Heavy Armour (Melee)

Plate armour is the most protective form of melee defense used by those who use melee. Its revolutionary design allows for protection against virtually everything other than magic spells, those spells being the Achilles' heel in the armour.

The Basic Concept
Essentially, it a cluster of strategically placed metal plates that wrap around the body to form a large shell of protection. As the plates are generally made to order, meaning they are made to the specific requirements of one person, that their weight is distributed across the body, making the soldier very mobile, and in some cases faster, than those who adorn mail armour. Usually, the plates are joined by a series of built in buckles or straps, and are placed atop a thick gambeson for comfort, though the gambeson is not necessary.

Strengths and Advantages

 * Plate armour, contrary to popular belief, is much more mobile than mail armour because the weight of the armour is distributed across the body, and allows for faster movement in about every physical aspect.
 * It is more protective than mail armour, being able to withstand lunges and chops with ease.

Weaknesses and Disadvantages

 * Because the armour is not flexible, a blunt weapon, such as a mace, will easily put dents in the armour. This is the same with crossbow bolts, though they may even pierce the plate.
 * It usually takes an additional person to put plate armour on someone. It is very slow and difficult to do so on one's own because many of the straps/buckles used to join the plates are located in places out of the reach of the person the plate armour is being applied to.
 * Plate armour is very hard and costly to make, more than it is so for mail armour.

Known Types
(This section will be edited once I find a little more information.)

Lorica Segmentata
.

Coat of Plates
.

Gothic Plate Armour
.

Maximillian Armour
Arguably one of the most famous styles of plate armour, Maximillian Armour is used both in battle and decoratively.

Almain Rivet
.

Mass-produced Plate Armour (No Certain Name)
.

Common Mistakes

 * Plate armour is heavy, though it is spread out evenly across the body, resulting in a armour that is more mobile than mail armour, or even an in-real-life firefighter's suit.


 * Plate armour should never be worn by anyone other than the person it was made for because, chances are, that person has unique bodily dimensions. If the plate armour doesn't fit, it will do one no good in battle.

Other

 * Plate armour is one of the oldest forms of armour, far older than mail armour.
 * For those that want more information, typical plate armour consists of a helmet; a gorget (or bevor) for protection of the throut; pauldrons (or spaulders) for shoulder protection; couters for the defense and maneuverability of the elbow; vambraces for protection of the forearms; gauntlets for protection of the hands; a cuirass (back and breastplate) with a fauld; tassets and a culet for the upper legs and butt; a mail skirt for further leg protection; cuisses for thigh protection; poleyns for knee defense (popularly known against arrows); greaves to defend the calves; and sabatons, which are essentially metal boots.