| Author | Message | ||
     lann |
ahhhh....you wouldn't believe the argument some people have had over this. Anyway I thought it might be nice to hear your thoughts so here is the question:- Tolkien never mentioned plate mail armour in any of his writings but ICE did. Decipher has decided not to have it as an option for their characters as it doesn't appear in the books. Is this purism gone mad or are we getting down & dirty? lann | ||
| J. Alexander Lowman |
You know how I feel, lann, no AT20 but I will allow AT19 in certain circumstances (Gondorian knights, eg). Certainly I could see Uruk-hai wearing AT18 (breastplate and greaves) at the very least - they're strong enough to fight quite effectively with heavier armour on, so their smiths would probably have come up with the idea of strapping metal plates to their warriors quite easily. I do realise that it's probably 'easier' to create a bunch of metal rings and fashion them together for protection, but I don't think that totally precludes the idea of plate. In addition, the fact that there are mystical metals that are lightweight and strong would also tend to reduce the need for plate armour, but not completely. | ||
| shnar |
It's weird that Decipher dropped plate, since they've based their RPG on both the books *and* the movies, and the orcs at least are wearing plate in the movies. Heck, I think even the elves in the Last Alliance were wearing breastplates too (though I could be mistaken). Most MERP campaigns are only loosly thematic to LotR anyways, so I have no problem allowing plate in a campaign. It is rare though, usually only on large Hit creatures like Trolls. -shnar | ||
| turambur |
I was under the impression that Decipher had 'mail and plate'. While not a full plate armor, it is very much the (D&D named) Plate Mail. Jason | ||
| joeman |
Decipher has in the past explicitly stated that the RPG is not based on the movie at all (though they do use the images in the core book). AFAIK, the only plate Tolkien mentions are things like vambraces (Imrahil) and such. I'd have no problem with going with the chain/plate combo that is AT-16 (hauberk and greaves). I think (someone correct me if I'm mistaken) ATs 17-20 are entirely plate with no mail at all. I use piecemeal armor ratings anyway (I can't remember who did the original rules I use - Cenwulf maybe?). Never been comfortable with the "chunky" ratings in RM (though they are MUCH more varied than most systems). | ||
| potatobling |
I think the next time I run a MERP campaign, I'll try to scale down on things like PC mages and full plate, but that's just my interpretation of what Middle Earth should be like. Along the lines of plate mail, I can't remember crossbows being mentioned anywhere in the books either. p.s. Joeman: what piecemeal armor rules are you using? | ||
| J. Alexander Lowman |
AT17 is a breastplate. AT18 is breastplate and greaves. AT19 is 'half plate' - basically a plate and mail combo. AT20 is 'full plate'. And I also think Cenwulf is the one with the piecemeal armour rules. | ||
| Northcott |
I always pictured Middle-Earth as being akin to a distorted Dark Ages Europe -- where mail armour may be the armour of choice, but there might also be remnants of Roman-style "plate" armour; such as breastplates, greaves, and a lorica or two. That kind of armour would be Gondorian, or artefacts from Arnor, and fairly rare. Dwarves would be more inclined to use a heavy mail or scale (which might be as effective as Roman plate for someone so short -- no upward thrusts to worry about). As the durability of plate is directly related to the thickness of the armour, how it's tempered, and the surface area, I'd restrict it for human-sized or smaller creatures. With the exception of a particularly well-equipped troll or two, it just doesn't jive with my vision of them. | ||
| shnar |
Hrm, that's a good idea, to have 'scale' mail be more effective on dwarves or shorter races than other. I think I'll start doing some bonuses like that (+10 mail, +20 for dwarves). -shnar | ||
| Northcott |
I just left it that it counted as plate, but stands a percentage chance (depending on quality) of only counting as soft leather on an upthrust from a piercing weapon. As dwarves don't have to worry about piercing weapons, it's not a huge concern for them.  |
