Topic: A few thoughts about Armour and Encumbrance
If you play with the new firearms rules, chainmail is no more available, while you still may buy AC in pieces. Buffcoat +1, breastplate +2, tassets +1, and helmet +1. This totals to five EC points -> 1 Encumbrance, as well as +5 AC, if I remember correctly. However, if you find chainmail from a dungeon or import it from a more backward land, I don't see any reason why you could not wear a chainmail, as well as a buffcoat, tassets, and a helmet. This would total +7 to your AC, and the price would be less than 200 sp.
Now, a plate armour costs 1,500 (or 1,000, if you buy it from a society which uses no firearms) and gives +6 to AC. So it is way more expensive (though much more cooler). Perhaps you combine it with a helmet and a buffcoat (depending on the nature of the plate armour), which would give nice +8 to your AC. Anyway, chainmail / extra armour combination is much more cost-effective, especially if you take the ENC to consideration. I don't really think this is a problem, especially as firearms ignore armour, but I still wanted to ask if anyone else has encountered this issue.
Another question: plate armour gives +2 ENC, while chainmail gives just +1. While I understand this from the viewpoint of the game balance, this is not really historical. Chainmail is both heavier and more clumsy than a suit of plates. The main reason not to use a plate armour is the fact that it is extremely expensive. It is also more difficult to maintain in a good condition, but I think that is out of the scope of the game. Again, this is not a problem, but I'd like to hear what you think about it. Personally, I would probably revert the ENC of chainmail and plate armour, as I'm a history fanatic. On the other hand, we have been playing LOTFP for more than two years, and no player character has yet saved enough money to buy a plate armour!
Last edited by Miihkali (2014-12-10 19:11:51)