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Anonymous commented at 2009-03-18 14:27:16 » #37286
If you're even going to bother with armor, be practical. Reality can and WILL ensue otherwise... (At least protect the heart, legs and neck! Neck and Heart for obvious reasons, and legs because there happens to be a MAJOR artery down there). Why the rant? Because she's about to fight more armed soldiers.
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If you're even going to bother with armor, be practical. Reality can and WILL ensue otherwise... (At least protect the heart, legs and neck! Neck and Heart for obvious reasons, and legs because there happens to be a MAJOR artery down there). Why the rant? Because she's about to fight more armed soldiers.
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Anonymous commented at 2009-03-18 23:39:29 » #37417
In fantasy settings, people are far stronger than in everyday reality. The difference between her own toughness and that of her armor may not be so great that it's worth sacrificing speed or flexibility. (Alternately, people/weapons could be so strong that full armor is useless as a direct blow might cut right through the armor.)
The armor could be there for blocking specific kinds of attacks, like a shield only spread out over her limbs instead, to which she would counter with her sword.
Of course, that logic is ridiculous to us, but it works in the illogical constructs of fantasy.
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In fantasy settings, people are far stronger than in everyday reality. The difference between her own toughness and that of her armor may not be so great that it's worth sacrificing speed or flexibility. (Alternately, people/weapons could be so strong that full armor is useless as a direct blow might cut right through the armor.)
The armor could be there for blocking specific kinds of attacks, like a shield only spread out over her limbs instead, to which she would counter with her sword.
Of course, that logic is ridiculous to us, but it works in the illogical constructs of fantasy.
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Anonymous commented at 2013-04-24 21:40:08 » #1308673
Actually, this armor is not nearly as ridiculous as it first looks-indeed, for a warrior of a certain level of skill, it is a very effective style, and could conceivably be made to work in the real world. Here's why;
To illustrate my point, I'll use 3 basic types of armor; leather, chainmail, and full plate.
Furthermore, you must keep in mind that real warriors, who fought and died for a living, held themselves to an exponentially higher level of physical strength and conditioning than any modern day person is familiar with, except maybe some Special Forces military groups. Thus, unless you are one of those elite soldiers, chances are very high that you literally can't comprehend just how powerful and deadly the human body can be.
Now, on to the armor lecture;
Leather was essentially useless against a direct blow, even after being boiled in oil to make it very rigid. A solid, full-strength blow from any weapon, even a dagger, would go straight through it. However, it was very easy to maintain, light and flexible, and served very well against glancing blows, which could be created with relative ease by good blocks, parries and evasions. You might not completely defend against the attack, but you would rob it of much of its impact, and the leather would absorb the rest.
Chainmail was obviously a compromise between leather and plate; just as flexible as leather, but much heavier and tougher. The weight could be offset somewhat by securing it in strategic places with leather belts and straps, or by lacing it through a gambeson (padded combat undergarment, also used for other armor types like plate)-it would still be heavier than leather, though. Chainmail was quite effective against attacks, especially glancing blows and "surface" attacks, like slashes with a sword. However, pinpoint attacks, like arrows with certain heads and thin daggers, would just go right through the links. Furthermore, a very powerful attack, which is more common than you might think, would just break the links. This could be exceptionally dangerous, because if said attack then proceeded to split the flesh, it would force the links into the wound, causing secondary mutilation. A gambeson would offset this somewhat, but not entirely.
Full plate, or its even bigger cousin, double plate, was obviously the strongest and heaviest of armors; extremely resilient, very good coverage (especially with a full helm), and difficult to exploit, especially if custom-crafted by a master armorer as they sometimes were. On the flipside, they were cumbersome, VERY heavy, and required a great deal of work to maintain and equip; thus, only the richest (and frequently most skilled) warriors ever had access to full plate. The only weapons that could reliably penetrate this armor head-on were large hammers and axes. To a warrior of fair to middling skill, bladed and piercing weapons were useless unless you managed to get in through the joints, unless it was a powerful crossbow or longbow with thin-point arrows and a direct hit. A master of bladed weapons COULD penetrate the plate armor full-on, but ONLY if the attack was maximum strength and skill, unimpeded by defensive maneuvers, while using a very well-crafted blade. In short, really unlikely, and an amazing feat of martial prowess when achieved. Such masters were quite rare back then (even rarer today), and preferred to go through the joints if possible, which is why you almost never hear about plate being penetrated with blades.
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Now as for this woman's armor;
As I said, it's a very practical design, assuming she is a master swordswoman-the right side, her sword arm, is guarded by a small gauntlet and her skill. Just enough to guard against attacks, with the gauntlet protecting against blows that slip through, and all while leaving her attacking side unencumbered by excessive weight, ensuring maximum speed and minimum fatigue. Her sword is perfectly designed for such agile attacks-long and thin for maximum precision, just thick enough to allow effective slashing on properly targeted areas, and curved both to enhance her slashes and make sure it doesn't get stuck in the bodies of her enemies.
Her left side is guarded by heavy plate, which would prove very effective against pretty much anything. In particular, her arm is so heavily armored, she can use it as a long buckler, which is an extremely effective defense when combined with that long, thin sabre she's using. In short, maximum defense for minimum weight, a combination that has been used by many expert historical warriors of the past, like Roman gladiators.
