Armor

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.

This is a simple helmet (see Iron Helmet), worn with a heavy gambeson. This heavy gambeson is typically a quilted coat made of 10-30 layers of linen and stuffed with horse hair or felt. The thickness varied on each part of the body, more exposed areas being thicker with more layers, and there may be holes or slits in the armpits to enable movement. Sometimes there was an outer layer of doeskin to make it waterproof, and pitch is also known to be applied for the same reason in at least some areas. Fancier gambesons could be made of better linen or even silk in fewer (8-15) layers. (DR 4 armor check -2, speed 30, cost 50 SP)

The first row (with the high value) represents the protective values of the Helmet, with DR 2, the second value represents the protective value of the Gambeson. See Armor Table Key, Layered armors for more about how this works.

This is a mail hauberk worn over a light gambeson, with a mail coif, mail chausses (leggings) and mail (mitten) gauntlets, and a helmet or helm, and an aketon worn over the mail. The various pieces overlap somewhat which provides extra protection. The hauberk is often reinforced with a second piece of mail either on the chest and / or shoulders.

Cap-a-pied (full coverage) Mail panoply first appeared around the 11th Century AD, peaked in the 12th Century, and remained in use through the 14th. This type of armor was often used during the first Crusade. It was common to also wear a jupon or aketon over the mail armor, as represented here. The helmets worn with this armor often included a partial helmet with a facemask, or alternately in a cavalry context a great-helm worn over a bascinet or a cervelliere. The first row represents the helmet and the thicker parts of the armor where there are usually two layers of mail plus the aketon. The second row represents a single layer of

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.

This is a suit of armor made of pieces of heavy leather similar to saddle leather, and softer leather similar to a leather jacket. Torso and lower limb protection is in the form of harder leather, beneath which a leather coat is worn. This type of armor was not frequently used in Europe but does appear in Central and East Asian steppes where leather was relatively cheap and iron relatively scarce, Mongol light cavalry troops apparently sometimes wore leather armor of this type.

The first row with the high DR represents the protective quality of the helmet, the second row represents the protective quality of the leather armor alone. See Armor Table Key, Layered armors for more about how this works.

This is a full cap-a-pied panoply of heavy Backhterets ‘mail and plate’ armor, worn with padding underneath, and typically including overlapping layers in several areas. Heavier than ordinary Backhterets, this type of armor was popular with the heavy cavalry of the Ottomans, Mughals, and Mamelukes, by the Byzantines and also in Russia and certain parts of Eastern Europe. This was effective though fairly heavy armor, normally worn only by heavy cavalry.

There is quite a bit of variation within this class of armor. Specific types can be anything from fairly simple ‘mirror’ armor to elaborate panoplies of tightly integrated mail and plate armor similar to lamellar (as depicted here), so DR could vary from 7 to 9.

Though this type of armor could be worn by footsoldiers fighting as heavy infantry, it was normally intended for heavy cavalry such as the Ottoman Sipahi.

The first row represents the protective values of the Helmet, or the Backhterets, the second row represents t

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).

Lamellar was by far the most common form of leather armor. This was the most ubiquitous and arguably the most effective form of leather armor used historically. Fairly flexible and relatively good protection. Plus it floats.

The first row represents the protective quality of the Helmet or the lamellar brigandine over the gambeson, the second row represents the protective quality of the gambeson alone. See Armor Table Key, Layered armors for more about how this works.

Also placard, planckart or placate. A component of plate armor, usually iron, shaped to cover the abdomen. It was popular in the 15th and early 16th Centuries.

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