate+armor&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjri6Tv_ZXVAhVFNz4KHWpiBi4Q_AUICigB&biw=1399&bih=289#imgrc=VWW__wQ081Ac_M:&spf=1500489233096) added more arm protection.
3/4 plate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munition_armour#/media/File:Savoyard_armour_IMG_3805.jpg) added some leg protection, but usually left the lower legs unarmored to make mounting a dismounting a horse easier. This armor was typically worn by cavalry in the 17th century.
Then of course there's full plate armor.

So if I have a suit of full plate armor, and I don't put on the greaves and gauntlets, am I wearing 3/4 plate? If I only put on the chest piece and I effectively wearing a breast plate? If I don't have time to put on anything but the arming doublet that the plates attach to am I effectively wearing cloth armor?

[Zanos]

Here's the book descriptions:


Full Plate: This armor consists of shaped and fitted metal plates riveted and interlocked to cover the entire body. The suit includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and a thick layer of padding that is worn underneath the armor. Buckles and straps distribute the weight over the body, so full plate hampers movement less than splint mail even though splint is lighter. Each suit of full plate must be individually fitted to its owner by a master armorsmith, although a captured suit can be resized to fit a new owner at a cost of 200 to 800 (2d4 × 100) g


Half-Plate: This armor is a combination of chainmail with metal plates (breastplate, epaulettes, elbow guards, gauntlets, tasses, and greaves) covering vital areas. Buckles and straps hold the whole suit together and distribute the weight, but the armor still hangs more loosely than full plate. The suit includes gauntlets.