[PnP] Armor construction and repair

[Albert Sales]

   I agree fully with this (well, with most of it, anyway). (AV+2)squared is far oversimplified. Many factors come in, to include the armorer's talent, assistant count, type of armor (Plating, Scaling, or Mail), available equipment (which adjusts based on the armor type), material base, and countless other factors. Working out most factors would be a major project, however. One thing that I had considered recently is to test a system based on armor price. An armorer can improve (as an artist) to a value of 1+(EL/20), so let us start by dividing by that (oops, PnP books aren't handy). Lets assume a 30 GC armor and an EL 40 Armorer. 30/(1+(40/20))=10 GC. If we assume working 1 coin per day, and that this armor is AV 3, it would take 30 days. For helmets, weapons, and scaled-type armor, adjust the coins down (GC to 10 SC, for ex). They are harder to work with. The 10 GC from above could also be used as a material cost.
   If this were the case, I would find a way to adjust weapon and armor value based on FV/DR loss. The remaining value could just be applied against the costs. Minor damage would not even have an expense.
   This is not a suggestion, just a hair-brained idea that was passing through. If it helps spawn any suggestions, it did it's part. It is also untested and FAR from complete. I have been interested in a better way to handle smithing for quite some time, and am more than eager to see more ideas.
   The only part that I didn't agree with was the helmet. They are VERY DIFFICULT to shape and piece together. A helmet of any quality can take as long to make, if not longer than, a decent suit of armor. If a helmet is made poorly, it can injure the user, so the time is well spent on them. 

Wout Broere <broere at powersandperils.org> wrote:
When you are the victim of a rule is always the best time to start 
discussing a rules revision (grin).

Armor construction and repair is one section of the rules that keeps a 
discussion going from time to time. The cost and time involved seems to 
warrant a revision of the rules, and we made an attempt years ago, and 
there is also a more recent revision by Alex Koponen (concentrating on costs)

The general trouble is that it may be much more expensive to have your 
armor repaired than to buy a new set. This is dealt with nicely by Alex 
(see http://abroere.xs4all.nl/pnp/K_ArmorRepair.htm). Combine it with the 
idea that to repair a piece of armor takes a percentage of the time to make 
it, equal to the percentage it is damaged. That would all work for me.

The reason I still post the question is twofold. The secondary reason is 
that Richard once mentioned (in a letter to Alex with additional 
questions/errata) that the armor construction and repair rules were under 
revision. I wonder if that revision could become available for discussion, 
and/or if anyone else has made an attempt.

Getting to my prime reason for asking this: the armorer rule mentions the 
time it takes to make a piece of armor (AV+2 squared days) and shields (AV 
days). It doesn't mention helmets. So the first assumption is that to make 
a helmet takes AV of the helmet +2 squared days.

That would mean it takes 16 days to make a brigandine and also 16 days to 
make a metal helmet. The latter seems much less work to me, so maybe the AV 
squared instead of AV+2 squared should be used.

Now make matters more complicated and make elven or dwarven armor. They 
have a higher AV due to the metal and the workmanship. Same holds for some 
countries in the PL, due to quality of their armorers. Does this increase 
the time to make the armor, so for a dwarven metal helmet (AV 4) does it take

a) 4+2, squared = 36 days
b) 2+2, squared = 16 days
c) something else, based on new or revised rules (or something I missed in 
the rules)


Any comments?
Wout
Wout Broere broere at powersandperils.org
P&P Website: http://www.powersandperils.org/ 



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