Goblin Squad Member
|
A study published July 19 [2011] in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that soldiers carrying armour in Medieval times would have been using more than twice the amount of energy had they not been wearing it. This is the first clear experimental evidence of the limitations of wearing Medieval armour on a soldier's performance.
During warfare in the 15th century, soldiers wore steel plate armour, typically weighing 30-50kg. It is thought this may have been a contributing factor in whether an army won or lost a battle.
"We found that carrying this kind of load spread across the body requires a lot more energy than carrying the same weight in a backpack," says lead researcher, Dr Graham Askew from the University of Leeds Faculty of Biological Sciences. "This is because, in a suit of armour, the limbs are loaded with weight, which means it takes more effort to swing them with each stride. If you're wearing a backpack, the weight is all in one place and swinging the limbs is easier."
While anecdotes are fine, and we can quibble about the weight of armors used in the test, they did test the case of worn vs carried armor. Armor on limbs took more energy than carried armor.
The easiest compromise is that armor has the same encumbrance, whether worn or carried.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
Well, I stand corrected, although I still stand by my anecdotal evidence, because my anecdotal evidence involved a thick and heavy yet short-sleeved chainmail shirt, so I wouldn't have had the limb issue. So in a simulationist sense, +0 armor should be LESS encumbering, and +x armor should be MORE encumbering, based on the current art. But that would be silly.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, short/no sleeves might have less effect. I wonder if that is why armor evolved through the rennaissance/age of exploration, shedding leg and arm armor, while keeping breastplate and helmet much longer.
The Chainmail bikini's of the average female avatar in RPG's suddenly make a lot more sense!