Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I've been playing around with the armour creation system in Low-Tech this morning and trying to come up with some historically accurate loadouts.

Please bear in mind that I'm not an expert on historical armour by any means and that this is the first time I've tried using the system, so there is a good chance that there are some mistakes...


High Medieval Knight (around 1200 AD)

Hauberk - covers Torso, Arms and Thighs with Heavy Mail (DR 5/3*), $2,340, 35.1 lbs.
Mail Coif of Fine Mail (DR 4/2*), $270, 4.5 lbs.
Arming Cap - Coif of Padded Cloth (DR 1*), $15, 1.8 lbs.
Flat-Topped Full Helm of Light Plate (DR 3), $240, 2.9 lbs.
Mittons - cover Hands with Fine Mail (DR 4/2*), $90, 1.5 lbs.
Chausses - cover Legs and Feet with Light Mail (DR 3/1*), $550, 13.2 lbs.

TOTAL: $3,505, 59 lbs.

This is the classic 'crusader knight' look - head-to-toe mail topped off with a simple barrel helm. The weight and cost seem to be in the right ballpark for a heavy cavalryman and the entire body is reasonably protected against arrows, spears and swords. I'm not sure about the helm; I don't know what thickness of plate would really be appropriate or if it should be considered fluted.

The coif was also a bit confusing; from my brief research, it seems that a hauberk of this era would frequently include the hood built in to the coat and possibly also have a vantail. I'm also not sure if it would be historically accurate to vary the type of mail in different areas of the hauberk; it seems logical that you would need less protection from the skirt, since it overlaps with the chausses. I understand that the chausses usually included a leather sole rather than covering the entire foot, but I priced them as all-over mail.


Later Medieval Knight (around 1350 AD)

Haubergeon - covers Torso, Shoulders and Upper Arms with Light Mail (DR 3/1*), $600, 14.4 lbs.
Coat of Plates - covers Torso with Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4), $900, 24 lbs.
Single Piece Bascinet of Medium Plate (DR 6), $6,250, 3.8 lbs.
Visor of Light Plate (DR 3), $250, 2 lbs.
Aventail of Fine Mail (DR 4/2*), $45, 0.8 lbs.
Arming Cap - Coif of Padded Cloth (DR 1*), $15, 1.8 lbs.
Chausses - cover Legs and Feet (10%) with Light Mail (DR 3/1*), $550, 13.2 lbs.
Gamboised Cuisses - cover Thighs with Padded Cloth (DR 1*), $22.50, 2.7 lbs.
Poleyns - cover Knees with Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4), $45, 1.2 lbs.
Schynbalds - cover front of Shins with Light Plate (DR 3), $250, 2 lbs.
Spaulders, Couters and Vambraces - cover the Arms with Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4), $450, 12 lbs.
Gauntlets - cover the Hands with Light Segmented Plate (DR 3), $60, 1.6 lbs.

TOTAL: $9,437.50, 79.5 lbs.

This is the 'transitional armour' of the 14th century, consisting of various types of plate over mail.

Again, I had a lot of issues with the head protection. Single-piece helmets seem to be really expensive for the limited weight savings they offer, but I'm fairly sure that bascinets of this era should be single-piece, although the visors often seem to have been made from several smaller plates.

The terminology and placement of the plates covering the arms was a bit confusing to me. As far as I can tell, the vambraces cover the forearm, the couters cover the elbow and tuck under the edge of the haubergeon's sleeves and the spaulders go over the top of the haubergeon covering the upper arm and shoulder. I was also a bit uncertain if metal plates or hardened and/or reinforced leather were more appropriate.

I wasn't sure if the cuisses were appropriate, or even exactly what they are or how they are worn (as far as I can tell, they were heavily padded crotchless shorts worn over the chausses), but the thighs seemed to be a bit weakly protected without anything overlapping them, so I added them.

Overall, the weight and cost seem rather high (the cost mostly as a consequence of the hugely expensive single-piece helmet) and the -1 DX for layering armour is pretty nasty, but I guess that's why people changed to less cumbersome plate as soon as it was available.

I'd appreciate any feedback on these and if anyone else has any armour sets they have made, please feel free to post them too...

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Cool. I hope to see a ton of posts like this. A Pyramid article, if not another companion, would be cool too.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

This kind of loadout won't appear in a "Companion" - they're either gameworld specific, or culture/era specific. This is one of the reasons why more like this didn't appear in Low Tech - the other big reason of course being "dear god our pagecount, what would we cut?" ;)

The difference between what a 10th century frankish knight would wear and a 15th century teutonic knight would wear almost fades into the background when you compare either to what the 15th century jaguar knight from Technochtitlan is wearing (and he doesn't look much like the also-TL-1-ish Sumerian warrior).

A Pyramid article on a specific culture/era combination would work, or a larger Loadouts PDF covering either one culture in a number of eras, or a number of related cultures in a single era would work too.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Alan Williams has published a sample of great helms (aka. barrel helms) dating around the 14th century. They range from 2.25 to 5.2 kg in mass. The lighter ones might lean towards battlefield use, and the heavier ones to tournaments, but the special jousting great helms of the 15th century are even heavier.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

A couple of things to keep in mind vis-a-vis real armour vs GURPS game armour (pretty well illustrated by the range of weights you've got for those helmets)

1) Real armor is made for real people, who come in many different sizes and shapes. In reality, this changes the amount of material you need to make the armour, and therefore changes the cost and weight.

