Mail Armor

Game Stats

• Type: Over Armor
• Slashing Resistance:
• Crushing Resistance:
• Impaling Resistance:
• Burn Resistance:

Description

Mail armor consists of a net of small interlocking metal rings.  The rings may be formed of wire and riveted shut to form a complete circle, or some rings may be punched out of sheet metal whole while others are formed of wire and riveted.  This latter construction method produces mail of superior strength, as roughly half the rings in the mail are solid.  The end result of either construction method is a flexible curtain of metal which can be shaped into garments much like cloth.

Although the level of technology required to produce mail is relatively high (requiring as it does access to large amounts of wire or a great many punched-out discs of metal), once the individual links can be produced en masse mail armor is surprisingly quick to manufacture.

Advantages

Mail armor provides good protection against bladed weapons.  The thickness of the overall garment, the irregular surface formed by the interlocking rings, and the armor's ability to give way before a blow all contribute to rob slashing and impaling attacks of their force.  Of equal value is the fact that, under normal battlefield conditions, the mail itself is essentially impervious to bladed weapons.  Though some swords and many axes can shear through mail placed against a flat, stationary surface, cutting through armor on a moving human being is next to impossible.  Combined with the fact that bladed attacks are never deliberately targeted at armored portions of the body to begin with, mail offers a fighter a reasonable assurance that none of his limbs will be lopped off in battle.

The initial cost of a mail garment is high, but mail is cheap and easy to repair.  If one or more links are broken in battle, they can easily be replaced on an individual basis.  This makes the cost of upkeep on mail armor quite low, especially compared to its initial cost.

Disadvantages

The very flexibility that gives mail armor its power against penetrating attacks is a liability against blunt trauma.  Mail provides very little protection against bludgeoning attacks because it does little to spread the force of a blow over a large area.  In addition, mail is comparatively heavy and, because it is not fitted, its weight is supported mostly by the shoulders and a broad leather belt worn for the purpose.

Regional Variants

Mail armor is the quintissential body armor of the western Circle, Sevilla and Harkania.  It does not see much military use in the Harkanian army, but it is still worn as personal protection by Harkanian citizens, and it is de rigeur for Sevillan troops.  It is much less common in the east and south, where its use is usually restricted to elite soldiers and nobility.

There are a great many patterns of mail.  Most common is so-called four-in-one mail, where each ring is connected to four others, this being the lightest and most flexible pattern.  Other patterns also exist, however, such as six-in-one (the most common R'hundallese pattern), eight-in-two (so-called "imperial mail" or "paladin's mail," often worn by soldiers of Sevilla's Paladin Guard), and many others.

Mail armor is only made of iron and, occasionally, mithril.  Because mail protects principally by giving way, brittle metals such as bronze are inappropriate for its construction.  Brittle mail links are easier to shear through, and prone to burst when attacked by impaling attacks.  For this reason, even "steel" mail is made of relatively soft metal, the difference between "iron" and "steel" mail lying in the purity of the metal.  Mail cannot be made of thaumic iron, as thaumic iron cannot be shaped into rings without being worked too much to lose its value for enchantment.

Party Associations

None.