Selecting Armor in AD&D

The player should be mindful of the fact that certain classes restrict what types of armor may be worn, and some impose penalties on class-related skills for certain types of armor. Some characters are instructed to seek armor of a particular type, and avoid armor of other types. The player should check what armor is permitted to his character.

It should also be noted that characters might be unwilling to use armor not specifically proscribed for them. A samurai would never trade his familiar and effective bamboo armor for one of those awkward teapots worn by the gajin. A cavalier would rather wear his silk shirt in combat than ride into battle in one of those glorified rain barrels the orientals wear. Even in a fully integrated campaign, characters will need a better reason to use armor from another milieu than that it was cheap and effective; they must have reason to be familiar with it, and be convinced that it's a good idea from personal observation or experience.

Armor works two different ways in AD&D. Most armor creates a base armor class, which may then be further adjusted by such things as dexterity and protection devices. However, in the oriental system there is also piece armor, which reduces (improves) armor class as a shield. A character can combine pieces as long as they don't conflict (that is, two pieces can't protect the same part of the body). These pieces subtract from armor class according to which ones are used.

Also, some armor reduces movement rates. The game categorizes such armor as non-bulky, fairly bulky, and bulky, and notes that fairly bulky and bulky armor reduce movement. In fairness to character classes and races which have accelerated movement rates (Drow, Barbarians, Monks), MyWorld alters the stated movement rate to the correct fraction of the character's normal base movement rate.

It should also be noted that movement is also reduced by encumbrance; 25% of maximum reduces movement to 75% of normal, 50% of maximum reduces movement to 50% of normal, and 75% of maximum reduces movement to 25% of normal. The book rule is that the character movement is reduced to the slower required by either his armor type or his encumbrance (that is, the adjustments are not cumulative, but alternative). In MyWorld, a character whose encumbrance is lower than would normally cause the movement restrictions of the armor worn is bonused +1" to distinguish the unencumbered heavily armored character from the encumbered heavily armored character.

Item	Category	Base AC	AC Adjustment	Cover	Movement	Coin Weight
Banded Mail	Bulky	4			3/4	350w
Bronze Plate	Bulky	4			1/2	450w
Chain Mail	Fairly Bulky	5			3/4	300w
Elfin Chain Mail	Non-bulky	5			1	150w
Do-maru	Fairly Bulky		-2	Torso	3/4	200w
Field Plate	Fairly Bulky	2			1/2	550w
Full Plate	Fairly Bulky	1			1/2	650w
Haidate	Fairly Bulky		-1	Thighs	1	100w
Hanburi				Head	1	45w
Hara-ate	Non-bulky		-2	Body Front	3/4	100w
Hara-ate-gawa	Non-bulky		-1	Torso	1	45w
Haramaki	Non-bulky		-1	Torso	1	150w
Haramaki-do	Fairly Bulky		-2	Torso	3/4	200w
Great Helmet (Kabuto)				Head	1	100w
Small Helmet				Head	1	45w
Hide Armor	Failry Bulky	6			3/4	250w
Horo	Non-bulky		-1	Back (Missiles)	1	0w
Jingasa (War Hat)				Head	1	25w
Kote (Armored Sleeves)	Non-bulky		-1	Arms	1	0w
Leather Armor	Non-bulky	8			1	150w
O-yoroi (Great Armor)	Bulky	3			1/2	400w
Padded Armor	Fairly Bulky	8			3/4	100w
Plate Mail	Bulky	3			1/2	450w
Ring Mail	Fairly Bulky	7			3/4	250w
Leather Scale	Fairly Bulky	7			3/4	200w
Metal Scale Mail	Fairly Bulky	6			1/2	400w
Buckler			-1		1	30w
Large Shield			-1		1	100w
Medium Shield			-1		1	70w
Small Shield			-1		1	50w
Small Wooden Shield			-1		1	30w
Spiked Buckler			-1		1	35w
Sode (Pair)	Non-bulky		-1	Shoulders	1	30w
Splint Mail	Bulky	4			1/2	400w
Studded Leather Armor	Fairly Bulky	7			3/4	200w
Sune-ate	Non-Bulky		-1	Shins	1	50w

M. J. Young's Dungeons & Dragons Materials
Collection of such pages as the much-praised Alignment Quiz, What is an RPG? (excerpted from Multiverser), the highly valued Confessions of a Dungeons & Dragons™ Addict, along with special rules and player aids in both written and computer formats, this site was highly praised by RAWS, linked by Gary Gygax, and is worth a look even if you don't like what you found here.

The Multiverser Information Center
The complexity of creating a D&D character always reminds me of how much simpler it is to play Multiverser®, the game which incorporates all other games, all other worlds, everything imaginable, with nothing else to buy.

Temporal Anomalies in Popular Movies
There are enough time travel films out there now that most of the things which could go wrong in time have been shown on the silver screen. This page applies a new conception of how time works (discussed in the Multiverser® game system to help referees sort out game scenarios in which player characters travel in time) to unraveling the most popular of such movies. An Event Horizon Hot Spot and Sci Fi Weekly Site of the Week which has won the author national recognition as an authority on time travel in fiction.

Index to the Pages of M. J. Young
An eclectic collection of materials which includes RPG stories, commentary on law and Bible, song lyrics, and indices to material all over the web.