In GURPS, everyone that's the same species and Size Modifier and is not Overweight, Fat or Skinny wears armour that weighs and costs the same. It may not fit everyone, but it doesn't change the cost or weight at all.

This is an obvious simplification from reality for game purposes.

It also means that there's a lot of difficulty in comparing random pieces of armor to their gurps archetype.

2) Real armour isn't made to a standard thickness or identical design, even for two contemporary pieces made by the same armourer for two clients of identical size and proportions. A little more wiggle room here or less wiggle room there or a +/- 0.1 mm difference in thickness may not impact GURPS statistics but it'll change weight. But a random sampling of helms over a 150 year period will show way more difference in thickness and design than that, as the fashion changes! Some will be DR 5, some will be DR 6, some will be DR 7.

3) Real historical armour is VERY variable in the way it's been treated over the last 300+ years. One piece that's been polished every day will have been worn thinner than another piece that sat in a box of grease in a cupboard for 100 years and the third that's corroded will have picked up oxygen atoms and weigh more and the fourth that's corroded and crumbled a bit will weigh LESS and never mind repairs and inept victorian "restoration".

These are most of the reasons why creating "real armor weights" has been so very hard, and subject to so much argument.

A fourth reason is shown by your using the term "Great helm" and "barrel helm" interchangeably. GURPS goes with the definition of "Great helm" which is "A big extra helmet that goes over your normal helmet, mostly used only for jousting, and sometimes was even bolted onto your torso armor" - which is pretty clearly not a "barrel helm", but two different historians maintaining a museum catalog might have had different definitions of a "great helm" - one using it as a synonym for "barrel helm" and the other using it in the sense that the Low Tech authors went with. Definitions changed over time and between regions and languages.

It's very frustrating.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Here's another one...

Late Medieval Knight in Full Plate (around 1450 AD)

Bascinet of Heavy Plate (DR 9) with Fluting, $5,000, 7.2 lbs.
Visor of Medium Plate (DR 6) with Fluting, $3,125, 4.5 lbs
Gorget of Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4), $45, 1.2 lbs.
Cuirass - Heavy Plate (DR 9) with Fluting on front of chest, Medium Plate (DR 6) on the back, $8.437.50, 18.3 lbs.
Pauldrons and Rebraces - Heavy Segmented Plate (DR 5) on shoulders and upper arms, $240, 6.4 lbs.
Cowters - Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4) on elbows, $45, 1.2 lbs.
Vambraces - Medium Plate (DR 6) on forearms, $625, 5 lbs.
Gauntlets - Light Segmented Plate (DR 3) on hands, $100, 0.8 lbs.
Faulds and Culets - Medium Segmented Plate (DR 4) on abdomen and thighs, $630, 16.8 lbs.
Codpiece - Light Plate (DR 3) on groin, $50, 0.4 lbs.
Plate Cuisse - Light Plate (DR 3) on front of thighs, $225, 1.8 lbs.
Poleyns - Heavy Segmented Plate (DR 5) on knees, $60, 1.6 lbs.
Greaves - Medium Plate (DR 6) on shins, $1,250, 10 lbs.
Sabatons - Light Segmented Plate (DR 3) on feet, $60, 1.6 lbs.

TOTAL: $19,892.50, 76.8 lbs.

This is pretty much the hollywood image of a knight in shining armour, from the last days of heavy shock cavalry.

I wasn't sure if the armour should use hardened steel or not. In the end I decided against it on the basis that the cost was already frightening enough; hardened steel would triple the price.

Exactly what grade of armour to use on which body part was mostly a matter of guesswork. I knew that the chest would probably be the strongest and guessed that the skull would also be well protected, then worked my way down from there. The end result is a rather messy mix of different DRs, but that seems to be fairly standard with this system.

The main weak point I think could possibly do with up-armouring is the abdomen, since DR 4 could well end up getting carved open with a sword or stuck through with a spear. Maybe increasing the protection granted by the faulds to the abdomen and decreasing that given to the thighs would be the way to go, but I'm not really sure how realistic that is.

The gauntlets and sabatons are rather vulnerable, but I think it's probably realistic that the amount of armour you can put on hands and feet before you have problems is going to be very limited.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Looks pretty good. You forgot the arming doublet. Did you include padding for the helmet? Cost looks about right. It would take more than a year's wages for a mercenary to afford something like this. Using the new Edge Protection rules you'd be practically immune to sword cuts in this suit, which is the way it should be.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Yes, I did.
No, I didn't... which raises a question. Do helmets include any padding in their base cost, like other armour, or are they considered to be unpadded unless you buy the extra padding? Also, the padding for the Full Helm seems to include padding across the face, which seems somewhat impractical.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Yet another one...

