Officers and NCOs (or their Roman equivalent) took
around 110 hours from ingot to final forging.
On labour costs ALONE either style of sword will cost
FAR more than a simple chunk of wood shaped into a
Bowstave!
Medieval Swords for use mainly by commoners, such as
the Messer and Falchion, would probably have had
similar production costs to a simple Gladius.
Those swords intended for use by the warrior elite, how-
ever, would most likely have had similar production
costs to that of the costlier pattern welded Gladius.
MAIL & PLATE: A MATTER OF COST #2
There is some specialist discussion (and player/des-
igner confusion) as to why Plate Armour, or even Par-
tial Plate Armour, didn’t appear earlier than it did
when there was ‘obviously’ much less work involved
in making bits and bobs of Plate rather than the
much more intricate Mail.
The answer is, of course, not everything is as simple
as it appears.
A Mail Shirt* of the sort commonly worn by Roman
legionary soldiers consisted of ~35,000 rings, half riv-
etted and half solid (punched), massed around 6.6
kilos (~15 lbs) and took an ~300 hours to produce.
* This assumes collar to crotch. The medieval version
could weigh up to another 2¼ kilos (~5 lbs) more as the
13th-14th century versions went over to entirely rivetted
links. This would have added ~90 hours to the time
required to produce.
For a set down to mid thigh (equal to a Medieval ¾ Hau-
berk), which was also common, the mass was ~9-11 kilos
(20-25 lbs) and production time would have been ~390
hours for the Roman version with mixed punched and
rivetted links (~480 hours for the all rivetted link mediev-
al version) to produce.
Early Full Mail weighed ~11-13½ kilos (25-30 lbs) and
would have taken ~480-570 hours to produce. Improved
Full Mail weighed 13½-15½ kilos (~20-35 lbs) and
would have taken 570-660 hours to produce.
We really don’t know how long it took to make the
plate parts of Partial Plate, nor how long Full Plate
required ... but ‘obvious’ assumption is that it would
have taken a lot less time than Mail armour of equiv-
alent coverage and, therefore, would ‘obviously’ have
cost a lot less. Obviously ...
Except.
See, Mail links (even the rivetted ones) can be made
by semi-skilled labour, even the wire needed for the
rivetted links can be made cheaply. Only the iron bil-
lets need the relatively expensive attention of a Black-
smith.
Bits and bobs of Plate, however, require the services
of skilled armourers to hammer into complex shapes.
So even if the amount of time required was less, it was
more expensive in terms of the wages that would have
had to have been paid.
Then there’s the material cost. Improved Full Mail
weighs in at an average of 14½ kilos. Partial Plate,
however, averages around half again as much.
Of course, material costs are on the face of it not the
major expense involved.
Except.
Mail is made from basic iron wire for the most part,
while Partial Plate is made from, at the very least,
face hardened iron. Guess which of the two is far more
expensive?
Worse.
Until the late 14th century (not at all coincidentally),
around the time Partial Plate starts to appear, the
Bloomery Furnaces available could not produce large
enough Blooms from which to make large enough
single ingots from which Breast- and Backplates were
best constructed ... and the earliest Breastplates, as
noted elsehwere, were actually made of three overlap-
ping plates rather than a single piece.
Quick lesson on practical smithing -- you need a single
ingot to make a large item for the simple reason that
combining smaller ingots at the technology level of the
period results in the loss of ~40% of the mass of the ing-
ots being combined. So that ‘cheap’ Breastplate sud-
denly costs around 40% more in materials than its
actual weight would suggest.
Hence, as counterintuitive as it seems, Mail Armour
was actually cheaper than Plate even through to the
very late 14th century.
63
 AVAILABILITY OF GOODS
Overall Availability. This shows whether there are
craftsmen or merchants in a settlement who can pro-
duce the item. It does not mean they have it in stock.
Here & Now Availability. This is the likelihood some-
thing is available ‘off the shelf’ when you find some-
one who can produce/sells it.
AVAILABILITY: OVERALL
Overall availability is divided in eight population size
based levels which may be effectively upgraded by five
activity based factors.
Population Levels. These grade upwards from Hamlet
 Village  Large Village  Small Town  Large
Town  City  Large City  Metropolis
POPULATION BASED LEVELS
Metropolis (M. ~50,000 people or more). All types
of craftsmen are present or contactable via agents.
Always involved in widespread international trade.
Major City (MC. ~20,000 people or more). Crafts-
men here are often specialists not found elsewhere.
Always involved in large scale international trade.
City (C. ~10,000 people or more). A Large Town
with even more specialised craftsmen in crafts not
found in smaller settlements. Involved in widespread
regional and probably some international trade.
Large Town (LT. ~5000-9000 people). A Large
Town has more specialised craftsmen than a Small
Town and an increasing number of townspeople will
be involved in regional and even international trade.
Small Town (ST. ~1500–4000 people). A majority of
locals are engaged in trade rather than agriculture.
This is where you get specialised craftspeople beyond
those typically found in a Village.
Large Village (LV. 900-1400). A transitional stage to
a Small Town with more craftsmen than a Village.
Most people will still be engaged in rural pursuits.
Village (V. ~200-800 people). A rural settlement. The
64
inhabitants are engaged in farming, stock raising or
other rural pursuits. Typically no more than 100
families … for a likely maximum population ~ 6-800.
In England, a Vill had to have a Parish Church but
might be split, population wise, between more than one
Manorial estate (and such splits were common).
Hamlet (H. ~50-100 people). A remote subdivision
of a Village within a larger Parish. In England it is
anything larger than a single (or collection of a few
isolated) farmstead(s) with has no Parish Church.
ACTIVITY FACTORS
Overall Availability: Each ‘level’ increases effective
population.. So, if a Small Town is on a Major Trade
Route (+1) it is treated as if a Large Town.
Here & Now Availability: Each ‘level’ adds a per-
centage to Base availability – varying according to act-
ual population. So, an item with Base 40% availabil-
ity and a +10% variable per level is also Market Town
(+1), add +10% for a Base availability of 50%.
Fair (International. F:I). For the duration of the Fair
Overall availability of items from all over the Contin-
ent is +1 level and Here & Now availability peaks at +2
levels, for everything, not just Fair-related items.
Fair (Regional. F:R). Similar to an International Fair,
but for items drawn from across the Nation (and adj-
acent States). These are at +1 level for both Overall
and Here & Now availability.
Market Town. Here & Now availability only is +1
level over normal for locally made items.
Port (River. P:R). A settlement connected to all
others along the navigable, connected, rivers so items
can be ordered from any other connected settlement.
Here & Now availability is +1 level local items.
Additional cost: Base local cost at the origin plus cost of
shipping. How long they take to arrive depends on Here
& Now availability at the origin plus round-trip shipp-
ing times between the two settlements.
Port (Sea). P:S. Is connected to others linked to the
same sea, ocean, and to all navigable rivers which
feed into them. It can access items from all places so
linked as a River Port can. Overall availability is +1
level while Here & Now availability is +2 levels for loc-
ally made items and +1 level for any other items.
Trade Route (Major. TR:M). The settlement is on a
interregional or international trade route. Overall
and Here & Now availability are both +1 level.
As with Sea/River Ports, goods from along the Route
may be ordered, but travel times to the point of origin
and back make this a long-winded … to the point where
travelling to the source may be less time consuming!
Trade Route (TR:C, Crossroads). Crossing point of
2+ interregional or international routes. Overall avail-
ability is +1 level and Here & Now is +2 levels. The
same strictures apply as for Trade Route (Major).
AVAILABILITY: HERE AND NOW
Availability can either be automatic, which means the
item is always in stock or has a percentage rating
which indicating the chance of one being on hand
somewhere in the settlement.
If percentage availability exceeds 100% – there is one
definite seller for each full 100% and a chance of an
additional one equal to the leftover value.
At the Market (ATM, Automatic, Limited). If it’s
Market Day, the item will be available – more so at the
beginning of the allotted market time than at the end.
Over the Counter (OTC, Automatic). All the crafts-
men who produce such will have a small quantity.
Common (C, 100%). The item is inexpensive and
used widely – someone will have at least one on hand.
If not available over the counter, one can be made to
order within a single business day, possibly less.
In a Large Town it is a 150% chance; in a City, 200%;
in a Major City, 250%, and in a Metropolis, 300%.
Each level of Activity adds +50%. If available at all in
a Large Village, base availability is 50%.
Uncommon (UN, 50%). Craftsmen rarely have any in
stock., Though if there is more than one craftsman in
locally the chance is increased. Otherwise they will be
able to make it within two to three business days.
In a City it is a 75% chance; in a Major City, 100%; in
a Metropolis, 125%. Each level of Activity adds +25%.
Scarce (S, 25%). This is rarely held in stock even if
there is more than one craftsman who makes such,
though there is a slighly increased chance. If not in
stock it is likely that a craftsman will take a week to
several weeks to craft it.
In a Major City it is a 35% chance; in a Metropolis, a
45% chance. Each level of Activity adds +10%.
Rare (R, 10%). Even craftsmen who specialise rarely
have any in stock, no matter how manyin a settle-
ment. They may be able to be crafted in a week to a
month butcould take several months, or even longer,.
Activity levels add +5% in Cities; +10% in Major Cities;
a flat 5% for a lesser settlement on a Trade Route (Maj-
or) or 10% on a Trade Route (Crossroads).
Special Order (SO, Special). Never available off-the-
shelf … they have to be orderedand can take anywhere
from a day or two to many, many, months.
It is barely possible such an item may have already been
in production, even completed, but the orderer has de-
faulted – in which case treat it as Second-Hand.
Import Only (IO, Varies). The item is only ever avail-
able as an import from somewhere else. There are no
local producers. Availability usually falls into one of
the following categories –
• Only available at a Fair when underway.
• Only available in Cities or Major Cities.
• A Special Order through a Trade Route.
Not all ‘imported’ items are classed as ‘import only’ as
they are commonly available, if expensive, luxuries …
silks and spices imported from Asia are examples.
Second Hand (Special). Someone has pawned (or
wants to sell) property they no longer need or wish to
turn into cash.
• Availability of double the final value
• Items are worn to some degree. They may also
need to be adjusted to fit.
• See The Marketplace (PGD) for expanded
rules on Second Hand Dealers and Pawn-
brokers.
65

