Paladin Body Armor

Next, I turn to body armor.

The ideal armor for a crusader look would be chainmail. I just don't want to wear chain because of the weight and it messes up any clothes underneath. Sure, I could wear a gambeson, but I want to reduce layers.

Another option is a cuirass. I actually have a plastic one - the Red Dragon knight errant cuirass.

I just find it a bit bulky.

I then started thinking about an armored surcoat, like this. If you look closely, you can see that the surcoat body has squares. These are plates (presumably sewn in).

I could take a surcoat or tabard and rivet plates to the inside. That may not be very versatile, though.

Instead, I thought about a generic, leather, front-opening brigandine. I could always toss a tabard over it.

One issue I've always had with a brigandine is the outer shell. I like the look of cloth brigs, but I don't sew. That drastically limits me. So I finally decided to make the brig entirely from leather. I would use 2-3 oz leather for the outer shell and 8-9 oz leather for the plates. I started pricing it out and had a shock - the 2-3 oz and the 8-9 oz were pricier than 9-10 oz! And I'd have to buy double the amount.

So then I decided to make a faux brigandine using 9-10 oz leather. There would be no plates. I would just make a cuirass and then put a bunch of rivets in it so it looked like brig. Basically, I'm making studded leather.

Now, I need a pattern. There are brig patterns online, like Armour Archive, but they are mostly for the plates. I need one for the outer layer. The outer layer is basically a vest, so I started researching vest patterns.

I found one from Simplicity, The bottom right one seems like it could work.

I ordered the pattern and am waiting for it to arrive.

A Paladin Helmet

As I mentioned, I want an open-faced helmet. There are a few reasons:

• It's easier to see
• It's easier to breathe
• It's easier to wear glasses.

Unfortunately, my Red Dragon sallet does not fit. Otherwise, it would work fine.

I missed out on a nice conical helmet from Norton. I posted this back in 2019. It would be perfect, but Norton no longer sells to the general public.

Wyrmwick has a nut helmet that would also be perfect. But it is large and it ships from England. I'm not sure that I want to shell out the money for something that may not fit.

I thought about the Nordic helmet from Medieval Collectibles/Dark Knight Armory. But it looks more Dark Ages.

Now I’m thinking I could modify this barbarian helmet. I could remove the cheek pieces, sand down the sides so they look less rough, and then repaint it. It is out of stock now

I'm still pondering. Feel free to chime in.

Paladin Kit 2026

 I’ve been down this road before. Once again, I find myself looking into a paladin kit.

Why?

I started ruminating about it after I played the villainous Ser Guy during an event. I kind of like the look. Also, I think the tabard over a shirt is actually cooler than my Legion tunic.

Inspiration

My immediate inspiration for a LARP paladin is a crusader. But this can cover a lot of ground. Let’s look into specifics.

• I’d like an open-faced helmet
• I’d rather not wear metal armor – either chainmail of plate. Plastic or leather is fine.

I used AI to concoct a basic model.

This model wears chainmail, but I’ll discuss substitutes.

I am going to create separate posts to evaluate each component.

• Helmet
• Body Armor
• Arms
• Legs

New Shoes!

I finally picked up some shoes that look better for LARP.

They are chukka boots from Amazon.

They're not authentic but they'll look good enough from several feet away. And they were on sale for $26!

More Enhanced Kits

Following up on the previous post, here are the last few enhanced kits.

Scymatia

Teikoku

Tortuga

Enhanced Kits

Following up on my post about kits for recruits, I am generating Chat GPT images of upgraded kits - basically something to strive towards.

These are the ones I've done so far.

Aridia

Chevalia - knight and ranger options

The Empire

The Isles

Nevora - with and without armor

Palmyra

Rhuunheim

Kits for the Recruit

Back in October, I mentioned a silly project that started with some basic garb using common clothing items. I then went into an armor black hole.

I have returned to the concept of basic garb. I figure with a few modifications someone could fairly easily model the different cultures my LARP. I generated some images in Chat GPT to illustrate the concept.

Basic Kit

Here is a player in a basic kit - t-shirt tunic, sweatpants, belt, and hiking boots.

Regional Variations

Here is how we can take the basic kit and modify it to represent the different cultures.

Aridia - based on the tales of the Arabian Nights. Add a turban, vest, sash, and leg wraps.

Chevalia- based on the tales of the knights of Arthur and Charlemagne. Add a tabard. T-shirt color change is optional.

Aurelia - heartland of our Empire, inspired by Rome. Change the t-shirt color and wear shorter pants. I don't recommend going pants-less.

The Isles - akin to the Scottish Highlands. Swap pants for a kilt.

Nevora - Renaissance and Tudor fashion. A vest, flat cap, and leg wraps convey the image.

Palmyra - based on ancient Egypt. Change the t-shirt color, cut off the sleeves, and wear a white kilt instead of pants.

Rhuunheim - barbarians like the Vikings and ancient Germans. Add a faux fur mantle, leg wraps, and maybe bracers.

Scymatia - inspired by the Slavs of Eastern Europe, especially the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Here we use a bathrobe to represent a zupan. Add a faux fur hat and leg wraps.

Teikoku - akin to feudal Japan. Again we use a robe, this time as a kimono like top. Wide legged sweatpants complete the look.

Tortuga - a pirate haven. A bandana and sash give the pirate look.

I should mention that I purposely did not change the shoes. This is from a practical standpoint - we want to protect our toes during battle. Otherwise, I would have suggested sandals for the Aurelians, Teikokuans, and Tortugans.

Next Steps

I am in the process of compiling these guidelines as well as some basic campaign history, cultural information, and suggestions on acquiring a kit into a guidebook for new recruits.