Kamakura period Samurai (about 1250 AD)

Dō-maru (body armour) - covers torso and thighs. Front is medium lamellar (DR 4), back is medium hardened leather (DR 2), $489.38, 31.2 lbs.
Kabuto (helmet) - medium plate (DR 6) pot helm with crest and cloth padding (+1 DR). $530, 6.2 lbs.
Shikoro (neck guard) - medium segmented plate (DR 4) lobsterback. $27, 0.7 lbs.
Sune-ate (shin guards) - medium hardened leather (DR 2) covering the front of the shins. $31.25, 3.8 lbs.
Arm guards - medium hardened leather (DR 2) covering the forearms. $31.25, 3.8 lbs.

TOTAL: $1108.88, 45.7 lbs.

I'm even less familiar with samurai equipment than I am with medieval knights', so there is almost certainly something wrong in the above.

I think this would be appropriate for a relatively poor samurai (it's a lot less expensive than his euopean counterpart's gear, for example). The wealthier ones seem to have had solid plate body armour, metal limb armour and fancy masks.

I'm very vague about exactly what arm protection samurai had. Illustrations and reconstructions seem to generally show some kind of vambrace covering the outer surface of the forearms and sometimes small plates attached to the elbows, upper arms and shoulders. It isn't clear to me which of these are decorative and which actually could offer substantial protection.

I'm also unsure what kind of padding samurai wore under their armour. Illustrations seem to show very bulky trousers and sleeves which sould easily have room for quite a bit of quilted fabric. The padded cap under the helmet is simply a guess, but seems likely.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Most armour has padding included because it is not heavy enough to give additional DR. Helmet padding has Dr 1 and so is treated separately. None of the helmet stats include padding, but padding stats should be listed in the description of each helmet. No layering penalty for helmets and I'd waive the penalty for neck armour too.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Neck armor (layered or not) is prone to restricting head motion, but there aren't very many DX-based tasks involving the head and neck anyway; the major effect would tend to behave like No Peripheral Vision.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Add a Light Mail skirt underneath; it seems to have been commonly done...

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Here's typical late medieval field plate base on Dan Howard's pre-Low-Tech suggestions: http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...86&postcount=8

Field Plate Armor
DR 7 Steel Bascinet with Visor Wt. 7.5 $937.5
+1 DR Helmet Padding Wt. 1.5 $12.50
DR 6 Segmented Plate Gorget Wt. 2 $75
DR 7 Breastplate Wt. 9 $1,125
DR 6 Back Plate Wt. 7.5 $937.5
DR 6 Segmented Plate Fauld and Tasset Wt. 10 $375
Arming Doublet Wt. 3 $160
DR 6 Plate Arms (Pauldron, Rerebrace, Couter, and Vambrace) Wt. 10 $1,250
DR 4 Segmented Plate Gauntlets Wt. 2.4 $90
DR 6 Plate Legs (Cuisse, Poleyn, and Greave) Wt. 20 $2,500
DR 4 Segmented Plate Sollerets Wt. 2.4 $90
75.3 lbs $7,552.5

Add a cod piece if fighting on foot!

For simplicity's sake in my own game, I'll likely combine all the torso armor into a single DR 7 piece (Wt. 24, $3000) and trust to the chinks and gaps rules to represent the incomplete protection, assuming a light mail skirt as part of the arming coat.

PS
By "typical field plate" I do not mean historically. I mean for my campaign (which started based on GURPS 3ed). I'll likely add some tailoring to the gauntlets and sollerets to bring the weight down as this loadout is still slightly over most historic examples I've read of.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

If you stack a helmet on top of a mail coif, you only need to pad the coif, right?

I presume that you can take coif padding under a smaller helmet to get DR 1* on your neck and that this would actualy be fairly common for medieval troops.

Some historical helmets were worn without padding, weren't they? I seem to recall tight fitting steel skullcaps being worn under hats and wigs. Would there be any penalty for that?

I assume that you can make leather and fabric 'helmets' to represent exceptionally sturdy hats and other protective headgear and that most of them wouldn't require padding.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Low-Tech doesn't care. You can have a helmet without padding if you want.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Well, it does care - as you don't get teh +1* DR from the padding. That's a pretty good penalty right there.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Head Butt comes to mind, but that's about it. And you really want to be able to do this if going corps-á-corps with your greatsword against another knight...of course he'd also be weaping a greathelm, so maybe not. ;)

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

El KaBONG!! It would be funny to watch, but suggest we need blunt force trauma for even rigid armors under certain circumstances.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Here's a loadout which isn't historically accurate at all...

Fantasy Female Fighter

Armoured Corset and Miniskirt - covers abdomen with reinforced light layered leather (DR 2*/3* vs. cut). $37.50, 4.7 lbs.
Busty Breast Plate - covers front of chest with light plate (DR 3). $375.00, 3 lbs.
Collar and Pauldrons - covers neck with medium hardened leather (DR 2) and shoulders (with medium segmented plate (DR 4). $96.25, 3.2 lbs
Arm Banding - covers one upper arm, elbow and forearm with light segmented plate (DR 3). $120.00, 3.2 lbs.
Bracer - covers one forearm with medium hardened leather (DR 2). $15.63, 1.9 lbs.
High Boots - covers knees, shins and feet with light layered leather (DR 2*). $78.00, 9.8 lbs.
Knee Guard - covers one knee with light segmented plate (DR 3). $15.00, 0.4 lbs.
Armoured Tiara - covers front of skull with light plate (DR 3). $100, 0.8 lbs.

