Jean Chandler

Outdoor or travelling clothes for winter including a coat or heavy jacket provides fairly significant protection.

A coat made of thick felt, which can be worn as under-armor or as stand-alone armor. This is essentially a very primitive type of gambeson, it offers fairly good protection but the armor itself is vulnerable to destruction.

This is a special type of textile armor made of so called “Buff Leather” (buffalo rawhide) over padding, in the form of a long coat with sleeves. These were worn in the 17th century.

Not a coat at all but rather a sleeveless padded doublet of 5-10 layers of linen, fustian, or canvas, quilted with some padding like horse-hair or wool. Primarily intended for use as under-armor, makes the wearing of a mail byrnie or iron corselet much more comfortable and enhances the effectiveness of the armor considerably (+1 to DR of any metal armor). These can also be worn over a byrnie or a cuirass, which has the same effect plus it provides extra protection for the metal armor (this ac

A heavy sleeveless padded doublet consisting of 10-30 layers of linen plus padding such as felt, hemp or horse hair. Contrary to the name this is a sleeveless vest not an actual coat. This type is meant as standalone armor usually for common soldiers, can be fairly effective protection. If worn over a cuirass or byrnie (as it sometimes was) it confers +1 to the DR but Armor Check penalties stack.

A short sleeved quilted / padded garment reaching to the waist.

Another textile armor similar to the aketon, in the form of a long quilted coat with long sleeves and extending to the knees, made of several layers of linen with some kind of filler material like horse hair or felt. Very good quality gambesons would be made of silk (these would rate an additional +1 DR). Like an aketon, a gambeson could be worn under or over mail or plate armor (or both) conferring a +1 DR to any armor which does not already incorporate a gambeson in the description. If worn over armor which already includes a gambeson underneath, the DR and the Armor Check penalty are both cumulative.

A thicker gambeson with up to between 20-30 layers of linen in the most vulnerable areas, and about 10 layers in the areas which need to flex. Fairly stiff and heavy, something like a baseball catchers chest protector, except longer and with sleeves. These were a very popular type of armor particularly in the 14th Century, both as stand-alone protection and to be worn over mail.

Terminology is a little tricky here, while ‘Coat Armor’ is just a vest, the ‘Arming doublet’ is actually a long sleeved coat with some sections of mail embedded to protect weak spots in the armor worn over it. This makes very effective under-armor for plate harness, granting +1 Bypass when worn in conjunction with plate harness (in lieux of a gambeson or aketon). Medium or full armor which incorporates a gambeson can be fitted out with an arming doublet as an alternative for an extra cost, this would confer an additional +1 Bypass (no DR bonus).

A vest of relatively thick but soft leather, like a modern leather jacket. Provides marginal protection.