# Armor
The brave man stepped thereon and handled the steel, clad in a doublet of costly Tars [Tartar silk], and afterwards a well wrought hood, closed on top and bound within with a glistening white fur. Then they put the sabatons [steel shoes] upon the hero's feet, lapped his legs in steel with fair greaves, to which were attached well polished poleynes [knee pieces] fastened about his knees with knots of gold. Fine cuisses then, that well enclosed his thick, brawny thighs, they attached with thongs. Next the decorated burnie [mail coat] of bright steel rings upon precious stuff encased the hero, and well burnished braces upon his two arms, with elbow-pieces goodly and gay and gloves of plate, and all the goodly gear that might avail him at that time, with rich coat armour, gold spurs well fastened, and a sure brand girt about his side by a silken sash.
—Anonymous, Gawaine and the Green Knight, ii 4
# What is a knight without their suit of shining armor?
This section describes the many types of armor and shield that the knights of King Arthur’s Britain wield. Knights during the Boy King Period wear a simple mail harness and lug around unwieldy kite shields. Armor improves over the course of the full campaign, but such changes are outside the scope of this Wiki.
# Armor Value
The protection provided by armor and shields is expressed in the item’s Armor Value, with a higher number indicating better protection. When a weapon strikes a character wearing armor, the Armor Value is subtracted from the damage done. See Armor, Shield, and Parry Protection.
# Armoring Up
Putting armor on properly is not a simple thing. There are fasteners to tie, padding to align properly, and several separate pieces to don. More importantly, efficiency requires assistance—that is what squires are for!
As a leisure action, and with a squire, to completely armor up requires a minimum of five minutes (30 Combat Rounds). The time is tripled if no squire is present, and halved if two are helping. In an emergency, this may be halved to 15 Combat Rounds, with both a successful DEX roll and successful Squire Skill Roll (see Squire Roll Result Table). Failure at either increases the time to 20 Combat Rounds. Failure at both rolls requires the full time. The knight may not don armor if they are performing any other action except communication.
It is possible to don padding alone (without the usual assistance from a squire) in a number of Combat Rounds equal to its Armor Protection value, and donning a helmet requires just one round. All Armor Protection values “stack”—that is, add up all points of Armor Protection worn by a knight and treat the total as the character’s full Armor Protection. It is thus possible to go into combat partially armored.
# Armor Types
There are two types of armor worn in the Boy King Period: textile and mail. Some weapons do more damage depending on the type of armor worn by the opponent.
# Textile
Textile armor is made of layers of linen and sometimes wool, sewn together. It often has stuffing between layers which can be wool, leather, or even hay. The whole is worn under metal armor, but footmen often wear it as their only body armor.
Mail consists of thousands of metal rings or small plates linked together or riveted to a supporting textile underneath to form a protective mesh. Construction is very time consuming but results in a flexible iron cloth. Mail is vulnerable to crushing weapons, which do extra damage to those who wear it.
A mail head covering is called a coif and people wear it under helmets.
# Helm
The helm category includes all types of head covering. Helms always include a mail coif.
# Vulnerability to Weapons
Different types of armor are vulnerable to certain weapons, which deal +1D6 extra damage to the wearer.
- Mail: Great Mace, Mace
- Shield: Battle Axe, Great Axe
# Outer Protective Clothing
Clothing is usually worn over armor to protect it from the weather. Knights often display their heraldic device upon it, hence the term “coat of arms.” None of these provide any protection, either as armor or padding; their differences lie mostly in their cut and appearance.
# Surcoat
A surcoat is long, covering from shoulders to feet, with slits at the bottom to allow riding. Sleeve length is variable.
# Tabard
A tabard is usually sleeveless, made of two pieces of cloth, front and back, with a hole for the head, closed at the sides.
# The Armorer’s Forge
# Armor Table
| Item | Armor Type | Armor Protection Value | Padding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aketon | Textile | 2 | None |
| Gambeson | Textile | 4 | None |
| Haubergeon | 4 | Aketon | |
| Hauberk | 6 | Aketon | |
| Hauberk, Advanced | 7 | Aketon | |
| Reinforced Mail | 8 | Aketon |
This section details all types of armor available to knights during the Boy King Period.
Some varieties of armor, such as scale or laminar, are popular and widespread in foreign lands, but are not described here, for they are not worn by knights of Britain. Nomadic peoples use primarily cuir boilli (boiled leather), while feudal troops use it as limb protection (their Protection points are already included in the Armor Value) or to augment mail. Knights do not make suits of armor of it.
# Aketon
An aketon is flexible body padding made of thick, multi-layered, quilted cloth and wool that is worn under mail and other pre-plate armor. It is either open in the front and either laced or buttoned closed or pulled on over the head. It is as lengthy as the armor that is worn over it, and is slit up the sides for mounted troops, with long sleeves or none, and is undecorated.
# Gambeson
This is a type of protection similar to an aketon, but made of much thicker multi-layered, quilted cloth and wool, such that it is relatively stiff around the torso. It is worn by foot soldiers, or by knights when hunting bears, boars, or other dangerous animals. It is of varying lengths, with long, flexible sleeves or none at all, and is slit up the sides for mounted troops. It may be open in the front and laced closed, or pulled over the head. It is not intended for wear with other pieces of armor, and may be decorated on its exterior.
