Yes, it is brittle, but that's not as much a concern under the force boffer combat offers.
If you do some searching, look for "Aveloc" style Ti gauntlets, made by Mrks (markus Hammerhand) He's here in the seattle area, and is one of the most respected Ti armourers in the country. Those gaunts are designed for full force punching against steel...
As for Viability, I have worn an armour of Ti in behourd-styled (SCA, EMP) tourneys. It is plenty strong, just dont make a helm from it, unless you like having your head wrenched off your shoulders... light helm == bad.
Ti has been defined by some marshals as a light metal in the past, but the rulebook doesn't make mention of it directly in the "armour materials" section.
page 77 says "Note that 'light metal' is defined as aluminum or any of its alloys and 'heavy metal' is defined as steel, copper, or bronze. The marshal's decision as to this distinction is final."
So, if they won't give you 3 points per location (and I wouldn't... it's a light metal
) there are other ways to make up the points, like finely crafted and in genre bonuses... or making sure the marshal understands this is a special material (that is difficult to work) Most marshals evaluating armor have at least a passing understanding of what they're looking at
Let me know if you need help finding patterns, or have questions about design and construction.
hopefully helpful,
-Gid
