Armor

B

Brouga

Newbie
Ok so im going to be an Orc Warrior my shoulder im working on is going to be a wolf/animal skull i made it out of papermache and am planning on putting a layer of plaster over it to help harden it i was wondering if there were any regulations on what the armor can and cannot be made out of seeing as I'am unable to purchase the rule books yet.
 
Armor is the only element required to be "real" in this game- as it in must be actual padded cloth armor, leather armor, chainmail armor, plate armor or some other variant of actual armor. It is one of the larger out-of-game costs, but it really adds a big difference to the game as a whole. I'm fairly new to Alliance LARP, but I've played other LARPs in the past, and the real armor along with elaborate costumes, full make-up for other races, and other elements of people going "all out" are really what separates Alliance LARP from the fold, which has helped make it the largest organization for high-fantasy LARPing in the United States. For example, High Orcs need to have all exposed skin colored green (costume make-up) and must wear tusks- usually made from "friendly plastic".

I don't want to discourage you from LARPing with us in any way, but it seems like you need to have better understanding of what it is we do, how we do it, and therefore what to expect/assume when designing your character and costume. Try not designing a character concept yet and NPC (Non-Player Character, work for the Plot Team playing the monsters and other roles) for a weekend to get a chance to see and do all sorts of things that you may not have even considered. I would really recommend that path, as even with my years of LARPing experience, I learned a lot about the style of play and flow of the game that I never would have learned without NPCing, and that definitely impacted my choices for my character.

Also, there is only one rulebook. It's only $5 for the electronic/pdf version. You should get a copy as soon as possible.
 
Honestly, I'd recommend against paper mache, especially for the shoulder - which is a fairly common target area. I agree you should hit up an event and snag a rulebook before investing too much effort in any given concept. A fighter practice would be good, too.

For an animal head, I'd go with a headpiece over any body section. Also, make sure it wears well through rain and dew.
 
well truth be told im broke for the time being so im saving change for supplies ok seeing as armor has to be actual armor would it be ok if i made my own armor out of metal?
 
Yes, feel free to make your own armor. One thing you want to make sure of though is that there are no sharp corners that can catch or cut someone.

As for it being 'real' - I'm not sure what that is suppose to mean as the list of possible materials to make armor out of in the rulebook are: "leather, leather scale, padded cloth, naugahide, suede, doeskin, vinyl, heavy canvas, bone, rope and wood." I have never seen a rule saying that you couldn't make armor out of anacronistic materials but I do know that if the armor is visible (such as scales on the outside instead of plates on the inside), it would be frowned upon to have bright blue plastic armor plates.

Although if it isn't metal, it will get one less armor point per location as metal armor would. I have, however, made a vest of 3" square plywood plates before. Using a wood burning tool to inscribe runes into the plates and then staining the whole thing made it look rather cool and gave me a couple extra points due to that fact.
 
My first suit of "hide" armor was an carpet I cut up. I eventually started adding scraps of metal to get more armor points.
jpariury said:
My first suit of "leather" armor was made out of a black vinyl tablecloth.
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Anyway, armor doesn't have to be "real" but you don't want anything too fragile. A paper mache skull sounds kind of fragile and if it's hard then you have a hard thing right near your face assuming it stick up off the shoulder a bit...
 
Ya basically if your looking for armor points it needs to be more on the actual armor side, however if you are just going for a certain look and dont care so much about the armor point value of it, you can totally make some nice looking "garb" on the cheap. but I will also toss my 2 coppers in the hat and say to also consider the durability, while we do a softer touch style of boffer combat there is a chance of more delicate pieces taking damage. Honestly I would not be prone to use paper mache on a shoulder.
 
I would go for it. I would however recommend using a metal plate for the underside, then using hard foam instead of paper to form the scull. If you get the right plastic coating and paint it could work just fine. Remember you can get extra points of armor for really nice costuming.
 
Would being made out of real armor based materials go for shields as well because if thats the case i dont want to accidently give someone a concussion.
 
If you're going for looks, I've found "Good Stuff" (expanding silicone foam) to be really easy to carve/dremel/sculpt. Tricks to help this process are to build up using very thin layers, let dry a week before carving, and to wear latex gloves when handling it (really hard to get off skin when wet).
 
Brouga said:
Would being made out of real armor based materials go for shields as well because if thats the case i dont want to accidently give someone a concussion.
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From the Rule Book, Page 78, starts at the top of the third column (the material in bold will be of specific interest to you):

Shields can be very useful in our game. A
weapon attack that lands on a shield will not
count (but alchemy, spells, arcane attacks, and
boulders will). Shields can be made of almost
any strong material such as plastic, wood, and
aluminum, or can be made out of light ridgid
materials such as foam insulation.

Safety is the prime consideration when
constructing a shield. All edges of the shield
must be padded with at least 5/8 inch thick pipe
insulation. Bolts or protuberances are not allowed.
The longest dimension of a shield cannot
exceed 36 inches. The maximum area of a shield
is 531 square inches (a 26 inch diameter circle).
This rule is enforced! Any recesses or voids in
the shield silhouette will be ignored for calculating
total surface area.

Shields do not protect the owner from any
kind of trap other than a weapon trap, which
uses a weapon blade or missile weapon to deliver
its damage.

A “buckler” shield (a small shield that is
strapped onto the arm) must still follow all
shield rules—in other words, you cannot have
a buckler on your left arm and still hold anything
in your left hand. There is really no advantage
in the game for a buckler, so it is advised
that regular shields be used instead.

The best shield for a reasonable price can
be made with 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch plywood.
Thicker plywood can be used, but tends to be
too heavy. Aluminum is great but expensive.
Sheet metal is also fairly good but to make it
thick enough to not flex under attack, the cost
and weight will rise. Foam insulation shields
are extremely light but break easily.

Shields are strictly for defense. They are
not considered weapons in any way, and cannot
be used offensively.You cannot use a shield
for any weapon-based skill such as Parry or
Riposte, nor will your shield be affected by a
Summoned Force effect which targets a
“weapon.” (In other words, “I summon a force
to shatter your weapon” would have no effect
on your shield; however, “I summon a force to
shatter your shield” would work.)

Shields cannot be used with two-handed
weapons. You may not wield a weapon with
the hand or arm holding the shield.
 
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