Editing Armor (section)

== Types of Body Armor ==
Numerous forms of body armor have been developed over the millennia by civilizations with various levels of technology and resources on hand. Every single one of these died out in Europe by the 18th century, not, contrary to popular belief, because they were useless - forged iron or steel plate armour was still very effective at deflecting bullets, as shown by the armour European Cuirassiers wore well into the 19th century; in fact they were proof marked by a single dimp in the plate itself, made by firing a flintlock pistol at point blank at them - but equipping the increasing numbers of soldiers of the standing armies that became the norm after the Thirty Year War and the reforms undertaken during the long reign of Louis XIV. of France was simply too costly; the levied and mercenary forces prior to and during this war bought their equipment out of their own pockets. Efforts to make personal armor for the lowly Infantryman cheap and efficient enough never really stopped, but were almost met with failure, either because the results proved to be too heavy, too unreliable or too expensive, most of the times all three. Modern body armor works different insofar as they dissipate the force of a bullet hitting them like a big pillow, (spreading the kinetic energy over a relatively large area instead of outright making the bullet bounce off, also causing the bullet to get stuck in vest instead of going -plink!-) but some of the force will still get through and, as many military and policemen (and women) can attest, the sensation of getting hit while wearing a Kevlar vest is not very pleasant, to put it mildly; the remaining force is still sufficient to break bones or cause internal damage if you're unlucky. Still, a treatable, if painful, wound is of course still preferrable over a lethal one.

*'''Leather armor''' - not just any leather would do; soft leather offers no protection against blades. You need specially treated leather to be effective. Another name for this is "cuir bouilli" or "cuirbouille". The exact method of creating is unclear, as simply boiling leather in water (as the French name implies) will result in leather that’s hard but highly brittle (like diamond) to the point it can be snapped with one's bare hands. The best guesses are that animal glue and/or oil were involved. The high biodegradability (and, to many vermin, tastiness) of leather, especially with period natural treatment, has created a near total lack of historical examples surviving though we do see some possible examples in period art. Whatever it is, what is for certain is that this was the result was not flexible like a modern leather jacket, but would have a fairly solid shape (one possible method of creating it resulted in leather sturdy enough it could actually be used to ''chop wood''). The general consensus is that it had less presence in Europe (though there are surviving inventory accounts that confirm it existed). Meanwhile, in the East (both middle and far) it did exist (with inventories and accounts confirming Chu and Zhou armories using rhino or water buffalo hide), it wasn't that much widespread either and disappeared once other materials were obtainable. These circumstances became more prevalent as metalworking became more accessible. On the Central Asian steppes or in areas with large amounts of livestock, the leather was more widespread as lamellar or scale armor. This was likely a matter of resource availability as the nomadic tribes had little access to metal outside of trading and would prioritize using it for tools, swords, speartips, and arrowheads instead. Regarding the tribes in the Americas (some examples include the Tlingit, Chukchi, and Yupik or the Plain Indian's hair-pipe breastplates) as well as the Polynesian and Austronesian islands, where metalworking was noticeably diminished or not present, leather armor was relatively common while bone, shell, and coins were used as external reinforcing elements. Some examples include the Baju/Baru tribal war garb (made from hide, turtle shell, &/or crocodile skin) in the Nusantara Archipelago in Austronesia. On the other hand, all these regions gradually phased out leather once they gained reliable supplies of crafted metal or firearms via trading or learning metalsmithing. While phased out as as a primary form of protection, Buff coats were still made of leather and retained to act as cushioning underneath metal breastplates. It also served as slashing protection for exposed joints or in cases where wearing metal armor was inconvenient.
** Real-life note: while sometimes seen on TV and in video games, there is no such thing as studded leather armor as mentioned below in Brigandine's section. Think about it. How does adding a metal studs cause a significant increase to the armor's effectiveness? You will see this mistake in many RPGs. This idea probably came from people misunderstanding some of the other kinds of armor that use cloth as a binding agent on the outside.
