[OOC] Sword and Shields - Medieval Warfare

[HazmatMedic]

Well, why bother with armour at all?
If you can somersault in full armour, without it he must be able to double-jump...

Edit : Hang on... What "plate armours" are we thinking about here?

Is it this:

Or this? :

[Slamurai]

HazmatMedic said Hello, and welcome to Swords and Shields! ... Rules ... 3. Keep it realistic ...

[TheSovereignGrave]

I'd assume we're talking about the kind of plate armour that actually exists.

[HazmatMedic]

Or even? :

[Innovative Engimas]

I will describe my armor more so its more informative. Because only my heavy calv and emperpr guard have full plate armor

[Slamurai]

HazmatMedic said
Hang on... What "plate armours" are we thinking about here?

The kind that actually existed, which I think a few of us assumed would be the case - considering the RP was touted as "Medieval Warfare."

[HazmatMedic]

Think about it

The Brute is wearing what I would have called "Plate armour"
Very rigid-looking, bulky and almost entirely full body.

The Papal guard, however, only seems to have plate pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, and a helmet. He also appears to be wearing something under his chest insignia, but I can't quite see what.

And the Captain is wearing a Chestplate, pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, and a helmet. He's very well protected, but it's not all bulky and stiff-looking. I doubt he could duck and weave as easily as someone in lighter armours, but it certainly doesn't seem very obstructive.

[Slamurai]

HazmatMedic said
Think about itThe Brute is wearing what I would have called "Plate armour" Very rigid-looking, bulky and almost entirely full body.The Papal guard, however, only seems to have plate pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, and a helmet. He also appears to be wearing something under his chest insignia, but I can't quite see what.And the Captain is wearing a Chestplate, pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, and a helmet. He's very well protected, but it's not all bulky and stiff-looking. I doubt he could duck and weave as easily as someone in lighter armours, but it certainly doesn't seem very obstructive.

I conclude the misconceptions you have about armor are due to ridiculous fantasy concepts, considering the images you posted. Whoever designed them probably knew very little about the form and function of actual armor of the medieval period.
A full suit of historical medieval armor provided nearly as much agility and freedom of movement as you'd have without it, while protecting the body from the sharp edges of weapons. It combines function and practical form, none of which your fantasy concepts do.

[TheSovereignGrave]

HazmatMedic said
The Brute is wearing what I would have called "Plate armour" Very rigid-looking, bulky and almost entirely full body.

I'm going to assume that's the first image you posted, so I'm going off that assumption. Really the only thing I see that could obstruct mobility is those big shoulder pads, and that looks (at least to me) like something you would never wear in battle. It looks more like the pauldrons of tournament armour. Other than that, there's nothing really to obstruct his movement. The fact that it's full-body actually helps movement; the weight is spread out over the entire body rather than concentrated on one area, so it feels like you're wearing less.

EDIT: Okay, that helmet could be an issue too, but I've never seen a real helmet that looked like that outside of tournament armour.

[HazmatMedic]

Sigh. I guess I just aint cut out for this.

Sorry, gents. I'm out. One of you can GM. I just don't know enough about the time period. If it was Ancient, then maybe, but not Medieval. All my information is from old books and games. Kind of frustrating, but oh well. I might just take a back seat and watch.

[Slamurai]

All it takes is a little research and abandoning misconceptions held by said media.

[TheSovereignGrave]

It's just one little detail dude, it's not something to back out of GMing over...

[HazmatMedic]

Aristo said
All it takes is a little research and abandoning misconceptions held by said media.

Knights in full armour can backflip! How the hell can I GM a balanced and fair game when I know light armour isn't worth crap? Any variety amongst armours will result in defeat! It isn't worth the risk.

TheSovereignGrave said
It's just one little detail dude, it's not something to back out of GMing over...

Pretty big detail, considering the amount of war references in the title. I can't lead a war game when I don't know about the weapons and armour available. If I lead a WW2 era wargame and gave everyone AK-47s, that would be a very large oversight.

[TheSovereignGrave]

Just because you can easily move around in it doesn't mean it's an absolutely perfect armour. It's still really hot, expensive, etc. Plus there are some environments where if an army full of plate armour-wearing warriors were to invade, they'd all end up dead.

[Slamurai]

Men-at-arms who wore "light armor" usually did so because they could not afford a full set - it was costly and usually nobles could only afford them. In the latter middle ages, most infantry had at the least a helmet, some with a breastplate, some with a bit more.

As Grave said, armor is a liability in hot climates - a factor which greatly favored the Muslim armies during the Middle-East Crusades.

There are plenty of sources out there on medieval warfare, and it doesn't take a lot to put together a coherent picture of what it was like. Course, there are differences depending on what era you're looking at. A knight in the 12th century is very different from a knight in the 14th century.

[Innovative Engimas]

Guys if your game I will remake this if you want. With possibly a trait system.

[Slamurai]

HazmatMedic said
Knights in full armour can backflip! How the hell can I GM a balanced and fair game when I know light armour isn't worth crap? Any variety amongst armours will result in defeat! It isn't worth the risk.

Full armor isn't always an automatic win. Take the Battle of Halmyros, for example. The Frankish Greek knights were defeated by the lightly-armored Catalan Company. The knights were bogged by the wet ground in between them, flooded by the mercenaries. This greatly reduced the cavalry charge's effectiveness, while the Catalan mercenaries were able to whittle them down with missiles and fight them while disadvantaged. All while wearing relatively little in the way of protection compared to their adversaries.

Tactics > equipment.

[Slamurai]

Innovative Engimas said
Guys if your game I will remake this if you want. With possibly a trait system.

I'd be down, but I'd want to see the trait system beforehand.

[Mista Slaya]

I think you've got a good idea Hazmat, just research a little more about the time period and you'll be fine. You shouldn't give up just because of one detail.

[So Boerd]

I am game for either