How much does armor affect movement speed IRL?

[Talakeal]

Many games have armor severally limit a character's speed, other games don't do it at all. Does anyone have any real life data about how much armor should slow a person down in a realistic setting?

Furthermore, does it matter how fast the purpose going? Does armor limit walking speed more than running speed or vice versa?

[Karl Aegis]

You can run around and jump and stuff perfectly fine in Gothic Plate, but don't expect to be doing any flips. Lower quality armors might slow you down some.

[Eisenheim]

Mostly you don't loose speed. You loose flexibility, agility, your stamina is depleted faster by the added weight, and you're at serious risk for dehydration and heat stroke because of how much you sweat under the layers of padding worn under the steel.

[awa]

your pcs back pack will likely affect his speed more then his armor particularly if he has a lot of stuff not tied down tightly or that are just plain awkward (10 foot pole any one)

[Keltest]

Not much. Your agility and endurance would be affected far more. Running for any distance in full plate is going to wear you out very quickly. Even leather armor would be very hot and uncomfortable, not to mention sweaty and sticky.

[holywhippet]

It would depend on how large and strong you are for one thing. A chain mail shirt is around 11 kg or 25 pounds. A full chain mail suit is about twice that. If you are a fairly strong and/or heavy person you'll notice the weight but it won't hinder you that much as it is fairly evenly distributed around your body. If you are a lot smaller and weaker you will notice the weight a lot more.

Keep in mind that D&D uses a mish mash of different weapons and armors which didn't really appear together in real life. Different equipment would appear to counter the equipment someone else invented previously IIRC, war hammers came into existence because decent plate armor can't really be stabbed through so they needed something that could still do damage.

On the subject of plate mail, there were two types of it in real life. The lighter version was for actual use in the battlefield. The heavier version was for jousting since you wanted to absorb the shock of the pole hitting you. That stuff was too heavy for use on the battlefield despite the protection it offered. If you fell over you really couldn't easily get up unaided.

[BootStrapTommy]

Disclaimer! All comments on heat and sweating are largely clime-dependent. Under certain cool weather conditions, armor might be just perfect to keep you warm. Or not.

[Broken Twin]

Personally, from a mechanical perspective, I think modelling armour would be best served by giving resistance to damage and a slight reduction in the ability to dodge. Give heavier armours a minimum physical score required to avoid suffering from exhaustion after a fight. Add on a penalty to resist heat related environmental hazards, and a penalty to manual dexterity.

Of course, the exact result of this is all heavily dependant on exactly what rule system you're using.

[Darth Ultron]

Armor is a complex topic. When wearing a suit of full armor each arm and leg is weighed down, it's harder to move, and that makes walking and running more difficult, even as the face mask makes it harder to breathe. Walking with one hundred pounds in a backpack, you'd use 1.7 times as much energy as you would were you not weighed down -- but wearing that weight as armor, you'll use 2.3 times as much.

A typical modern soldier, fireman and police(SWAT) wear much heaver gear, but then they also don't extensively travel by foot.

All armor, just like any heavy clothing really, still significantly reduced the flexibility and mobility of the wearer. The modern myth that medieval armour was hugely heavy come from people looking at tournament armour, which was far heavier. Jousting plate harness could weigh as much as 100 pounds, since it was designed purely for protection in an arena were greater restriction of mobility and agility was not an issue. As modern medieval re-eanctors like to demonstrate to audiences, medieval field plate was not as cumbersome and knights could turn somersaults or do cartwheels in full harness. Though, that is a re-enactor wearing a suit of armor for a couple hours, not even close to a someone wearing a suit for 8-16 hours a day.

Imagine a person weighted down by heavy armor and hampered by that armor so they could not move well. That person would be a 'sitting duck' and quickly killed by a peasant with a spear or even a knife. Who would invest the big bucks the armor cost just to be easily killed?

One of the reasons there is the assumption that armor was clumsy is from movies where (when they made them) they did not realize that the design, construction and fit of the armor were all incredibly important. Poorly designed armor will not have good mobility, poorly constructed armor will not have good mobility and if the armor was not well fitted to the individual, it would not have good mobility. Obviously people acquiring medieval Armor for use in war would quickly become aware of this and require that it be well designed, constructed and fitted.

The best armor was made to fit a person. Armor was not exactly one size fits all(as if anything ever was). If you wore armor of the wrong size or fit, it would effect your speed and movement.

[Gopher Wizard]

I've worn chainmail and slightly heavier armor in real life. I can say it doesn't so much slow you down, it just limits your endurance so the period with which you can maintain those speeds is reduced, and you have to take a breather. Depending on the armor, it can be a little or a lot.

[BootStrapTommy]

Add on a penalty to resist heat related environmental hazards, and a penalty to manual dexterity..

"Manual dexterity" refers specifically to hands, meaning it is only affected if the armor possesses gloves.

