D&D 5E (2014) Video of guys in plate mail as reference for you!

[Shadowdweller00]

Question: What is roman legionary armour? Is it Banded mail? Or would it be a breast plate or what?

Historically accurate/consistent or not, Gygax's concept of banded mail was definitely based on the roman lorica segmentata.

 

[aramis erak]

Question: What is roman legionary armour? Is it Banded mail? Or would it be a breast plate or what?

Depends upon what era and how wealthy the unit's patron was.

Lorica Segmentata could be classed as breast and back, plate, or banded, depending upon one's views of the relative protection. It's normally worn with metal greaves and metal-on-leather vambraces, and with Pteruges (armored skirt).
Lorica Musculata is breast and back
Lorica Squamata is scale, as is Lorica plumata
Lorica Hamata is chain

The Pteruges are one of several kinds of armor:
1. strips of plate on linen
2. strips of leather on linen
3. strips of "scuta" (small round metal bits, shaped like miniature scutum shield) - bezanted, essentially - on heavy linen.
4. strips of rigidized linen (waxed or starched, or both...)

Most of the photos of Pteruges are of reenactors.

Most people think of either the segmentata or musculata when they say "legionary armor" - and musculata is knows to have been made, but not found in battlefield graves...

 

[Grainger]

Depends upon what era and how wealthy the unit's patron was.

Lorica Segmentata could be classed as breast and back, plate, or banded, depending upon one's views of the relative protection. It's normally worn with metal greaves and metal-on-leather vambraces, and with Pteruges (armored skirt).
Lorica Musculata is breast and back
Lorica Squamata is scale, as is Lorica plumata
Lorica Hamata is chain

The Pteruges are one of several kinds of armor:
1. strips of plate on linen
2. strips of leather on linen
3. strips of "scuta" (small round metal bits, shaped like miniature scutum shield) - bezanted, essentially - on heavy linen.
4. strips of rigidized linen (waxed or starched, or both...)

Most of the photos of Pteruges are of reenactors.

Most people think of either the segmentata or musculata when they say "legionary armor" - and musculata is knows to have been made, but not found in battlefield graves...

Have to disagree about the Segmentata there. It's generally thought that greaves were only worn by Centurions, not normal Legionaries (but see my caveat below about what we really know).

I've never heard of pturges in tandem with Segmentata. The legionary's main protection was his large shield (scutum); the segmentata covered his torso, and he didn't normally have armour from the waist down. Unless you mean the "apron" strips worn below the belt? Edit: this article argues that pteruges were not worn with the segmentata during the "classic" Trajan period, but were taken up later; perhaps more as an aesthetic choice.

With regard t musculata, Hollywood loves to include lots of leather musculata, but it's generally thought that such armour was made of metal (but some writers do think it was leather). And while we're on the subject of Hollywood - in movies, all Romans wear bracers on their wrists. In real life, no Romans did (unless, perhaps they were archers). They did, however, introduce metal sleeves (a la some types of gladiator armour) for specialist tasks, like fighting the Dacians, whose curved weapons often came over the top of the legionaries' shields and cut off an arm.

We don't have much Roman equipment at all, so we're often going on things like Trajan's column which may or may not be accurate (it may be the Romans' equivalent of Hollywood!), and of course being a stone monument missing its original paint doesn't make it easy to determine things like the materials that items were made of.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I actually think that video showed that plate does make you slower, and less mobile. I was glad to see its easy enough to get up from your back, and you can move pretty quickly etc. But compared to someone who is unarmoured, it is clear that plate slows you down to a significant degree. Course for that you get the toughest armour protection available.

 

[Beleriphon]

I actually think that video showed that plate does make you slower, and less mobile. I was glad to see its easy enough to get up from your back, and you can move pretty quickly etc. But compared to someone who is unarmoured, it is clear that plate slows you down to a significant degree. Course for that you get the toughest armour protection available.

Yeah, a guy in plate isn't slow, but he's not going to be doing any standing back flips.