# Haubergeon
A haubergeon (also called a byrnie or light mail) is mail armor covering the torso to mid-thigh and the arms from shoulders to above the elbow.
# Hauberk
The hauberk is mail armor that covers the knight’s torso and legs to the knees or longer. It is slit from the crotch down so it can be worn on horseback. It has sleeves and is normally worn with a nasal helm and metal coif.
# Hauberk, Advanced
The advanced hauberk is the usual mail hauberk plus mail gauntlets, fitted cuisses (mail leggings) and mail rerebraces on the upper arms, and splinted cuir boilli greaves over the shins and vambraces over the lower arms for protection.
# Reinforced Mail
Knees, shoulders, and elbows are weak points in mail armor. Thus, the hauberk is reinforced with metal plates to protect those parts of a knight’s body attached to the mail hauberk. Mail sleeves are also part of this outfit.
This is the latest in armor technology, and is only owned by wealthy nobles or else given as a gift to loyal knights.
# The Helm Show
Heads are extremely vulnerable and require a separate article of armor for survival in combat. Helms are padded inside either with a soft arming cap or with built-in leather or cloth sections stuffed with animal hair for protection. Most early helms have added protection in the form of a coif, whose protection is factored into the Armor Values given. Some types of helms that are popular in foreign lands, such as the sallet or barbuta, are not described here.
# Helmets Table
| Item | Armor Protection Value |
|---|---|
| Kettle Helm | 1 |
| Open Helm | 1 |
| Nasal Helm | 2 |
| Nasal Helm, Advanced | 3 |
# Kettle Helm
A kettle helm is an open helm with a brim around it. The head shape varies, and the size of the brim as well. It is common to foot soldiers.
# Nasal Helm
This is the standard helm for knights. It covers the head from the top to above the ears and is gently conical. A thin metal crosspiece extends downward to protect the wearer’s nose. A chin strap secures it.
Incidentally, the “bowl haircut” that is fashionable for knights of this period originates from its utilitarian aspects when paired with a helm: it pads the skull but does not interfere with the chinstrap or coif.
# Nasal Helm, Advanced
A regular nasal helm may have additional parts attached to it for more protection. These include cheek flaps, a short mail neck protector, descending iron circles protecting the eyes, or even a full face cover.
This helm counts as enclosed, meaning the wearer suffers a –5 penalty to Awareness rolls and people cannot recognize the wearer by their facial features.
# Open Helm
An open helm is the simplest and cheapest helm, round on top. It is common among foot soldiers and poor knights.
# Shields
# Shields Table
| Shield | Armor Protection Value | Missile Attack Penalty | Disadvantages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckler | 4 | 0 | Does not protect from missile weapons | +1D6 Barehand Attack Damage |
| Kite Shield | 6 | –10 Mounted Skill penalty | –2 to Weapon Skills when used mounted except for Charge | |
| Round Shield | 6 | –10 Mounted Skill penalty | –2 to Weapon Skills when used mounted | |
| Scutum | 6 | –10 Mounted Skill penalty | –2 to Weapon Skills when used mounted | |
| Simple Shield | 6 | –5 | Broken by an opponent’s critical success | |
| Targe | 4 | 0 | Does not protect from missile weapons Keeps hand free; does not hamper Grappling and other two-handed Brawling actions |
Shields are used in conjunction with one-handed weapons. The use of shields does not require a separate Skill.
Kite shields are the standard shield used by knights.
As explained elsewhere (see Armor, Shield, and Parry Protection), shields provide their Armor Value when the loser scores a partial success in combat. A failure means the hit bypasses the shield, which offers no protection.
If a character is mounted and an opponent attacks their horse, the character may choose to apply the shield protection to their horse if they get a partial success.
As explained under Shielded Targets, a character using a shield who is aware of a missile attack imposes a Missile Attack Penalty to the archer’s Skill.
# Buckler
A buckler is a round or oval shield held by a center grip. Bucklers are handy in close quarters: if a character punches an opponent (Barehand Attack) while holding a buckler, they do an additional +1D6 damage. The buckler may also be dropped at the start of a Combat Round with no penalty to further actions.
# Kite Shield
A kite shield is long and teardrop shaped, with either a rounded or flat top. It is heavy, held with a handle and forearm brace, but also has a strap that goes from the shield over the knight’s right shoulder, then back to the shield.
When used with a couched spear or lance in a Mounted Charge action, the kite shield ignores the usual –2 Weapon Skill penalty for large shields.
# Round Shield
A round shield is used by infantry and non-knightly troops. The usual shield carried by Saxons and other Germanic peoples from the mainland, it is held by a central grip located behind a thick metal boss.
# Scutum
A scutum is a Roman shield, oval shaped and with brackets to hold small javelins, which they call plumbatae.
# Simple Shield
Poor infantry uses simple shields. They are the size of a round shield, but not as well made, and are held the same way.
If a simple shield applies its Shield Protection value against a critical success, the hit shatters the shield, rendering it useless from that point on.
# Targe
A targe shield is small and worn strapped to the character’s left arm. This leaves the character’s hand free to hold javelins or a second weapon or wield a weapon with two hands. The targe offers no Shield Protection when the hand is so engaged. Because the targe is strapped to the forearm, it cannot be dropped. The targe does not hamper Grappling or other Brawling actions. Unlike the buckler, it does not provide any bonus damage to punches.