TOTAL: $837.38, 27 lbs.

This is a fairly restrained version of the kind of armour seen on women in fantasy art. It doesn't have a plunging neckline or exposed midrift, although it does show quite a bit of skin, with the thighs, half an arm, the upper back and the face exposed to the elements. In keeping with genre conventions, it's asymetrical and features a lot of different kinds of armour, probably held together by a bewildering assortment of straps.

I'd actually consider this to be moderately good armour for a lightly equipped fantasy adventurer. It offers significant protection against small to medium animals (who typically do around 1d-2 cutting), gives some chance of surviving a dagger or spear thrust, concentrates protection on the most important areas (the front torso, weapon arm and front skull) and fits in a reasonable budget and weight allowance.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Tōseigusoku, Sengoku-Period Samurai Armor (Late 16th Century, TL4)

$3,439.8125, 40.7075 lbs. (I couldn't find how I should round up or down a fractional cost and weight.)

In the Sengoku (Warring States) period, the emergence of black powder weapons and organized mass combat drove samurai to invent the tōseigusoku (lit. "modern armor" -- this type of armor was "modern" from the viewpoint of people at that time) like this. Unlike the earlier-era ōyoroi, it utilized a lot of plates instead of scales. Most notable was dō, composed of two relatively simple armor plates (front and back) hinged each other, which rapidly replaced the older dōmaru. It was lighter and easier to make than ōyoroi. Below is an example of full suit of tōseigusoku for fairly rich samurai. In fact, "tōseigusoku" is the catch-all term for sengoku- or later-period samurai armor, so there were many other types of construction in reality.

Components

Kabuto (helmet): Medium plate bascinet and cloth padding. Protects skull from all directions and face from the back. DR 7, $637.5, 6.5 lbs. (Often ornamented with one or more tatemono, or crests and plumes.)

Mempō (face guard): Visor with perforations. Combined with the helmet, it protects face from the front. DR 6, $156.25, 1.25 lbs.

Shikoro (back neck guard): Medium segmented plate lobsterback. Attached on the helmet. Protects neck from the back. DR 4, $27, 0.72 lbs.

Nodowa (front neck guard): Medium scale gorget for front half. Attached on the body armor. Protects neck from the front. DR 4 (-1 vs. cr), $13.75, 0.7 lbs.

Dō (body armor): Medium plate the on front and light plate on the back. Protects chest. DR 6/3 on front/back, $1312.5, 10.5 lbs.

Kusazuri (lower body armor): Light segmented plate. Protects abdomen. DR 3, $150, 4 lbs.

Tōseisode (upper arm guards): Light segmented plate. Protects shoulders, upper arms, and elbows. DR 3, $150, 4 lbs.

Kote (forearm guards): Light plate. Protects forearms. DR 3, $250, 2 lbs.

Tekkō (hand guards): Light segmented plate. Protects hands. DR 3, $60, 1.6 lbs.

Haidate (thigh guards): Light segmented plate. Protects thighs and knees from the front. DR 3, $150, 4 lbs.

Suneate (shin guards): Light plate. Protects shins. DR 3, $500, 4 lbs.

Kōgake (topside foot guards): Medium hardened leather, splinted. Protects feet from the topside. DR 2 (+1 vs. cut), $7.8125, 0.9375 lbs.

Waraji (sandals): Sandals. Protects feet from the underside. DR 1, $25, 0.5 lb.

I'm not a trained historian, so I can't guarantee that the stats above are historically correct.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Yes. Some loadouts like these would be a great thing to have in sourcebooks like the upcoming GURPS Crusades.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

You've inspired me.

Fantasy Male Barbarian

Impossibly Protective* Fur Vest (treat as Medium Leather, torso); $100, 12 lbs. DR 2*, 1* vs imp.
One Modest** Medium Bronze Plate Pauldron (Right or Left shoulder only); $125, 1 lb. DR 6
Light Bronze Plate Armbands (protecting the upper arms); $400, 0.8 lbs. DR 3
Medium Hardened Leather Bracers (protecting the forarms); $31.25, 3.75 lbs. DR 2
Fine Mail† Speedo (provides general modesty, but protects Front Groin only); $22.5, 0.375 lbs. DR 4F*, 2F* vs crushing.
Light Bronze Plate Greaves (Front Shins only); $1000, 2 lbs. DR 3F
Cloth Wrap Boots With Optional Fur Trim (Padded Cloth, Feet and Shins), $30, 3.6 lbs. DR 1*

Total is 25.525 lbs

Helmet (including padding) is $210, 2.8 lbs, DR 4
Horny Helmet (including padding) is $230, 3.8 lbs, DR 4, and falls under the Plumes and Crests rule from Low Tech p 113.

* Piled furs should be light leather, basically just winter clothing. Assume the fur of D&D style dire bears or the like, which if treated like proper leather would be Heavy Leather instead of Medium Fur.

