Armor is a great thing to have if you want to keep all of your character’s blood on the inside. In Shadow Accord, armor takes damage that would otherwise reduce your character’s health.
Once it’s been worn down (that is, once it's been hit for an amount equal to its value), it needs to be repaired by a smith through some roleplay. Smiths can also produce new armor tags; when you make your character, you will be able to spend some of your starting shillings on armor tags if you wish.
In order to make use of those tags, you’ll need to actually wear a piece of costume that represents the armor. You can use up to two armor tags at a time, but they must be different categories (see below).
Armor styles are to be appropriate to the time period of game up to 1499. They also must be appropriate for the setting of the game. The acceptable boundaries are, to the east, the Caspian Sea; on the west, the Atlantic Ocean; and to the south, the Sahara Desert. Anything beyond these areas is considered outside the scope and setting of Shadow Accord.
Deco has final say over whether a costume piece counts as armor, as well as what type of armor it counts as, but most armor is going to fall within one of the three categories from the rulebook fairly easily.
Cured hide, faux leather, quilted fabric, or furs that provides adequate protection against cutting, slashing, and bashing attacks. While the armor does not specifically have to be made from armor-gauge materials, that’s the basic appearance that you should aim for when selecting this type of garb.
Chain mail that looks like metal, regardless of what exact material it’s made of, falls neatly into this category. It also includes things like brigandine, transitional armor, or ringmail, where pieces of metal are incorporated into a cloth or leather base.
Full plates of metal, foam/plastic to realistically represent metal, metal scale, or hardened/boiled leather that covers large portions of the body. A breastplate made of one piece of material that covers the chest and stomach is plate. A set of small plates tied together is transitional and therefore medium armor. Like with light armor, it does not necessarily actually have to be real metal or leather, but it should look like metal plates or leather at a glance.
There are many places that our community members find armor. Here is a brief list that we hope helps:
Please note that Shadow Accord does not promote any of the options, nor are we sponsored or supported by them. These are meant to be vague suggestions, not requirements. Your purchases and purchasing experiences will vary. Be smart when procuring your armor.