First appearance of studded leather armor

[Moon-Lancer]

did the first version of D&D contain studded leather armor? Did studded leather armor appear in any game before that?


Thanks for the help.

 

[the Jester]

I don't remember it before 1e, but my pre-AD&D play experience was limited to Red Box.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

did it have studded leather armor?

 

[howandwhy99]

did the first version of D&D contain studded leather armor? Did studded leather armor appear in any game before that?


Thanks for the help.

It was leather, chain, and steel in the LBBs IIRC. Studded leather probably came later as the options for combat began to expand with subsequent publications. The first appearance could have been The Dragon or AD&D. I'm not sure exactly.

As for wargames having studded leather wearing forces (Chainmail didn't I believe), you would have to ask the wargamer community. I strongly doubt it though. Medieval skirmish level wargames were not common at all. Chainmail really was a new growth in the hobby.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

So would it be fair to blame studded leather armor on Gary Gygax? I am working on a comedic project where this is relevant and i dont want to make a mistake.

 

[ExploderWizard]

So would it be fair to blame studded leather armor on Gary Gygax? I am working on a comedic project where this is relevant and i dont want to make a mistake.

I will have to check but I think the first official publication for D&D with studded leather was the 1E PHB in 1978. OD&D didn't include it and I know it wasn't in the Holmes or Moldvay boxed sets either. I'll check the OD&D supplements but I don't think it will be in them.

Strategic Review or early Dragon is possible, can check those too.

 

[howandwhy99]

Strategic Review or early Dragon is possible, can check those too.

Yeah, before you start blaming people I'd get the absolute source on this. A lot of what is in the AD&D books came from the magazines, tournaments, and the community. That Gygax put them in the PHB/DMG was his choice of course.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

So would it be fair to blame studded leather armor on Gary Gygax? I am working on a comedic project where this is relevant and i dont want to make a mistake.

In what way do you mean by blaming him? Are you talking about who put studded leather armor in the game, or just SLA? If the latter, it was used in the middle ages, and wasn't something Gary pulled out of his butt. He has several things to answer for, but that isn't one of them. (And I guess he has...)

 

[Ariosto]

Monster Manual (1977), p. 46:

Gnomes are typically armored with leather which is ringed or well studded with metal and shield (armor class 5).

Per the Players Handbook (1978), "studded leather or ring mail + shield" (or "scale mail" without shield) should be AC 6 -- one worse than the above.

The MM, though, was written in line with the original system (starting at AC 9 instead of AC 10). Nearly all monsters retained their old Armor Class (as well as Hit Dice, Move, and Damage/Attack.). Thus, old ACs 6-9 got an effective "+1 bonus" relative to the new factors (7-10) for leather and shield, leather or shield alone, or no armor.

(Monsters casting spells as if clerics or magic-users also follow the original progressions for those classes rather than the PHB ones.)

 

[Moon-Lancer]

In what way do you mean by blaming him? Are you talking about who put studded leather armor in the game, or just SLA? If the latter, it was used in the middle ages, and wasn't something Gary pulled out of his butt. He has several things to answer for, but that isn't one of them. (And I guess he has...)

yes studded leather existed before, but it was called brigandine (it had other names too). The studs are what are used to hold metal plates underneath the leather in place. At a glance it just looks like studs in leather. Since then people refer to studied leather as something that is simply one step above leather and one step bellow chain (at least in 3.5). Now i think this leads to the misconception that simply putting studs in armor somehow adds to ones protection. I want to make a comedy bit that pokes fun at this. I want to make sure it was Gary Gygax that created this paradigm before i do so.

Blame was really the wrong though.