** Modest in design. This is a simple cap over the shoulder, albeit a heavily constructed one, not the architectural wonders you get in World of Warcraft. For the amazingly out-of-control plate pauldrons in Warcraft, go nuts with styling and design options, and make it out of the heaviest plate you can talk your GM into. Then enchant it until it's radioactive.

† Evil Barbarian version replaces Fine Mail with a Spiked Light Plate codpiece.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Isn't this better done with the options from Fantasy Tech? It's ahistorical anyway.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Man, four sig figs after the decimal place is probably a bit much. Call it $3,326.56 and 42.54 lbs. Or heck, $3,325 and 42.5 lbs.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

This. GURPS doesn't actually much care about change or less than 1/2 lbs.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I agree. Eight digits for cost and six for mass are clearly excessive -- it's more like precision science than gaming! However, unfortunately, we don't have rules on how we should round fractional weights and costs. Just like p. B9 (the Rounding section), there should have been short guidelines about rounding numbers somewhere in Low-Tech.

Actually, GURPS does care. Even Basic Set has the 0.25-lb dagger, 2.1-lb pistol, 0.05-lb sling bullets, etc.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I believe there are stats in Low-Tech for horns and that it was not unknown in real Bronze Age history.

It is ahistorical for Vikings, yes, but we are not the only culture in the world.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

But isn't that what you mean when you attend an althing?

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I'm looking for the 'Like' button.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Cultures have put horns and antlers on their helmets - bronze age Celts for one, various middle eastern societies for others, and I think the "Heroic" era Greeks got up to it every now and then. It's just the vikings and many other iron-age societies that didn't, possibly because they'd learned about the downsides.

Mr Male Fantasy Barbarian isn't a viking, though. He comes from the nebulous world of Fantasy Barbarians, and this particular one is clad in (some) bronze armor, so bronze age decorations on his helmet fit in.

I was aiming at All Low Tech Rules All The Time because the theme for the thread seemed to be Low Tech Loadouts specifically ;) That's also why he's wearing cloth foot armor instead of "Boots" from the Basic Set.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

What's an althing?

The institute is Alþingi (or Althingi for those of you with imperfect keyboards), and you go to þing.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Wikipedia has it spelled Althing as well.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Obviously whoever wrote that had an imperfect keyboard.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I meant that since mighty thewed fantasy barbarians of that sort are ahistorical, you might as well give him horns that do something cool.

I'd think that Fantasy Tech is more directly compatible with Low-Tech, isn't it?

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Fantasy Tech could be described like "Ethnic Badass Low-Tech".

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

-- on ice.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Some classical armour...

Wealthy Hoplite

Corinthian Helmet - single-piece full helm of light bronze plate (DR 3). $3,900.00, 1.8 lbs.
Padded Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Muscled Corslet - covers chest with medium bronze plate (DR 6). $7,500.00, 15 lbs.
Pteruges - cover abdomen and shoulders with light layered leather (DR 2*). $42.00, 5.3 lbs.
Greaves - cover shins and knees with light bronze plate (DR 3). $2,200.00, 4.4 lbs.

TOTAL: $13,652.00, 27.7 lbs.


Poorer Hoplite

Chalcidian Helmet - light bronze plate (DR 3) pot helm, with nasal and cheek guards, plus crest. $940.00, 2.8 lbs.
Padded Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Linothorax - covers torso with medium layered cloth (DR 3). $350.00, 20 lbs.

TOTAL: $1,200.00, 24 lbs.


Persian Infantryman

Felt Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Scale Corslet - covers torso in light scale (DR 3). $320.00. 16 lbs.

TOTAL: $330.00, 17.2 lbs.


Persian Heavy Cavalryman

Helmet - light bronze plate (DR 3) pot helm with cheek guards, plus crest. $900.00, 2.8 lbs.
Padded Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Scale Coreslet - covers chest in medium bronze scale (DR 4). $1,650.00, 21 lbs.
Pteruges - covers abdomen with light layered leather (DR 2*). $30.00, 3.8 lbs.
Leg Guards - cover legs with light bronze scale (DR 3). $1,280.00, 16 lbs.
Bracer - covers left forearm with light layered leather (DR 2*). $15.00, 1.9 lbs.

TOTAL: $3,885.00, 46.7 lbs.


Early Roman Legionary

Montefortino Helmet - light bronze plate (DR 3) pot helm with cheek guards, plus crest. $900.00, 2.8 lbs.
Padded Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Lorica Hamata - covers torso with heavy mail (DR 5*/3*). $1,200.00, 18 lbs.

TOTAL: $2,110.00, 22 lbs.


Roman Cavalryman

Helmet - medium plate (DR 6) pot helm with cheek guards, plus crest. $570.00, 5.4 lbs.
Padded Cap - covers skull with padded cloth (DR 1*). $10.00, 1.2 lbs.
Lorica Squamata - covers chest with heavy scale (DR 5). $825.00, 30 lbs.
Pteruges - cover abdomen and shoulders with light layered leather (DR 2*). $42.00, 5.3 lbs.

TOTAL: $1,447.00, 41.9 lbs.