BODY ARMOUR & HELMS
THE 10TH-11TH CENTURIES
AKETON
A padded and quilted garment worn under other
forms of metal armour to cushion against blunt force
from blows that do not actually penetrate. If often ext-
ends beyond the area(s) covered by the primary arm-
our, offering lesser protection.
Protection was down to the mid-upper arm or elbow and
mid-thigh. Closure was down the back, fastened with
cloth or leather ties (so you’ll require assistance to put it
on or take it off).
Modern reproductions with front closure (sometimes
with buttons, which are post 13th century or later) are
simply wrong – such openings would have been easily
exploited in real combat.
Aketons were normally worn all the time (yes, even in
the Crusades in the Holy Lands!) in a combat area so the
wearer would have some protection if they were sur-
prised without time to put on their primary armour.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~2/6 to 3/- (30-36d). Weight:
~4-5 lbs. Production: 2-4 days.
COIF
There are two sorts -- one of Padded Linen, worn und-
er a Helm or Mail Coif to protect against the impact of
blows to the head and the other of Mail, worn under
a Helm and over a Padded Coifs. Padded Coifs were
worn by themselves only by the very poor.
Availability: Padded Linen, ST:U; Mail, LT:R. Cost:
Padded Linen, 4-6d; Mail & Padded Linen, 3/- to 3/6d
(36-42d). Weight: Padded Linen, ~1-2 lbs; Mail &
Padded Linen, ~5-7 lbs. Production: Padded Linen, 1-
2 days; Mail & Padded, 4-7 days.
66
CONICAL HELMET
A development of the late Imperial Spangenhelm via
the Round Helm. These early versions may be of seg-
mented and riveted construction just as the Spangen-
hlem was, but trend towards single piece construction
toward the end of the century. Most of them have an
integral Nasal Bar and some, at least, will have a Mail
Aventail.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: ~5/- to 7/6d (60-90d).
Weight: ~2½-3 lbs (with no Aventail). Production: 2-4
days.
LAMELLAR ARMOUR
Lamellar would have been worn over an Aketon. Clo-
sure was probably on the left side (covered by the
Shield) and probably wrap-around and secured with a
leather breast strap or straps. Alternatively, some
modern reproductions lace up on both sides and there
really isn’t any firm evidence that this is wrong.
Side closure would make it possible (and easy-ish) to don
Lamellar armour without assistance … though the
weight and bulk would slow things down. `
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £5-6 (1200-1440d).
Weight: ~10-15 lbs. Production: 8-12 days.
Covers Chest and Torso down to the Hips only. Often
worn with an extended Aketon. Rus Lamellar was norm-
ally worn over Mail. Eastern European and Imperial
Lamellar was normally worn only with an Aketon.
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £6-7 (1440-1680d).
Weight: ~20-25 lbs. Production: 12-15 days.
Covers the Chest, Torso and down to mid-thigh just
above the knees as well as the upper arms – though there
are gaps at the waist and shoulders, usually covered with
Mail (and, at least by the Rus, possibly worn over a Mail
Shirt and an Aketon), to allow for normal bending. The
armour below the waist could be split, front and back, to
allow it to be worn on horseback.
MAIL ARMOUR
The most common type of metal armour used during
the period, in the form of a Mail Shirt or ¾ Mail.
Worn with an Aketon underneath. Mail is relatively easy
to don, though weight and its tendency to sag means it
is best to have assistance, especially for the ¾ Hauberk.
Mail sags and cannot be close fitting, so it tends to be
awkward to make manoeuvre in – as well as placing all
the weight on the shoulders.
As a result it was normal for the wearer to pull some of
the Mail up over their sword belt to place some of the
weight on their hips … and there is evidence to suggest
that leather thongs were laced through the rings at
strategic points to hold it closer to the body for a better
fit (to conform to the Aketon) and reduce annoying sag.
Oh, and Mail rustles when you move in it … despite what
some fantasy authors seem to think, it does not ‘clank.’
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: £2/10/- to £5 (600-1200d).
Weight: ~15-20 lbs. Production: 15-20 days.
Availability: C:SO. Cost: £6-8 (1440-1920d). Weight:
~20-25 lbs. Production: 20-25 days.
ROUND HELM (SPANGENHELM)
At the beginning of the period this is mainly a desc-
endant of the late Imperial Spangenhelm made of seg-
mented plates and strips of iron. As the period pro-
gresses it starts to be increasingly of one piece constr-
uction and develops into the Conical Helm.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: 3/9d to 4/6d (45-54d).
Weight: ~2-2½ lbs. Production: 2-3 days.
SCALE ARMOUR
Scale would have been worn over an Aketon. Closure
was probably the same as for Lamellar armour.
Availability: ST:SO. Cost: £3/15/- to £4/10/- (900-
1020d). Weight: ~10-15 lbs. Production: 4-6 days.
THE 12TH-13TH CENTURIES
AKETON
By the 12th century the Aketon normally now extended
to the elbow, then the wrist on the arms and down to
the knees, with a split front and back for ease of move-
ment, both for foot and mounted troops.
You start to find heavier versions as armour for poorer
troops. These Stiffened Linen armours consisted of
many more layers of linen and, at least sometimes, an
outer layer of light leather (commonly misinterpreted
as the nonexistent ‘Leather’ armour). They also had
padded collars rising from the neck to just under the
chin for additional protection,.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~3/6 to 5/- (42-60d). Weight:
~4-5 lbs. Production: 2-4 days.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~4/- to 5/- (48-60d). Weight:
~8-10 lbs. Production: 3-5 days.
AVENTAIL
This starts to replace the Mail Coif (but not the Padded
Linen one) during the period. It is simply the neck and
shoulder covering parts of a Coif, saving on weight
versus a full head covering Coif.
The advantage of the Aventail over the Mail Coif is that
there is less of it, and what there is mainly rests on the
shoulders rather than the head and neck.
Availability: ST:R. Cost: 2/- to 2/6d (24-30d). Weight:
~2-2½ lbs. Production: 2 days.
BASCINET
This starts to appear in the late 13th century and, to
start, was open faced with a (sometimes detachable)
nose guard. Soon a Mail face covering was added,
then a detachable visor and, finally, an Aventail.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: Helm, 6/8d to 15/- (80-
180d); Detachable Visor, 1/6d to 2/6d (20-30d); Aven-
tail, 2/- to 2/6d (24-30d). Weight: Helm, ~2-2½ lbs;
Detachable Visor, ¼ lb; Aventail, +2-2½ lbs.. Product-
ion: Helm, 2-4 days; Detachable Visor, 1-2 days; Aven-
tail, 2 days..
CERVELLIERE
This was most commonly found as a stand-alone
Helm worn with either just a Padded Coif or, for the
better off, with the addition of a Mail Coif. Some later
examples are found with an integrail Mail Aventail.
Many reproductions claiming to be Cervellieres are, in
fact, Round or Conical Helms often with a fixed Visor.
Availability: ST:R. Cost: 2/6d to 5/- (30-60d). Weight:
~3-3½ lbs. Production: 1-2 days. 67
 COAT OF PLATES
These were always worn over Mail armour (and the
Mail was worn over an Aketon). They always seem to
have been fastened down the back and would there-
fore have required assistance to put on/take off.
They were worn rather like a Tabard, and coverage
was the chest, back and sides (not the armpits) and
shoulders plus flaps at front and back to mid-thigh or
knees providing some protection from more or less
frontal attacks to those areas, but not to the sides.
Availability: LT:R (12th Century), LT:SH (from mid 13th
Century) . Cost: Basic, ~7/6 to 12/6 (90-150d); Fancy,
£1/10/- and up (360d+); Second Hand (from mid 13th
Century), 4/- to 6/- (48-72d). Weight: ~18-25 lbs.
Production: Basic, 5-7 days; Fancy, 9-12 days.
Basic Coats of Plates are either all one colour, undyed
linen with a simple design (such as a red Crusader’s
Cross), or a simple two colour design (either undyed
cloth plus one colour painted on or two colours painted
on undyed cloth).
Fancy Coats of Plates are of dyed cloth and may have
a painted design of moderate complexity (the main ele-
ment of the wearer’s Coat of Arms for example); several
small appliques or embroidered designs added to a
simple, possibly multi-coloured, dyed and painted back-
ground (for example, a blue and white quartered back-
ground with yellow Fleur de Lys appliques in the white
quarters); or a single large and moderately complex app-
lique or embroidery on a single background.
COIF
There are two sorts -- one of Padded Linen, worn und-
er a Helm or Mail Coif to protect against the impact of
blows to the head and the other of Mail, worn under
a Helm and over a Padded Coifs. Padded Coifs were
worn by themselves only by the very poor.
These are always separately purchased item.s They are
not included in the purchase price of any Helm.
See, guys, that’s how you
take off a Hauberk!
68
Availability: Padded Linen, ST:U; Mail, ST:R. Cost:
Padded Linen, 3-4d; Mail & Padded Linen, 2/- to 2/6d
(24-30d). Weight: Padded Linen, ~1-2 lbs; Mail &
Padded Linen, ~5-7 lbs. Production: Padded Linen, 1-
2 days; Mail & Padded, 4-7 days.
CONICAL HELM
This continues to be found in common use, though in-
creasingly only amongst common warriors or poorer
Knights rather than the elite nobility. Always comes
with a Nasal and may include an integral Mail Aven-
tail instead of a Mail Coif (though it still needs to have
a Padded Linen Coif).
Availability: ST:SH or LV:R. Cost: New, ~3/- to 6/-
(36-72d); Second Hand, 2/- to 3/- (24-36d); Aventail
+2/- to +2/6d (24-30d) Weight: ~2½-3 lbs (no Aventail)
4½-5½ lbs (with Aventail). Production: 2-4 days. (+2
days for Aventail)
GAMBESON (AKA ‘PADDED JACK’)
This is Stiffened Linen armour virtually identical to
the version listed under the Aketon, above ... the imp-
ortant difference being that it was intended to be
worn over metal armour, not as armour.
Since it was worn over at least two layers of armour al-
ready (Mail, Aketon) it is possible it had a front clos-
ure and this may* have used buttons rather than ties.
* But unlikely … buttons are only just being introduced
and tend to be for fashion rather than practical closures.
Availability: ST:SO. Cost:~5/- to 6/- (60-72d). Weight:
~8-10 lbs. Production: 4-7 days.
GREAT HELM
Sometimes called the Pot Helm or similar. A
Cervelliere and Mail Coil are worn underneath.
Aventails don’t seem to have ever been part of the Great
Helm, but may be on the Helmet worn underneath.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: £1-£2 (240-480d). Weight:
~5 lbs (Helm only). Production: 3-5 days.
JACK OF PLATES
Similar to a Coat of Plates with more, smaller, plates.
Worn over an Aketon, but not usually with Mail ... it
was cheap and popular with non-elite professional (or
simply wealthier than normal) soldiers.
It was flexible enough to flare out over the waist and
down to the groin, but this pattern did not become
common until toward the end of the 13th century ...
prior to that they extended down to the waist only.
Availability: LT:R. Cost: Basic, ~6/8d to 10/- (80-
120d); Fancy, £1 and up (240d plus). Weight: ~18-25
lbs. Production: Basic, 6-8 days; Fancy, 10-12 days.
Ordinary warriors were no less likely to pay for their
Jack to be decorated – if more simply than the Coat of
Plates. Basic models will be of dyed fabric, but using
cheaper, less vivid, duller, common dyes while Fancy
versions will have simple sewn appliques of various sizes
on dyed cloth … a simple cross was the most common.
KETTLE HELM/WAR HAT
Used by Carolingian soldiery, even Cavalry, up to the
8th-9th centuries, it was out of fashion by the 10th ... But
reappears in the mid 12th century and continues to be
worn thereafter, mostly by footmen but variations are
also worn by cavalry (mostly by Serjeants rather than
Knights).
By its very nature it cannot have an aventail – it will be
worn with either a Padded or Mail Coif.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~4/- to 5/- (48-60 d). Weight:
~3-3½ lbs. Production: 1-2 days.
LAMELLAR ARMOUR
Virtually identical to the Lamellar of the earlier per-
iod -- the only difference is the appearance of a much
heavier version worn mostly by noble cavalry.
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £4 to £4/16/- (960-
1252d). Weight: ~10-15 lbs. Production: 8-12 days.
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £4/16/- to £5/12/-
(1152-1344d). Weight: ~20-25 lbs. Production: 12-15
days.
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £7-8 (1680-1920d).
Weight: ~25-30 lbs. Production: 16-20 days.
MAIL ARMOUR
Mail Shirts and ¾ Hauberks continue to be available,
with the latter becoming more common, and Early
Full Mail starts to become available and is slowly
replaced by Improved Full Mail.
Availability: LT:R or ST:SH (12th Century); LT:S or
LT-ST:SH (13th Century). Cost: New, £2-£4 (480-960d);
Second Hand, 12th Century, £1-£2 (240-480d); Second
Hand, 13th Century, 12/6 to £1/5/- (150-300d).
Weight: ~15-20 lbs. Production: 15-20 days.
Kettle Helm
Availability: LT:SO (12th Century); LT:SH or ST:SO
(13th Century). Cost: New, 12th-13th Century, £4/10/- to
£6 (960-1440d); Second Hand, 13th Century, £2/10/- to
£3/10/- (600-840d). Weight: ~20-25 lbs. Production:
20-25 days.
Availability: C:SO (12th Century); LT:SO (13th Century).
Cost: New, 12th Century, £6-£8 (1920d); New, 13th
Century, £5-£7 (1200-1680d). Weight: ~25-30 lbs.
Production: 30-35 days.
Availability: C:SO (13th Century). Cost: £6/10/- to £9
(1560-2160d). Weight: ~30-50 lbs. Production: 35-40
days.
ROUND HELMET
Unchanged from earlier centuries and still in use by
common soldiery who can only afford cheap and
simple items.
Availability: ST:SH or LV:R. Cost: New, ~3/- to 4/-
(36-48d); Second Hand, 1/9d to 2/6d (21-30d).
Weight: ~2-2½ lbs. Production: 1-2 days.
THE 14TH CENTURY
AKETON
Much the same as for the 12th-13th centuries. However
a small number of 15th century suits have front closure
(presumably to go under a Full Plate Breastplate) it is
possible that some late 14th century ones intended to
be worn under Partial Plate might also have such.
The majority, probably all, of those not intended for use
with Partial Plate would have retained rear openings.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~5/- to 7/- (60-84d). Weight:
~4-5 lbs. Production: 2-4 days.
Availability: ST:S. Cost: ~7/6d to 10/- (90-120d).
Weight: ~8-10 lbs. Production: 3-5 days. 69
 AVENTAIL
This starts to replace the Mail Coif (but not the Padded
Linen one) during the period. It is simply the neck and
shoulder covering parts of a Coif, saving on weight
versus a full head covering Coif.
The advantage of the Aventail over the Mail Coif is that
there is less of it, and what there is mainly rests on the
shoulders rather than the head and neck.
Availability: ST:R. Cost: 1/9d to 2/3 d (21-27d).
Weight: ~2-2½ lbs. Production: 2 days.
BASCINET
This is similar to the 13th century version but now inc-
ludes a flip up Visor (hinged at the top or at the sides
and removable) and Mail Aventail, however, see
Hounskull, below.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: Helm, 6/8d to 15/- (80-
180d. Weight: Helm, ~4½-5 lbs. Production: Helm, 2-
4 days; Detachable Visor, 1-2 days; Aventail, 2 days.
BRIGANDINE
Available from the mid-13th century, a development of
the Coat of Plates via the Jack of Plates. The Brigan-
dine consists of many more and much smaller plates
than the Jack and they are riveted between two layers
of thick material (the external layer is at least some-
times of leather rather than cloth, but may be affixed
over a cloth layer as well).
An unusual side-
closure Brigandine
70
The very earliest versions are mostly straight sided
and do, at least sometimes, extend down to the groin,
while the later versions are, at least sometimes, ‘wasp
waisted’ and are more at least somewhat likely to ext-
end down to the groin.
They mostly open at the back (or, possibly, the side or
sides) as they are intended to be worn as the outer-
most layer of armour over Mail or, at least, an Aketon
(very late 14th century versions are at least sometimes
to be found with front closures, but this is mostly
found in 15th century and later versions ).
Availability: LT:R. Cost: Basic, ~6/8d to 10/- (80-
120d); Fancy, £1 and up (240d plus). Weight: ~18-25
lbs. Production: Basic, 7-10 days; Fancy, 12-18+ days.
Brigandines were actually at least as common as Partial
Plate, even amongst the elite, and might actually be
worn with some Partial Plate accoutrements and, of
course, with Mail and an Aketon underneath.
Like Coats and Jacks of Plates, there is a good chance
that these will be adorned with decorative elements –
dyed cloth, at the very least, for the outer layer, possibly
dyed leather, and, for the wealthiest, expensive cloth
such as velvet for the outer layer (presumably with a
rougher, heavier/tougher, underlay in the latter case).
The rivet heads are usually polished and may even be sil-
vered or gilded by wealthy owners and often appear (at
least in art) in close triangular patterns.
CERVELLIERE
This was most commonly found as a stand-alone
Helm worn with either just a Padded Coif or, for the
better off, with the addition of a Mail Coif. Some later
examples are found with an integrail Mail Aventail.
Many reproductions claiming to be Cervellieres are, in
fact, Round or Conical Helms often with a fixed Visor.
Availability: ST:R. Cost: 2/- to 4/- (24-48d). Weight:
~3-3½ lbs. Production: 1-2 days.
HOUNSKULL HELMET
A very late 14th century Bascinet with fully hinged,
pointy nosed, visor and rearward facing conical point
at the top and Aventail. Really doesn’t become com-
mon until the 15th century.
Commonly called ‘dog faced’ at the time (which is more
or less what the term actually means). Modern sources,
and only modern sources, call it ‘pig faced.’
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: Helm, £2 to £2/10/- (480-
600d. Weight: ~8½-9 lbs. Production: 8-10 days..
KETTLE HELM/WAR HAT
Remains in use during this period and beyond -- dur-
ing the 15th century it starts to be worn with a plate
gorget (throat protection).

