First appearance of studded leather armor

[Moon-Lancer]

Monster Manual (1977), p. 46:


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.)

Thank you SOO much. I do not have access to these older versions of D&D.

 

[Ariosto]

As for "studded leather armor" being used in the middle ages:

What made common "brigandine" -- or the knightly "coat of plates" -- effective were the steel plates behind the fabric or leather that concealed them, only the rivets securing the plates being visible.

Gygax's mention (at DMG p. 27) of "an outer coat of fairly close-set studs (small plates)" suggests to me such armor.

Studs might also serve a decorative purpose, but stuck on their own into leather would probably range from ineffective to counter-productive as armor. A projecting protuberance tends to concentrate, rather than distribute, the force of a blow!

 

[Moon-Lancer]

from the looks of it, it seems like he did understand that it was not simply studs in leather which is kind-of a bummer. I wonder when it went astray?

 

[Ariosto]

I think the Dwarves might also have had studs in leather in Judges Guild's Glory Hole Dwarven Mine (1981).

In any case, heavy metal and D&D seemed to go together a lot back then -- in the middle of the Rob Halford era of Judas Priest!

 

[The Shaman]

from the looks of it, it seems like he did understand that it was not simply studs in leather which is kind-of a bummer. I wonder when it went astray?

With the same people who thought you could drive nails with a Lucerne hammer, perhaps?



The Lucerne hammer: the Swiss Army knife of Swiss Army polearms.

 

[Odhanan]

the lucerne hammer: The swiss army knife of swiss army polearms.

lol.

 

[haakon1]

Nevermind

 

[The Shaman]

lol.

Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week, folks.

 

[ExploderWizard]

With the same people who thought you could drive nails with a Lucerne hammer, perhaps?



The Lucerne hammer: the Swiss Army knife of Swiss Army polearms.

Hah! Shows how much you know. Everyone knows the Lucerne hammer is a tool used in the dairy industry and has nothing to do with nails.

 

[innerdude]

I may be crazy, but I'm pretty sure the 1990 BECMI Rules Cyclopedia has studded leather......I have it on my shelf, and I'm almost certain it did. I'm out of town at the moment, or else I'd go check.