Cottington Woods Rulebook

Armor Prop Guidelines

Some Armor Skills require that you wear an appropriate prop (Physical Representation or Phys Rep) when you use them. This appendix describes what we expect from an armor prop for each armor skill type.

Our desire is that Armor Phys Reps add to the look and atmosphere of the game. However, we do not require that Armor Props be made of real leather or metal, nor we do we expect them to provide real life protection, realistic coverage, or add a lot of weight. We would rather have Armor Phys Reps made from lightweight materials that look cool and make for great costuming, than to have heavyweight, realistic armor hidden beneath tabards and costuming. Nor do we want players to forego costuming because the cost or weight of the Armor prevents a player from being able to wear armor. Metallic woven knits that look like chainmail, eva foam or lightweight plastics painted to look like plate mail, etc., are all perfectly acceptable Phys Reps. This is a Fantasy LARP, not the SCA. We would rather you go with unrealistic but cool-looking armored costuming than to wear a platemail breastplate hidden under costuming no one can see.

The three main skills in the game that require you to wear an Armor Phys Rep are Wear Armor: Light Armor, Wear Armor: Medium Armor, and Wear Armor: Heavy Armor. You can always wear more than the armor level you have bought, but you do not get additional protection without the skill. Armor does not need to be made of the material it is meant to look like, so long as it reasonably looks like the material from a short distance.

Wear Armor: Light Armor:
Examples of light armor include
(1) soft/suede leather tunic that covers chest, and at least 2 of: head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(2) hard leather or chainmail covering chest and at least 1 of head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(3) platemail, scale mail, or metal brigandine covering chest
You may wear more than this, or mix and match materials, but you gain no additional protection unless you have the appropriate skill.

Wear Armor: Medium Armor:
Examples of medium armor include
(1) soft/suede leather tunic that covers chest, and at least 3 of: head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(2) hard leather or chainmail covering chest and at least 2 of head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(3) platemail, scale mail, or metal brigandine covering chest and 1 of head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(4) hard leather, chainmail, platemail, scale mail, or metal brigandine covering shoulders and at least 3 of in soft/suede leather: head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
You may wear more than this, or mix and match materials, but you gain no additional protection unless you have the appropriate skill.

Wear Armor: Heavy Armor
Examples of heavy armor include
(1) hard leather or chainmail that covers chest, and at least 4 of in soft/suede leather: head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs.
(2) hard leather or chainmail covering chest and at least 2 of head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs
(3) platemail, scale mail, or metal brigandine covering chest and 1 of head/helment, shoulders, forerms, hips, upper legs, lower legs

Golem Wear Armor Skills

The Golem race can pick up "natural armor" skills. . Golem armor is different from normal worn armor, in that it is part of the golem’s body. Golem armor cannot be repaired if it is damaged, but it does refresh to full if you are able to use a Rest action. Golem armor does not stack with normal armor, and an armored golem cannot benefit from wearing armor. As indicated in the racial description for golem, golem armor must be represented and recognizable for what it is (bark, ice, dirt, whatever). It must be worn all the time – it is essentially the golem’s skin.

• Light armor for a golem need only represent skin that is other than “flesh.”
• Medium armor for a golem does not follow normal armor rules, and should cover any visible skin. While we do not require the “skin” to be made from “medium materials” such as hard leather or the like, we ask that the golem “skin” convey that this thicker/tougher than normal.
• Heavy armor for a golem does not follow normal armor rules and should cover any visible skin. However, a golem with Heavy Armor should have constuming to convey that their skin is of a heavy material – thick wood, metal, etc.