Late Roman Heavy Cavalryman (Clibanarii)

Helmet - light bronze plate (DR 3) bascinet with visor. $1,250.00, 2.5 lbs.
Padded Hood - padded cloth (DR 1*) coif. $15.00, 1.8 lbs.
Squamata - medium scale (DR 4) covering the torso. $550.00, 28 lbs.
Hamata - fine mail (DR 4*/2*) covering the shoulders, elbows, hands, knees and feet. $360.00, 6 lbs.
Segmenta - medium segmented plate (DR 4) covering the upper arms, forearms, thighs and shins. $1,170.00, 31.2 lbs.

TOTAL: $3,345.00, 69.5 lbs.

Jazerant
 

A jazerant was the most common form of concealed armour. It consisted of a mail shirt sandwiched between layers of light padding. Low-Tech mail stats already include the light padding so all that is needed is the clothing and the concealment mods.

A Fine Mail vest covers the torso, has DR 4/2*, costs $900 and weighs 15 lbs. Long sleeves are half this or $450, 7.5 lbs. Total = $1350, 22.5 lbs. Ordinary clothing for a Status 1 character is 20% CoL or $240. The errata says that Ordinary Clothing should weigh 4 lbs. That's 2.4 lbs for a long-sleeved shirt and 1.6 lbs for long pants. When combined into a jazerant the Combination Gadget rules (p. 14) say that the shirt only weighs 80% or 1.92 lbs. Total 22.5 + 1.92 = 24.42 lbs. Same with cost: $1350 + (0.8 x $240) = $1542.
LT p. 102 says that fine mail's Holdout penalty is normally DR/3 which rounds up to -2. If you want to remove the -2 Holdout penalty then it costs 3 x $1542 or $4,626.

Jazerant (Status 1) with long sleeves: DR 4/2*, $4,626, 24.4 lbs. No Holdout penalty.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

What would be cool is a load out of pretty well as close of replacement to the Basic Set's equipment list as can be made.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

What would you match it by besides type: DR, weight or cost?

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Common availability by TL.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Damage Resistance.

That'd be OK too.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I was inspired to make something that might be useful: loadouts based on the armor in the D20 SRD. Corrections are welcome. It seemed like something fast for a Dungeon Fantasy game.

Padded
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $50.00 6# Torso
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $25.00 3# Arms
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $50.00 6# Legs
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $5.00 0.6# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Pot Helm, Medium Leather, Padding DR 3*/2* imp $30.00 3.6# Skull
$240.00 22.2#

Leather
Leather, Medium DR 2*/1* imp $100.00 12# Torso
Leather, Medium DR 2*/1* imp $50.00 6# Arms
Leather, Medium DR 2*/1* imp $100.00 12# Legs
Leather, Medium DR 2*/1* imp $10.00 1.2# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Pot Helm, Medium Leather, Padding DR 3*/2* imp $30.00 3.6# Skull
$370.00 37.8#

Studded leather
Brigandine, Light DR 3 $900.00 10# Torso
Brigandine, Light DR 3 $450.00 5# Arms
Brigandine, Light DR 3 $900.00 10# Legs
Leather, Medium DR 3 $10.00 1.2# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Pot Helm, Light Brigandine, Padding DR 4 $190.00 3.2# Skull
$2,530.00 32.2#

Chain shirt
Mail, Light DR 3*/1* cr $500.00 12# Torso
Mail, Light DR 3*/1* cr $250.00 6# Arms
Mail, Light DR 3*/1* cr $225.00 5.4# Thighs
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $50.00 6# Legs
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $5.00 0.6# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Pot Helm, Light Plate, Padding DR 4 $210.00 2.8# Skull
$1,320.00 35.8#

Hide
Leather, Heavy DR 3/2 imp $200.00 20# Torso
Leather, Heavy DR 3/2 imp $100.00 10# Arms
Leather, Heavy DR 3/2 imp $200.00 20# Legs
Leather, Heavy DR 3/2 imp $20.00 2# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Pot Helm, Heavy Leather, Padding DR 4/3 imp $50.00 5.2# Skull
$650.00 60.2#

Scale mail
Scale, Light DR 3/2 cr $320.00 16# Torso
Scale, Light DR 3/2 cr $160.00 8# Arms
Scale, Light DR 3/2 cr $320.00 16# Legs
Scale, Light DR 3/2 cr $32.00 1.6# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Bascinet, Light Scale, Padding DR 4/3 cr $92.50 5.5# Skull, Face (back)
$1,004.50 50.1#

Chainmail
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $900.00 15# Torso
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $450.00 7.5# Arms
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $900.00 15# Legs
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $90.00 1.5# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Coif, Fine Mail, Padding DR 5*/3* cr $285.00 6.3# Skull, Face (back), Neck
$2,705.00 48.3#

Breastplate
Plate, Medium DR 6 $1,875.00 15# Chest
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $12.50 1.5# Abdomen
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $25.00 3# Arms
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $50.00 6# Legs
Plate, Light DR 3 $500.00 4# Shins
Cloth, Padded DR 1* $5.00 0.6# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Bascinet, Medium Plate, Padding DR 7 $637.50 6.5# Skull, Face (back)
$3,185.00 39.6#

