LT Armor: Questions about costs

[TheBrain]

The costs for brigandine armor seem too high to me. For example light brigandine is $900 the same as fine mail. This seems real odd since 1.) Isn't brigandine much less labor intensive to make and 2.) Light brigandine is listed as 10 lbs and fine mail is 15 lbs so it seems that there would also be a lower material cost as well. Perhaps I missed some details in LT or LTC3? Does anyone have an answer?

[DanHoward]

IDHMBWM but IIRC brigandine has a better DR than fine mail. Fine mail is not much good against crushing damage.

[Kalzazz]

Lighter armor is more expensive, the heavier armor is then the cheaper it is, since weight = undesired

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

IDHMBWM but IIRC brigandine has a better DR than fine mail. Fine mail is not much good against crushing damage.

Light Brigandine is DR3, Fine Mail is DR4/2. I'd rather have the latter DR, usually.

Brigandine is clearly the 'superior' armor, in that it has better DR for its weight and higher cost than mail. It's got only very slightly different stats than Plate, in fact.

That usually means that it has worse DR for its cost, unsurprisingly.

[DemiBenson]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Light Brigandine is DR3, Fine Mail is DR4/2. I'd rather have the latter DR, usually.

Brigandine is clearly the 'superior' armor, in that it has better DR for its weight and higher cost than mail. It's got only very slightly different stats than Plate, in fact.

That usually means that it has worse DR for its cost, unsurprisingly.

Basically, the armoring system seems to work like this: if you have the money, you get the most expensive armor for your TL, because it's lighter or offers more protection.

With the caveat that I'm sure Dan Howard knows more about this than I...
It appears that in the age of plate armor, good armor was such a force multiplier that even common foot soldiers were issued some plate.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by ectropy

Basically, the armoring system seems to work like this: if you have the money, you get the most expensive armor for your TL, because it's lighter or offers more protection.

Even if you have infinite money...not necessarily. Actually, almost never since the most expensive armor at TL 2-4 is ridiculously heavy jousting gear, thanks to the Heavy Plate rule.

Heavy Layered Cloth is certainly the king of its TL if you don't mind the weight. The same could be said for Heavy Scale, but the weight at that point is rather extreme.

TL2 gives us the slightly lighter but still very heavy Segmented Plate, and the light but crushing-sensitive Mail, which both have their strong points depending on what you need.

TL3 doesn't have a rival to Segmented Plate for ultra-heavy protection functionality, but Mail and Plates is a very interesting competitor to prior armors.

TL4, at last, gives us the Plate which really does offer the unequivocal best defense/weight ratio at all levels, if you can pay for it. And don't mind the gaps.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by ectropy

It appears that in the age of plate armor, good armor was such a force multiplier that even common foot soldiers were issued some plate.

That was the entire point of factory production of munitions grade armor in the Renaissance.

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

TL3 doesn't have a rival to Segmented Plate for ultra-heavy protection functionality, but Mail and Plates is a very interesting competitor to prior armors.

You can only make this kind of analysis if you ignore regional differences in technology. Plated mail is only really an option in Asia.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That was the entire point of factory production of munitions grade armor in the Renaissance.

I'm not sure, though, that Munitions Plate is the clear right choice for budget-limited armor buyers. Even munitions plate is expensive compared to alternatives.

Though it certainly is the only sensible option if you're trying to make affordable proofed breastplates.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

You can only make this kind of analysis if you ignore regional differences in technology. Plated mail is only really an option in Asia.

I'm aware, and that raises an interesting point in terms of world-building with Low Tech.

However, when talking about 'how the armoring system works' I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that everything is on the table.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That was the entire point of factory production of munitions grade armor in the Renaissance.

You can only make this kind of analysis if you ignore regional differences in technology. Plated mail is only really an option in Asia.

It was popular in Asia (but not China, who didn't use much mail), the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Russia. It seems to have been the preferred armour for most cultures that didn't have access to the advanced plate making centres of Italy and southern Germany.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

It was popular in Asia (but not China, who didn't use much mail), the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Russia.

Aren't all of those (except half of Russia) in Asia?