Re: Armour Talents

[raito@raito.com]

Well, it looks like the list gods have decided to actually send me
messages again.

You guys do know that Runequest was written by guys who'd seen SCA combat,
right?

Remember that the hauberk circa 1200 was also worn by a person whose
primary mode of movement was the horse. Having done that, I find that
everything below the waist is not weighing down the shoulders.

Also a fun fact: a hauberk for someone 6', 195lbs. made of 14 gauge fence
wire and 5/16" ID rings weighs 55 lbs. I know because I made one, in my
youth.

Period mail is much, much lighter. Larger rings, lighter wire. But the
rings are either riveted or solid, which makes the whole much more
protective. Knowing just what period mail weighted is a near impossible
task. Not only does not much of it survive (from the age of mail --
there's later stuff around), but what does survive is suspect in the
weight department because of metal loss. However, a weight of half that
isn't an unreasonable estimate.

> Armor is heavy.  Go to an SCA event and try some on. It tires you out and
> weighs you down.  I real world terms one needs to balance the damage
> protection vs. the loss of agility.  It’s a trade off, and a good one at
> times.

SCA duke here, with 40 years in harness. Plus a bunch of other and varied
experiences.

My current rig is about 45 pounds, which is what the originals I based it
on weigh. Helmet is heaver than period, the rest nominally lighter.

I don't find that my agility is affected by wearing armour, but I've had a
lot of practice. Sure, I can't run as fast, but that's not the same thing.
I can do anything in armour that I can do out of armour, modulo bathroom
use and fine motor skills while wearing gauntlets. I've tested this out by
doing things like wrestling guys who weren't wearing armour. I'm not
slowed down by it.

But I do agree with a couple points raised here.

Point 1: Game systems need consistency, not realism (though more real is
better than less real sometimes). You want real, go join a group that does
armoured combat. And even that won't be real, because we all have to go to
work Monday.

Wearing armour is a skill. I can arm myself at 8 in the morning and take
it off at sundown and not suffer any physical fatigue from wearing the
armour. But I've been at it a long, long time. New guys get out of breath
just walking to the field. And while it doesn't affect my movement, the
new guys don't quite know what to do with themselves.

Neil Gilmore
raito@raito.com