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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fred Delles" data-source="post: 520623" data-attributes="member: 3497">From Poul Anderson's editorial "On Thud and Blunder":"Not even with a samurai sword do you cut through armor... At the same time, armor does have its vulnerabilities. These are not so much to the thrust of the cleaving blow. I have witnessed experiments in which chain mail made from coat hanger wire, backed by a hay bale, could not be penetrated by sword, ax, or spear. Obviously only repeated impacts on the same spot could fatigue the metal enough to let a weapon through. Plate armor should be still hardier. Bear in mind that, in both cases, padding was worn beneath. Still, if a man was getting hit hour after hour, eventually it might prove too much for his body to endure, if heat prostration didn't get him first."NO handheld weapon can slash through metal. Period. There IS a chance that some of the rings can bend, of course, and let a blow in. At the same time, longbow arrows (and other piercing weapons, if pointy and quick enough) can pierce even plate armor. Shields are around to block head shots, for bludgeons to the head can kill, even with armor.</blockquote>