Regionally adapted arms, armor, equipment

This is a discussion that came up in another thread -- We were talking about how armor would be affected by extreme weather conditions like cold and heat; Bowen pointed out that plate armor would perform poorly because it would conduct heat and cold and create problems for the wearer. So I looked into how armor was built for those conditions.

I wanted to start a thread for this topic... to explore arms, armor, and equipment practically adapted to regions with different types of climate and terrains.

Other cultural differences would be okay for discussion, but I'd want to be able to relate it some the geography, society, or other conditions in the area, through providing a context for the differences. I wouldn't want to compare purely stylistic differences without any practical context to relate them to. The reason to make this a possible tool for determining regional differences in the game. I'm assuming that the game takes place in a traditional Western fantasy setting, and while cultures on the fringes of the West -- Norse, Baltic, Turk -- might fit into the game world somehow, you'd want to be able to explain the differences in equipment through practical differences, whatever the cultures may be. Its possible that a Western-like culture would have more Near Eastern looking equipment, simply because they live in an arid region as opposed to a temperate one.

From what I've seen, in both types of extreme climates you see a trend towards lamellar and small helmets with chain welding, which would provide defensive advantages while not providing the problems of the full plate suits and great helms used in the West.

In the Near East, you see the Seljuks, Byzantines, and Saracens wear helmets where chainmail fully covers the face except the eyes, and a lamellar corset was fitted over a cloth tunic, which might in turn be over chain.

Seljuk helms:



And a breakdown of the armor here, with a lamellar corset over a tunic:



And a full suit of Saracen armor:



These are Baltic helmets, I mistook for Seljuk helmets, although Seljuks also often had face masks, too:



In the North, Vikings also wore lamellar armor, or leather vests over chain, and also would have helms with chain attached, plate flanks, or even a full chain drape that covered the lower face. These approaches would have served similar purpose. Russians armor had similar features.




And some Russian armor, which would be used on the steppes:

 

An interesting thought occurred to me. What kind of influences would the 'catastrophe' have had on armor or weapon designs? Most or all of the world more or less covered in dust for hundreds of years. And if astronomical events are particularly important then how would that be reflected culturally? (And thus influencing armor and weapon designs).

I would imagine that in the very least.. some helm designs emerged to include some sort of dust filters. Naturally, these designs would be quite old now you would still run across them from time to time.

 

Would armor would develop any differently than in areas like desert regions where there are frequent sand storms?

 

I should think so.. sand storms come about because of extremely high winds. Sand we typically think of is pretty course and heavy. Dust is pretty small and light weight. Where sand generally doesn't float in the air with the lightest breeze, dust can linger in the air with seemingly no wind at all. Moon dust would also be global and as such would be in all kinds of regions. When we're talking sand storms we're talking deserts.. normally high heat.

I think helms would probably develop with a combination of cloth over the nose and mouth and goggle like features.

 

Speaking of that, when the call for armor models was up I was designing some outfits and armor I'd imagine tinkers would wear, and incorporated the look of medieval and post-medieval eyeglasses; I wanted to find a way to bring the steampunk look in a subtle way into medieval dress. I'll get that up some other time.

Its possible, though, just like in desert climates, they would just wrap cloth around their mouths, and wear glasses or goggles, and then place the helmet on in addition to that, rather than connect them together.

 

I'm for Steampunk-Like clothing/armor in game ... glasses and goggles would be a huge plus for me - possibly usable telescope for looking at distant objects (discovering hidden trails, enemies, etc) - I'm also in favor of regionally developed armor - specially if it provided functional benefits according to environmental surroundings; I think this would encourage traveling, trading and add diversity to distinct "looks" of the player base - and if it could be integrated into medieval clothing won't cause an eye sore but help create a distinct/unique look for SoTA.

 

Speaking of this:



Plague doctors. Their masks had glass goggles and the mouth and nose were protected.



A steampunk adaptation:

 

Is there a historical explanation why the face mask resembles a the face of a bird? I like the mask but I may scare people as I'm walking down the road

 

From wikipedia,

"The mask had glass openings for the eyes and a curved beak shaped like that of a bird. Straps held the beak in front of the doctor's nose.[4] The mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator which contained aromatic items. [5] The beak could hold dried flowers (including roses and carnations), herbs (including mint), spices, camphor or a vinegar sponge.[6][7] The purpose of the mask was to keep away bad smells, which were thought to be the principal cause of the disease in the miasma theory of infection, before it was disproved by germ theory.[3][4] Doctors believed the herbs would counter the "evil" smells of the plague and prevent them from becoming infected.[4]"

 

awesome redfish ... thanks for teaching me something

this might be over the top but ...

 

+1.

Great idea, definitely getting into more complexités though.

Crazy cool pics here.

 

I also found these, better representation to the historical example

 

Those are some more steampunk adaptations I think. A lot of people are fashioning these types of masks today for cosplay purposes.

The beak shape reminds me of "pig face" bascinets.

 

Yup - you are right - I meant a truer blend to bird like mask you presented with Steampunk elements

 

Note the resemblance to Thoth, including the rod and .. the loop and line of the ankh is also reflected in the illustration of the plague doctor, possibly in the shoe-laces. Very fitting. Thanks for sharing!