Gorgets may have been used at the very end of the 14th
century – treat them as Aventails for additional costs
and weight.

Availability: ST:S or SH. Cost: New, ~4/- to 5/- (48-

60d); Second Hand, 3/- to 4/- (36-48d). Weight: ~3-3½
lbs. Production: 1-2 days.

LAMELLAR ARMOUR
This continues to be common in the areas mentioned
previously, in all three styles previously available --
Lamellar Cuirass, ¾ Lamellar and ¾ Lamellar (Heavy).
Some purchasers preferred a cheaper Brigandine in
place of the Breastplate … and there is some evidence to
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire, suggest this variant may have been the one most com-
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £3/12/- to £4/6/- (864- monly used in battle as opposed to ceremonial or display
1032d). Weight: ~10-15 lbs. Production: 8-12 days. situations.

Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £4/6/- to £5 (1032-
1200d). Weight: ~20-25 lbs. Production: 12-15 days.
Availability: ST:SO (Eastern Europe, Eastern Empire,
Steppes, Caliphate only). Cost: £6-7 (1440-1680d).
Weight: ~25-30 lbs. Production: 16-20 days.
MAIL ARMOUR
This continues to be common, but the ‘entry level’
version is now almost always the ¼ Hauberk.
Availability: ST:SH. Cost: New, £2 to £3 (480-720d);
Second Hand, £1 to £2 (240-480d). Weight: ~20-25
lbs. Production: 20-25 days.
Availability: ST:SH. Cost: Second Hand, £3 to -£4/5/-
(720-1020d). Weight: ~25-30 lbs. Production: 30-35
days.
Availability: LT:SO. Cost: £5-£7 (1200-1680d).
Weight: ~30-50 lbs. Production: 35-40 days.
PARTIAL PLATE
The best armour money can buy in the last decade or
so of the 14th century -- Improved Full Mail with Pol-
eyns (Knees), Couters (Elbows), Cuisses (Thighs), Gr-
eaves (Lower Legs, soon combined with the Poleyns),
Sabatons (Feet), Besagues (Upper Shoulder and outside
of Elbow) and a Breastplate (inititially of three pieces,
only at the end of the century of a single piece).
Availability: C:SO (Breastplate); LT:SO (Brigandine).
Cost: With Breastplate, £15-£20 or more (3600-4800d);
With Brigandine, £7/10/- to -£11/5/- or more (1800-
2700d). Weight: ~35-50 lbs. Production: With Breast-
plate, 60-90 days; With Brigandine, 45-60 days.
In Eastern Europe during the 14th century Armourers be-
gan to supplement Full Mail with added protection of
Lamellar – which was more like Partial Plate than the
earlier use of Lamellar worn in addition to Mail.
Availability: C:SO. Cost: £8-£12 or more (1920-
2880d). Weight: ~30-45 lbs. Production: 30-45 days.
ROUND HELMET
Unchanged from earlier centuries and still in use by
common soldiery who can only afford cheap and sim-
ple items.
Availability: ST:SH or LV:R. Cost: New, ~3/- to 4/-
(36-48d); Second Hand, 1/9d to 2/6d (21-30d).
Weight: ~2-2½ lbs. Production: 1-2 days.
SHIELDS
NO Shield from the medieval period was ever made
entirely of metal, or even fully faced with metal. If the
Shield had a central Boss, that would be metal and, at
least sometimes, the edging on a Shield might be of
metal (but seems to have more commonly been of raw-
hide). Shields of wood were heavy enough as they were
already -- all metal or metal faced shields would have
been so heavy as to be useless in actual combat. 71
 PRICING ARMOUR
The prices listed in this section are for plain but ser-
viceable sets -- but, as stated/hinted elsewhere, those
with the resources often wanted armour that was dec-
orative and which showed off their status and wealth
to all. So answering the question “How much does Arm-
our cost?’ is like answering the question, ‘How long is
a piece of string?’ ... it depends!
HOW MUCH ARMOUR IS THERE?
The Availability Rules attempt to do away with the
common RPG trope of simply walking into the local
General Store and buying a suit of Full Plate Armour
‘off the rack’, so to speak.
But how much was actually available?
We actually have records from the important market
town (site of a famous International Market Fair) of
Troyes (2300 Households, or a population ~10,000 or
so) in France for 1474.
Troyes was a major Market Town, the intersection of
several continent and regional spanning trade routes –
so it is reasonable to assume that it would have many
more sets of armour available for sale than some relative
backwater … and could well approach the amount of
armour available for sale at much larger towns (though
really large Cities such as, say, Paris, would probably
have more).
Personal Property. 208 Jacks, 51 Complete sets of
Armour (Partial Plate? Mail? Not clear), 109 Breast-
plates and Overshirts (Gambesons? Brigandines?), 199
Coats of Mail, 73 Surcoats (Gambesons?), 49 Brigan-
dines and Undershirts (Aketons?), 785 Sallets (rather
like a War Hat), 111 Bascinets.
For Sale. 69 Jacks, 6 Complete Sets of Armour (Partial
Plate? Mail? Not clear), 1 Decorated Breastplate, 5 Over-
shirts (Gambesons?), 14 Brigandines, 6 Shirts of Mail,
110 Sallets (rather like a War Hat), 17 (Pairs?) Armour-
ed Gauntlets.
Plate components of Partial Plate need to be fitted to an
individual, so you can’t just walk in and walk out fully
kitted out.
72
HEATER SHIELD
A development of the Kite Shield, but shorter and
with a flat rather than a rounded top -- basically the
same design used to display Heraldic Coats of Arms
even today. Coverage is from below the chin to the
mid thigh.
Painting Arms on the Shield costs extra in terms of mon-
ey and time required, depending on the complexity of
the Arms and the level of detail required.
Availability: ST:SO. Cost: New, ~4/- to 5/6d (48-66d).
Weight: ~6-10 lbs. Production: 2-4 days.
KITE SHIELD
Appearing in the 11th century, shaped like a tear=drop
with a rounded top and sides coming down to a point,
covering from chin to knees.
Heraldry was a new-fangled thing for most of the period
when these shields were in use, so designs painted on
them were often traditional warlike ones (dragons, lions
and suchlike) or simple colours and patterns.
Availability: ST:SO. Cost: New, ~5/- to 7/6d (60-90d).
Weight: ~8-15 lbs. Production: 3-5 days.
ROUND SHIELD
The common Shield type in the 10th century, possibly
extending into the 11th ... depictions of Shields in art
are almost universally either of the elite or done for an
elite audience, and so the latest equipment would be
shown for everyone rather than what they actually
used in battle.
Shield designs were usually simple – either locally tradit-
ional colours or patterns or some sort of fearsome beast
to reflect martial prowess (in theory).
Availability: ST:SO. Cost: New, ~2/6d to 5/- (30-60d).
Weight: ~5-10 lbs. Production: 2-4 days.
PRICE & WEIGHT RANGES
Armour prices and weights are given as ranges -- but
what does this mean?
In general, there is an inverse link between price and
weight ... the higher the price you pay, the lower the
weight of the armour.
That said, it’s not as simple as walking into the Arm-
ourer’s workshop and saying ‘I want some (relatively)
lightweight armour and I will pay any price!’
Not all armourers are skilled enough to produce the
best possible combination ... and would just as likely
charge the high range price for not quite as light as
the PC would like armour. The PCs will have to do
their ‘due diligence’ and search.
ARMOUR - PRACTICALITIES
Just as most RPGs handle the various types of armour
available in a medieval setting badly, they are gener-
ally even worse at handling how armour works in a
real world sense. This section has a look at some of the
issues they handle poorly and also suggests ways in
which you can make armour usage more realistic …
Because of the proliferation of RPG rules out there a lot
of what is included below is, perforce, generic … but
rules for AD&D, D&D 3.5 (and higher), Pathfinder 1
(and higher) and Runequest (or Mythras) are included
and will probably give a good handle on how you can
deal with things in other systems.
WEARING ARMOUR
As you can see from the weight ranges given for the
selected sets of Infantry and Cavalry armour on the
previous pages, armour is anything but light. Knights
could end up wearing 70-90 pounds (~32-41 kilos) of
armour alone – and then have to carry another 15-20
or more pounds (7-9 kilos) of weaponry – at least as
much, and probably more, than the maximum load a
modern infantryman are equipped with.
Modern infantry don’t carry that amount for very long,
if at all – a lot is carried in unit transport, and a lot of
what isn’t isn’t carried into combat. A lot of what is on
them when combat starts is ditched – pretty much every-
thing but weapons and ammo. So claims that they rou-
tinely carry 80lbs or so are, well, not entirely true.
Medieval soldiers were no more enamoured of carry-
ing lots of heavy equipment long distances on their
backs any more than modern soldiers are – and this
had a direct impact on how armour was worn.
Mostly it wasn’t. Or, perhaps more accurately, mostly
most of it wasn’t most of the time.
Most of the time, most soldiers wore minimal armour
– an Aketon (Arming Doublet) and some sort of Helmet
were most likely. Anything more? Only when there
was a more immediate potential threat … depending
on how many layers of armour they had, they might
only put on a little more until battle was imminent.
So a 12th century Knight might put on his Full Mail, but
without the separate leggings, making it the equivalent
of ¾ Mail, and only his Mail Coif and Cervelliere. Only
when battle seems more immediate will he don his Mail
Leggings, Coat of Plates and Great Helm.
Lots of RPGs make it plain that it is socially unaccept-
able for PCs to wear full armour (of any sort) in non-
combat settings (though there might not have been
any actual laws prohibiting it) what they don’t get is
that armour was too heavy for people to want to wear
any longer than they had to – even in a nominal war-
zone (it is simply far too exhausting).
ENCUMBRANCE
Most RPGs either overestimate or underestimate the
actual weight of armour – even for armour types that
actually existed. They compound the issue by using
unrealistic ways of dealing with actual weight vs the
intersection between dead and distributed weight.
Actual Weight. What is says. The objectively measur-
ed weight of the set of armour in pounds or kilos.
Dead Weight. This is the perceived weight of the set
of armour when carried as luggage.
Distributed Weight. This is the perceived weight of
the set of armour when worn.
A 15 lb Mail Cuirass always weighs 15 lbs (the actual
weight). When properly worn, it seems to weigh less
(distributed weight) than if just carried (dead weight).
Theoretically you’ll tire just as quickly or suffer the
same weight penalties regardless of whether you’re
carrying or wearing armour … that’s true, to a point.
The reality is that a poorly distributed load is actually
more tiring to carry than a properly balanced one.
Most RPGs fudge this … usually quite a lot, partly be-
cause their armour types/weights are all over the
range from far too light to far too heavy even for those
few of the sets that actually existed.
Unless the system you use has rules for fatigue based on
Encumbrance it falls into this category – but there are
ways around it, see the end of this section.
The reality is that anyone wearing most metal body
armour will be affected – but to represent this?
They can’t run, or can’t run as fast, they can’t move in
melee as fast and both are much more exhausting –
heck, doing anything but standing still in armour is
exhausting (and when you consider the layers you’re
wearing, it’s going to be hot and sweaty as well).
The really heavily armoured guys ride horses, if not in
battle, then to battle – so they’re mostly sitting down. 73
 They don’t do well if unhorsed … if they’re deployed on
foot for a battle (and few will want to do this) they often
discard some or all of the heavier parts of their armour.
Anyone wearing significant armour on foot won’t be
running around (advancing at speed, say) for very
long – and combat will be in relative slow motion for
all involved after a very short period of time.
Encumbrance rules rarely deal with this – but, as long
as all parties to a melee are roughly equally exhausted
it probably balances out. If fresh participants arrive,
however, you might want to change things somewhat
(see Armour Rules, later).
AGILITY
The bigger issue with armour, one almost entirely
ignored, is how limiting it is to Agility (or Dexterity, or
whatever your system calls the ability to manoeuvre
freely) of the wearer. Yet most systems either ignore it
completely, gloss over it or (misleadingly) connect it to
armour weight – when, in reality, weight is a relatively
minor factor.
There are basically three types of armour – flexible,
rigid and a combination of the two. Each has a differ-
ent effect on the wearer’s agility.
Flexible Armour. Isn’t always that flexible. It can be
fabric (Aketon, Gambeson etc.) or metal (Mail).
Arming Doublets are reasonably unrestrictive as they
are not meant to be stand-alone armour, but worn under
other armour … and are, quite light in weight.
Stiffened Linen Aketons and Gambesons, however,
have to be stiff to work – and can be restrictive even
though only stiffened over those body parts that don’t
need to bend (where they are padded rather than glued).
Mail is the most problematic of all armour types in relat-
ion to Agility – because it is flexible. Far more flexible
than an Aketon or Gambeson. Mail sags – all over the
place, and as the wearer moves.
To get around this, Mail was secured at strategic points
to minimise sag – some was pulled up and over the belt
(at the waist), suits often included a breast strap, arm
sections were secured around the upper and lower arms,
as were leg sections, with leather ties as well. Unsecured
74
Mail causes big Agility penalties – properly secured
Mail causes lesser penalties.
Rigid Armour. Isn’t rigid everywhere – since it
doesn’t cover everywhere. Depending on type, it can
hamper agility to a greater or lesser degree. All types
of rigid armour have to either be flexible at points
where the wearer needs to bend (degree of flexibility
can vary widely) or simply not cover those areas.
In the 10th-11th centuries stand-alone rigid armour is
either confined to the chest (a Cuirass) or consists of sep-
arate sections (¾ Lamellar, for example) all worn over
an Aketon.
Scale tends to be a bit saggy, but nowhere near as bad
as unsecured Mail. Lamellar is potentially different – a
Lamellar Cuirass is not particularly confining, and has
an even lesser effect on agility than Scale – but ¾ Lam-
ellar has a greater impact than Scale, especially if worn
with a Stiffened Linen Aketon.
Combination Armour. This is everything else and in-
clude the most common sets overall. They consist of
Rigid armour where you don’t need to bend or twist
and Flexible armour elsewhere.
The rigid armour rests directly on the body parts they
protect which minimises penalties – and the flexible bits
are generally small enough to do the same. The only two
examples of this type, appearing in the mid to lat 14th
century, are Partial Plate (in Western Europe) and
Lamellar & Plate (in Eastern Europe).
EQUIPPING & UNEQUIPPING
How long does it take to put on (and take off) armour?
A lot longer than any existing RPG allows is the short
answer, and the long answer is …
Armour Closure. Apart from Mail, Lamellar and, pos-
sibly, Scale and Arming Doublets (see below) the exist-
ing evidence for the 10th-14th centuries strongly sug-
gests armour closures were at the rear … making it im-
possible to put them on without assistance.
The 15th century is a different matter – some armour
(Arming Doublets, Brigandines & Gambesons) some-
times have front (or, more rarely) side closures. There’s
no evidence that these appeared any earlier … but given
the general paucity of evidence it is, at least, possible.
This is one reason why soldiers would wear an Arming
Doublet, Stiffened Linen Aketon or Gambeson all the
time in a moderate to high threat environment … it’s
one less step towards putting on one’s better armour.
And, of course, it’s reasonable armour by itself – just in
case you are attacked by surprise.
Mail. You can actually put on Mail unassisted
(though not the Aketon you’ll be wearing underneath)
– not particularly easily, especially for the larger sets
(¾ and Full Mail), but it can be done.

