Armor

Armor can be used to reduce injury level (not victory level, which only Strength can reduce.) Wearing lots of armor will also add weight which negatively affects a player’s combat roll.
Armor levels are calculated by adding the armor ratings of each specific piece of armor being worn, which will then give the character their total Armor level.
Armor also adds weight which affects combat. Half the players total armor level (rounded down) is subtracted from their total combat roll.
A character can then reduce injury levels by the equivalent amount of levels they have in armor.
The pre-set injury reduction that armor provides is permanent and applies to every injury the player receives in every combat encounter, meaning the only way to injure an opponent in armor is to exceed their armor score, or bypass it.
In these circumstances the most efficient ways of defeating a person in armor is grappling them or tripping them and holding them down, just like in real life.
PLEASE NOTE: Injury reduction from armor is not applicable while in Close Combat
When achieving a victory in combat you can choose to inflict an injury – but if your opponent is wearing armor choosing to inflict an injury will be more easily countered through their injury reduction. However, other actions chosen through a victory, such as staggering, disarming or tripping an armored opponent, cannot be negated with armor (see Combat Modifiers, CH4, PT7.)
Below are the armor categories and if applicable in the setting a character can wear two pieces of armor in the same category, such as wearing a gambeson under chainmail or a breastplate, which was most certainly done in history. When this happens the armor ratings stack, which is not necessarily a good thing as a higher armor rating subtracts more from a character’s combat roll.
The ratings as given are a guide and the Narrators can change this as they wish to make armor more or less significant in their game.

Armor categories and Armor level
Small Shield (buckler) 1
Medium shield (Heater Shield, Targe, Small Viking shield) 2
Large shield (Kite Shield, Scutum, large Viking shield) 3
Helmet 1
Upper body protection, Breastplate and fauld, gambeson, Chainmail hauberk, Kevlar 1
Arm protection, Pauldrons, arms and gauntlets 1
Leg protection, Cuisses and greaves 1
Armor level 1

• Leather armor
• Gambeson (padded)
• Chain shirt (hauberk)
• small shield

Armor level 2
(-1d to combat roll)

• Breastplate
• Full Chainmail
• Large Shield

Armor level 3
(-2d to combat roll)

• Full plate armor

Armor level 4
(-3d to combat roll)

• Full plate armor + small shield

Armor level 5
(-4d to combat roll)

• Full plate armor + large shield

Endurance and Armor

A character with high endurance is considered much more capable than average of functioning with heavy armor on. As such, for every point in the Endurance skill (NOT including the base 3D6 or any strength modifiers) the negative to the combat roll is reduced. A character with 1 point in endurance will not receive -1D6 to their combat roll for carrying a small shield or wearing a padded gambeson. A character with 4 points in endurance can wear full-plate mail and carry a large shield and receive the benefits of damage reduction that come with armor, without any of the negative combat modifiers.