More Armor Musings

Previously, I mentioned that I sold my brigandine and was not entirely satisfied with my current alternatives for heavy armor.

My Kit Goals

What am I looking for? Well, I have two kits in mind.

"Good Guy" Armor

The first is armor when I'm playing a member of the Chimera Legion, the good guys of our campaign. The Chimera Legion is based on infantry from the Roman and Byzantine Empires, so I want something with that vibe.

Here is my Holy Grail, Byzantine lamellar with pteruges (the leather straps protecting the lower torso and upper legs).

"Bad Guy" Armor

I also want a set for playing the death knight (pictured) or other yet-to-be determined baddies. My old brigandine, seen here, was perfect for this!

Options

What are my options? Here are some of the armors I've recently investigated.

Leather Lorica?

I toyed with the idea of leather lorica segmentata, available from many sources on Etsy and elsewhere.

It certainly has that Roman vibe, and I like that it opens in the front. But it doesn't really have that bad guy look.

Brigandine Substitutes?

I thought of replacing the lamellar with brigandine. I think it should look good.

I don't want a real brig, however, because I don't want the weight of steel. Thus, I prefer a brig substitute that dispenses with heavy plates.

One option is plastic. Pavel Burlakov, who made the above armor, offers brigs with plastic plates. He has both short brigs, which I can pair with pteruges, or long that don't need pteruges. 

There is one problem. Plastic plates are not legal for Belegarth and I would like to cross-game.

Steel Mastery has a similar brig using foam plates. It would only count as soft armor in WotS and would not be legal in Bel.

I contacted Steel Mastery about getting one of their kits without plates, then creating leather plates as replacements. This would be Bel and WotS legal. But it seems like a lot of work.

Covered Leather?

This is my latest idea. Use a standard leather cuirass and cover with a good guy or bad guy tabard, depending on what I'm playing at the moment.

The cuirass can be simple, like this.

They also offer it in black leather, which would work best for "bad guy" armor. 

I don't like the straps attaching in back, but I can rejig the strips to buckle in front.

For good guys, I may get a tabard and stud it with rivets to give a fake brig look. Here is a tabard. A bit long for me but I can cut it down and hem it.

I also really like the look of this leather jerkin. Nice, but expensive.

Upper Legs

Unfortunately, the above armor pieces leave my lower torso and upper legs exposed. I'd really like to get pteruges. I want to splurge on this.

This battle skirt is expensive, but it's the only one I found with 2 layers of pteruges and has full coverage around the entire body.

Latest Plan

Right now I think I'll get the leather cuirass in black with a red tabard to cover it when I play a legionary.

 The pteruges and jerkin are potential future purchases.

A Savior is Born!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2: 8-11 NIV) 

Merry Christmas to one and all! 

Armor Musings

It's been a while since I posted on this blog. In the interim, I've been posting game reports and lore on the Annals of Elzwhen.

I'm posting here because this topic is personal in nature and not directly related to the Chimera Legion campaign.

My Brigandine
The impetus for this post is this armor. It is a faux brigandine.

In reality, a brigandine is a leather or cloth shell with steel plates riveted to the inside. This armor, however, dispenses with the plates. Thus, it looks like brigandine but with a fraction of the weight.

This was my favorite body armor. I like it because

• It is thick enough to count as heavy armor in Way of the Sword (WotS)
• Yet, it is also flexible and easy to put on by myself.

I say "was" my favorite because I recently sold it. Despite being much lighter than a real brig, its weight has begun to be too much for me. Last time I wore it I became visibly fatigued. My wife insisted I retire it, and I concurred.

Replacements
I have some armor that could serve as adequate replacements for heavy armor.

Here is my plate cuirass.

It is made of polyurethane so it is much lighter than my brig (4 pounds vs. 7.5). Unfortunately, it has a couple of issues:

• The straps buckle on the side so are hard to put on by myself
• It is rigid so I cannot bend while wearing it

I fixed the first issue by rejigging the straps so I can buckle them in front. But the second is still a problem.

Another contender is this lamellar, made with plastic plates.

It is more flexible but it is heavier (6 pounds). I'm trying to reduce weight.

I also have a couple of gambesons (padded armor). Here's one of them.

They're light and flexible, but don't count as heavy armor. I want to maximize my armor points.

As you can see, I'm not completely satisfied with my current inventory.

What's Next?

I'm on the hunt for a replacement for my brig. I have a few contenders, but I will save them for another post. Stay tuned!