You roll it up like a woolly jumper and pull it over your

head while bending over, then stand upright and gravity
does the rest … if you’ve done the preparation well.

The real problem is, as noted above, Mail then has to

be secured around the waist, probably the chest, and
certainly the arms and legs (and the legs are two sep-
arate pieces hanging from a belt under the upper
body armour) … all of which adds time to the process.

Lamellar. There are no surviving sets of Lamellar

from the period – the best guess is that they had a side
closure, probably the left (protected by the Shield),
and probably overlapped, secured by a leather straps,
ties or buckles around the chest.

Assuming a side rather than rear closure, it would

have been possible to put on and fasten Lamellar
armour without assistance … but, as with Mail, you’ll
still need to get into your Aketon with its rear closure.
Scale. No-one really knows how this was secured …
probably the same way Lamellar was is a good guess.
Partial Plate, Lamellar & Mail. The Mail parts are
put on as per Mail – each of the additional Plate or
Lamellar units has to be strapped on one by one. This
would, of course, be a time consuming process and al-
most certainly would have required assistance.
Later (15th century plus) Plate was often made of inter-
connected pieces, making it easier and faster to put on
than the individual pieces of the Partial Plate available
at the end of the 14th century. Still, it would have been
awkward to do it by oneself, even if it was possible.
SHIELDS
Again, this is something that is exceedingly badly
handled by all RPGs I am aware of ... as a result of an
almost universal and complete misunderstanding of
how shields were actually used in the period.
Almost all games require some sort of Active or, occas-
ionally, Passive Parry action must to be undertaken
for a Shield to have any protective effect.
right (weapon holding) arm. The shield is routinely
held in such a way that no ordinary blow will bypass
it enough to get at those areas.
Attacks will be directed at the head and neck, should-
ers and legs, perhaps the weapon arm ... and, if the
attacker is really lucky or really good (or the defender
is really unlucky), perhaps they’ll sneak an attack past
and get the extreme left side of the chest and torso.
Kite Shields provide extended cover down to the knees
or below. Heater Shields provide about as much cover
as a Round Shield.
What accounts survive of early medieval battles rout-
inely indicate that attackers (and elite attackers, who
would have had a high level of training) would att-
empt to hack their opponent’s shields to pieces rather
than try and bypass them ... strongly suggesting that
this was seeen to be the easier route ... or would attack
the head and shoulders and legs.
Medieval Fechtbuch are not particularly helpful for
showing battlefield combat with Shields. When they do
show Shields being used they are Bucklers and are part
of individual hand-to-hand or melee combat (usually for
civilians in self defense or for judicial duels), not the use
of full size shields on the battlefield.

Which is, when you think about it, is obviously a load
of rubbish. Shields are big ... at least the Shield types
used in the 10th-14th centuries. They’re big for a reas-
on ... to protect as much of the body as possible passi-
vely. Without any need for ‘parrying’.
Worse, most of them date to the 15th century, after the in-
troduction of Full Plate renders shields less important –
for the elite, anyway, the audience that Fechtbucher are
aimed at!

Depending on the actual size, a Round Shield covers

all of the body, from just below the neck or shoulders
to mid thigh or just above the knees except for the 75
 WEAPONRY
10TH-11TH CENTURIES
The following weapons are available in Western and
Central Europe, Scandinavia and the Iberian Penin-
sula except where noted.
AXES
Availability: LV:SO. Weight: ~1-1½ lbs. Production:
6-8 per day. Cost: 3-4d.
Availability: SV:CM. Weight: ~1½-2 lbs. Production:
6-8 per day. Cost: 2-3d.
Not balanced for throwing. Intended for general use
rather than combat, but can be used as a weapon.
Availability: LV:SO. Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Production: 3-
4 per day. Cost: 6-8d.
Availability: ST:SO. Weight: ~5-7 lbs. Production: ½-
1 per day. Cost: 2/- to 3/6d (24-42d).
BOWS
Availability: LV:CM, ST:OTC. Weight: ~5 lbs. Prod-
uction: 4+ Sheaves* per day. Cost: 9d to 1/- (9-12d)
A Sheaf is 24 arrows. They are sold in bundles, tied to-
gether with cord. If just assembling the arrows with pre-
made arrowheads, double the production rate.
Availability: ST:SO. Weight: 3-4 lbs. Production: 1-2
per day. Cost: 6d-1/- (6-12d).
These waterproof cases have separate compartments for
the user’s Composite Bow and Arrows (at least a dozen,
probably two dozen), typically attached to the belt.
76
Availability: SV:SO, LV:CM. Weight: negligible. Pro-
duction: Many scores/day. Cost: ¼d for two.
Availability: ST:UC. Weight: 3-4 lbs. Production: 7-9
months*. Cost: 10/- to 12/- (120-144d)
Availability: ST:UC (Eastern Empre, the Steppes,
Holy Lands, Caliphate, North africa Muslim Spain
only. Weight: 3-4 lbs. Production: 7-9 months*. Cost:
8/- to 12/- (96-120d).
* Working days to produce - 3-7 days. Time for the com-
ponents to dry to finished state = 7-9 months.
At the GM’s option they may be a very rare item found
in large Cities or Special Ordered from important trade
routes to places where they are available for sale.
Availability: LV:CM. Weight: 3-4 lbs. Production: 2-
4 per day*. Cost: 10d to 1/8d (10-20d).
These are just less powerful versions of the Warbow. The
main difference being their lesser range.
Availability: ST:SO. Weight: 1½-2 lbs. Production: 3-
4 per day. Cost: 2-3d.
Used in some parts of the Continent or by dilettante
Archers (those who hunt for sport). Capacity was at least
12, perhaps 24. Attached to the Archer’s belt.
Availability: LV:CM. Weight: 3-4 lbs. Production: 2-
4 per day*. Cost: 1/- to 2/- (12-24d).
The wood from which a Longbow was made had to be
cured for 2, perhaps as long as 4, years … but the actual
shaping, adding the nocks etc, took less than a day.
KNIVES
Availability: LV:CM. Weight: 1½-2½ lbs. Producti-
on: 3-4 per day. Cost: 2-4d.
SPEARS & JAVELINS
See Spear and Throwing Spear, below.
Weight: ~5-8 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 4-
6/day. Cost: 6-8d.
Weight: ~5-8 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 4-
6/day. Cost: 6-8d.
Yep. Pretty much identical. Sellers might try to charge
Cavalrymen more since they’re likely wealthier.
Availability: LV:SO. Weight: 2½-3½ lbs. Production:
5-7 per day. Cost: 2-4d.
Availability: LV:SO. Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Production: 4-
6 per day. Cost: 3-6d.
Availability: SV:CM. Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Production: 4-
6 per day. Cost: 3-6d.
Availability: LV:SO. Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Production: 4-
6 per day. Cost: 3-6d.
SWORDS
Availability: ST:SO. Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Production: 6-
8 days. Cost: £1-2 (240-480d).
Availability: ST:CM (Eastern Empire, Arab Lands
only). Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Production: 3-5 days. Cost:
5/- to 7/6d (60-90d).
Availability: ST:CM (Eastern Empire, Arab Lands
only). Weight: ~2½-3 lbs. Production: 3-5 days. Cost:
5/- to 7/6d (60-90d).
As Long Sword (Spatha)
12TH-13TH CENTURIES
AXES
The Light (Utility) Axe and War Axe ontinue in use,
but the Two Handed War Axe goes out of fashion out-
side of Muscovy, Scandinavia and surrounds.
BOWS & CROSSBOWS
Hunting Bows and Warbows remain in use, as do Leaf
Blade Arrows. Composite Bows remain rare in the
Western Mediterranean, as noted above.
Availability: SV:SO. C:OTC. Weight: 1-2 lbs. Pro-
duction: 6+ per day. Cost: 1-2d.
Contains a Sheaf of 24 arrows with a spacer to prevent
fouling when drawing. Mostly worn slung over the
shoulder in MSS illuminations.
Weight: ~5 lbs. Availability: LV:CM, ST:OTC. Prod-
uction: 4+ Sheaves/day. Cost: 1/- to 1/6d (12-18d).
Weight: ~5 lbs. Availability: ST:CM, C:OTC. Prod-
uction: 4 Sheaves/day. Cost: 10d to 2/6d (10-30d)
A Sheaf is 24 arrows. If just assembling the arrows with
pre-made arrowheads, double the production rate.
Availability: SV:SO. C:OTC. Weight: 1-2 lbs. Pro-
duction: 6+ per day. Cost: 1-2d.
Used to store a Warbow, Bowstrings and maintenance
supplies (e.g. Beeswax) and waterproofed. Usually slung
over the shoulder (not intended to carry arrows).
Weight: Dozen, ~2-2¼ lbs; Twenty, ~4 lbs. Availabil-
ity: ST:CM, C:OTC. Production: 40-60 per day. Cost:
1-1½d each (Dozen, 12-18d; Twenty, 20-30d)
Crossbow Bolts are sold in Bunches of 12 or 20.
Weight: ~1-1.2 lbs. Availability: V:SO. Production:
½-1 per day. Cost: 6d to 1/- (6-12d).
Either 12 or 20 Bolt capacity, typically constructed of
leather with an internal wooden frame and slots or holes
to keep the quarrels separated and ensure a clean draw.
May fully open or simply have a flip top both with a tog-
gle closure. Normally worn at the belt.
Weight: ~3-5 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: ½-1 per day. Cost: 3/- to 5/- (36-60d).
Weight: ~8-9 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: 2-3 days. Cost: 6/- to 7/- (72-84d).
Weight: ~8-9 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: 2-3 days. Cost: 7/- to 10/- (84-120d).
Weight: ~1-2 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: 2/day. Cost: 2/- (24d). 77
 The Goatsfoot Lever is used to speed up (or enable) the
recocking of a Medium Crossbow. It is simple to attach
and remove and quick to use.
DAGGERS
The Seax goes out of use on the battlefield, at least in
theory, but most commoners will have something like
a Ballock Dagger as a utility tool to do double duty.
Weight: ~½-¾ lbs. Availability: ST:CM, C:OTC. Prod-
uction: 3-4/day. Cost: 9d to 1/- (9-12d).
Weight: ~1-2 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:CM. Prod-
uction: 3/day. Cost: 1/- to 1/6d (12-18d).
Weight: ~2-3 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: 1/day. Cost: 1/6d to 2/- (18-24d).
MISCELLANEOUS
This is the first formal appearance of an impact only
weapon ... though Clubs or Cudgels made from local
materials certainly existed as desperation weapons.
Weight: ~5-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 3/
day. Cost: 3-6d.
Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, C:UN. Prod-
uction: 4/day. Cost: 2-4d.
SPEARS
Older styles of spears continue in use -- and you see
the development of a wide variety of agricultural tools
into sometimes deadly spearlike weapons.
Weight: ~8-12 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production:
4-6/day. Cost: 6-8d.
78
Weight: ~6-8 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: 1-2/day. Cost: 1/- to 2/- (12-24d).
Weight: ~8-12 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production:
4-6/day. Cost: 8-10d.
Weight: ~8-10 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production:
2-3/day. Cost: 1/- to 2/- (12-24d).
A modified and improved Cavalry Spear modified to
make it effective couched in a charge.
Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 4-
6/day. Cost: 4-8d.
Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 4-
6/day. Cost: 5-10d.
Weight: ~4-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: 2-4/day. Cost: 8-10d.
Weight: ~8-12 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production:
4-6/day. Cost: 8-10d.
SWORDS
Older types of swords continue in use, not just as
hand me downs, but as new production as well ...
Weight: ~2½-3 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: ½-1/day. Cost: 1/- to 2/- (12-24d).
Weight: ~2½-3 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: ½-1/day. Cost: 1/- to 2/- (12-24d).
Weight: ~2½-3 lbs. Availability: LT::SO, C:UC. Prod-
uction: 5-7 days. Cost: 12th Century, 10/= to 15/- (120-
180d); 13th Century, 7/6d to 10/- (90-12d)
Weight: ~2-2½ lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: 1-2 days. Cost: 1/6d to 2/6d (18-30d).
14TH CENTURY
AXES
The Light Utility Axe and War Axe continue in use.
Weight: ~5-7 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: ½-
1/day. Cost: 2/6d to 4/- (30-48d).
Weight: ~4-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 1-
1½/day. Cost: 2/- to 3/- (24-36d).

