Yes, you can move in full Plate Harness

[Aduu Avagnar]

I see a lot of people who believe that a full Plate Harness restricted movement, a myth which is aided by a lot of holywood movies, to be sure, but this video should shine some light on that.

 

MOn3aO9ORWg

[Makyn Loneseeker]

I see a lot of people who believe that a full Plate Harness restricted movement, a myth which is aided by a lot of holywood movies, to be sure, but this video should shine some light on that.

 

MOn3aO9ORWg

This is really, really cool.

 

Yeah, I always thought that it at least restricted movement a tiny bit in areas.

 

-Schemes about things on Makyn-

[Aduu Avagnar]

The biggest issue you have is if the armour is ill fitted to you. Most armour has a greater range of movement than the wearer (it doesn't have those pesky bones and ligaments to worry about.)

 

Typically a fully armoured knight would be carrying a load equivalent to a modern combat soldier, so imagine what they are capable of, and that's a pretty good estimate of what a trained knight (or fighter in general) could do. (Physically at least.)

[Aduu Avagnar]

This might also help you

[Mae]

Damage, poor maintenance, and a poor fit would impede movements, but yeah beyond those it would've been rather... stupid... to put on something that would make movement (especially while fighting) difficult.

However.

 

"I sneak silently in plate armor" is still not possible, as far as I'm concerned >_>

[Domri Blackblade]

I find the ability to 'sneak' when you are a walking garbage can is something more falsely abused than restricted movement.

[Caspar]

If the weight is properly distributed, economy of movement is preserved. If you're trained to wear it, you've got the strength that it shouldn't deny you too much agility, though perhaps not as much as someone who is completely unarmored.

[Aduu Avagnar]

I find the ability to 'sneak' when you are a walking garbage can is something more falsely abused than restricted movement.

As someone who has worn a full plate harness before, it is entirely possible to do, though it is of course more difficult.

 

as long as you don't have anything loose hitting the armour, then you don't actually get that much of a clanging sound, and the joints (provided they are cared for properly) don't make that much noise.

[Mae]

(Ignore this post... something weird just happened...)

[Dravus]

I find the ability to 'sneak' when you are a walking garbage can is something more falsely abused than restricted movement.

As someone who has worn a full plate harness before, it is entirely possible to do, though it is of course more difficult.

 

as long as you don't have anything loose hitting the armour, then you don't actually get that much of a clanging sound, and the joints (provided they are cared for properly) don't make that much noise.

 

The problem with that justification is it pretty much opens the doors to eliminating any and all meaningful drawbacks that exist. Especially since it's usually accompanied by 'magical enchantments that somehow make the material reflect and dampen magic as well as bullets.'

 

There's a certain charm to the classic approach of melee combatants being very physically powerful but not stealthy or particularly agile. Each to their own though!

[Klynzahr]

The only thing that really confuses me, is when folks try to emote swimming in plate....

[Aduu Avagnar]

I find the ability to 'sneak' when you are a walking garbage can is something more falsely abused than restricted movement.

As someone who has worn a full plate harness before, it is entirely possible to do, though it is of course more difficult.

 

as long as you don't have anything loose hitting the armour, then you don't actually get that much of a clanging sound, and the joints (provided they are cared for properly) don't make that much noise.

 

The problem with that justification is it pretty much opens the doors to eliminating any and all meaningful drawbacks that exist. Especially since it's usually accompanied by 'magical enchantments that somehow make the material reflect and dampen magic as well as bullets.'

 

There's a certain charm to the classic approach of melee combatants being very physically powerful but not stealthy or particularly agile. Each to their own though!

Creating a drawback that does not exist is a bad way of counteracting it though. The justification is one that is one based on real life. If cared for properly, and you move correctly it is entirely possible to sneak in armour.

 

if you watch the video, the issue that you get is quick sudden movements (which are counterintuitive to sneaking/stalking anyway).

 

The only thing that really confuses me, is when folks try to emote swimming in plate....

yeah... thats just idiocy...