We can't see properly because her back is to us, but her torso is almost certainly armored, especially around the breast and neck, but also descending downwards to guard the stomach in an inverted teardrop shape, with the whole ensemble secured by the upper torso and neck arrangements. At least, that's how I'd do it if I was her. An arrangement that allows significant protection with very high maneuverability.
In combat, her stance would be what we might consider a karate stance-left foot forward to make use of her defenses, right foot back with sword held middle or low (middle is shown in the pic), and constantly making use of footwork to limit the number of people who can attack her at any one time.
All in all, a masterfully-crafted set of armor and weapon for a master swordswoman; entirely plausible, assuming one was both skilled and physically conditioned to the aforementioned very high degree, both of which are entirely possible in the real world.
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Actually, this armor is not nearly as ridiculous as it first looks-indeed, for a warrior of a certain level of skill, it is a very effective style, and could conceivably be made to work in the real world. Here's why;
To illustrate my point, I'll use 3 basic types of armor; leather, chainmail, and full plate.
Furthermore, you must keep in mind that real warriors, who fought and died for a living, held themselves to an exponentially higher level of physical strength and conditioning than any modern day person is familiar with, except maybe some Special Forces military groups. Thus, unless you are one of those elite soldiers, chances are very high that you literally can't comprehend just how powerful and deadly the human body can be.
Now, on to the armor lecture;
Leather was essentially useless against a direct blow, even after being boiled in oil to make it very rigid. A solid, full-strength blow from any weapon, even a dagger, would go straight through it. However, it was very easy to maintain, light and flexible, and served very well against glancing blows, which could be created with relative ease by good blocks, parries and evasions. You might not completely defend against the attack, but you would rob it of much of its impact, and the leather would absorb the rest.
Chainmail was obviously a compromise between leather and plate; just as flexible as leather, but much heavier and tougher. The weight could be offset somewhat by securing it in strategic places with leather belts and straps, or by lacing it through a gambeson (padded combat undergarment, also used for other armor types like plate)-it would still be heavier than leather, though. Chainmail was quite effective against attacks, especially glancing blows and "surface" attacks, like slashes with a sword. However, pinpoint attacks, like arrows with certain heads and thin daggers, would just go right through the links. Furthermore, a very powerful attack, which is more common than you might think, would just break the links. This could be exceptionally dangerous, because if said attack then proceeded to split the flesh, it would force the links into the wound, causing secondary mutilation. A gambeson would offset this somewhat, but not entirely.
Full plate, or its even bigger cousin, double plate, was obviously the strongest and heaviest of armors; extremely resilient, very good coverage (especially with a full helm), and difficult to exploit, especially if custom-crafted by a master armorer as they sometimes were. On the flipside, they were cumbersome, VERY heavy, and required a great deal of work to maintain and equip; thus, only the richest (and frequently most skilled) warriors ever had access to full plate. The only weapons that could reliably penetrate this armor head-on were large hammers and axes. To a warrior of fair to middling skill, bladed and piercing weapons were useless unless you managed to get in through the joints, unless it was a powerful crossbow or longbow with thin-point arrows and a direct hit. A master of bladed weapons COULD penetrate the plate armor full-on, but ONLY if the attack was maximum strength and skill, unimpeded by defensive maneuvers, while using a very well-crafted blade. In short, really unlikely, and an amazing feat of martial prowess when achieved. Such masters were quite rare back then (even rarer today), and preferred to go through the joints if possible, which is why you almost never hear about plate being penetrated with blades.
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Now as for this woman's armor;
As I said, it's a very practical design, assuming she is a master swordswoman-the right side, her sword arm, is guarded by a small gauntlet and her skill. Just enough to guard against attacks, with the gauntlet protecting against blows that slip through, and all while leaving her attacking side unencumbered by excessive weight, ensuring maximum speed and minimum fatigue. Her sword is perfectly designed for such agile attacks-long and thin for maximum precision, just thick enough to allow effective slashing on properly targeted areas, and curved both to enhance her slashes and make sure it doesn't get stuck in the bodies of her enemies.
Her left side is guarded by heavy plate, which would prove very effective against pretty much anything. In particular, her arm is so heavily armored, she can use it as a long buckler, which is an extremely effective defense when combined with that long, thin sabre she's using. In short, maximum defense for minimum weight, a combination that has been used by many expert historical warriors of the past, like Roman gladiators.
We can't see properly because her back is to us, but her torso is almost certainly armored, especially around the breast and neck, but also descending downwards to guard the stomach in an inverted teardrop shape, with the whole ensemble secured by the upper torso and neck arrangements. At least, that's how I'd do it if I was her. An arrangement that allows significant protection with very high maneuverability.
In combat, her stance would be what we might consider a karate stance-left foot forward to make use of her defenses, right foot back with sword held middle or low (middle is shown in the pic), and constantly making use of footwork to limit the number of people who can attack her at any one time.
All in all, a masterfully-crafted set of armor and weapon for a master swordswoman; entirely plausible, assuming one was both skilled and physically conditioned to the aforementioned very high degree, both of which are entirely possible in the real world.
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