Re: (TFT) Stewing in Your Own Juices

[Peter von Kleinsmid <pvk@oz.net>]

Ventilation is a serious factor in armor. Some scholars have claimed that 
men who fell in full plate could have expired from suffocation. I'm not so 
sure about that particular claim, though I guess on a hot day, and/or for 
people who panicked or were heavily trampled, had horses on them, or 
whatever...

But I think most of the recent comments are far exaggerated and incorrect.

Note too that medieval knights typically did have cloth surcoats over their 
armor, which as Rick suggest might help against heat from sunlight. See 
also ancient Greeks and Romans (ever been to Italy or Greece during hot 
weather?) who wore metal armor with cloaks - I expect that was useful for 
reducing heat.

> 2. Get on a horse, unassisted

This is a basic requirement of knighthood, and has been amply demonstrated 
does not require much training. An unskilled person, or even a horseman 
unused to armor, or a horse who balks at the weight, would have difficulties.

Whether someone _would_choose_ to routinely wear armor while travelling 
long distances on horseback, is another matter altogether. I expect most 
people would not choose to do that. Even players might not choose to do it 
if appropriate fatigue penalties were assessed.

> 3. Sleep in his armor

Depends on the person and circumstances.

> 4. Stand up if he is knocked down

Ridiculous. It is more difficult and slower to get up with extra weight on, 
and learning to get around in armor is a skill, but if these weren't easily 
learnable tricks, plate armor would never have been used. Also it has been 
abundantly demonstrated, documented, filmed, etc.

...
> 8. Use a Bow (range of motion is compromised)

Thhe TFT armor DX penalties seem to me far higher than the actual 
difficulty of doing this, especially with practice. Using a bow doesn't 
require that much dynamic motion; it's more about getting into position, 
applying strength, and fine aiming. There are also contemporary 
illustrations (from various cultures) of people in armor using bows.

> 9. Run

Not as fast as someone without armor, of course, but again yes people can 
run in armor once they practice, and not all that slowly. TFT's 60% of a 
typical man's speed is certainly possible.

> And, all of that being said, I think I recall that Saladin did have 
> knights, but I'd be willing to bet that they didn't wear anything metal as 
> armor.

Arabian warriors did have metal armor - chainmail and scale armor. See also 
ancient Greek, Roman, and especially Persian armor, which was used all 
around the Mediterranean, Aegaean, Asia Minor, Persia, North Africa, 
Arabia, etc.

There is a fun series of television programs created by cable companies 
like Discovery Channel or History Channel about what it's like to use 
medieval weapons and armor, which gets re-shown from time to time. They 
took a group of people including modern mounted police, fire fighters, 
soldiers, etc., and trained them to get around, ride horses and fight in 
armor. Fun to watch, and gives some good perspective on some of these 
questions.

PvK
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