When wearing a suit of full armor each arm and leg is weighed down, it's harder to move, and that makes walking and running more difficult, even as the face mask makes it harder to breathe. Walking with one hundred pounds in a backpack, you'd use 1.7 times as much energy as you would were you not weighed down -- but wearing that weight as armor, you'll use 2.3 times as much.

Are you sure? Got a source on that? Because experience says weight more evenly distributed across the body is much easier to carry than weight solely on your back. 65lbs of full plate is much less strain to lug around than a 65lb backpack.

[Yora]

I found some articles about this study from the University of Leeds, which they did with people from the Royal Armory, which is probably the best known collection of European medieval weapons and armor everywhere. So the results are probably as good as you can get them. And they got results indicating wearing plate armor double the amount of energy needed when running, with the leg parts being particularly problematic.

[Maglubiyet]

I found some articles about this study from the University of Leeds, which they did with people from the Royal Armory, which is probably the best known collection of European medieval weapons and armor everywhere. So the results are probably as good as you can get them. And they got results indicating wearing plate armor double the amount of energy needed when running, with the leg parts being particularly problematic.

Thanks for that link - what an interesting study!

Any soldier can tell you that gear slows you down. Even one bad strap can mess up your day if it causes your equipment to slide or chafe.

Kevlar body armor and helmet are annoying as hell..I can't imagine trucking to battle with sheets of molded steel strapped to every limb. The number of fail points with that many straps and buckles, not to mention the rubbing and sweat...ugh!

[malkarnivore]

Thanks for that link - what an interesting study!

Any soldier can tell you that gear slows you down. Even one bad strap can mess up your day if it causes your equipment to slide or chafe.

Kevlar body armor and helmet are annoying as hell..I can't imagine trucking to battle with sheets of molded steel strapped to every limb. The number of fail points with that many straps and buckles, not to mention the rubbing and sweat...ugh!

by the same token, if you have all that crap strapped on (and fitted) correctly the only real concern is how far you have to run, and for nerds like me (I'm huge) it doesn't slow you down. at all.

And I'm talking about the full-body coverage point-blank armor the marines used about ten years ago. I'm not sure if that crap's still in circulation.

[Broken Twin]

"Manual dexterity" refers specifically to hands, meaning it is only affected if the armor possesses gloves.

Well, yes. I'm running under the assumption that your heavier armours are going to be a complete suit. If we're getting into piecemeal armour rules, then things obviously get a lot more complicated. I guess I should have specified that.

[Maglubiyet]

by the same token, if you have all that crap strapped on (and fitted) correctly the only real concern is how far you have to run, and for nerds like me (I'm huge) it doesn't slow you down. at all.

And I'm talking about the full-body coverage point-blank armor the marines used about ten years ago. I'm not sure if that crap's still in circulation.

Having it fitted and doing a couple of stretches and sprints for 15-20 minutes, then throwing it in the back of your SUV and heading to Denny's for some pancakes is one thing. Wearing it in the dust and sun, doing heavy activity and sweating in it every day for two weeks is another.

[Knaight]

You can run around and jump and stuff perfectly fine in Gothic Plate, but don't expect to be doing any flips. Lower quality armors might slow you down some.

You can do surprisingly well with some acrobatic stuff - hand stands, somersaults, so on and so forth are doable. Meanwhile you will lose a bit of jump height, and there's a noticeable speed difference. Said speed difference isn't hugely important most of the time, but when there's a full sprint it shows up noticeably.

[Broken Twin]

I don't think the question is really "Is it possible to do while wearing armour?", more so "Is it harder to do while wearing armor?"

If accuracy/realism is a concern in regards to armour rules, I would make a mechanical difference between fitted and non-fitted armour.

Getting worn out faster is hard to represent, given that most systems don't really have active stamina rules.

[ddude987]

Disclaimer! All comments on heat and sweating are largely clime-dependent. Under certain cool weather conditions, armor might be just perfect to keep you warm. Or not.

not necessarily. For example, if you've ever been skiing or hiking in the cold of winter and have layers on, sweating is actually a serious concern because it dehydrates you and puts you at risk for hypothermia. The same may be possible with these suits of armor, depending on how insulated they were. And if they aren't insulated then you would freeze instead.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

It'd be interesting to redo that study with people who've never worn armour in their lives rather than re-enactors, and see if the energy requirements were still doubled, or were even higher. That way we might be able to extrapolate to someone who trains extensively in it.

The other point I'd like to make about that study is that someone in heavy armour is likely from the nobility, and would thus have a much better diet (probably having meat more regularly, certainly having better quality food and larger portions) than the peasantry, and be a lot fitter, especially regarding combat rather than just general fitness gained from working the fields or whatever - the reduced endurance enforced by their armour may still be well in excess of anyone else on the field.

"Manual dexterity" refers specifically to hands, meaning it is only affected if the armor possesses gloves.

