An Explorator Kit

The Exploratores

In my LARP's Olden Wyrld setting, the Exploratores are the scouts of the Aurelian army. 

In real world history, they were the mounted scouts of the Roman army. They would have dressed and been armed akin to light cavalry.

In the Olden Wyrld, however, there is no cavalry. Instead, scouts are light infantry. I imagine them to be like Middle Earth rangers.

What do the Exploratores look like?

If we base the exploratores on rangers, we can find no better model than Faramir (on the left).

He wears a lot of green and brown, with a light leather jerkin. It's not shown here, but he also wears a greenish cloak with an integrated hood. Bow and sword comprise his armament.

But, there is a problem. His appearance is very much High Middle Ages, whereas the Olden Wyrld's Aurelian Empire is patterned after Late Rome / Early Byzantine. How can we tweak the ranger kit so it looks more Roman? I have some ideas.

Constructing an Explorator Kit

Here are my current plans for an explorator kit.

Undertunic

Right now, I'm using a modern, long-sleeved SPF shirt as an undertunic. It provides better protection vs. the sun than something more period. If anyone asks, I call it "elf silk."

I have an SPF shirt in green that I'll use.

Tunic

I prefer short-sleeve tunics in Florida's heat. I feel it provides more ventilation, keeping me cooler.

I love my Epic Armory tunic. 

They also have it in green so I am considering an order. It is out of stock right now, however.

I also have a long-sleeved Gadaric tunic in burgundy that I don't really wear. 

I'm planning on repurposing it. I'm going to remove the sleeves and dye it brown.

Pants

My brown hosen will work well enough. I could also use my black hosen and breeches.

If I wear breeches, I'll need protection for my lower legs. I bought a pair of cloth greaves but they do not fit all the way around my leg. Perhaps I can upgrade to these gaiters by Burgschneider.

Shoes

Wearing sneakers for now, but looking to upgrade. More on that later.

Headgear

I have a hood that works.

Armor

Of course, none of this screams Roman. How can I tweak my kit to give it a Roman flair?

My idea is to wear a light subarmalis. I found one if brown but it looks thick. 

Perhaps I can make one out of leather.

Change of Plans

Some thoughts and notes about my current LARP state of mind.

The Elzwehn Campaign

We completed our first campaign set in the Olden Wyrld of Elzwehn.

• The campaign began with our heroes confronting a necromancer.
• It ended with the destruction of the Dark Magi's totem and the rout of the enemy forces.

There were a number of other encounters recorded in the Annals

While I enjoyed the campaign, I was disappointed that we were not able to find more players. At the end, it was pretty much just 4 of us.

Full Immersion Follies

I've become interested in trying out a more immersive LARP experience.

First up was Mythic Adventures in Central Fla. Basilius and I went up in March for a weekend event. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a disaster. I got overheated while playing an NPC. That orc mask just retained too much heat. Also, there was not much for 1st level characters to do, and then we got murdered by orcs while supposedly in an OOC area. At the time, I said I would not return.

In May, we learned of a full immersion LARP (Exile) starting in Broward County. But then, inexplicably, Basilius and I got banned before the first event! Does one (or more) of the organizers have it out for Republicans? Anyway, so much for that.

We've been writing rules for our own full immersion LARP. I just don't think we have the numbers to pull it off.

This has led me to considering alternatives.

A "Ranger" Campaign

Because we can only rely on 2 to 4 players, I've been thinking of a campaign structure that will work with small numbers. I'm leaning toward a "ranger" campaign. Instead of planning larger, set-piece battles, design smaller skirmishes. We can go trekking along some nature trails and then have some combat encounters. Details TBD.

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! 

The "New" Chimera Legion

Although I'm considering a change to the setting, the Chimera Legion will remain. But instead of Byzantine, it will be part of the army of the unnamed Empire based in Olympia.

The Legion will be a motley array of recruits from across the various cultures of the world. Robb likened it to the French Foreign Legion. An apt comparison in my mind.

I think this makes the Chimera Legion sigil even more apropos.

The Legion's sigil

The Legion is made of a motley array of different parts. When combined, however, they become very lethal!

The Chimera Legion's Empire?

Since I discovered Empire LARP, I've been toying with the idea of changing the setting for the Chimera Legion. I did a little sketching and came up with this.

Note that the names are not final. This is just a first draft.

The Cultures

The main human cultures are listed, along with their historical inspiration. The human cultures are:

• The Isles (Scottish / Gaelic)
• Chevalia (western knights)
• Norsia (Viking)
• Nevora (Renaissance / Tudor)
• Aridia (Arab / Moor)
• Sirilia (Slavic)
• Olympia (Greek / Roman)
• Palmyra (Egyptian)
• Taiyotochi (Japanese)

For the most part, I chose the cultures from the Themes section on the Dark Knight Armory website. I added Arab / Moor and Egyptian to fill in the southern continent.

In general, you can see that the culture locations are historically inspired. The exception is Taiyotochi (Japan). Japanese culture seems popular so I wanted a relatively nearby homeland where it made sense that such characters appear in the main setting.

The Empire

My initial thought was that the Empire would consist of Olympia, Palmyra, and perhaps Nevora. The other cultures would be allies or enemies, depending on the flow of the campaign.

I am now thinking of expanding the Empire to encompass more of the human cultures, de-emphasizing conflict between the cultures and focusing more on the inhuman enemies.

Enemies

The map also shows four major groups of enemies that plague the human cultures. In the north, we have the Unseelie (dark elves) and Orks. In the south are the hyena men. And in the east are the Dark Magi (necromancers and their ghul minions).

Other Non-Humans

The setting includes two major fantasy races aside from humans.

Dwarves live in the mountains, especially my version of the Alps. This gave rise to Robb calling them the yodeling dwarves.

Elves are not shown but they do exist. The come from the Otherworld, however, so they have no territory in this world. Some elves will travel into the human world and stay for a bit.

I don't have halflings. I prefer to leave them in Middle Earth, but if someone really wants to play a halfling I can be persuaded to accommodate them.

What's Next?

 I have no definitive plans for changing our setting. I'm just jotting down ideas right now.