Revision as of 15:55, 9 July 2008

CHAIN MAIL

Chain mail is made of  interlocking metal rings.  It is always worn over  a 
layer of padded fabric  or soft leather  to prevent chafing  and lessen the
impact of blows.

Chain mail is the standard medium armor in most fantasy campaigns.  In many
places,  it is so common that the price of a  good suit of  chain mail  may 
actually be  cheaper than  less  sophisticated armors like  scale mail  and
brigandine. This makes the appeal of chain mail armor very high indeed.

Chain mail is only slightly heavier than hide or brigandine armor and  much 
lighter than any of the plate armors.  Important to the wearer, however, is
the fact that the weight of a suit of chain mail does not rest evenly  upon 
the body.  Rather,  most  of  the  burden of a  chain suit rests  upon  the
shoulders, making chain armor feel heavier than it really is.

Chain mail  can be worn for only about a  day before the s houlders of even 
the strongest warriors begin to fatigue. Experienced warriors usually carry
a second set of lighter armor  (often leather or studded leather)  for  use
when traveling or at night when not on watch.

Prolonged shoulder  fatigue from wearing chain mail more than  one day at a 
leads to headaches and backaches.

In  general,  chain  mail  is  worn  by  mid-level  fighters,  guardsmen,
mercenaries,  and men-at-arms  with some  official  capacity.  The price of
chain mail  is  equivalent to  many years income for most peasants,  and is
thus out of reach for most common folk. However, some middle-class families
have a set or two of  heirloom  chain mail  armor handed down from glorious
days past for use in dangerous days to come.

Typically,  town guards and noble patrols are bedecked in chain mail armor. 
It is  perfect for  short duty tours and  gives the  noble warrior a  great
advantage over the local rabble. Just the difference between chain mail and 
leather armor alone can give the officer a significant advantage over  most 
ruffians. Anyone wearing chain mail armor  with any sort of heraldic  crest 
or uniform is  usually assumed to be a  local official of some kind by  the
experienced and perceptive traveler.

In general, chain mail is the basis for all of the  more advanced and  more
protective  armors  found in  the world. The potentially low cost of  chain 
mail is a reflection of the fact that many sets of chain mail are bought as
a base for banded mail and the more sophisticated plate armors.

Because  chain mail armor is not usually  worn for long periods at a  time,
its underlying  padding rarely suffers the problems of  padded armors.  The
metal mail, however, will rust if not oiled and scrubbed with a wire  brush
weekly.  After a month of neglect,  chain  mail armor  loses its integrity,
being no longer as  flexible and links may have begun to rust.  (Naturally,
this applies only to  ferrous armor mail and not to  chain mail constructed
of non-ferrous metals).

Chain mail is certainly the best armor value for adventurers who cannot yet
afford the heavier armors.

Slot(s):                                torso, legs, arms, hands
Size:                                   large

Protection against:
 cut                                    very good
 stab                                   very good
 bash                                   excellent
 other                                  excellent

List by type: banded plate, battlesuit, chain mail, elfin chain mail, field plate, full plate, mail coat, mail shirt, o-yoroi, padded armour, robe, robes, scale mail, shirt, sleeved coat, sleeved mail coat, splint mail and studded armour