*'''Padded cloth armor''' - Cloth bundled in sufficient thickness was one of the first forms of armor, since bronze armors tended to be too expensive or too heavy to be widely used. Cloth continued to be used mostly as padding underneath metal armor, to help absorb blows and all through the middle ages continued to be the go to protection for men-at-arms in lieu of expensive metal plate or mail. Despite what you might think it (obviously) provided one of the best protection against percussive strikes, second only to full plate (which have padded cloth integrated into it), surprisingly high level of protection against slashes and swings, unless the blade is razor sharp (most historical blades weren't that sharp) and while it barely ever provides full protection against piercing weapon heavier than a shortbow arrow, it does lower the depth of penetration, often turning instantly lethal wounds from glancing stabs or slashes to survivable if debilitating, or even surface damage, with an added bonus of often catching enemy weapon (although given in most times where blades get stuck in padded cloth after stabbing through, they pierce deep enough to kill so it's more to the benefit of your companions than yours). Sometimes confused with Brigandine armor (which externally appeared to be made of cloth with metal studs but also contained overlapping metal pieces). Besides the Gambeson and some Austronesian Baju/Baru war jackets woven from hardy fibrous plants, some other historical examples include:
** The distinctive ancient Greek armor called "Linothorax" (literally meaning linen torso): believed to be made out of quilted linen with glue laminate and is presumed to fall under this category, though historians can't be entirely sure as no full examples survived the centuries. Lighter versions known as "Spola" were worn by the Greeks and Macedonians.
** A gambeson is unlike most “soft” armor in that we actually have a fairly good understanding of its construction due to some 15th century writing detailing how to make it (deer skin with a ~30 layers of linen).
*** Aketon is roughly equivilent to a gamebeson, being made of raw cotton (which is not the soft, smooth, fluffy stuff the clothes you're wearing are made out of) rather than linen. Generally assumed to be a corruption of the arabic word for cotton.
** A hard, quilted, and 2 inch-thick form of cotton armor was used by the Mesoamericans such as the Aztecs, Toltecs, and the Tlaxcalans. Called ”Ichcahuipilli” in the Nahuatl, it was often hardened with resin-like substances like brine salt. In combat, it was effective against obsidian-edged Macuahuitl/Macana sword-clubs and arrows. They were also effective enough that Spanish Conquistadors sometimes adopted them for use in the summer to avoid being baked alive in their steel cuirasses. Other related armor include decorated sets called "Tlahuiztli." Similar thickly padded cotton tunics were worn by Incan nobles and Muisca warriors in South America (with the former using small wooden planks to reinforce the back).
** An early bulletproof form of cotton armor worn by the 19th century Joseon Koreans called “Myeonje baegab.” It was invented when they confronting Western armies at the same time the Western powers began probing expeditions into Qing China and Tokugawa Japan (pre-Meiji Reformation). While effective against low velocity bullets from black powder firearms, it was prone to being burned from incendiary hazards like explosions or red-hot shrapnel. 
** Various early forms of pistol-proof armor were documented that were made from layers of silk but were usually expensive and restricted to wealthy politicians or nobles (for example, [[The World Wars|Franz Ferdinand]] ironically was believed to have owned one but wasn't wearing it on his fateful final day, though as he was shot in the neck it wouldn't have made a difference).
*'''Paper armor''' - this one sounds crazy, but apparently it was actually a thing in 10th Century China. The Mythbusters tested it out and it might have been actually effective... at least, so long as it does not get wet, a bit of of an issue considering human beings tend to sweat when under the stress of matters of life-and-death. Indeed citizen, this is testable by you! Obtain a notebook and ensure it is tightly closed. Then, stab it with a knife as hard as possible. Apparently, it was also used by some ethnic tribes in China as late at the 19th century while interlayered with cotton and was good against smoothbore muskets and bayonets but not breech-loading rifles.
*'''Wooden armor''' - either based on wooden planks held together or overlapped with fibre in a manner similar to mirror armor, brigandine, and lamellar, or alternatively composed of woody rods interwoven like a thick basket (similar to rattan shields in Asia) into the form of cuirasses and shields called rod-and-slat armor, these types of armor were known to be used in pre-colonial natives in Austronesia (such as the Kiribati) and the Americas (such as among the Inca, Haida, Iroqouis, & Tlingit tribes). Like leather armor or cotton armor, there are very few preserved copies due to wood’s tendency to rot away when exposed to wet climates with most accounts coming from written records by colonial explorers. While effective against the wood, bone, and stone based weaponry used indigenously in the region, it inevitably disappeared once metal weapons or firearms were introduced by Western explorers.