BOWS & CROSSBOWS

All previous types of Bows, Crossbows, Arrows and
Bolts continue in use.

Weight: ~15-18 lbs. Availability: LT:SO. Production:

Arbalest, 5-7 days; Windlass, 1/day; Cranequin, 2-3
days. Cost: Arbalest, 14/- to £1 (168-240d); Windlass,
5/- (60d); Cranequin, 10/- (120d).

Weight: Dozen, ~2½-3 lbs; Twenty, ~3¾-4 lbs. Avail- MACES & WARHAMMERS
ability: LT:UN, C:CM. Production: 30-45 per day.
Cost: 2-2½d each (Dozen, 24-30d; Twenty, 40-50d) Weight: ~5-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 2-
4 days. Cost: 3/- to 4/- (36-48d).

Weight: Dozen, ~2½-3 lbs; Twenty, ~3¾-4 lbs. Avail-

ability: LT:UN, C:CM. Production: 30-45 per day. Weight: ~7-8 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 2-
Cost: 2½-3½d each (Dozen, 30-42d; Twenty, 50-70d) 4 days. Cost: 3/6 to 4/6 (42-54d).

Arbalest Bolts are sold in Bunches of 12 or 20.

Weight: ~7-9 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production: 2-
3/day. Cost: 1/- to 1/6d (12-18d).
By the 14th century, and possibly earlier, Arrows could
be purchased in bulk (usually for military expeditions
-- but private conractors often raised forces for their Weight: ~8-12 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production:
employer and probably ordered their own arrows) at 3-4/day. Cost: 8-10d.
a significant discount!

A Pipe (Barrel: 954 liters or 252 gallons; 8/- [96d])
contains 160 Sheaves (£6/13/4d [1600d] for the arrows
or (£7/1/4d [1696d] including the barrel)
A Tun (Barrel: 477 liters or 126 gallons; 16/- [192d])
contains 260 Sheaves (£10/16/8d [2600d] for the arr-
ows (£11/12/8d [2792d] including the barrel).
By the late 14th century they may also be bought by the
Coffer (22d) of 50 Sheaves (£2/1/8d [500d] for the arr-
ows, or £2/3/6d [522d] including the Coffer).
Weight: ~5-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 2-
3/day. Cost: 1/6d to 2/- (18-24d).
Two Handed Military Flails do not become available un-
til the 15th century.
Weight: ~5-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 2/
day. Cost: 6d to 1/- (6-12d).
SPEARS

Weight: ~4-5 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production: 4-

Weight: Dozen, ~2-2¼ lbs; Twenty, ~4 lbs. Availabil- 6/day. Cost: 8-10d.
ity: C:CM, LC:OTC. Production: 20-30 per day. Cost:
2-3d each (Dozen, 24-36d; Twenty, 40-60d).
Weight: ~7-9 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production: 2-
DAGGERS 3/day. Cost: 1/- to 1/6d (12-18d).
Older types continued in use, supplemented by ...

Weight: ~12-15 lbs. Availability: LV:SO. Production:

Weight: ~2-3 lbs. Availability: ST:SO; C:CM. Prod- 2-3/day. Cost: 8-10d.
uction: 2/day. Cost: 1/6d to 2/- (18-24d).
SWORDS

Weight: ~4-6 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 1- Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: ST:SO. Production: 3-
1½/day. Cost: 2/- to 2/6d (24-30d). 5 days. Cost: 2/- to 3/- (24-36d). 79
 PRICING WEAPONS
You’ll note that, in many cases, what might seem to be
very similar weapons have wildly different costs --Med-
ieval craftsmen often sold goods and services at differ-
ential prices based on the (perceived) social class of
the purchaser ... so Falchion (used, by and large, by
commoners) costs less than a functionally very similar
Knight’s (Standard) Sword which is theoreticallyused
mainly by the elite.
Standard weaponry is plain but those aimed at an
elite market will probably be better finished. Swords,
for example, come with a scabbard, but a plain one,
and have a hilt and pommel which are, likewise,
plain. Want a gilded, silvered or gem encrusted
scabbard? Pommel? Hilt? The price goes up! And up!
HOW MANY WEAPONS ARE THERE?
The Availability Rules attempt to do away with the
common RPG trope of simply walking into the local
General Store and buying a Knights 1½ Hand Sword
‘off the rack’, so to speak. But how much was actually
available?
We actually have records from the important market
town (site of a famous International Market Fair) of
Troyes (2300 Households, or a population ~10,000 or
so) in France for 1474.
Troyes was a major Market Town, the intersection of
several continent and regional spanning trade routes –
so it is reasonable to assume it would have many more
weapons available for sale than some relative backwater
… and could well approach the amount available for
sale at much larger towns (though really large Cities
such as, say, Paris, would probably have more).
Personal Property. 37 Bows, 271 Crossbows, 389
Lances, 855 Hatchets & Hammers, 857 Two Handed
Hammers, 1047 Spears, 201 Javelins & Lances & Pikes
(also 547 ‘Gonnes’ and 1 Serpentine Cannon that are
obviously not available a century earlier)
For Sale. 79 Lances, 16 ‘Steel Crossbows’ (Arbalests?),
8 Hammers, 56 Swords.
Not a whole heck of a lot, all in all.
80
Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: LT:SO; C:UC. Prod-
uction: 2-3 days. Cost: 10/- to 15/- (120-180d).
Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: LT:SO; C:UC. Prod-
uction: 2-3 days. Cost: 7/6d to 10/- (90-120d).
Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: LT:SO; C:UC. Prod-
uction: 5-7 days. Cost: 10/- to 15/- (120-180d).
Weight: ~2½-3 lbs. Availability: ST:SO, LT:UC. Prod-
uction: 2-3 days. Cost: 2/6d to 3/6d (30-48d).
Weight: ~3-4 lbs. Availability: ST:CM (Eastern
Empire, Arab Lands only). Production: 3-5 days. Cost:
7/6d to 12/- (90-144d).
FARM & CRAFT CONVERSIONS
Many of the weapons used by the common people
were based on agricultural implements or craft tools --
those listed above are assumed to have been built
from scratch as weapons. However, it is possible to
both speed up the production rate and reduce the cost
by taking the original tool and converting it.
As a rule of thumb, triple production rate and allow
1--2d for the conversion costs for Bills, Fauchards,
Guisarmes, Mauls, Military Flails and War Scythes.
Such conversions will not be quite as effective as the pur-
pose built versions, however, so see the following sections
giving game stats (damage, special rules etc) for them to
see what the difference is).
PRICE, WEIGHT & DAMAGE
As with armour, there is an inverse connection be-
tween price and weight. High price generally (but, as
with armour, not always) means low weight (except for
weapons doing Bludgeon or Crushing damage, where
the high weight is actually better).
There is, however, another, possibly more important,
connection not shown here but in The Rules -- the
amount of Damage a weapon does.
Weapons are given two damage ratings -- one that
does less damage (or a lower average) for the cheaper
weapon ... and one which does more damage (or a
higher average) for the more expensive.
As with armour, however, you cannot simply walk off
the street and order ‘The highest damage xxx’ from the
armourer ... you’ve got to search for the rare expert
who can perform such work.
 81
Oh deer -- Boots and Heels simply Do. Not. Exist. in the 10th-14th centuries and for many centuries thereafter
 THE RULES
As you can see from the extensive information provi-
ded about real weapons and armour of the 10th to 14th
centuries, virtually every medieval-ish Fantasy role
playing game in existence makes a horrible mess of
some or all of the real world parameters.
The following section aims to provide some rules for a
more realistic/historical way to run armour and weap-
ons in a selection of available rule systems (and variat-
ions on them) that are either widely popular or at
least well known to the author.
You have the prices, weights and time needed to make
them already -- now you need to know how they mesh
with the Character Classes, Professions, Skills, Proficien-
cies and Combat Systems ... or, at least, how they can
be made to mesh. Hopefully without too much in the
way of changes -- or changes that are too grating.
Some of these changes are quite major – entirely because
the thrust of the games they are intended to modify have
never seriously considered anything more than a bad
Hollywoodised version of history. They shouldn’t, how-
ever, make these games unplayable, even if adopted
wholesale … just a lot more realistic.
Regard the following rules as purely experimental and
as suggestions -- use all, some, or none, of them as you
desire. Heck, chop and change them to suit your in-
terpretation of the material ... there’s particular reas-
on to treat these ideas as Holy Writ!
82
However, they do offer the GM and players who want
a more historical experience a chance to try that out
in the systems included ... and may offer ideas as to
how to include the realities of medieval armour and
weapons into whataver their personal favourite system
might be!
At the very least they may make you consider your own
ways of dealing with these matters.
One thing that has been added for both armour and
weaponry are rules for maintenance (preventative as
well as post battle/post use) and repair (mainly for arm-
our, and intended to be used post battle).
Not everything can be fixed, of course, but this is somet-
hing that is routinely ignored in virtually all RPGs,
whether Ancient, Medieval or Modern.
Sure, its extra book-keeping, so I’d suggest you use it
sparingly, but it can be a great plot hook to force the PCs
to spend money they may not want to spend (and may
not have enough to do all they want) and search for the
right craftsmen and materials to do the job at the most
inconvenient time possible.
It’s also a way to remind them, as has been pointed out,
that things fall apart … at some point their favourite
Sword is going to break, no matter how well care for,
and, likewise, their Brigandine will take so much dam-
age that it will have to be stripped down to its metal
plates and those plates re-riveted between the canvas or
canvas and leather shell.
Maintenance may put off the day … but it is going to
come.
And these things are just as like as not to occur at the
most inconvenient time possible, especially if the PCs
have been lax with maintenance!
D&D 3.5 & 5.0, PATHFINDER 1.0, FATEFORGE
The systems covered include Dungeons & Dragons 3.5
(but works with AD&D) & 5, Pathfinder 1.0 (but will
probably work with 2.0) and Fateforge.
CLASS & PROFICIENCY
This obviously applies only to AD&D, D&D 3-5, Path-
finder and those OGL systems where the various
Classes have weapon access divided into Proficiencies.
The main problem is that the three groups into which
the various types of weapons are divided are, well, art-
ificial … and ludicrous … and bear no resemblance at
all to the sort(s) of access that was available to the var-
ious classes in real medieval Europe and the Mediterr-
anean world (or anywhere else, for that matter).
‘Simple’, ‘Martial’ and ‘Exotic’ weapons indeed – this
classification doesn’t stand any serious examination.
For example, Handaxes, Saps, Scythes and agricultural
Flails (combat versions don’t yet exist) – plus Shortbows
and Longbows are supposedly ‘Martial’ weapons. Yet
all of them were widely used by the common peasantry
as part of their day to day toolkit.
WEAPON CLASSES & PROFICIENCIES
A more realistic functional division is as follows --
Edged Weapons, Long Blades: Arming Sword, Back-
sword (Early & Late), Estoc (Early & Late), Falchion*
(Cleaver & Cusped), Knight’s Standard Sword;
Knight’s Hand-and-a-half Sword, Kriegsmesser, Long-
sword (Spatha), Mahaddab, Messer, Paramerion
(Early & Late), Two Handed Sword and Shamshir.
Edged Weapons, Short Blades: Ballock Dagger, Bas-
elard Dagger, Falchion* (Cleaver & Cusped), Miseri-
corde, Rondel Dagger, Seax, Quillon/Knightly Dagger.
Missile Weapons, Bows: Composite Bow (Long &
Short), Hunting Bow, Warbow.
Missile Weapons, Crossbows: Arbalest, Light
Crossbow, Medium Crossbow.
Missile Weapons, Miscellaneous. Angon** (Throw-
ing), Axe/Francisca (Throwing), Javelin, Thrown
Knife/Dagger.
Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous: Bardiche, Cudgel,
Goedendag**, Mace (Light & Heavy), Maul, Military
Flail, Morningstar, Pollaxe, Quarterstaff**, Utility
Axe, War Axe (1- and 2-Handed), Warhammer (1- and
2-Handed)
Spears & Polearms: Angon, Bill, Cavalry Spear
(Long), Fauchard, Glaive (Hafted Falchion), Guis-
arme, Halberd, Infantry Spear (Long), Lance, Lug-
ged/Winged Spear, Partisan, Quarterstaff**, Spetum,
Voulge, War Scythe.
* Falchions are sort of Swords and, certainly by the late
15th Century were widely used by nobles, but in the per-
iod covered they were mainly intended for use by non-
nobles, and mainly used by Infantry as a backup weap-
on for either their Bow or Spear.
** Yes, Angons, Goedendags and Quarterstaves all app-
ear in two groups.
There’s really not enough difference between the
weapons in each category and they way they were em-
ployed on the battlefield to apply any sort of long term
penalty to their use – except for Long/Composite
Bows, for which see Archers & Archery (qv).
Note: The Classes/Proficiencies above include all the
weapons from across the 10th-14th centuries listed herein
… but, for each period, Characters only have access to
the Weapons available in that period. So, for example, a
12th century character with Edged Weapons (Long
Blades) does not have access to Backsword, which is a
14th century weapon even though it is listed in the overall
Proficiency group.
CLASSES & PROFICIENCIES – D&D/PATHFINDER
Some suggested revised proficiencies for each Class in
Weapons and Armour are given below – which divide
the classes into historically functional groups.
These are real world ‘barbarians’ – which, by the 11th
century or so means peoples on the peripheries of the
medieval west, in the more isolated parts of central
and eastern Europe and in Scandinavia as well as the
more southerly parts of North Africa and a good
chunk of the more arid or mountainous parts of the
Middle East and the Arabian peninsula.
Archers: Are proficient with Missile Weapons, Bows 83
 and Edged Weapons, Short Blades. They are proficient
with Light Armour.
Spearmen (or Non-Archers): Are proficient with
Spears & Polearms and with either Edged Weapons,
Short Blades or Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous. They
may be proficient with Light Armour (most commonly)
or Light and Medium Armour (less commonly).
Conan type Barbarian: These don’t really exist in
the medieval period – or, for that matter, at any time
at all outside of pulp-fantasy novels – but for the sake
of completeness, they are included here.
They are proficient with two of following three groups
– Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous; Edged Weapons, Short
& Long Blades and Spears & Polearms. They are
proficient with Light and Medium Armour as well.
These are generally the ‘barbarian’ elites (mainly
Mounted, Shock) or are representative of many Steppe
nomad tribes (originally) from central Asia (both
Mounted, Shock and Mounted, Missile).
Mounted, Shock: Are proficient with Edged Weapons,
Long & Short Blades and Spears & Polearms. They are
proficient with Light and Medium Armour.
Mounted, Missile: Are proficient with Edged Weap-
ons, Long & Short Blades and Missile Weapons, Comp-
osite Bows. They may be proficient with Light Armour
(most commonly) or with Light and Medium Armour
(less commonly).
84
Bards are proficient with Edged Weapons, Short Blades
and Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous. Depending on
your concept and/or their national origin they may
choose one of the following – Edged Weapons, Long
Blades or Missile Weapon, Bows. They are usually pro-
ficient with Light Armour if they chosen a Bow, Short
Blade or Miscellaneous Melee proficiency, or with
Light and Medium Armour if they have chosen the
Long Blades proficiency.
There’s not really a lot of difference between the two
classes in the period covered – the Druids represent
tribal Shamans or the Priests of various Pagan gods of
Barbarian tribes rather than classical era Druids.
Ordained-Ordinary: Clerics and Druids are profic-
ient with Edged Weapons, Short Blades or Melee Weap-
ons, Miscellaneous. They are proficient with Light Arm-
our – and you may wish to prohibit Druids from wear-
ing any metal armour.
Militant: Clerics belonging to one of the Military
Orders will be proficient with weapons and armour as
befits a Fighter (see below).
Note: There was no historical restriction against them
using edged weapons.
While there are really no equivalents to this sub-group as
far as Druids go, you could allow as how it might repres-
ent something like a group of Berserks or similar ‘holy’
fighters in some traditions.
The way medieval soldiers were trained, or, actually,
not trained, means they are specialised into different
groups within the overall Class. Some are mounted,
most are foot soldiers.
Archers: Are proficient with one of the two following
Bow skills – Missile Weapons, Crossbows or Missile
Weapons, Bows. They are also proficient with Edged
Weapons, Short Blades. They are proficient with Light
Armour for most of the period but may add Medium
Armour by the 14th century.
See Archers & Archery (qv) for details on how to handle
the differences between the different types of Missile
Weapons ‘Archers’ (which includes Crossbowmen) may
be proficient with.
Spearmen: Are proficient with Spears & Polearms and
with either Edged Weapons, Short Blades or Melee
Weapons, Miscellaneous. They may be proficient with
Light Armour (most commonly) or Light and Medium
Armour (less commonly).
Medium/Heavy Infantry: Are proficient with Edged
Weapons, Short & Long Blades and Melee Weapons,
Miscellaneous or Spears & Polearms. Medium Infantry
are proficient with Light & Medium Armour while
Heavy Infantry are proficient with all types of armour.