Hands yes, but also your arms to a slightly lesser extent - juggling knives with your arms in pouldrons, rerebraces and vambraces isn't going to go well, even if your hands are completely uncovered.

not necessarily. For example, if you've ever been skiing or hiking in the cold of winter and have layers on, sweating is actually a serious concern because it dehydrates you and puts you at risk for hypothermia. The same may be possible with these suits of armor, depending on how insulated they were. And if they aren't insulated then you would freeze instead.

The padding will help insulate you, but you've still got nice big radiators on your chest, back, thighs etc to lose heat, and depending on how cold it got, items like your gauntlets might freeze onto your body.

[warty goblin]

The padding will help insulate you, but you've still got nice big radiators on your chest, back, thighs etc to lose heat, and depending on how cold it got, items like your gauntlets might freeze onto your body.

I've done short hikes in a hauberk in the winter. The thing makes you lose heat like crazy, but moving through snow in armor is so much work it sort of evens out. I've done the same in the summer, and there the heat is pretty brutal, although it makes moving through dense undergrowth a lot more pleasant. Raspberry cane is no match for steel mesh, although you get the occasional thorn that snaps off between the link and gets worked in.

[spineyrequiem]

I've got an 8mm ring, flat-riveted chainmail hauberk which weighs around 12kg and have worn it a fair bit in a good few contexts. As soon as you put it on, you can feel your heart rate go up just from wearing it. As people have said, the main thing it hits is your stamina; I jogged about a kilometer in it before I had to slow to a walk, partly from simple tiredness, partly from overheating. You can still run at pretty much the same speed as unencumbered, but you won't be able to keep it up for long (hence why I can't catch archers). It also can make it harder to turn. However, your stamina won't be hit as much as you might think; I've gone clubbing in it at least twice, at heavy rock clubs, and still been able to dance for several hours on the trot. You just need to make sure to keep drinking water. It probably does slow your top speed a bit though, I know I'm not quite as good at sprinting with it on.

[goto124]

Slightly related joke: I was told that the heavier helmets, when worn, gave -99 to Intelligence.

-puts on helmet- -drools like an orc- Can't... Think....

[MonkeySage]

I can sort of speak from personal experience, it's really hard to move in stuff...

Boots slow me down considerably, since it's pretty uncomfortable to run in them, and they're sort of clumsy. As a runner, I generally prefer lightweight canvas and rubber(no leather, I'm vegetarian. ^_^)

Gloves have a very definite effect on dexterity, forget fine motor skills... infact, even macromotor skills become more difficult.

Now, actual armor... I can't say i'm a very athletic or strong person, but I can attest that a chainmail shirt is heavy... really heavy.

You could probably also ask a firefighter how fast they can move while wearing full gear.

[Joe the Rat]

Are you sure? Got a source on that? Because experience says weight more evenly distributed across the body is much easier to carry than weight solely on your back. 65lbs of full plate is much less strain to lug around than a 65lb backpack.

If you're talking breastplates, sure. Good armor distributes the weight evenly. A good hiking pack should do the same in terms of distribution, but will still throw your balance back a little.

Where you see the difference between carrying your armor on your back and wearing it is not the 65lb on your body instead of your back, but 45lb evenly on the torso, and 5-ish pounds on each limb. And that's probably a low ballpark, particularly for leg armor.

[Maglubiyet]

You could probably also ask a firefighter how fast they can move while wearing full gear.

Not very. The boots would probably fall off if you earnestly tried to sprint full speed in them. Or your thighs would reach muscle failure in short order.

I think it's a little different though, as firefighter PPE (personal protective equipment aka "turnout gear") is designed to completely insulate the wearer from the outside environment. You get hot pretty fast, even just standing around. Any firefighter class where you use it requires you to bring something to drink to the classroom because dehydration is a real issue. It does keep you from burning though.

8mm ring, flat-riveted chainmail hauberk...I've gone clubbing in it at least twice, at heavy rock clubs...

I want to party with you, cowboy!

[malkarnivore]

Having it fitted and doing a couple of stretches and sprints for 15-20 minutes, then throwing it in the back of your SUV and heading to Denny's for some pancakes is one thing. Wearing it in the dust and sun, doing heavy activity and sweating in it every day for two weeks is another.

I wasn't talking about things like that. A week in the field for the marines tends to be very different from a week in the field for the other branches when you actually have an infantry MOS.

[Jay R]

With most of my armor on but not the leg armor, I'm almost as fast as without it - but not for nearly as long.

With just my leg armor on, I'm significantly slower (maybe 2/3 speed, but I've never tested it), since I can't move my legs as fast.

[Maglubiyet]

I wasn't talking about things like that. A week in the field for the marines tends to be very different from a week in the field for the other branches when you actually have an infantry MOS.

No argument here.

[Braininthejar2]

I've seen some armour-related heat strokes (the biggest medieval battle in history of my country took place in late July) It wasn't pretty.