BudaZoa wrote:
Would you allow a pieced armor be placed over a suit of armor?
I.E:
A Chain shirt placed over a suit of leather armor?
A breast plate placed over padded armor?
A leather coat worn over a chain shirt ?
I would think that the answer is no, but in some cases it does seem like logical and could be managed.
Allowing this might allow for a custom look to a characters armor but also allow for characters to cheese up the armor class rating systema.
Sure, after all, historically it is accurate that various types of armor were worn together, but mostly because you needed to. Imagine wearing chain mail without a padded shirt beneath it already. Simply, the chaffing against the metal would terrible, it can be done with a standard shirt, but even this can be nigh on unbearable, especially if you look at double mail. Many of the heavier types of armor are already stacked and should be considered so when thinking along these lines.
As mentioned, quilt or padding is generally worn beneath chain mail, additional layers of this type would make heat build up a great challenge, not to mention the added weight as all of the cloth is soaked with sweat. While there are historical references to quilt (padded) armor over chain, it is generally worn with a heavy shirt beneath rather than other quilt layers.
Now, adding soft leather, or cuir-boulli jazeraint (scales) over chain was common for a time, and perhaps can add +1 and +2 respectively to AC (half values rounded up), however, I would think that the EV additions will offset the bonus of adding the additional protections for an adventuring character that must be more mobile and agile than a standard rank and file foot soldier. Now doing something along these lines is really a fluff kind of thing since a Chain Shirt with Cuir-Boulli over it would be AC +6, with an EV of 6 (8-2 for being worn), while a Full Chain Suit is AC +6 with an EV of 3 (4-1). Same AC value, double the EV, worth it?
When looking at the heaviest of armors, Plate Mail, and Full Plate, they also already are riding on top of padded suits and/or chain suits. So adding additional would not help overmuch as it would slow a person down by weight and bulk. For example, what most consider when talking of Full Plate armor was from 1500-1600. This armor consisted of heavy padding over which was strapped plates formed specifically for the wearer. Pauldrons protected the shoulders with brassarts covering each upper arm, a coudiere covered the elbow join with vambrance protecting the lower arm, and heavy gauntlets. A chain skirt covered by taces protects the thighs, and cuissart, genouilliere, and grives protect the upper leg, knee and lower legs, with sabbaton cover over the feet. The helm is expertly crafted to allow movement with maximum protection. If using a hit location system, a detailed description of armor would be needed, the obvious weak points of this armor are the arm pits, groin, and joint at the back of the knees. The total weight of this armor was easily 80 pounds, and performing strenuous tasks is difficult and taxing. Fighting for 15-20 minutes was close to the maximum without taking a break. Earlier forms of full plate could weigh 60-70 pounds, but were often more difficult to move in.
Now, if you were to add some sort of weapon vs. armor adjustments, insuring you have the proper armor stack becomes more important, granting the best defensive bonus of the stacked types. Even still though, keep in mind the comments above as many are already normally stacked.
Of course, all that being said... hey it is your game, and you should do what you want to make the game fun for you and your players. Remember the goose and gander though! If the players can think of, and actually do it, so can your NPC's!!!