**”Bamboo armor” - basically wooden armor, but with the advantage in that you can shape bamboo more easily. Bamboo is also notable in the sense that it has a high strength weight ratio. It also is rather weather resistant.
*'''Scale armor''' - An early form of armour, sporting overlapping metal (cuirbouille and lacquered leather were also used) plates arranged in a similar fashion to roofing tiles, which were riveted/sewn onto a backing cloth or leather and oftentimes loosely laced together in rows. One of the earliest examples of armour, used predominantly in Eastern cultures most distinctly used to deck out their early heavy cavalrymen and horses both in this. These "Cataphracts" were said to be able [[Awesome|to get showered in arrows without getting hit]]. Used by Rome as the lorica squamata, apparently simultaneously with mail. The art of ''Grandes Chroniques de France'' shows (at least) helmets with such an appearance existed in Europe as lower class armor in or before 1270.
*'''Mirror armor''' - an early form of plate, this was a small round bronze plate attached to the torso. Besides physical protection, it was also believed to ward off the supernatural. The plate itself was frequently a supplement over a suit of mail, but plenty of poor warriors throughout ancient history made due with hoping that no one would hit them around the single non-encompassing plate they strapped to their chest (beats having no armor).
*'''[[Mail]]''' - the iconic armor made of interlocking rings. One of the most common and effective type of armor from the ancient world to the middle ages. Flexible and easy (though time-consuming) to make, it was widely used by many cultures. It was also significantly easier to repair, as a break could easily be mended by replacing a few rings, whereas a hole in plate armor might require a complete replacement. While fairly effective against foot soldiers, the crossbow and the lance charge required knights to wear extra armor over mail for additional protection. In the modern era, they are used for non-combative roles, such as shark suits, butcher's gloves, animal control, and dealing with high-power electrical wiring (because electrons "slide" along the mesh rather than penetrate", admittedly the mesh must be very tightly made). Some nations still use mail armor to supplement riot gear. Note that it MUST be backed with leather or something stiff, otherwise knives will drive it into the body. Just for the love of god: don't get shot. The British tested this in WW1 and the bullets ends up dragging the links into the body with it. They did wind up using it to protect crew inside a tank from spalling that was reliably created from even non-penetrating hits against its armor (early tank armor just wasn't very thick, and the issue lessened by the time of World War II's technological advances in tanks).
*'''Plated Mail''' - Also known as Mail and Plate armor or splinted mail, this is not what some sourcebooks refer to as platemail, which is basically just plate armor worn over a mail hauberk. Plated mail integrates metal plates into the rest of the mail pattern, ranging from large rectangular plates on areas like the chest, to small plates arranged like fish scales on areas that require more dexterity, such as near the shoulders and back. A form of transitional armor in Europe alongside brigandine as knights gradually shifted from full mail to plate armor, it was popular with medieval Slavs, Eastern Europeans, Persians, Indians, and other Asian kingdoms.
*'''Laminar armor''' - armor made from overlapping bands of metal. A predecessor to full-body plate armor, most famous example is the ancient Roman [[wikipedia:Lorica_segmentata|Lorica Segmentata]], though it was less prevalent among the Romans than is usually portrayed and mail remained in use among the Romans' frontline infantry, even in the Segmentata's heyday. Other examples existed such as the Dendra armour from Mycenaean Greece, some Warring State Period samurai armor once muskets were in use, or Renaissance Polish Hussars but the latter was held together by sliding rivets rather than leather strips and laces used in Greek and Roman versions of the armor.
*'''Lamellar armor''' - <s>Essentially scale armor sewn together</s> Not exactly. It's an armour made from overlapping pieces of leather, ivory/bone, or metal, each piece being laced side-by-side to create semi-rigid rows, which then are laced together to form a complete suit of armour. This form differs from other "overlapping plates" types of armour in that it is self-contained and does not rely on backing material to keep the all the pieces together (unlike Scale or Brigandine). Again it is one of the oldest types of armour (being found in places as widespread as Mesopotamia, Europe, the Central Asian Steppes, Pre-Columbian North America, and even the Arctic Circle) and was still in use as recently as 1930s.
