@
snickersnax, @
kap'n Kobold
But there is no ‘padding’ under a mithril shirt. It is silk-like. And often it is worn as an undershirt.
Somehow this silky metal mesh is able to dampen bludgeoning weapons.
I'm not sure how this is significantly different from a regular chain shirt. There is no significant padding in the description of a chain shirt(a layer of cloth). Somehow a regular chain shirt protects against bludgeoning weapons too.
Chain Shirt. Made of interlocking metal rings, a chain
shirt is worn between layers of clothing or leather. This
armor offers modest protection to the wearer’s upper
body and allows the sound of the rings rubbing against
one another to be muffled by outer layers. PHB p. 144
Also not sure where the silky description of mithril is coming from. Small-link chainmail does have a fun feel. I have a swatch of it on my desk that I just love to play with.
Since mithril originally comes from LOtR we might look there for some guidance: [He]held up a small shirt of mail. It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel.
Almost as supple as linen, not quite silky...
AFAIK: Tolkien only has armor and jewelry and gates made out of mithril.... no weapons
The DMG describes mithril as a light flexible metal. This seems like a poor, vague description of mithril, unless they are using flexible in the sense that spring steel is flexible (ie not brittle).