Light Cavalry: Are proficient with Edged Weapons,

Long & Short Blades or Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous
and either Spears & Polearms or or Missile Weapons,
(either Bows or Crossbows). They are proficient with
Light Armour.

Medium Cavalry: Are proficient with Edged Weapons,

Long & Short Blades or Melee Weapoor Missile Weap-
ons, (either Bows or Crossbows).. They are proficient
with Light and Medium Armour.

Heavy Cavalry (Knights): Edged Weapons, Long

Blades or Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous and Edged
Weapons, Short Blades as well as Spears & Polearms.
They are proficient with all types of armour.

The D&D Monk owes almost nothing to the medieval

Christian tradition – they are, rather, a depiction of
Asian, mostly Buddhist, Monks. As such, they are not
really suitable for a medieval european background.
A medieval Paladin is, technically speaking, a special
type of Knight – so simply use the Heavy Cavalry
(Knights) proficiencies from Fighter (qv).
Insofar as this class ‘existed’ in medieval Europe, it is
really a special variant of the basic Fighter (qv). They
are proficient with Missile Weapons, Crossbows or Mis-
sile Weapons, Bows and also with Edged Weapons,
Short Blades and Spears & Polearms. They are profic-
ient with Light Armour for most of the period but may
add Medium Armour by the 14th century.
These are best represented as Scouts (or, perhaps,
Skirmishers) – organised thievery on a scale to warrant
a special Class doesn’t exist in medieval Europe (heck,
or anywhere, for that matter).
They are proficient with with Missile Weapons, (any),
Crossbows as well as Edged Weapons, Short Blades &
Long Blades or Melee Weapons, Miscellaneous and
with Light Armour.
All are proficient with one of – Edged Weapons, Long
& Blades; Edged Weapons, Short Blades or Melee Weap-
ons, Miscellaneous. You may also allow them profic-
iency with Missile Weapons, Bows or Crossbows.
ARCHERS & ARCHERY IN D20 SYSTEMS
Learning to use a Bow effectively took many, many
years – around 6-8 years, in fact, starting at a very
young age.
The big issue was the draw weight of the Bow and the
need to hold it while aiming – and the training was was
to develop the muscles needed.
Unless your class starts off with a proficiency in
Missile Weapons, Bows Characters should be requir-
ed to expend three Feats (over 9 levels) to represent
the difficulty of doing so.
Characters without a proficiency may not use a Bow.
Those who have spent at least one Feat may, but at a
reduced Rate of Fire 1 Arrow/4 Rounds for the first
Feat spent, 1 Arrow/3 Rounds for the second and 1
Arrow/2 rounds for the third.
This represents developing the greater draw strength re-
quired to hold the Bow at full extension.
SHIELD PROFICIENCY
Everyone may use a Shield effectively for defence. To
use it offensively you must have any one of the Armour
Proficiencies.
Magic Users who need a free hand or hands to cast spells
may not be able to do so if they are using a Shield and
both hands are required to be free.

Only Warlocks may wear armour – the are proficient

with Light Armour. 85
 WEAPON DAMAGE: D20
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Pierce; 1d8/1d8+1, Slash; +1d4
2-Handed). Critical: x3.
Damage: 1d6/1d6+1, Pierce (+1d3 2-Handed).
Critical: x2. Range: 15’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds.
Damage: 1d10/1d10+1; Pierce, 1d6/2d3 Bludgeon.
Critical: 19-20/x3. Range: 150’. RoF: see below.
Spanning by hand = 10 Rounds. With a Windlass, a
load-fire cycle is five Rounds (4 Rounds if it is perman-
ently attached), but requires both hands.
With a Cranequin, a load-fire cycle takes 5-6 Rounds
but two hands are only required for the first Round and
it may be done while mounted.
Iron Bolts are -1 Damage vs Plate, Coats/Jacks of Plates
and Brigandines and do standard Damage vs Mail.
Steel Bolts do +2 Damage vs Mail and +1 Damage vs
any form of Plate (as above).
Damage: 1d6/1d6+1; Slash/Pierce. Critical: x3,
Thrown; x 2, Melee. Range: 20’. RoF: 1/2 rounds.
Pin Shield: If a Thrown attack does full damage, roll
again – success means the defender’s shield is fouled.
Attacks are at +1d2 To Hit for each fouling weapon.
Damage: 1d4/1d3+1, Slash/Chop. Critical: x2,
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1; Slash/Chop. To Hit: -1 if
Thrown. Critical: x2. Range: 5’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds.
Damage: 1d12/1d12+1; Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-
20/x3.
86
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Slash/Pierce. Critical: 19-
20/x2.
Damage: 1d3/1d4; Pierce. Critical: 19-20/x2. Range:
10’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1; Slash, Chop (+1d4 2-Handed).
Critical: 19-20/x3.
Damage: 1d5/1d6; Pierce. Critical: 19-20/x2.
Damage: 2d5/2d5+1, Pierce; 1d10/1d10+1, Slash;
+1d5 2-Handed. Critical: x3, Pierce; x2, Slash.
Damage: 2d3/2d3+1, Pierce; 1d6/1d6+1, Slash; +1d3
2-Handed. Critical: x3, 2-Handed; x2, 1-Handed.
Couched Damage: In a Mounted Charge, is 1d8/1d8+1
Impaling Damage on a Light Horse; 1d10/1d10+1 on
a Medium Horse and 1d12/2d6 on a Heavy Horse.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1; Pierce. Critical: x3. Range:
120’, Flight Arrow; 100’. Other Arrow. RoF: 1/2 rnds.
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1; Pierce. Critical: x3. Range:
100’, Flight Arrow; 80’. Other Arrow. RoF: 1/2 rounds.
Damp Effects: After 1d3+1 days of Damp or Rainy
weather (2d3+2 if kept in a Bow Case), Damage is 1d6,
range, 60’. The Bow takes 2d3+1 days to recover.
Wet Effects: After exposure to Heavy Rain or being
drenched Damage is reduced to 1d4, Range to 30’. It
takes at least 2d3+1 weeks to recover.
Damage: 1d6/1d6+1; Pierce. Critical: x2. Range:
100’. RoF: 1 Bolt/2 rounds.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1; Pierce. Critical: x3. Range:
120’. RoF: see below.
Rate of Fire: 1/4 rounds normally, 1/3 Rounds with a
Stirrup or I/2 rounds with a Goatsfoot Lever.
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1; Pierce. Critical: x3. Range:
100’. RoF: see below.
Rate of Fire: This is 1/3 rounds normally, 1/2 with a
Stirrup.
Iron Crossbow Bolts do -2 Piercing vs. Partial Plate,
Coat/Jack of Plates, Brigandine, -1 Piercing to Mail.
Steel Crossbow Bolts do -1 Piercing vs Partial Plate,
Coat/Jack of Plates and Brigandine.

Damage: 1d8/1d8+1, Slash; 1d6/2d3+1, Pierce.

Critical: x2, Slash; x3, Pierce.

Damage: 1d8/2d4, Pierce. Critical: 19-20/x3.

Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash, Chop. Critical: 18-20, x3.

Damage vs. Metal Armour: -1 vs Mail, Scale, Lamellar;

-2 vs Coat/Jack of Plates, Brigandine, Partial Plate.
Criticals vs. Metal Armour: If the confirming roll vs
Partial Plate, Coats/Jacks of Plates and Brigandines
fails, roll a third time … fail and the Blade breaks.
Dismounting: A Critical Hit vs a Mounted Target may
do normal damage but pull them off their mount.
Damage: 1d5/1d6; Pierce. Critical: x2. Range: 80’
RoF: 1 Arrow/2 rounds.

Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash, Chop; 1d5/1d6, Pierce.

Critical: 18-20, x3, Slash, Chop; 18-20/x2, Pierce.
Damage vs. Metal Armour: -1, Chop/Slash vs Mail,
Scale, Lamellar; -2 vs Coat/Jack of Plates, Brigandine
and Partial Plate. -1 for Pierce vs Coat/Jack of Plates,
Brigandine and Partial Plate. May do zero (0) Damage.
Damage: 2d3/2d3+1, Pierce; 1d6/1d6+1, Slash; +1d3
2-Handed. Critical: x3, Two Handed; x2, One Handed.
Damage: 1d6/1d6+1, Pierce. Critical: x2. Range:
30’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds.

Criticals vs. Metal Armour: If the confirming roll vs

Partial Plate, Coats/Jacks of Plates and Brigandines Damage: 1d8/1d8+1, Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-20/x2.
fails, roll a third time … fail and the Blade breaks.

Damage: 1d10/1d10+1, Slash; 1d5/1d6 Bludgeon.

Damage: 2d5/2d5+1, Pierce; 1d10/1d10+1, Slash; Critical: 19-20/x2.
+1d5 2-Handed. Critical: x3, Pierce; x2, Slash.

Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash, Chop; 1d6/1d6+1, Pierce.

Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Slash/Chop; +1d4 2-Handed. Critical: 19-20, x3, Slash, Chop; x 2, Pierce.
Critical: 18-20/x3.
As Falchion vs Metal Armour and for Criticals.
See Falchion Damage/Criticals above.

Damage: 1d8/1d8+1, Piercing. Critical: x3.

Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Pierce (+1d4 2-Handed);
2d3/2d3+1, Bludgeon (+1d3 2-Handed). Critical: x3.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Pierce; 1d8/1d8+1, Slash/Chop;
+2d4 2-Handed. Critical: x3, Pierce; x2, Slash/Chop.
Couched: A mounted charge attack does 2d4/2d4+1
Impaling Damage on a Light Horse; 2d5/2d5+1 on a
Medium Horse and 2d6/2d6+1 on a Heavy Horse.
Criticals resulting from a charge are 19-20/x3.

Dismounting: A Critical Hit vs a Mounted Target either

does normal damage or pulls them off their mount.
Damage: 2d5/2d5+1, Pierce; 2d4/2d4+1, Slash/Chop;
+1d5 Pierce 2-Handed; +1d4 Slash/Chop 2-Handed.
Critical: x3, Pierce; x2, Slash.
Damage: 1d8/2d4+1, 2-Hand, Pierce; 1d6/2d3, 1-
Hand, Slash & Pierce. Critical: x3, 2-Hand, Pierce; x2,
1-Hand, Slash & Pierce.
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1; Bludgeon. Critical: x3. 87
 Damage: 1d6/1d6+1; Bludgeo. Critical: x2.
Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-20/x2.
Damage: 2d6/4d3; Bludgeon. Critical: x3.
Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-20, x3.
As Falchion vs Metal Armour and for Criticals against
Metal Armour.
Damage: 1d8/2d4; Bludgeon. Critical: x2.
Damage: 1d4/1d4+1; Pierce. Critical: 19-20/x3,
otherwise x2. Range: 10’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds
Critical Hits: Against Mail, Scale and Lamellar (includ-
ing Lamellar & Mail) and Padded Armour or for Aimed
Shots at Open Faced Helmets, x3. Against Coats/Jacks
of Plates, Brigandines and Partial Plate, x2.
Damage: 1d8/2d4; Bludgeon. Critical: x2.
Damage: 1d6/2d3, Slash/Chop. Critical: 18-20/x2.
Damage: 1d8/2d4, Slash/Chop. Critical: 18-20/x2.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, 2-Hand, Pierce; 2d3/2d3+1, 1-
Hand, Slash/Pierce. Critical: x3, 2-Hand; x2, 1-Hand.
Damage: 1d4/1d5; Pierce. Critical: x2.
Damage: 1d5/1d6; Pierce. Critical: 19-20/x3,
otherwise x2. Range: 10’. RoF: 1/2 Rounds
Critical Hits: Against Mail, Scale, Lamellar (including
Lamellar & Mail) and Padded Armour. Against Coats/
Jacks of Plates, Brigandines and Partial Plate, x2.
Late Paramerion
88
Damage: 1d6/1d6+1; Slash. Critical: 19-20/x3.
Functionally identical to a Knight’s Standard Sword.
Damage: 1d8/1d8+1, Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-20/x2.
Damage: 2d4+1/2d4+2, 2-Hands, Pierce; 2d3/2d3+2,
1-Hand, Slash/Pierce. Critical: x3, 2-Hands; x2, 1-
Hand.
Damage: 1d12/2d6, 2-Hand, Slash/Chop, Bludgeon;
1d8/1d8+1, 1-Hand, Slash/Chop; 1d6/1d6+1, 1-Hand,
Bludgeon. Critical: 19-20/x3, 2-Hand; 19-20/x2, 1-
Hand.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1, Slash/Chop. Critical: 19-20/x3.
Damage: 2d4/2d4+1; Pierce. Critical: x3. Range:
150’ RoF: 1 Arrow/2 rounds.
Bodkin Point Arrows do -2 Damage vs. Partial Plate,
Coat/Jack of Plates and Brigandine and -1 Damage vs
Mail Armour.
Leaf Point Arrows do -3 Damage vs Partial Plate, Coat/
Jack of Plates and Brigandine and -2 Damage vs Mail
Armour.
Broadhead Arrows do -1 Damage vs Partial Plate,
Coat/Jack of Plates and Brigandine and standard
Damage vs Mail Armour.
Damage: 1d6/2d3; Bludgeon; 1d5/1d6, Pierce.
Critical: x3, Bludgeon; x2, Pierce.
Damage: 1d8/2d4; Bludgeon; 1d6/2d3, Pierce.
Critical: x3, Bludgeon; x2, Pierce.
Damage: 2d5/2d5+1, Pierce 1d10/1d10+1, Slash;
+1d5 2-Handed. Critical: 19-20/x4 or x3 otherwise,
Slash; x2, Pierce.

ARMOUR RULES D20!
All d20 system games tend to have one commonality
with regard to they way they treat armour -- an almost
complete lack of realism and believability (Nope, cancel
that -- a complete lack of realism and believability). This
is on so many levels that it makes it really hard to
create a workable system that doesn’t change things
too much from the existing system ... but the following
rules are a suggestion.
AGILITY & DEXTERITY
Armour most commonly has an effect on how agile a
character is -- that is, how freely theyt are able to move
their whole body, something which is unusually (even
votally) important in Melee. It may also have an effect
on how dextrous they are -- that is, how freely they are
able to manipulate things, usually with their hands.
Think of Agility being gross motor skills while Dexter-
ity represents fine motor skills.
Many types of armour restrict free movement of at
least some parts of the wearer’s body -- sometimes (and
only sometimes) this is because of the absolute weight
but, more often, it is due to how well the weight is
distributed or how well that distribution is secured.
Unfortunately, D20 systems really don’t handle this at
all -- for Melee and, for Missile attacks, they only
reduce the Dexterity Bonus.
Yes, there are penalties to Skill Use and Spellcasting (if it
is possible at all), but that doesn’t cover the very real
impact there is on Melee combat.
Since there really isn’t a system in place, it’s somewhat
hard to implement one with a minimum of fuss -- but
the following suggestions are workable.
* Apply the Armour Check Penalty to Initiative and in
conjunction with the Maximum Dexterity Bonus.
For example, if a character with a DEX Bonus of +4
wears armour with a Check Penalty of -6 you would app-
ly and overall -2 Penalty to their Initiative.
* Apply a Maximum Strength Bonus to Melee attacks
that is the same as the Maximum Dexterity Bonus
that applies to Missile attacks.
So Armour with a maximum DEX Bonus +6 would have
a maximum STR Bonus of +6 as well.
The only armour type(s) that limit a character’s DEX
are those that incorporate Mail Mittens or some sort
of Heavy Leather or Armoured Gauntlet. During the
period only Full Mail (or Full Lamellar & Mail) and
Partial Plate (including Eastern Partial Plate) do and,
interestingly, those which incorporate Mail Mittens
have slits inside the palms to allow the wearer to free
up his hands if needed.
If wearing these, apply the Armour Check Penalty to
any non-Combat checks while they are worn.
Armour is heavy and, in battle, when things went pear
shaped, the ability to run away was an important
survival factor.
However, it not only affects movement rate it also has
an effect on quick reaction to the movement of nearby
opponents ... Opportunity Attacks. 89
 ENCUMBRANCE ARMOUR COVERAGE PENALTIES
Weight Max DEX/ Check Move Coverage AC Penalty
%age STR Bonus Penalty (30’/20’/Run)
Cuirass/Shirt -2
10%
+8 0 ¾ Hauberk -1
20% 30’/20’/x4
30% +6 -1 No Helmet * -1
40% +4 -2 Shield Wall +1
50% +4 -3 25’/15’/x3 No Helmet penalty adds to the other penalties.
60% +2 -4
70% 0 -5
80% -1* -6 20’/10’/x2
90% -2* -7
100% -4* -8 5’/0’/x1
* At 80-100% plus a Character loses all their DEX/
STR Bonuses, they also take a penalty to their To Hit.
However Armour Proficiency takes precedence.
Red values are for Light (20%), Medium (40%) and
Heavy Armour Proficiency (60%), respectively.