*'''[[Samurai]] armor''' - depending on the period, it could be lamellar, laminar, or even western plate (but not wood. That has no basis in history). The helmet (kabuto) had a distinct shape that often featured ornaments and even a removable facemask (Darth Vader's helmet is said to be a hybrid of a kabuto and a German stahlhelm). Also notable for featuring one or two large [[pauldrons]] (called ''sode'') on the heavier models that protected the entire upper arm, and were used as small shields to absorb impacts while leaving both hands free for weapon handling. ([[Power Armour|Sounds familiar, huh?]])
**'''Ashigaru armor''' - Worn by conscripts, it featured the same kinds of breastplates, a lesser helmet (which was sometimes made of wood) and some minor stuff but was overall less complete than samurai armor. Eventually became a standardized, mass-produced design used by everyone after [[firearms]] made their entrée, relegating the heavier samurai armors to symbols of status.
*'''Brigandine''' - a.k.a "Corazzina,” “Coat-of-plates,” and “Jack of Plate” armor. Brigandine is a "poor man's plate" and was quite popular in medieval Europe as part of "transitional" armor alongside plated mail (when knights began transitioning from full mail to plate armor), when worn in combination with mail and metal splints covering the limbs. While it may not provide as sturdy protection compared to full plate, it was very easy to make and repair. Also, while not as flexible as mail, it had more rigid protection against blunt force trauma. In essence, it was a compromise between the two while also being cheaper. Even after nobles and knights began using full plate armor, it was still kept as a form of armor for all rank-and-file men-at-arms; even seeing use in the New World by colonists against the natives’ arrows. It was also widespread across all of Eurasia with evidence of its existence seen as far out as as Turkey, India, Russia, China, and even Japan. Often confused with "studded leather armour" or the padded cloth gambeson. In modern day warfare, ballistic vests with trauma plate inserts made from metal or ceramic on the front, back, and sides of the body are spiritual successors to this form of armor. <s>Construction-wise, it’s essentially an inverted suit of scale armor with the backing cloth on the outside</s> Not quite. Underneath the cloth and over the padding, a "brig" is built from overlapping plates of various sizes and shapes, riveted onto a leather or cloth "jacket", but it differs from other "overlapping plates" armours in that:
** A) the plates are *usually* bigger and shaped according to where they go on the armour (scale and lamellar mostly use same-sized, same-shape plates),
** B) they are riveted (or sewn in the Jack-of-Plate’s case) inside the leather/cloth and not on the outside and
** C) the plates are '''not''' linked together in any fashion and fully rely on their fastening to the backing to keep them where they're supposed to be. 
*'''[[Plate armor]]''' - armor made from single, solid pieces of metal. Bronze plate armor had been used in ancient times, but was limited to helmets and sometimes breastplates due to the weight of the armor. Full suits of plate armor were not possible until improvements in smithing allowed for large bars of steel to be hammered out into single pieces. A popular misconception about full plate is that it's very hard to move in, to a point it's exclusive to cavalry. While this is true for a '''tourney plate''' specifically designed for maximum protection in jousting tournaments, an actual battle plate was designed with maximum mobility in mind, and it was not uncommon for a knight (or later an officer) to do a somersault or dance with his lady while testing his new plate armor. During and after the Renaissance, mass produced '''munitions plate''' armor appeared; this was usually a partial suit of armor that protected the chest, shoulders, and upper leg; it was partially effective against harquebus fire and early grenades but fell out of use as muskets proliferated.
*'''Jack Chains''' - if you were too poor to afford proper plate armor, you could at least add some metal reinforcements to your gambeson called Jack Chains. These were essentially gauntlets, elbow plates, and shoulder guards linked together by chains and attached to the arms so that one could, at bare minimum, block slashes to their sides without getting cut, or use it as a improv shield against incoming sword attacks.