Splint mail/Banded mail
Mail, Fine (Banded) DR 4* $1,012.50 16.875# Chest
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $225.00 3.75# Abdomen
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $450.00 7.5# Arms
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $900.00 15# Legs
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $90.00 1.5# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Coif, Fine Mail, Padding DR 5*/3* cr $285.00 6.3# Skull, Face (back), Neck
$3,042.50 53.925#

Half-plate
Plate, Medium DR 6 $1,875.00 15# Chest
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $225.00 3.75# Abdomen
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $450.00 15# Arms
Plate, Medium DR 6 $250.00 2# Shoulders
Plate, Medium DR 6 $250.00 2# Upper Arms
Mail, Fine DR 4*/2* cr $900.00 15# Legs
Plate, Medium DR 6 $1,250.00 10# Shins
Mail, Fine DR 4* $90.00 1.5# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Coif, Fine Mail, Padding DR 5*/3* cr $285.00 6.3# Skull, Face (back), Neck
$5,655.00 66.05#

Full plate
Plate, Medium DR 6 $2,500.00 20# Torso
Plate, Medium DR 6 $1,250.00 10# Arms
Plate, Medium DR 6 $2,500.00 20# Legs
Plate, Medium DR 6 $250.00 2# Hands
Boots DR 2 $80.00 3# Feet
Coif, Fine Mail, Padding DR 5*/3* cr $285.00 6.3# Skull, Face (back), Neck
Greathelm, Medium Plate DR 6 $875.00 7# Head
$7,740.00 68.3#

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

In a similar vein, I put together some sets based on general "role" as I have been eyeballing them. I provide two sums - one with just raw cost and weight summed, and one assuming that everything in the set is Fine (as per DF, not per Low Tech various modifiers). I also provide the ST at which this loadout is Light Encumberance, and at which it is No Encumberance at all.


Noncombatant (Scholar, Thief, Wizard...)
Boots DR 2 $12.50 1.5# Feet
Heavy Greatcoat DR 2* $382.50 30.6# Torso, Groin, Arms, Legs, Neck
Leather Gloves DR 2* $36.00 1.5# Hands
Light Plate Pot Helm DR 3 $200.00 1.6# Skull
Pot Helm Padding DR 1* $10.00 1.2# Skull
Total $641.00 36.4# Light Enc@10, No Enc@14
Fine Total $2,564.00 27.3# Light Enc@9, No Enc@12

Light Skirmisher (Cleric, Scout, Swashbuckler...)
Boots DR 2 $12.50 1.5# Feet
Leather Mittens DR 2* $12.00 1.5# Hands
Medium Mail Hauberk DR 4/2* $900.00 15# Torso, Groin
Layered Cloth Sleeves DR 2* $75.00 6# Arms
Layered Cloth Leggings DR 2* $150.00 12# Legs
Leather Stock DR 2* $6.00 0.8# Neck
Light Plate Pot Helm DR 3 $200.00 1.6# Skull
Light Mail Coif DR 3/1* $150.00 3.6# Skull, Neck
Coif Padding DR 1* $15.00 1.8# Skull, Neck
Total $1,520.50 43.8# Light Enc@11, No Enc@15
Fine Total $6,082.00 32.85# Light Enc@10, No Enc@13

Mid Weight Grunt (Cleric, Holy Warrior, Knight…)
Light Sabotons DR 3 $100.00 0.8# Feet
Light Mail Mittens DR 3/1* $50.00 1.2# Hands
Heavy Mail Hauberk DR 5/3* $1,200.00 18# Torso, Groin
Medium Mail Sleeves DR 4/2* $450.00 7.5# Arms
Medium Mail Leggings DR 4/2* $900.00 15# Legs
Light Plate Pot Helm DR 3 $200.00 1.6# Skull
Medium Mail Coif DR 4/2* $270.00 4.5# Skull, Neck
Coif Padding DR 1* $15.00 1.8# Skull, Neck
Total $3,185.00 50.4# Light Enc@12, No Enc@16
Fine Total $12,740.00 37.8# Light Enc@10, No Enc@14

Heavy Weight Grunt (Holy Warrior, Knight…)
Heavy Sabotons DR 6 $250.00 2# Feet
Mail and Plate Gauntlets DR 5/4 $100.00 2# Hands
Medium Brigandine Corselet DR 5 $1,800.00 20# Torso, Groin
Medium Brigandine Sleeves DR 5 $900.00 10# Arms
Medium Brigandine Leggings DR 5 $1,800.00 20# Legs
Light Gorget DR 3 $50.00 0.4# Neck
Full Helm Padding DR 1* $15.00 1.8# Skull, Face
Heavy Plate Full Helm DR 6 $750.00 6# Skull, Face
Total $5,665.00 62.2# Light Enc@13, No Enc@18
Fine Total $22,660.00 46.65# Light Enc@11, No Enc@16

Taaaaank (Brute...)
Heavy Sabotons DR 6 $250.00 2# Feet
Heavy Gauntlets DR 6 $250.00 2# Hands
Heavy Plate Harness DR 9 $4,000.00 32# Torso, Groin
Medium Plate Sleeves DR 6 $1,250.00 10# Arms
Medium Plate Leggings DR 6 $2,500.00 20# Legs
Heavy Gorget DR 6 $125.00 1# Neck
Full Helm Padding DR 1* $15.00 1.8# Skull, Face
Heavy Plate Full Helm DR 6 $750.00 6# Skull, Face
Light Greathelm DR 3 $350.00 2.8# Skull, Face, Neck
Total $9,240.00 75.6# Light Enc@14, No Enc@20
Fine Total $36,960.00 56.7# Light Enc@12, No Enc@17

