I was reminded of the armor rules rewrite proposal by a recent post about the armor gauge contraction. The point of this rewrite is to remove the contradictions and clunkiness of the current rule language. While it does have some minor changes, it does not aim at making any significant or controversial changes to the rules.
Here is the rewrite per the last update by Hanzo:
link to previous post5.1.14 - Rigid body armor including helmets must not have projections which protrude more than 1/2 inch from the armor itself. Projections include spikes, horns, and other forms of rigid decoration. Neither aventails nor brims, nasals, and crests which do not terminate in points or spikes are considered to be projections.
(this gets rid of the redundant rule 5.1.15 and also clears up exactly what the rule means when it says things cant poke out more than .5")
5.1.15 All armour must have safely smooth and rounded edges for safety. All exposed corners must be rounded so as not to be sharp.
(pretty standard)
5.1.16 - Armor must not be able to catch any appendages such as fingers, within reasonable combat circumstances
(a tough one to word but apparently some *some less than knowledgeable people* think they can cut their finger off in my spaulder)
5.1.17 - Armor must be inspected and passed by checkers or heralds at each event it is worn at.
(never seen inter realm check on armour, its impractical)
5.2 - Metal Armor:
5.2.1 - Metal armor may be made of iron, steel, bronze, brass, or copper, or titanium.
Aluminum and other modern alloys are not allowed, with the exception of titanium and
stainless or galvanized steel.
5.2.2 - The minimum thickness of metal armor is 1mm thick (or slightly thinner than 18ga).
(minimum thickness across the board is 18ga, this way there is no stupid distinction between plate and non plate armours)
5.2.3 - The minimum thickness wire for chain mail is 1mm (or slightly thinner than 18ga)
(you'll see where this is going soon)
now 5.2.4 & 5.2.5 are null and void and cant muddle **** up.
5.2.7 - Acceptable Standards for 4:1 European Weave Chain mail:
5.2.4 - Acceptable Standards for 4:1 European Weave Chain mail:
If a blunt 1/5" dowel rod can easily pass through the weave of the shirt it is deemed illegal.
(thought behind this: It makes checking chainmail easy and most of all POSSIBLE FOR THE EVERY DAY ARMOUR CHECKER. The moth hole clause is added in there as a sort of protection so if someone wants to really make 18ga butted out of crap steel to save on a bit of weight, which they really aren't they should fall through as the shirt will begin to moth hole extremely fast)
5.2.8 - Rigid metal knee or elbow armor is forbidden (ring or chainmail is permitted).
(I leave this rule in because I want the initial re-write to pass and not get bogged down by the drooling **** monkeys of RWC...one day I'll bring enough bananas to appease them)
5.2.9 -(removed for redundancy in 5.1.15)
5.2.10 Metal helmets may not have non-period grills attached to them.
(yay for having 14ga helmets be legal!)
However, I don't think Hanzo got around to updating everything. Here is my proposed update of the rules. Comments, in italics for clarify, are based on the changes compared to the last version by Hanzo:
5.1.14 - Rigid body armor including helmets must not have projections which protrude more than 1/2 inch from the armor itself. Projections include spikes, horns, and other forms of rigid decoration. Neither aventails nor brims, nasals, and crests which do not terminate in points or spikes are considered to be projections.
5.1.15 All armour must have safely smooth and rounded edges for safety. All exposed corners must be rounded so as not to be sharp.
5.1.16 - Armor must not be able to catch any appendages such as fingers, within reasonable combat circumstances
5.1.17 - Armor must be inspected and passed by checkers or heralds at each event it is worn at.
5.2 - Metal Armor:
5.2.1 - Metal armor may be made of alloys primarily consisting of iron, copper, or titanium (such as steel, bronze, and brass). No other metals (such as aluminum) are allowed as armor.
(my rephrasing of the rule. There might be a better way to phrase this)5.2.2 - The minimum average thickness of metal armor is .047" (or slightly thinner than 18ga).
(corrected thickness from 1 mm to 1.2 mm, then converted to customary units. Added the word average to allow for the thickness fluctuations)5.2.3 - The minimum thickness wire for chain mail is .047" (or slightly thinner than SWG 18ga).
(corrected thickness from 1 mm to 1.2 mm, then converted to customary units.)5.2.4 - Acceptable Standards for 4:1 European Weave Chain mail:
If a blunt 5/16" (.312") metal dowel rod can easily pass through the weave of the chain mail, it is deemed illegal.
(corrected dowel rod diameter from 1/5" and specified material since a wooden dowel rod's diameter is somewhat under it's nominal measurement. Added decimal equivalent for reference. Also, rules renumbered)5.2.5 - Rigid metal hand, knee or elbow armor is forbidden (ring or chainmail is permitted).
(updated per rule change in last RWC forbidding rigid hand armor)5.2.6 Metal helmets may not have non-period grills attached to them.
(rule #'s 5.2.7 - 5.2.10 removed due to re-numbering and rule condensing)
