Any character, to prevent bodily damage, may wear armor. Armor is evaluated by either a Rules Marshal or a Monster Marshal who will assign armor points (AP) based on the armor's type, craftsmanship, and looks. After evaluating a piece of armor, the marshal will give you an armor card stating how many AP have been assigned to the armor. Once you have a valid armor card, your armor is in-game. Actual armor should never be taken from someone but if someone waylays you and says they are stealing your armor, you must surrender the armor card. Obviously an armor card has a good deal of in-game value, so be sure not to lose it, as you only get your first one free. Any subsequent cards must be acquired from an armor smith or another character.

Armor Points

Armor points represent how much damage your armor can absorb.  When in battle, your armor absorbs damage that would normally be done to you, so armor points are usually subtracted before body points (with the exception of direct body damage). To receive the benefit of armor, you must be wearing all the armor listed on your armor card, even if it has been hacked at so much that you have only 1 AP left. Once your AP reach zero you no longer receive any protection from the armor, except for a Soak (see below).

All armor begins each event with no AP bestowed, regardless of how many had been bestowed at the end of the last event you attended. Whenever AP are bestowed to your armor by a smith, the amount must be recorded on your character card by the character who provides them.

The AP value of a piece of armor is determined by the Smithing rules .

Soaks and Thesholds

A Soak is defined as an ability to ignore an amount of damage. The value of the Soak is subtracted from each attack. A threshold is defined as an ability to ignore attacks of a certain amount of damage or less. An attack must exceed the value of the Threshold to hurt the character, but the character takes the full damage of the attack if the Threshold is beaten.

Soaks and Thresholds cannot be stacked on themselves. If multiple soaks or thresholds are affecting the same character, only the highest of each applies.  The exception to this is if one of the abilities is from a race list, or an ability that specifically states it can be stacked with other soaks.  In any case, only two soaks may ever be stacked at once (both of the player's choice) regardless of the specific provisions for those abilities.

If a character is protected by both a soak and a Threshold, the damage of an attack should first be checked against the Threshold.  If the attack beats the Threshold, then the Soak is deducted from the attack, and the character takes the remainder of the damage.

Stacking Armor

A character may wear up to two layers of armor on a given location.  One layer must be Metal (such as Chain or Scale mail), the other can be Leather, Metal, or Plate.  The character benefits from both pieces full AP values and other special effects, if any, but not Soak - if both pieces confer a Soak, only one value (player's choice) is allowed.

For example, Armored Adam is wearing a layer of Pro-grade Chain Mail on his upper & lower torso (28 AP, Soak of 2), and a layer of Costume-grade Fire Drake scales over the same areas (20 AP, soak of 1, 4 against fire).  Adam can choose to take the soak of 2 against normal damage, or 4 against fire-based attacks, but not both.  He will still benefit from all 48 AP.

Stealing Armor

Taking a suit of plate mail off of a fallen knight should take a long time. In order to best represent this time in-game it will take about 10 seconds per maximum armor point to completely take off someone's armor after they have fallen in battle. Example: Howard the warrior has sixty points of armor and he just fell in battle. Chris the opportunist thief wants to take all of Howard's armor. It will take Chris 600 seconds (10 minutes) to completely strip Howard of his armor.

Making and Wearing Armor (OOG) at Knight Realms

Armor is a good thing to have in a world where monsters constantly lurk in the woods and life is an unending series of grand adventures and desperate last stands. Armor protects you, and provides an image (be it true or false) of your combat readiness.

In Knight Realms, the value of a piece of armor is judged by two things: the amount of protection it gives (what it covers and how sturdy it is), and how authentic it is. Good, thick armor that looks like it was cobbled together in your garage will do, but a suit of armor that is made from authentic materials and design will offer greater protection. We do realize that a suit of plate mail is not cheap, and chain mail does not grow on trees, but we encourage players to make an effort to make their armor as realistic as possible.

Ultimately, your armor’s coverage and authenticity will be evaluated to decide how many Armor Points you get for it and if it warrants a soak. These points and the soak are the only things that matter for the purpose of Knight Realms. You do not have to worry about the armor physically protecting yourself from any blows swung at you (i.e. - a hit to exposed skin OOG still must deal with Soak and Armor points, even if it did not hit the armor). The boffer weapons used at Knight Realms are designed not to hurt anyone, even someone wearing no armor at all.

Types of Armor (OOG)

Leather Items: Many Renaissance Faires and catalog / online vendors sell bracers, tunics, or other simple items made of hard leather. Soft leather, such as pants, can also be worn. The decoration and appearance of these can vary from simple to exquisite. Leather with metal studs or rings offers more protection. Industrious players may be able to make "leather" armor out of pleather (fake leather) or vinyl, available from a local fabric or craft store.

Chain Mail: Some catalogs and online vendors sell chain mail shirts and hauberks made of modern materials. Prices can vary, as can weight and the amount of care required, but few things have the classic and distinct appearance of authentic chain mail. Theatrical knitted chain mail is also available in some places.

Metal Plate: Metal plate includes individual pieces of plate metal armor as well as entirely custom-fashioned suits of plate armor. These are the quintessential trappings of a knight, but they are also the most expensive and hardest to care for. Many medieval or renaissance catalogs carry some form of metal plate armor, from helmets to breast plates, gauntlets, greaves, and so on. If a complete set is not within your budget, a single piece may be enough to give you some protection, and you leave you with the option to add more pieces later.

When choosing or making armor, you will want to keep the following in mind:

Safety: Not just yours, but other people’s as well. Make sure the armor fits you comfortably, that there are no sharp edges or points, and that you can get into and out of it easily in an emergency. In addition, heat and exhaustion are a factor – keep in mind that you may be wearing this in the middle of the summer in combat, or in the middle of a New Jersey winter.

Comfort: Do you really want to wear this stuff all day? Can you run, jump, and swing comfortably in it? Do you need padding underneath it? Will it tangle with the rest of your garb, or your hair?

Maintenance: The armor is going to be in live combat situations, where it will be whapped with sticks, sweated in, and possibly crushed or dented if you trip or fall. Consider how easy it is to repair, clean, and maintain your armor.

Many links to sites about making or buying armor can be found on the Web Links page under Resources on the site menu.

Additional information on making and wearing armor at Knight Realms can be found on the main website's section entitled "Weapons & Armor".

For information about making Armor In-Game, please refer to the Smithing Rules in the Supplemental Rules section of the Online Rulebook.