EDIT: I just realize I renamed almost everything for colour value while working on a DF cut of the equipment list. Hopefully you can figure out what I'm blathering on about. Also relevant is a houserule - all hand armor is Mittens, giving Hamfisted 1. "Gloves" is a +2 CF upgrade that removes the Hamfisted problem, only available on light versions of cloth, leather, and Mail, Light

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

General observation - armor is expensive. PCs with the same starting cash will be crappier armoured. Cheap/Munitions armor should be either pushed aggressively for PCs, or PCs should spend a significant amount of points on wealth, or the game will have lower DRs.

Alternately, when integrating with an existing game, or a game where the "traditional" balance of armor vs other equipment is appropriate (DF, I'm looking at you), slash all armor costs to 75% the listed price, or even 50%.

Mix to taste with "Double or triple cost for hand, foot, and neck armor" if you're trying to passively encourage PCs to build semi-realistic armor sets for themselves.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Armor is also seriously heavy

I know some players who give their character front torso armor only, on the idea it can soak on the most common hit location or force enemies to suffer to hit penalties vs weaker locations, but wont slow them/give dodge penalties/etc

Also if its for DF armor sets, Lighten 25% is practically a requirement

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Compared to the Basic Set, the Low Tech stats are positively featherweight. They compare reasonably well at the plate end to even 4e D&D stats, which are clearly designed on purely gamist principles (+1 AC is +5 pounds and +5 GP. Tidy.)

Getting light armor (With Low Tech) is mostly a matter of Spending More Money. Which means that if you want to encourage that sort of thing, you can either give out More Money in general, or specifically slash armor costs.

Lighten is still a good investment, no arguments there - it's way cheaper for fancy armor than upgrading the armor mundanely.

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

Well, depends on exactly what armor is being looked at

The basic set leather jacket is definitely one of the ultimate examples of DR to weight ratio, its one of the most popular armor choices Ive seen (particularly with Fortify 1 tossed on it)

Re: Low-Tech Armour Loadouts.
 

I've taken a shot at it for the body armor section. All items have DR identical to the Basic Set item unless otherwise noted.



Fur loincloth: not reproducible, closest equivalent is partial winter clothing. Cost & weight uncertain.
Fur tunic: not reproducible, closest equivalent is partial winter clothing. Cost & weight uncertain.

Bronze Breastplate: Bronze light plate +1 heavy, front half chest. $2250, 4.5 lb

Bronze Corselet:
Bronze light plate +2 heavy chest, $6000, 12 lb (no sliding rivets) and
Bronze heavy segmented plate abdomen, $1200, 8 lb

Cloth Armor: Padded Cloth torso, $50, 6

Leather Armor: Medium Hardened Leather torso, $125, 15 lb

Leather Jacket: not reproducible.
Closest performance might be padded cloth arms and torso minus groin. $72.5, 8.7 lb. Or padded cloth arms and chest $62.5, 7.5 lb for a short jacket.
Closest to concept may be partial winter clothing/light leather.

Light Scale Armor: Light scale chest, $240, 12 lb. Has -1 DR vs crushing.

Lorica Segmentata: For actual lorica segmentata, see box on LT 115. To match the Basic Set table entry:
Heavy segmented plate chest, $900, 24 lb

Mail Hauberk: Fine mail torso, $900, 15 lb
Mail Shirt: Fine mail chest, $675, 11.25 lb

Scale Armor: Medium scale torso, $550, 28 lb. Has -1 DR vs crushing.

Double Mail Hauberk: Heavy mail torso, $1200, 18 lb

Heavy Steel Corselet: Not covered at TL3. TL4 version:
Light plate +4 heavy chest, $2250, 18 lb and
Light segmented plate +4 heavy abdomen, $450, 12 lb
It might be appropriate to treat large iron plates at TL3 as cheap, without reduced cost (possibly with increased cost). This would make the chest plate:
Primitive light plate +5 heavy chest, $3000, 21 lb (no sliding rivets)

Steel Breastplate: Light plate +2 heavy, front half chest. $750, 6 lb

Steel Corselet: TL issue as Heavy Steel Corselet. At TL4:
Medium plate chest, $1875, 15 lb and
Light segmented plate +3 heavy abdomen, $375, 10 lb
Possible TL3 chest plate:
Primitive light plate +4 heavy chest, $2250, 18 lb (no sliding rivets)

Steel Laminate Plate: Heavy scale torso, $1,100, 40 lb. (on the bright side, it's TL2, not TL3)

Buff Coat: the neck protection is problematic. Low Tech seems to indicate simple collars don't work for neck protection.
Simple leather buff coat: Medium leather torso and arms, $150, 18 lb. -1 DR vs impaling. Collar would add $5 and .6 lb.
Layered leather buff coat: Light layered leather torso and arms, $180, 22.5 lb. Collar would add $6 and .75 lb.