Unproblematic Armor

Alistair Young

Dec 7, 2024 — 1 min read

In today's recommendations, I should like to draw y'all's attention to The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor, over at A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry.

Why?

Well, apart from being interesting in its own right, it is one of the latest and best posts whose predecessors are responsible for the design of the N45 Garrex field combat armor: specifically that its primary layer is not a pure hardsuit, but rather a padded suit of scale-pattern lamellar armor; and that while there are rigid plates designed to provide additional protection on top, one familiar with historical armor designs would note their distinctive breakdown into helmet, cuirass (with integral faulds below the natural waist to permit one to bend and sit down), pauldrons and vambraces (extended to protect the back of the hand), cuisses (with joining codplate) and greaves (with an upward extension to protect the knee), and boots/sabatons.

After all, historical armorers spent a whole lot of time figuring out how to cover one's vital squishy bits without impairing mobility, and it's not like the basic body plan has changed much, exotic clades aside.

(In the hypothetical first-contact scenario, this means that people get a minute or two to snicker at the aliens who're inexplicably dressed for a high fantasy novel before discovering that cerametal-composite lamellar and titanium nanolaminate plate laugh mockingly at your puny Earth bullets.)

meta, armor, Imperial Legions, N45 Garrex field combat armor

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