Costuming Questions for New Player

Ehvarion

Newbie
Hail friends of the alliance. I am working on my first PC costume that is being designed under the theme of an emerald knight so I'll be using green and grey as my colors. My only complete piece of armor is a chain mail hauberk and coif. I think I'm going to do a Boromir style doublet over it with a tunic underneath the chainmail. I also plan on doing a helmet in the style of a rider of Rohan with leather gloves and boots, probably in brown. I'll have a scabbard on my left and a book on my right for the belt (Templar character).

So my question is this. How would one make the boromir style doublet and Norse style helm? I would also like to create matching vambraces to complete the armor set but am not sure how to do it.

Any advice for a rookie costumer?
Thanks in advance.
 
He dosnt wear a doublet, its surcoat with a tunic under it (and sometimes a gamebeson) but uh...yeah, heres everything you could want to know about the boromir costume http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Human/Boromir/Fellowship.htm

Pattern http://www.jedielfqueen.com/lotr/costumes/Boromir/boromir.htm

For the helm...ehhh.. if you arent anexperienced smith you kinda cant (out of metal anyway) . You'll have to buy- BUT, you are better off with something in leather with a similar look...not the same points but whatev.
 
I was thinking in foam for the helmet and vambraces. Saw a guy using rubber cement to attach parts and it turned out pretty good for the helm he made.

How do armor points tally?
 
Definitely read the rules book on armor and points- its important for costume and armor to look good buuuuut there comes a point where the effort isnt worth it if you dont get decent points for what you are making and having to wear. Especially if you are beginning character... you will want that armor value.

Foam, as the rules currently go- is light and easy to work with BUT, you may get like next to no armor points for them unless your local chapter is ruling 'looks like' as good enough, I dunno if they can do that, or if people do that, Im hazy on those rules but where i play, they want the real thing for it to count. 10 ozLeather is the next best bet if you cant do metal.
 
So decent survivable armor is going to get real pricy then...ok. I think I can still make it happen. There any good places to get quality armor for a modest price as far as helms and vambraces go? I don't have a super high budget.
 
Pretty much just start googleing 'larp' 'armor' and any specifying search terms : )

And naw, make freinds in character (better than armor, heh) and get atleast 2 points per location whatever you do and you'll be fine. It can be done pretty cheap, consider modifying a leather trench- just chop the sleaves, change out the buttons for some other kind of closure, then you can ad 10 oz leather plates, or metal plates to make a brigadine coat , or rivets, or studs or a miz there-of for somethin likely under $50 and a LOT of coverage.
 
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Does the alliance approve of classic European full helms? A lot of them had the cross in the design of the visor due to many of the nation's being associates with the Catholic Church. Their designs were especially so in the crusades era.

Example:
shopping
 
I dont think any particular styles of helm are banned, you would have to check with your local staff, but you should avoid religious iconography.
 
Since I am doing chain mail with a coif I will probably do something more like this.

shopping

Then perhaps gloves like this.
shopping

Then boots like this.
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From a rules perspective, cover at least half of the location so you get full points for said location. This gets overlooked on boots/gloves a LOT.
 
So how would what I have posted work as far as points go? The gloves are combined with a chain mail suit that will go to about mid thigh lengthwise on the torso and to about my elbows with a gambeson underneath and surcoat over top
 
With page 79 of the rulebook, you should be able to get a decent idea of your armor, but I'll walk you through it so you can see how to do it for yourself. I'm not an armor marshal, so this is just going purely off of the rules; your local marshal may differ.

From the sound of it you are putting in a lot of time, effort, and money. so most marshals I know would give you the full 2 points for genre and the full 4 points for masterwork.

The chainmail itself, sadly is only 2-point material by the rules. Although it is 1/4" steel rings, it is 18 guage and you need 14 gauge or thicker to get 3 points. That said, I've seen 16 and 18 gauge pass because the marshal wasn't able to gauge the thickness, so I'm just telling you strict ruling. For coverage, it definitly gives you full coverage on upper chest, belly, back, head, and upper arms/shoulders, for 9 region points. It MAY cover enough of your upper legs to count, but a marshal would have to see it on you to be sure. So the chain itself, depending on marshalling, would put you at anywhere from 18-30 points.

The helmet would push your head score up to the full 6 points. The gloves and boots handle the last two armor locations (with possible exception of upper leg) and look thick enough to give you 2 points each as well.

The minimum I could see your outfit coming in at is 30 points and could go up to the maximum of 40 points. But again, I am not a marshal, so individual results may vary.
 
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Speaking as someone that makes chainmail, it looks like the shirt you're looking at WOULD count as 3-point armor. I can't be 100% sure without looking at it closer, but from the picture on Amazon, the rings look too thick to be 18ga. Don't take that as a guarantee, though, especially since pictures aren't always accurate to the actual product being sold. (Also, going by the reviews, don't be surprised if the shirt starts losing links or falling apart after a while.)
Edit - After looking at a higher quality pic in the reviews, I'm not so sure. This might be 18ga after all.

(This is a really small thing to pick at, but one of my pet peeves with the rulebook is that it quotes American Wire Gauge when every mailler I know uses Standard Wire Gauge for armor stuff. 14AWG is equivalent to 16SWG - most of the time when someone says they have 16 gauge chainmail, they're referring to 3-point armor.)

Speaking as an armor marshal... Assuming it is 3 point armor, and that it covers your chest, abs, back, head, upper arms, and upper legs, and that you get full in genre and mastercraft bonuses, you're already at 36 armor points (6+6+6+6+3+3+2+4). That's as much as any starting character can wear already. If you add leather gloves and leather boots that cover at least half of your forearms and calves, you get to 38 points. A pair of steel bracers in place of the gloves would get you to the maximum of 40. If the chainmail is 2 points, you're still sitting at about 26 points (4+4+4+4+2+2+2+4).
 
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I got a pretty solid suit of armor coming together then. Sweet.
 
Many people will just wear chainmail. Beware though as it can get heavy. Many people will go for the lightweight "shark chain" as it still technically counts as 2 point armor and can be worn under most garb.
 
That suit weighs about 25lbs I believe so definitely weighty for sure.
 
Since you have it, rock it. If it gets heavy, when you have down time (primarily around meals), take it off and let your body relax and recover. It will help reduce your fatigue over an event.
 
Honestly, as long as you're both securing the chainmail properly with a belt and in decent shape then 25lb is not going to be noticed a whole lot. Chainmail is pretty awesome in the way it spreads its weight around your entire body.
 
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