Leather Armour: Crafted from tanned hides and reinforced with hardened leather plates, leather armour offers a balance of mobility and protection. It consists of layers of supple leather stitched together to form a flexible yet resilient barrier against blades and blunt force. leather armour is favored by adventurers seeking agility and comfort without sacrificing durability.
Furs: Thickly layered furs and pelts of various animals comprise this rudimentary form of protection. Commonly worn by individuals who lack access to more advanced armour options, furs provide some insulation against the elements and limited defense against minor threats.
Studded Leather: A suit of flexible leather adorned with hundreds of metal rivets characterizes studded leather armour. Combining mobility with enhanced protection, this armour variant offers moderate defense against slashing and piercing attacks while allowing for agility in combat situations.
Padded Armour: Layers of cloth and quilted padding form the basis of this armour. While providing minimal protection, padded armour offers flexibility and comfort, making it a popular choice for those seeking lightweight protection without sacrificing mobility.
Chain Mail: Comprising rings of metal interwoven together, chain mail armor is renowned for its durability and flexibility. Worn over a padded undergarment for optimal comfort and protection, chain mail offers a versatile defense against slashing and piercing attacks, making it a popular and affordable choice for adventurers seeking reliable armor. Available in either a suit form, consisting of a tunic and trousers, or a hauberk form, featuring a tunic with a skirt or kilt to protect the legs, chain mail remains a staple in the arsenal of player characters.
Banded Mail: Horizontal bands of metal riveted to a padded leather backing define banded mail armour. With additional sections of chain mail at the joints, this armour provides a balance of flexibility and protection, making it suitable for melee combatants seeking both mobility and defense.
Plate mail: Plate mail armor represents a formidable form of metal armor, consisting of large plates of hard metal crafted to cover the torso, arms, and legs. These plates are expertly attached at the joints to an underlying suit of chain mail, ensuring comprehensive coverage and flexibility in combat. To enhance comfort and protection, plate mail is worn over a padded undergarment, similar to padded armor.
Field Plate: consists of solid pieces of plate armor, fastened together with a variety of complicated sliding parts, hinges, and straps. Small pieces of chain mail are used to cover hard-to-protect joints, such as behind the knees and under the arms. Field plate armor provides greater protection than regular plate mail with a relatively small increase in weight, but must be custom fitted to the wearer; this generally means that a character purchasing this sort of armor must wait at least a full week between placing the order and receiving the finished suit.
Full Plate: Comprising perfectly interlocking plates of metal over a backing of chain mail and padding, full plate armour represents the pinnacle of protective gear. Each suit of full plate must be custom-crafted for an individual wearer, tailored and balanced to fit their specific proportions. Wearing another person's full plate armour is cumbersome and offers limited protection compared to properly fitted gear.
Characters who can use leather armour:
Can use Studded Leather, padded armour, and furs.
Characters who can use chainmail:
Can use padded armour, studded leather.
Characters who can use plate mail:
Can use banded mail, Breastplates and full plate.
Buckler: A small shield designed to be worn on the forearm or held by a single handle to deflect incoming attacks. Typically around a foot in diameter, the buckler provides a modest increase of +1 to the wearer's Armor Class in melee combat but offers no protection against missile fire. Wielders of a buckler can still effectively use two weapons, either attacking with the off-hand weapon or benefiting from the shield's defensive bonus.
Medium Shield: Typically measuring around 3 feet in diameter and often round in shape, though variations exist, the medium shield is a versatile defensive tool. Constructed from metal or wood with leather and metal cladding, it is worn by looping one's arm through a strap and grasping a handle on the shield's backside. Offering a standard +1 bonus to Armor Class against both melee and missile attacks, the medium shield is a common choice for adventurers seeking balanced protection.
Tower Shield: A massive shield towering almost to the height of its wielder, the tower shield comes in various shapes including rectangular, oval, elliptical, or curved. Despite its cumbersome size, it provides formidable defense, offering a +1 bonus to Armor Class in melee combat like a medium shield. However, its superior size grants exceptional protection against missile fire, providing a substantial +3 bonus to Armor Class. Due to its bulk, maneuvering with a tower shield in a dungeon may pose challenges, but its unparalleled defensive capabilities make it a prized asset in battle.
Pavise. A pavise is a massive shield, often rectangular or kite-shaped with a central bulge, that requires both hands to wield effectively. In order to be used effectively, a pavise must be firmly staked into the ground, serving as a protective barrier for marksmen or archers. When set up in this manner, the pavise grants those behind it a significant advantage, providing a +4 bonus to their Armor Class as long as they remain sheltered behind its sturdy frame.
It's important to note that due to its size and weight, a character cannot move the pavise and fire in the same turn.