Should BFRPG have Paper Armor?

[SnowflakeBlue]

A while ago I saw a Myth Busters episode about paper armor. I was very impressed with how it held up compared to steel armor.

The show is summed up on this Wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBuster ... aper_Armor

This leads me to 2 questions. Should Paper Armor be a part of the BFRPG core rules or just a supplement, and what should be its AC?

[MedievalMan]

If paper armor goes then so should Padded armor, or I should say Quilted armor. Which has been proven to be more effective in blocking melee weapons than Leather armor of similar thickness. Of course I am fine with the armor list as is. If want paper armor just home brew it in, its what I would do.

[Hywaywolf]

If I saw someone wearing paper armor I would fight them with a torch or a bucket of water.

[SmootRK]

If I saw someone wearing paper armor I would fight them with a torch or a bucket of water.

[Steveman]

The world in most of BFRPGs modules is a pretty traditional Dungeon Fantasy world. Dungeon Fantasy worlds are in turn heavily inspired by pulp fantasy novels (even if only from being inspired by the world of the First Dungeon Fantasy Game). Paper Armor simply does not exist in those worlds.

That said, if you want to make a world where Paper Armor exists and it makes sense to exist, I wholeheartedly support that endeavor. Just making paper armor on its own, just in a vacuum is kind of a waste tho - since it brings nothing to the game other than being different.

As for stats, I wouldn't let it be any stronger than leather. Paper Armor may be able to handle a hot or two as good as any other armor, but in the long haul its no better than something like Cuir Boille or even thick denim or leather jack worn with a padded gambeson.

[Joe the Rat]

Hmmm, I need to go back and catch that one. The way the "historical" armor is described, it's layered organic fiber, possibly treated to be rigid. In other words, a plant based version of leather armor.

Noting the reported effectiveness compared to metal armor, and the sheer impact absorbing bulk... personally I'd let you take it as "padded leather" (AC14) at best.

I'd be happy to add a note about "other suitable materials" under the EE description of leather armor. Plant-based "leather" would add a bit of granola flavor to your woodsy-er or hippie-r elves. Vegan armor (we're assuming a plant based resin here as well).

[SmootRK]

For certain, if such an armor type is going to be introduced, I would instead refer to it as "fiber armor". But overall in my mind, it is Padded Armor (just using alternate materials).

Bear in mind, that the armors of any and all of these games are not necessarily scientifically quantified into their respective AC values, weight, restrictive natures, etc. It is a game, and some things are not going match to real life exactly, nor should it.

Remember that AC values represent certain vague combinations of qualities. On one hand, it represents as hard materials physically shielding. On another hand, it represents dextrous dodging ability. Still another might represent luck, magic, or other forces.

One cannot take AC out of the context of the game. It is used in combination with other vague things like Hit Points, in order to form a collective set of gaming mechanics that work together. Any one factor taken out of context, is of course, ridiculous compared to reality. But together, they have formed the basis of the most successful gaming experience ever, standing up for over 30 some years, and there is no indication that it will end any time.

[shadowmane]

Well I did a little research on this armor. You could wear a set of heavy paper armor, but still have the range of movement as if you were wearing very light armor (because you actually were wearing light armor). It deflected arrows much better than steel armor too. Its actually a scale armor. It was a great armor to be worn at sea for some reason. At least, the Chinese thought so. It was cheap to make, so you could outfit a whole city with it on the cheap.

If I were to introduce it to a fantasy campaign, it would have to be in a place that had developed paper in the first place. Even in medieval Europe, they still used leather to write on. Paper filtered through the middle east, and came to Europe much later. So to have wood pulp to make paper with, you would have to have the technology to actually make the wood into pulp, then make it into paper. The Chinese developed it thousands of years ago, so a fantasy world could conceivably have it.

Anyway, that's my rant for the moment. I would have more to put, but my wife is interfering with my thought process by trying to read to me as I type.

[shadowmane]

I followed up on this and did some research into making paper. It turns out you can make paper from cloth rags from old worn out clothes. In fact, that's how they made paper in Europe until the discovery of using trees to make pulp. So paper can come from any fibrous material. The armor would simply be a form of lamellar armor. As far as rules go, it would probably fall under scale mail.

[shadowmane]

You know, returning to this thread, I would like to see Lamillar Armor added to the "Armor and Shields" supplement. It would be one form of armor, with about three or four different versions. Paper would be one of them. Cloth another. Leather another. And metal another. You could also use wood if you really wanted to, though that would be kind of brittle and easily smashed through.