[Domri Blackblade]

 

(Unrelated, but another video for people to see the movement in full armor.)

 

[video=youtube]

 

On topic!

 

You're not alone, sir. The only way you're going to be as silent as someone in cloth or leather is if you move overly carefully. And the pacing of that will probably be slow to the point where it is counter intuitive. I will not buy the dead silence in plate during movement thing.

 

Quietly? Sure. Unnoticeable? Not a chance.

[Tiergan]

THIS CHANGES MY ENTIRE UNDERSTANDING OF PLATE ARMOR.

 

Thank you OP. ;_;

[Aduu Avagnar]

You're not alone, sir. The only way you're going to be as silent as someone in cloth or leather is if you move overly carefully. And the pacing of that will probably be slow to the point where it is counter intuitive. I will not buy the dead silence in plate during movement thing.

 

Quietly? Sure. Unnoticeable? Not a chance.

 

I agree that you couldn't do it silently, but I still maintain that it is possible still to sneak up on people whilst wearing a full harness, given I have done it. is it easier to hear someone in plate over leather or cloth, but by no means is it a given that you will.

[Domri Blackblade]

You're not alone, sir. The only way you're going to be as silent as someone in cloth or leather is if you move overly carefully. And the pacing of that will probably be slow to the point where it is counter intuitive. I will not buy the dead silence in plate during movement thing.

 

Quietly? Sure. Unnoticeable? Not a chance.

 

I agree that you couldn't do it silently, but I still maintain that it is possible still to sneak up on people whilst wearing a full harness, given I have done it. is it easier to hear someone in plate over leather or cloth, but by no means is it a given that you will.

 

 

I was more or less speaking of the plate-rogue trope in roleplay. Not subtle movements.

[Aduu Avagnar]

You're not alone, sir. The only way you're going to be as silent as someone in cloth or leather is if you move overly carefully. And the pacing of that will probably be slow to the point where it is counter intuitive. I will not buy the dead silence in plate during movement thing.

 

Quietly? Sure. Unnoticeable? Not a chance.

 

I agree that you couldn't do it silently, but I still maintain that it is possible still to sneak up on people whilst wearing a full harness, given I have done it. is it easier to hear someone in plate over leather or cloth, but by no means is it a given that you will.

 

 

I was more or less speaking of the plate-rogue trope in roleplay. Not subtle movements.

hell, in LARP sometimes its easier to notice the person trying to be sneaky over the person in full plate because of how they're moving

[Michikyou]

You're not alone, sir. The only way you're going to be as silent as someone in cloth or leather is if you move overly carefully. And the pacing of that will probably be slow to the point where it is counter intuitive. I will not buy the dead silence in plate during movement thing.

 

Quietly? Sure. Unnoticeable? Not a chance.

 

I agree that you couldn't do it silently, but I still maintain that it is possible still to sneak up on people whilst wearing a full harness, given I have done it. is it easier to hear someone in plate over leather or cloth, but by no means is it a given that you will.

 

 

I was more or less speaking of the plate-rogue trope in roleplay. Not subtle movements.

hell, in LARP sometimes its easier to notice the person trying to be sneaky over the person in full plate because of how they're moving

As a larper - I find it harder to move in hardened leather than plate.

[Edvyn]

whenever i larp i shout INVISIBILITY to cast an invisibility spell but everyone still looks at me like im not invisible! and then they tell me to leave!

[Kellach Woods]

Yeah - my point with plate was essentially that you're carrying a helluva extra load. The hampered movement wouldn't be so much from the armor itself being clunky but from not being trained to move with it on which, SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH, isn't exactly the most known skill in the world.

 

Kind of if you stuck a strong person with the modern day equivalent. It'd take some time before they can be at 100% while wearing the equipment, but it's no fault of the equipment itself.

 

Also, another funny thing is that NPCs don't wear armor often, even those that are on duty. I can count the Sultansworn, some adventurers and that's it. Not even the Grand Companies do.