D&D, PATHFINDER 1.0 AND FATEFORGE ARMOUR CLASS & RELATED VALUES
Armour Type Armour Class Destruction Resists Max Dex/Str Spell Failure
Bonus ³
Aketon ¹ +1 S10/C5 Slash, Bludgeon n.a. 0%
Gambeson ¹ +2 S14:C7 Slash, Bludgeon n.a. 0%
Arming Doublet ¹ +2 S12/C6 Slash, Bludgeon n.a. 0%
Aketon ¹ 10 S10/C5 Slash, Bludgeon +10 0%
Arming Doublet ¹ 12 S12/C6 Slash, Bludgeon +10 0%
Scale 12 S/C40 Slash, Chop +4 15%
Gambeson ¹ 13 S14:C7 Slash, Bludgeon +8 5%
Mail, Unsecured 13 S/C60 Pierce +2 25%
Mail, Secured 15 S/C60 Slash, Pierce, Chop +3 20%
Lamellar 15 S/C75 Slash, Pierce, Chop +4 20%
Coat of Plates ¹ 15 S30 Slash, Pierce, Chop 0 20%/+10%
Jack of Plates ¹ 15 S45 Slash, Pierce, Chop +1 15%/+5%
Lamellar & Mail 16 S/C90 Slash, Pierce, Chop +3 25%
Partial Plate 17 S/C100 Slash, Pierce, Chop +1 25%
Brigandine ³ 15 S60 Slash, Pierce, Chop +2 20%
Coat of Plates ¹ +1 S30 Slash, Pierce, Chop -1 20%/+10%
Jack of Plates ¹ +1 S45 Slash, Pierce, Chop 0 15%/+5%
Brigandine ² +2 S60 Slash, Pierce, Chop +1 +10%
Round Shield § 17 C16/P32 Pierce, Bludgeon -1 +10%
Kite Shield § 18 C16/P32 Pierce, Bludgeon -3 +20%
Heater Shield § 16 C16/P32 Pierce, Bludgeon -2 +10%
¹ Supplemental or Stand Alone Armour. The values in red apply when worn under (or over) other armour. The
values in black apply when worn as armour.
² Brigandine may be worn either as Stand-alone Armour (with Supplemental Armour) or as Supplemental Armour.
³ Negative values are a penalty to any DEX related roll.
§ Shields: If a you are wearing Armour and carrying a Shield, you must decide which value is applicable to an
90 attack.
A character wearing armour that is lighter than that
worn by someone they are moving away from/past is
not subject to Opportunity Attacks.
A character wearing Light Armour, for example, can
move away or past a character wearing Medium or
Heavy Armour without the need to use a Disengage act-
ion. Of course, if they move past other enemies who hap-
pen to be wearing Light Armour in that same turn with-
out using Disengage, they are subject to normal oppor-
tunity attacks.
A character wearing armour that is heavier than that
worn by someone they are moving away from/past is
at a greater disadvantage than usual -- if there is one
level of difference they must make a Disengage action
and may only make a half move. If there are two levels
of difference they must make a Disengage Action and
may only move at one quarter speed.
It’s a trade between speed and protection. Always.
Magical Armour & Opportunity Attacks. That is,
Armour with a plus (+) modifier. While it does not
change the weight of the armour (it doesn’t change its
Encumbrance) it doesi allow the wearer disengage as if
the armour is one grade less per plus.
Someone who is wearing +1 Partial Plate will be able to
Disengage as if wearing Medium rather than Heavy
Armour.
ARMOUR CLASS (D&D, PATHFINDER*, FATEFORGE)
The Armour Class system is really badly suited to deal-
ing with the way armour actually worked as it con-
flates the chance of penetrating with the chance of hit-
ting. This isn’t completely wrong, mind, as most arm-
our sets didn’t provide the same level of protection
over the entire body, but it does make it an awkward
problem when you want to represent reality.
It would be considerably easier if it used a Hit Location
system – but it doesn’t, and adding one would be too
clunky for most groups.
* Pathfinder 1.0 AC is given in the rules as a formula –
10 + Armour Bonus + Shield Bonus + Dexterity Bonus
+ Other Modifiers … whereas D&D simply folds the Arm-
our Bonus into the AC Value presented. For simplicity’s
sake the same has been done here.
Thus we introduce the concept of Fractional Armour
Class to represent this partial coverage coupled witth
the concept of Resist(ance) -- the types of attacks it is
good at, well, resisting.
Split Armour Class. This is actually quite simple to
handle -- where a particular type of armour doesn’t
cover the entire body, the two (sometimes more) Arm-
our Classes are used to define this.
Armour is rated as having the two (or more) Armour
Values ... so attacks against it are compared to both (or
all) of them, but inversely. That is, when an attack roll
equals or exceeds the inverse of a given AC they meas-
ure their damage against that level of protection.
Someone wearing a Mail Shirt over an Aketon has a
base AC 15 (secured Mail) + 1 for the Aketon, -2 for re-
duced coverage, for AC 14. However, the Aketon has to
¾ coverage, which means that where it covers it would
be AC 10, -1 for reduced coverage, or AC 9.
This gives a Split AC of 9/14 – which is inverted. So an
attack roll of 0-9 would hit the Mail Shirt while a roll of
10-14 would hit the Aketon. A roll of 15+ would,
therefore, hit an unarmoured body part.
This is important as the Mail resists Slash, Pierce, Chop
and (with the Aketon) Bludgeon damage while the Ake-
ton alone only resists Slash and Bludgeon … and the un-
armoured bits have no resistance (unless the there is
some magical/other factor that provides such).
Why does Split Armour Class give the highest AC compo-
nent the greatest coverage when it may have the most
limited coverage? Simple -- the highest AC component
always covers the body part(s) most attacks are aimed at.
So, even though the Mail Shirt in the example covers
only the Torso, most attacks are either aimed at the torso
or are more likely to hit there than anywhere else.
Shield Walls. If a line of Shield-bearing defenders
stand in close order, with the left of their shield over-
lapping the right of their comrade to their left (a
Shield Wall) then those in receipt of such additional
coverage gain AC +1.
Note: The defender at the far right of the Shield Wall
gains no such bonus, as there is no-one to defend his rel-
atively unprotected right side. The bravest warriors were
often chosen for such a position as there was a natural
tendency for those at that end to drift right to avoid
being attacked on their unshielded side.
Resistance. If you’ve been reading closely, you’ll note 91
 that period armour rendered the wearers largerly in-
vulnerable to many types of attacks by the weapons av-
ailable at the time they were around.
The only way to get around this was to seek out weak
spots in the armour or spots where the armour didn’t
extend -- which is, presumably, what period combat-
ants did in the ‘Real World’ ™.
So, if a weapon is rated for an attack type that a set of
armour is rated to resist, then the weapon does mini-
mal damage ... basically one point per damage die
(dropping any adds).
So, for example, a Messer, which does 1d8/2d4 Slash-
ing or Chopping Damage being used against Secured
Mail, which resists those attack types, would only do 1-
2 points of damage if a ‘Hit’ is achieved.
Critical Hits from attack types a set of armour is rated
to resist multiply the reduced damage.
The Messer, with a x3 Critical Hit multiplier would do
3/6 points of damage on a Critical Hit.
Alternative Resistance. If you believe the above
rule(s) make armour too powerful, simply roll the
Damage Dice as normal, but divide the result by two,
rounding fractions down (with a minimum result of 1
(one). Critical Hits multiply this reduced damage.
So that Messer would do 1-4 or 2-4 points of Damage.
Resistance vs Magical Weapons. Magic Weapons,
those with a plus (+) modifier can be treated one of
two ways ... either they simply add that plus value to
the reduced damage they do vs. a particular type of
attack, which is what is recommended, or you can all-
ow as how they simply ignore any restrictions.
Alternately, you could grade all Magic Weapons with
a Resistance Modifier -- one per plus (+) -- allowing
them to ignore resistance to one (or more) of their
attack types.
So, for example, a +1 Magic Arrow could ignore Pierce
Resistance as its modifier … allowing it to do Slash dam-
92
age. Or a +2 Messer could ignore Slash and Chop Res-
istance.
If a Magic Weapon has more pluses than it has restrict-
ed attack types, it may add Impale (Light Horse) dam-
age to its base if the wielder has charged their oppo-
nent (that is, has moved at least half their current
movement rate towards them this turn and foregoes
any further movement after the attack).
Impale (Light Horse) does an extra 2d4 or 2d4+1 de-
pending on the quality of the weapon enchanted. Impal-
ing Damage bypasses all types of resistance.
ARMOUR & SHIELD COVERAGE
As you’ll have seen from the descriptions elsewhere, a
lot of armour simply doesn’t cover everywhere yet this
is modelled poorly in D20 systems for the most part.
Use the Coverage Penalties table in conjunction with
the Armour Value/Armour Class Tables overleaf.
So, for example, Mail (Secured) is AC 15, but that ass-
umes Full Mail. If it is only a ¾ Hauberk then the -1
Coverage Penalty reduces that to AC 14 – and if it is
only a Mail Shirt (half coverage), then the -2 Coverage
Penalty reduces it to AC 13.
Shields always take precedence over Armour (unless,
for some inexplicable reason, the defender chooses
not to defend with them) -- and an initial attack is
made against the Shield.
If that attack is successful, the attacker must then
make a second attack to see if they are successful ag-
ainst whatever armour the defender is wearing. This
second attack, however, is directed at the armour they
are wearing on their peripheries, which quite likely has
a lower AC than that covering their core areas.
Peripheries in this sense means the Head, Shoulders,
Weapon Arm and Legs.
So, for example, if a defender is wearing Partial Plate
(AC 18, including Aketon), then an attack bypassing a
Shield attacks the Mail armour portion covering their
peripheries (Secured Mail AC 16, including Aketon).
Some types of Armour (Full Mail) don’t have a lesser AC,
so attacks against them are against their full AC.
Only if that attack is successful is any damage done
(subject to Attack Type rules).
Yes, this does make Armour + Shield bearers really
tough nuts … but, remember, Shields are ablative.
They’ll be worn away quite quickly. In the meantime,
they’re a nasty combination.
93
 effect, in effect. In the rules as they exist you can run
all day in Partial Plate Armour .. uphill for that matter
... and suffer no effect whatsoever.
The only impact that Fatigue has in all three games is to
limit movement and apply a penalty to DEX and STR.
Combat is exhausting, participants slow down, but at
the same rate, so you can mostly ignore it.
Except when someone comes from outside the local
‘bubble’ ... someone who may be fresh, or merely less
fatigued. That is where a conceptual problem arises.
Since existing combatants have slowed down, the ob-
vious solution is to apply a differential to the rate of
actions. The more fatigued, the fewer attacks you will
be able to make against fresher combatants. This is
where to comes down to the discretion of the individ-
ual GM rather than a hard and fast rule.
I would suggest that the fresher side should initially
get at least a 3:2 advantage ... that is, they should get
three actions for every two their opponents get.
Either this can continue indefinitely, which is more
realistic -- or the ‘fresher’ attackers gradually lose the
advantage .... to 4:3 after 2 x CON (their CON) Rounds
and then down to 1:1 after a further 2 x CON Rounds.
Armour & Strategic Movement. Characters wearing
Metal Armour with ¾ coverage or greater move across
the countryside at the risk of Exhaustion.
Wearing ¾ Armour requires a Forced March check
after four hours of travel.
Wearing Full Mail, Lameller & Mail, Lamellar & Plate
and Partial Plate requires a Forced March check after
two hours of travel.
Yes, this applies even to mounted movement. Wearing
Armour is tiring even when not in combat!
If the weather is Hot (a heatwave or in the Middle East
or North Africa during the day) then halve the distance
that can be travelled before you have to make a check.
Armour & Resting. Characters wearing Metal Armour
94
with coverage of ¾ or greater gain no benefit from a
Short Rest and treat a Long Rest as a Short Rest.
Nope, can’t sleep in armour … not to any great effect.
ARMOUR & INITIATIVE
The heavier the armour, the more impact it has on In-
itiative -- as it slows you down in all sorts of ways, inc-
luding response time, or Initiative.
• Unarmoured. +1
• Light Armour. +0
• Medium Armour. -1
• Heavy Armour. -2
ARMOUR PROFICIENCY
While retaining the three basic classifications, discard
ALL of the definitions ... since none of the armours a)
exist at all or b) weigh what they are supposed to.
Replace the definitions with a Encumbrance (Weight)
Classification, which makes more sense most of the
time, with modifiers for Dexterity and Agility where it
may not fully do so.
Light Armour Proficiency. Allows wearing of Armour
or Armour sets of up to 30% of Carrying Capacity at a
penalty no more than that for 20%.
Leather and Studded Leather simply Do. Not. Exist. A
Mail Shirt weighs 25 lbs with an Aketon, not 20 lbs.
Medium Armour Proficiency. Allows wearing of
Armour or Armour sets of 40-50% of Carrying Cap-
acity at the penalty for 40%.
Hide (Leather!), Scale Mail and Breastplate (stand
alone) Do. Not. Exist. Mail (assuming this is Full Mail)
weighs 30-55 lbs with an Aketon, not 55. Partial Plate
(Half Plate?) weighs 35-55 lbs, with Aketon, not 40 lbs
and probably should be in Heavy Armour.
Heavy Armour Proficiency. Allows wearing of Arm-
our or Armour sets of 60-70% of Carrying Capacity at
the penalty for 60%.
Full Mail weighs 30-55 lbs with an Aketon, not ‘just’ 55
lbs, so it fits in as Medium Armour for some. Ring Mail
and Splint (Mail) again, simply Do. Not. Exist.
DONNING ARMOUR
Putting on armour takes time -- most RPGs either ig-
nore this or severely underestimate it, sometimes be-
cause they simply don’t understand the nature of the
armour in question.
Stiffened Linen Aketon/Gambeson ¹ 2-3 minutes
Coat/Jack of Plates or Brigandine ¹ 3-5 minutes
Mail Cuirass, Secured 3-4 minutes
Mail Cuirass, Unsecured 2-3 minutes
¾ Mail, Secured 5-6 minutes
¾ Mail, Unsecured 3-4 minutes
Full Mail, Secured 7-8 minutes
Full Mail, Unsecured 4-5 minutes
Lamellar or Scale Cuirass ² 2-3 minutes
Lamellar & Mail ³ 10-12 minutes
Partial Plate ³ 12-15 minutes
Any Helm 1 minute
Full (15th Century) Plate ³ 20-30 minutes

¹ These types of armour have rear closures and can

only be put on with assistance from a second person.

² Lamellar or Scale Cuirass may be worn over Mail

Armour. If so, add the two donning times together.

³ Lamellar & Mail and Partial Plate include Full Mail

in the time to don.

§ Full Plate doesn’t exist until well into the 15th century,
way outside the period these rules cover ... it is included
here for comparison purposes.

Where armour consists of more than one layer, you close contact over an extended period of time between
add the donning times together. the originating and receiving cultures for such to work.

Full Mail includes Aketon and Helm. An Aketon re-
quires assistance and 2-3 minutes to don. Full Mail takes
4-5 minutes (Unsecured) and +3 minutes to secure for a
total of 7-8 minutes. A simple Round Helm adds a min-
ute for 2-3 + 7-8 + 1 = 10-12 minutes. If donning a Great
Helm plus Cervelliere that’s a minute for each, bringing
the total time expended to 11-13 minutes.
Most soldiers in a combat area, or on a war footing,
will wear an Aketon (or a Gambeson as armour) all the
time ... especially since its rear closure would be really
problematic if caught not wearing it ... and only put
on the rest if an enemy appears or when on patrol.
Even when on a combat patrol, someone with Full Mail
might only wear the ¾ Hauberk over their Aketon rather
than add in the extra weight of the Mail leggings. Like-
wise, someone with Partial Plate would probably only
wear the ¾ Hauberk .Armour is bloody heavy.
WEAPON RULES D20!
Weapons are covered reasonably well in most D20
based games -- allowing as how they include weapons
which didn’t exist in 10th-14th century Europe and
that, historically, there was very limited or no (mostly
no) long distance travel of exotic weapon types.
The latter caveat (no long distance cross-fertilisation)
applies even to backgrounds which are different from
medieval Europe.
There was limited cross fertilisation, of course, but it
didn’t work well over long distances … there had to be
Even then, some of the ‘obvious’ exchanges didn’t occur
– for example, Composite Bows largely remained a
Steppe Nomad and Muslim weapon for the simple fact
that they were hopelessly vulnerable to the damper/
wetter climate of most of Western Europe.
That said, there are some elements which need to be
changed or modified to fit in with the new Armour
rules and a few new wrinkles to be added for the sake
of improved realism.
ATTACK TYPES & DAMAGE
Weapon Damage is usually given for a specific type of
attack ... for some weapons, more than one.
Types of Attack. Weapons can only make attacks of
the type listed in their description.
If a weapon has Pierce and Slash, for example, the
wielder can only choose to either make a Pierce attack
or make a Slash attack. They cannot choose to make a
Chop or Bludgeon attack.
Choosing Attack Type. If a weapon is capable of
more than one attack type, the wielder must state
which they are using before they make an attack roll.
If a weapon can make Pierce and Slash attacks then the
wielder must choose which of the two they intend to
make before they make their attack roll.
TAKING ON ARMOURED OPPONENTS
There’s only one rule that applies in warfare -- win-
ning is everything. Forget silly notions of ‘chivalry’ 95