Monday, January 13, 2020

LotFP Armor - Combining Classic and Early Modern Types

In Lamentations of the Flame Princess, the armor system is very simple if you stick to the default D&D-style equipment. If you switch entirely to the early modern armor system in the Firearms Appendix, then it becomes a little more complex, but it's still not too bad. However, when I try to combine both groups of armor into the same game - which is an explicit possibility outlined in the rules, as per the increased cost of medieval armor explained on page 162 - I start to get a bit confused. I decided to list out the possible armor combinations below for the sake of comparison.


When two values are presented, the first is the Melee AC, and the second is the Ranged AC. All Helms are assumed here to be Morion or Lobster Tail Pot in style, since a Secrete adds no AC bonus.

No Armor 12
Buff Coat 13
Helm 13*
Shield 13/14
^Leather Armor 14
Pikeman's Armor 14
^Buff Coat + Helm 14*
Buff Coat + Shield 14/15
Helm + Shield 14/15*
Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat 15
Pikeman's Armor + Tassets 15
Pikeman's Armor + Helm 15*
Leather Armor + Shield 15/16
Pikeman's Armor + Shield 15/16
Buff Coat + Helm + Shield 15/16*
^Chain Armor 16
Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Tassets 16
^Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Helm 16*
Pikeman's Armor + Helm + Tassets 16*
Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Shield 16/17
Pikeman's Armor + Tassets + Shield 16/17
Pikeman's Armor + Helm + Shield 16/17*
^Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Helm + Tassets 17*
Chain Armor + Shield 17/18
Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Tassets + Shield 17/18
Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Helm + Shield 17/18*
Pikeman's Armor + Helm + Tassets + Shield 17/18*
^Plate/Full Armor 18
^Pikeman's Armor + Buff Coat + Helm + Tassets + Shield 18/19*
^Plate/Full Armor + Shield 19/20

*Includes bonus to physical damage saving throws.
^Armor combinations that I think are the most efficient in terms of AC/saving throw bonus per unit of encumbrance. (This mostly ignores cost; efficient equipment isn't necessarily cheap.)


Can you wear Tassets without Pikeman's Armor? I assume the answer is "No, because the Tassets would have no breastplate to hang from." In case I'm wrong, here are the combinations that include Tassets without Pikeman's Armor (or classic/medieval armor):
Tassets 13
Buff Coat + Tassets 14
Helm + Tassets 14*
Tassets + Shield 14/15
Buff Coat + Helm + Tassets 15*
Buff Coat + Tassets + Shield 15/16
Helm + Tassets + Shield 15/16*
Buff Coat + Helm + Tassets + Shield 16/17*

Can you "stack" Leather or Chain Armor with a Helm or Tassets? I would bet the answer is "No, because Leather and Chain Armor are assumed to already include head and thigh protection," but I'm not sure. In case I'm wrong, here are the combinations that include both Leather/Chain Armor and a Helm or Tassets:
Leather Armor + Tassets 15
Leather Armor + Helm 15*
Leather Armor + Helm + Tassets 16*
Leather Armor + Tassets + Shield 16/17
Leather Armor + Helm + Shield 16/17*
Chain Armor + Tassets 17
Chain Armor + Helm 17*
Leather Armor + Helm + Tassets + Shield 17/18*
Chain Armor + Helm + Tassets 18*
Chain Armor + Tassets + Shield 18/19
Chain Armor + Helm + Shield 18/19*
Chain Armor + Helm + Tassets + Shield 19/20*

†If you wish to allow helms, but not tassets, to be used with classic/medieval armor, then these are the relevant combinations.

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm glad to help. I'm happy you've enjoyed the blog.

      That said, I don't think I'm going to be posting much LotFP-related material in the future. It's partly because Raggi's essay in "Zak Has Nothing To Do With This Book" was so off-putting to me. I'm probably going to write a post about this soon just to address the proverbial elephant in the room, but the bottom line is that there are certain people I would like to consider friends whom I worry I might be hurting if I continue to associate with LotFP.

      Also, I think it might do me some good to introduce more variety into my gaming habits. There are so many games out there I'd like to both play and write about, but my scope has been pretty limited up until now.

      I don't plan on deleting my old content unless I feel that it's causing some tangible harm to leave them up. You're as welcome to use it now as you have been. I'm also in the process of clearing out my backlog of unfinished posts and old projects, and at least some of that relates to LotFP, so you might see a few more things pop up along those lines. But in general, I think I'm going to move away from LotFP.

      Delete