At 04:54 PM 6/9/99 -0500, you wrote:
>From: "Roop Dirump" <roop@...>
>
>Early Platemail was cast from Iron, have a feeling your roomate's armor is
>not quite the same as the armor I am eluding to, I'm certain the knights
>would be very impressed with your roomate, yet could probably pierce through
>whatever she's wearing, because it sounds quite thin. Early platemail was
>so damned thick and heavy, if a knight were to be knocked from his warhorse
>(horses bred specifically to be able to carry a knight) it meant likely
>death, the knight trapped like a turtle on its back in the hot sun. No one
>forged stainless steel in those days. (Come to think of it, maybe the EQ
>plate is made of stainless steel.) Little of this early armor remains, only
>those pieces from especially short individuals, which no one else could fit
>into, when said short individual died within it.
This armour will stand up to live-steel combat, and similar models (made
with the same materials) have been tested as such. It's far superior in
quality to the material from "oh so long ago", but there are NUMEROUS
periods we could be discussing here. Greek-style Bell Cuirass, to Spanish
half-plate. Gothic armor to ribbed plate. But steel has been around MUCH
longer than I think you are aware. Ancient Assyrians knew how to make it.
The Chinese were forging steel during the Han dynasty (400 BC) But history
is neither here nor there - we're playing a fantasy game ;)
When I think platemail, I picture full plate - of which numerous examples
still remain (not the least of which were several suits belonging to Henry
VIII, a VERY large man, if his armour had anything to say about it. This
was forged with steel (though not the stainless and spring steel my
roommate is using), and worked to a specific set of dimensions, made for a
single owner.
This whole idea of a knight being knocked off of his horse and dying
"trapped like a turtle" is patently absurd, and far far from the truth.
Even the heaviest of armour could still be sat up in, and no warrior in his
right mind would wear so much that he could not maneuver in combat. This
applies in our game as well. Like the EverCrest comic a couple of weeks
ago, with the Wizard in full plate. "WTF?"
;)
Talies the Wanderer