Revision as of 15:55, 9 July 2008

PLATE MAIL

Plate mail is a combination of chain  or brigandine armor with metal plates
covering the vital areas such as the chest,  abdomen and groin.  Similar in 
construction to bronze plate mail,  true plate mail comprises  heavy  steel
plates riveted to a sturdy backing of chain and leather. These metal plates
are often better  constructed than those  found in bronze plate and  banded
mails, relying on superior metallurgy and advanced lamination techniques to
produce a lightweight steel with excellent combat characteristics. 

Brigandine backing for this type of armor is rare, because the stiffness of
brigandine armor makes this type of backing an unpopular choice among plate
armorers and warriors alike. For all of these reasons,  plate mail protects
the human body more effectively than bronze plate mail.

The development of plate mail heralded the beginning of the age of chivalry
and knighthood. Associated most often with classic French medieval culture,
the names given to the segments of plate mail reveal their French origin to
this day.

The most important metal plate on the armor is called the  plastron-de-fer,
or breastplate.  It protects  the  vital  chest and  abdominal  areas  from
attack.  Typically,  the shoulders were  protected by metal shoulder guards
called epaulieres. Lower leg protectors, called grevieres (or greaves), and
metal-plated chain gloves,  or gauntlets,  are also common accessories to a
plate mail suit. Any manner of helm is also desirable.

Plate mail is the most common form of heavy armor in fantasy campaigns.  It
provides maximum  protection  for a fraction  of the cost  of field or full
plate armor, and can take month after month  of grueling combat punishment.
It is only moderately heavier than banded or chain mail, and because of its
custom fitting and sturdy straps, wears easier than either.

Because the  plates are carefully  fitted to  combine with the  chain  suit
beneath, the layer  of  leather or padding  beneath the chain is often much
thinner and  more flexible than that  found in banded or  brigandine armor.
Many  long years have gone into perfecting the construction of  plate mail,
which makes even the most basic of suits a  wonder of medieval engineering.
With regard to cost, the purchaser of a set of plate mail may have to  fork
out a considerable sum of money compared to banded mail,  but no wearer  of 
plate mail doubts for long the value and summary wisdom of his purchase.

Knights, royal guards,  and mercenary captains often wear plate mail.  Even
as a prize of battle, plate mail is infinitely easier to fit to a new owner
than either field or full plate armor.  Plate mail is the preferred protec-
tion of  the  vast  percentage  of the  world's most  experienced warriors,
because it is not nearly as cumbersome  to don or  remove as other  heavier
types of armor.

It  is  a  matter  of  pride  among  many kingdoms  that even the slightest
improvement to the general plate mail design was quickly attributed to  the
armorer who invented the alteration and the  king whose  wisdom  it was  to
accept the change.

As such,  most sets of plate mail  were constantly upgraded throughout  the
known world,  and now are very similar indeed.  In fact, the perfection  of
the basic plate mail design was so nearly complete that many  armorers  had
already begun devoting most,  if not all,  of their  time and resources  to
working field and full plate armor with similar care and precision.

Plate mail is the  heaviest armor  commonly used by adventurers,  both as a
matter of pride and for the necessities of daily use and efficiency.

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

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

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