Soo Ma Tai wrote:Yes, it's a fantasy game, no we are not changing the rules. They are that way for a reason. Armor needs a disadvantage and that is that it's must weight as much as heavy leather. Now if you can get that to wear like a second skin, do flips etc, great. But for most part the heat and weight confers enough disadvantage to work.
Totally agree...but then at the same time then, shouldn't normal clothes be of equal caliber to period materials? I'm totally just playing Devils advocate here, so I don't relaly want to * anyone off, but it just seems like the one area where we try to impose some sense of "historical limitation" is in armour...
Now, I can understand to make it a disadvantage, except that why does it have to have a disadvantage at all? To make things fair? Well anyone can buy armour can't they? Make it? Craft it, etc...so it's not like we are only letting a certain few use it...everyone can get it if they want it, and since it is a fantasy based game, it seems reasonable that anything should count...in theory...problem is, I think there might end up being a bunch of hella ugly crap on the field if we opened it up to "anything" thus I can see the reasoning for "period materials" due to this....
Here's where I am going with this..
At Chaos, I had my steel chain hauberk, couldn't use it because it was 18 guage and would occasionally pop rings at the armpits..it was re-enactment mail, not historically accurate mail and I didn't care if I lost rings...couldn't use it...
Derian wrote:You can probably do it with 1/4" rings at 18 gauge, but it's going to require a lot of repairs. You should probably go with 7/32" or 3/16" ID.
Totally true....so for history's sake, I can totally understand the limitation...but Bel is a fantasy game, so if it didn't pose any danger (like non-penny round edges and such), and looked really period, then why limit it? Again, just sort of continuing the discussion and playing Devil's advocate here, I have no real problem with the armour rules, but I can see peoples point in not getting the limitations in a fantasy based game somewhat....especially when they don't apply to non-armoured garb...come on...if "medieval fantasy" or "period" applys to armour, let's make it apply to garb...
If it is supposed to provide a disadvantage, it's that "any" armour is a disadvantage over nothing, it's an extra layer... and if someone wants to fight fight fight and get into killer fighting shape to move in armour like others move in clothes, then thats totally up to them and their commitment to train....just seems like:
1) it's a fantasy based game
2) any armour is a disadvantage over clothes
3) and creativity in how to make cool "looking" armour (regardless of materials) should be encouraged, regardless of materials (because of number 1).
Again, just thoughts, not opinions.....