Metal Armor - Studded Leather

[Kamil Blecharczyk]

Studded leather seems to be still weird edge case for being considered metal and afair in 1e you could use special materials for it. I could not find any information how to interpret it for purposes of druids anathema, or shocking grasp. So does it count as metal or not?

I think it would be very useful, if trait was implemented to represent that armor was made out of metal, both to simplify druid and shocking grasp description. It also should be removed by Darkwood and similar materials.

Other edge case question what would be hardness of studded leather? 4 - for leather or 5 - because it has thin iron or steel layer of studs?

[Culach]

I would rule that Studded Leather counts as metal armor, but that is because I suspect that Gygax based his version on a form of Brigandine, which is leather inside and out with metal plates in between, or with cloth replacing the inner layer of leather (the image I linked to is a reproduction based on armor found at Wisby). The Armor that Ned Stark, Robb Stark, and Jon Snow all wear in Game of Thrones are all a variant of this, and as you can see, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that it is 'studded leather' if you had no clue what you were looking at.

I have seen Coats of Plates that used rivets to fasten pieces of leather to an undercoat of leather or cloth, but I would classify that as Leather Armor rather than Studded Leather, there just aren't enough studs to be useful as armor. This is also, considered by some, to be a class of Brigandine armor, particularly when metal plates are used instead of leather.

Personally, I think Hide and what is called Studded Leather should be swapped on the tables and the armor value of the Studded Leather be increased (along with a name change and a new description).

*Edited for clarity

[RazarTuk]

Quote:

Personally, I think Hide and what is called Studded Leather should be swapped on the tables and the armor value of the Studded Leather be increased (along with a name change and a new description).

I have another thread where I did similar, although I had more extensive changes. Like I also removed chain shirt and breastplate, since they feel like piecemeal armor in a non-piecemeal system, combined half plate and full plate, since historical full plate is basically masterwork half plate, and made leather a material, not an armor. So now it goes:

Light: Untreated leather jerkin (new joke option), padded/gambeson (no longer a joke option), leather scale, leather lamellar

Medium: Hide, leather plate, steel scale, steel plate, brigandine

Heavy: Chain mail, plated mail, plate

[Culach]

RazarTuk wrote:

Quote:

Personally, I think Hide and what is called Studded Leather should be swapped on the tables and the armor value of the Studded Leather be increased (along with a name change and a new description).

I have another thread where I did similar, although I had more extensive changes. Like I also removed chain shirt and breastplate, since they feel like piecemeal armor in a non-piecemeal system, combined half plate and full plate, since historical full plate is basically masterwork half plate, and made leather a material, not an armor. So now it goes:

Light: Untreated leather jerkin (new joke option), padded/gambeson (no longer a joke option), leather scale, leather lamellar

Medium: Hide, leather plate, steel scale, steel plate, brigandine

Heavy: Chain mail, plated mail, plate

yup...I replied in that thread too