*'''Makeshift Armor''' - Not really a set of armor in the traditional sense, generally makeshift armor is what ever one could scrounge up to make a protective wear. In the modern day, this is a protestor (think 2014 Ukraine Revolution) go to for long term engagement. Generally, motorcycle and safety helmets alongside heavy thick jackets, protective sports gear, or motorcycle gear would be the go to, as well as whatever one can strap to themselves. Don't be wearing something that might shatter easily though if you expect to be shot at, because that might manage to injure you even worse with the flying bits.
*'''Flak Jackets''' - The first standard-issue modern body armor to be developed, Flak Jackets were developed in WWII out of high-strength nylon to protect aircrews from fragments fired from flak cannons in conjuncture with manganese steel plates. While good against shrapnel and pistol rounds, it was still ineffective against rifle bullets. Before the invention of Kevlar and ballistic vests, this was the only kind of body armor available to modern soldiers expected to walk.
*'''Early 20th century armor''' - in WW1 and 2 many nations began experimenting with various forms of body armor to deal with shrapnel. This included steel breastplates, lamellar and steel plates in canvas carriers. This was more experimental than anything else. The biggest users of body armor in WW2 were the soviets who issued "steel bibs" to their soldiers. These could stop shrapnel fire and pistol bullets (a big deal given that Sub Machine Guns were a common infantry arm for urban combat) but were on the heavy side and were restricted to urban warfare or motorized infantry.
*'''Ceramic armor''' - Originally descended from the ceramic “Chicken plate” armor worn by helicopter gunship crews, it is typically, high-strength ceramic plates (typically made from boron carbide) are used as an energy-absorbing component in some ballistic vests (otherwise the wearer would suffer blunt trauma and internal bleeding from a bullet impacting the vest). A common myth is that Ceramic trauma plates shatter after only 1-2 hits. This somewhat of an exaggeration, although generally plates are certified to take one well aimed steel-cored 7.62x63/53 mm rifle round (in layman's terms, a armor piercing sniper bullet) straight in and anything more you get out of it is pushing your luck. These are some of the best plates for infantry.
*'''Ballistic vests''' - "bulletproof" armor vests able to stop bullets of varying sizes and speeds. For "soft" armor, the use of high-strength fibers that "catch" the projectile, thereby slowing them down enough to prevent them from penetrating, are used, typically for security guards, low-intensity combat areas jobs, and cops. For "hard" armor, ceramic/metal/ultra-high-strength plastic/combination-of-the-previous may be used in the form of solid plates. Body armor may come in as either a standalone vest (i.e. "soft" kevlar vest) or a carrier (which can further more simply be a holder for a solid plate or a combination of "soft" and "hard" armor). Options of groin, neck, and shoulder protection may be included with the vests but aren't used unless you're in a SWAT team or fighting in close quarters in a building.
**'''Ballistic Visor''' - A visor of transparent, bulletproof, plastic. Despite its weight, bulk and making it impossible to use a standard rifle properly, it's only really suitable against low powered handgun rounds and thus it sees little use outside of European SWAT counterparts.
*'''Blast suits''' - full-body armors capable of absorbing the heat and shrapnel of a bomb blast. The only part that isn't protected are the hands, since wearing thick gloves is detrimental to manual dexterity. So if a bomb goes off, you may be maimed and lose parts of your hands - but at least you're not dead or torn to ribbons by shrapnel! May also include a closed air supply in the case of biological or chemical bombs. Commonly worn by EOD technicians. Often used in TV shows, movies and video games to allow its user to shrug off gunfire. This is obviously false as the suit is designed to stop kinetic energy and shrapnel NOT bullets. Attempting to mimic media like that is a good way to end up like Swiss cheese.
*'''[[Power Armor]]''' - As of current, we already have prototype exoskeletons, but they're one of the many inventions that isn't in common use purely because of current limits on battery power (all current examples are plugged into a power source). There isn't as much a need for such strength in direct combat like in fiction, as it's designed more for load-bearing in mind, allowing for bigger, heavier guns and/or more ammo. However, that could include allowing the user to wear heavier armor as well. Generally speaking, the servos and external components are rather exposed. Think STALKER's exoskeleton for modern military exoskeleton prototypes. Frankly, you're more likely to find these systems being used by workers in a factory or maintenance depot than on the battlefield, and that will likely remain the case until the power situation is figured out. A rare case of mundane utility winning out over combat potential for first time deployment.