The old real world versus the interpretive reasoning of the Gamemaster in their campaign world and the core books RAW that they are referencing as it plays out.
1. As the Gamemaster remember you have the FINAL choice on what the enemy will be and how they will be outfitted when they encounter the players. Orcs wearing Dragon Scale armor as an example.
2. The players have the choice of how their characters appear and are outfitted.
3. Now real world medieval technological advancements of armor versus the weaponry of the day comes down to really the following of what type of armor each side is outfitted themselves with and their choice of weapon armaments.
Having watched a NOVA program on PBS recently regarding whether or not a knight was bulletproof against the matchlock weapon tech that started to be deployed at the time period was basically the one-sixteenth inch mass-produced plate mail that the common foot soldier may have worn compared to a reproduction of a nobles plate mail armor that at the center area measured roughly a quarter of an inch plus the placade that was worn over it. The thin mass produced plate mail was punctured but the nobles version merely had a bullet sized dent in the placade but no penetration to the underlying set of plate mail.
Of course the program also had reference to the chainmail so basically if you have a sword of any slashing type the following could/should/would happen in real life so a Critical as seen by the Gamemaster.
Leather or similar lightweight armor could be cut through or pierced causing damage to the character
Medium and heavier armor slashing weapons are deflected unless the strike is area where the armor moves i.e. the joints, armpit, groin, knee, and etcetera. Bludgeoning and Piercing is the best to get through the armor as follows: Bludgeoning can dent the armor reducing movement or even break the bones within while Piercing would again target the vulnerable joints and gaps.
And let's not forget the classic cauldrons of boiling oil/water, fire, falling/thrown debris/stones/boulders/hot sand, magical elemental attack by spellcasters…
In one campaign a player had a fast ambidextrous rogue that somehow managed to jam several metal daggers in the joints of an animated tree golem before it was simply set on fire.
4. Depending upon the material used in the weapons construction, bronze a soft metal versus hardened steel, the weapon would of course become dull, chipped, rust, and possibly eventually break x-time in the future
I'll see if I can my game brainstorm notes from a few years ago....
