Armor and more on Encumbrance

Because of the specifics of the setting I'm working on, the large list of armors from Castles & Crusades, as well as the very small list of armors from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, do not work for what I want.

First, about armor and encumbrance. I detailed encumbrance in this post.

Shields and helmets are considered a standard item, for encumbrance purposes, so they take up a single item slot.

Helmets: While there are a dizzying array of helmet designs, they fall into the following categories. Helmets provide an AC bonus only against attacks specifying the head. Helmet AC is not added to regular AC. Cost is generic: I haven't decided to go with a silver or gold standard yet.

• Leather Cap: +1 AC, cost: 4
• Metal Pot: +2 AC, cost: 5
• Helm: +5 AC, cost: 10
• Great Helm: +7 AC, cost: 20

Shields: Shields provide two defensive bonuses, and a special defense. The first is against melee attacks, the second is against ranged attacks, and the third is the Shields Will Be Broken Rule. This rule is that a shield may be sacrificed to take the full damage from a single attack. A Modification to the rule allows for the material the shield is made of. Wood shields are unusable after being sacrificed. Metal shields can effectively be sacrificed twice. This rule does not apply to the Buckler, which is too small (you'd be sacrificing your arm).

• Buckler: +1 AC melee, +1 AC ranged, cost: 2
• Small Shield: +1 AC melee, +2 AC ranged, cost: 3 wood, 9 steel
• Medium Shield: +2 AC melee, +3 AC ranged, cost: 5 wood, 15 steel
• Large Shield: +3 AC melee, +4 AC ranged, cost: 7 wood, 21 steel

Like any other item, armor uses up an item slot. No matter what kind it is, armor takes up a single item slot. Heavier armor, because of its weight, bulk, and restriction of movement, also has a further penalty.

There are three basic types of armor, and how they work with encumbrance is as follows:

• Light Armor fills an item slot.
• Medium Armor fills an item slot AND a point of encumbrance.
• Heavy Armor fills an item slot AND two points of encumbrance.

A half suit, basically covering the chest and torso, or the classic chain/plate bikini, or the bracers/gauntlets, shoulder plates, shin guard combo all work the same, and are considered a half-suit for game purposes.

• A half suit of Light armor takes up an item slot.
• Half suit of Medium armor takes up an item slot.
• Half suit of Heavy armor takes up an item slot, AND fills one point of encumbrance.

Now, on to specific types of armor available! The armor listed includes the Armor Class bonus for half and full suits, as well as the cost. These are guidelines, but cover most types of armor. While many other types of armor exist, they all effectively fall within these categories and use the same stats.

Light Armor:

• Hide or Leather: +1 AC half suit, +2 AC full suit, cost: 5/10
• Studded Leather: +2 AC half suit, +3 AC full suit, cost: 12/24

Medium Armor:

• Chain or Scale: +3 AC half suit, +5 AC full suit, cost: 100/200

Heavy Armor:

• Plate: +5 AC half suit, +8 AC full suit, cost: 300/600