[Dogberry]

whenever i larp i shout INVISIBILITY to cast an invisibility spell but everyone still looks at me like im not invisible! and then they tell me to leave!

 

That wasn't a larp. You were in a bank.

[ChewableMorphine]

whenever i larp i shout INVISIBILITY to cast an invisibility spell but everyone still looks at me like im not invisible! and then they tell me to leave!

 

That wasn't a larp. You were in a bank.

I was the teller.

 

You drunken shit.

[Ilwe'ran]

Well, what is important to know (maybe) is the way the heavy armor were made and the fact it was rigid, the major part of the weight was - in fact - mostly dispersed on the floor and not actually carried by the knight.

But ! There is something which has a heavy weight : Hauberks and coats of mail. As they aren't rigid, the weight was directly on the shoulder.

[Gegenji]

This is actually some pretty good information to have. I've made a point of mentioning that Chachan crafted his own suit of armor for himself to ensure it fit properly and was built to the exacting standards of his family. I also made note that he's made modifications to allow for more freedom of movement and speed... so it's good to know that it's not as extreme adjustments as I was originally thinking.

 

Little armored rabbit could be nearly as mobile in a normal suit of armor... definitely nice to know.

[Caspar]

I find the ability to 'sneak' when you are a walking garbage can is something more falsely abused than restricted movement.

As someone who has worn a full plate harness before, it is entirely possible to do, though it is of course more difficult.

 

as long as you don't have anything loose hitting the armour, then you don't actually get that much of a clanging sound, and the joints (provided they are cared for properly) don't make that much noise.

 

The problem with that justification is it pretty much opens the doors to eliminating any and all meaningful drawbacks that exist. Especially since it's usually accompanied by 'magical enchantments that somehow make the material reflect and dampen magic as well as bullets.'

 

There's a certain charm to the classic approach of melee combatants being very physically powerful but not stealthy or particularly agile. Each to their own though!

Creating a drawback that does not exist is a bad way of counteracting it though. The justification is one that is one based on real life. If cared for properly, and you move correctly it is entirely possible to sneak in armour.

 

if you watch the video, the issue that you get is quick sudden movements (which are counterintuitive to sneaking/stalking anyway).

 

The only thing that really confuses me, is when folks try to emote swimming in plate....

yeah... thats just idiocy...

Actually, as improbable as that sounds, you can swim in full plate, again, if it's properly fitted to you. It's just not as easy. The fact that you can move well in full plate doesn't magically make the weight of the armor disappear; it only means that you're not a slow, uncoordinated robot man while wearing it. You're still heavy, but you're not incapable of running or even jumping, provided you're bulked up enough to do it, and are used to the weight distributed across your body. If it interferes with anything, I'd guess it's probably range of movement, but most armor is designed to allow at least the most useful minimum without any real trouble, so that isn't too extreme of a disadvantage. I guess the armor is probably pretty hot too? That can sap at your endurance. Again you can train to be used to it, but I think it'd still wear you down eventually. An armor can be ventilated, but how much or how little impacts the protective value, I'd imagine. That's sort of the limit as to what I understand about it.

 

Swimming in mail, however, would be much harder. With plate you can at least swim a short distance, but I'd think swimming in mail would be extremely dangerous. It can be heavier and the weight is distributed on your shoulders, pulling you down. I think the idea that it was impossible to swim in plate armor came from the fact that most medieval men couldn't swim anyway. Not to mention, if you panicked and were wearing an additional 50 pounds you wanted to get out of immediately, it was nearly impossible to do so.

 

As for sneaking, the movies I see on youtube suggest they're a little noisy, but nothing you couldn't hide behind background noise. In areas with a high wind, it might be difficult to hear a man in armor sneaking. If you attempted to be stealthy, rushing water could easily mask your sound. The times when the armor is loudest seem to be when moving suddenly or in ranges of motion the armor is not intended to frequently cover, such as climbing, crouching or running. I guess if you want to sneak in armor, walk as normally and quietly as possible.