Banded Mail 

This was invented by the ancient Romans, and is the distinctive jacket of metal strips worn by the Roman legionary. They knew it as lorica segmenta. Mostly it would be made of iron, but bronze outfits were not unknown. Chain mail was unknown in these times, and the armour would be worn over a tunic to prevent chafing. The plates were riveted together on the torso in such a way as to allow limited movement, and were held together with straps at the shoulders where great freedom of movement was needed. It was, however, quite cumbersome and harder to move freely in than mail. It was of superb design and craftsmanship, and afforded protection to the torso down to the waist (legionaries would wear a skirt of vertically-hanging studded leather strips as well) and over the shoulders. The secrets of it’s manufacture did not survive the fall of the Roman Empire, however. In the Dark Ages chainmail became the preferred form of armour, and banded mail was not seen again. Despite what the PHB says, this armour was not backed by mail, as the Romans could not make it. However, there is no reason why a fantasy campaign could not include banded mail backed by mail, as the PHB suggests; such armour is merely historically inaccurate, not impractical. 

 Barding 

The mounted warrior would want to protect his expensive mount wherever possible. To this end, it seemed logical to armour the mount as well as it’s rider. Chain barding took the form of a coat the horse would wear, fitting around the base of the neck and hanging down to the horse’s hips. An extended coif-like garment protected the neck and head. Padding was usually worn underneath, as was the practice with the rider. Chain barding dates from the availability of chain mail. Most barding followed this pattern, the horse’s legs were usually left exposed, although doubtless some horses wore a form of greave on their shins. Plate barding enclosed the horse’s body in plates, and had an articulated extension for the neck. The horse’s head would often be guarded, but protection did not extend to the jaw and underside of the head, these areas being hard to attack anyway. Scale barding was available in partial or full form, the partial form protecting the head, neck, chest, and front quarters of the beast; and the full version also covering the hindquarters and flanks. It is manufactured in the same way as the scale mail worn by men, and was available from the same time period. Brigandine armour was similar to scale, as was the soldier’s version, but generally was available only in half versions. By the time full barding came to be introduced, most cavalry used chain or scale. It was available from the time of brigandine for soldiers. Padded and leather armours also were made in the same way as for men, and were available in half or full versions. The principle advantage of these armours was their low weight, making them more suitable for the lighter war-horse. 

Brigandine 

This armour is made from small metal plates sewn on to leather backing, much like fish scales. It is similar to scale mail, but this armour was worn from about AD 400, and generally took the form of a sleeveless overcoat. It was found to be superior to mail, especially against missiles, whose growing power it was designed to overcome. The plates were usually made of iron, or sometimes bronze (barbarian tribes did not always have the technology to smelt iron). The main difference between this type and scale mail is that this armour usually took the form of a surcoat, whereas scale mail often included sleeves and leggings as well (and, for ease of movement, the plates were often smaller on scale mail). 

Bronze plate mail 

This was the first complete body armour suit anywhere, the oldest surviving example being found in 1400 BC. It was used in Ancient Greece. It is not the stylised breastplates associated with the period, these date from much later, but was made from smaller plates, much like plate mail (as the name suggests). It gave protection to the torso and shoulders, and often a helmet and greaves would be worn with it. It did suffer from the limitations of bronze (a soft metal), and was inferior to iron or steel armour. Although the PHB says that mail was worn as well, mail was not used until ironworking technology had become widespread, by which time bronze was no longer used. However, in a fictitious world (where iron may not exist) there is no reason why mail could not be combined with it, much in the same way as the transition from mail to plate in the Middle Ages of our own world. 

Chain mail 

This armour evolved through many stages, from the mail shirt with elbow-length sleeves worn by the typical Saxon warrior through to the full mail suit enclosing all of a knight bar the face that survived up until the eventual supremacy of plate. For those unsure as to the construction and nature of chain mail, it is made of interwoven metal rings. Each link was made by twisting metal wire around a dowel, and then it was cut using a chisel to form a series of open-ended rings. They were made to overlap and once they were interlinked, the ends were hammered closed and sealed with a punch. Each ring in a suit of mail generally is linked to four others. An undergarment is always worn as mail is chafing to wear. Later on, this undergarment would be heavily padded to cushion bludgeoning blows. 

Firstly, we have the chain mail armour used at about the time of the Norman Conquest. This, in the case of the Saxons, was a mail shirt, of about the same proportions as a modern T-shirt. It was worn over a heavy woollen shirt that reached down to the knees, and this would have been more to prevent chafing than to cushion blows. The Saxon warrior usually combined it with a round shield. The Norman soldiers wore a more advanced costume, consisting of a mail hauberk with short sleeves open to the elbow, reaching down to knee level at front and back. At the centre of the front and back it was slit by vents reaching up to the waist, for ease of use while on horseback. It was combined with a helmet (at this point, basically an upturned metal bowl with a nasal protecting bar) and a kite shield. The helmet would often be worn over a chain coif. 

This equipment went basically unchanged until the 12th Century AD. Until then, it merely expanded to cover other areas of the body. The sleeves were extended to the wrist, and mittens added. These were made like child’s mittens, with a bag for the thumb and a larger one for the fingers. Obviously, manual dexterity was greatly hindered, but the ability to hold and use a sword remained. The palm would be made of cloth or leather rather than mail so that it would flex more easily, and the mittens were designed so that they could be detached and hang from the wrists when not in use. Leg protection would take the form of either mail hose or mail greaves strapped on round the calf. By this point, the hood, shirt and arm protection was integrated into one piece, and a surcoat would be worn over the whole. 

Field Plate 

Field plate is the battlefield version of full plate armour. It was used in the late middle ages, and by the time of it’s adoption mail had become obsolescent, being used in this armour only for the mail fauld or codpiece. Some designs covered every inch of the wearer in metal plate, while others paid attention to the front of the body, leaving the backs of the legs exposed or sheathed in mail. The neck was fully protected, and the gorget locked with the bascinet in such a way as to fully protect the throat and prevent the visor from accidentally opening. Many suits of this type did not enclose the entire torso with a breastplate, often using two or three plates to achieve the same purpose. From the 15th Century onwards, this often was not the case. 

Armour of this type was made for it’s wearer alone. It was not as hard to move in as many suspect, and a trained man could move quite normally. 

Full Plate 

This armour is the very impressive and ornate armour used after the 15th Century. Designers now often paid more attention to aesthetics than to efficient design, and this is when fluting and spiky, elongated detailing became popular. The rounded, fluted Maximilian design is particularly famous, perhaps less so than the even more ornate Italian armours of the 16th Century, covered as they were with embossed figures and designs. 

Tournament armour is also included in this type. In the 15th and 16th Centuries, the wearing of armour was increasingly for ritual and the joust than for combat, and the designs reflect this. The shoulder plate of the left arm was extended to cover most of the chest, and the elbow was locked in position. The gauntlet included a mount for a shield. These extra pieces were often designed so they could be added to existing armour, thus adapting a “battlefield” suit for the joust. Also popular in tournament was foot combat, and new types of armour evolved for this as well. They often afforded more mobility than armour for mounted warriors, as in many tournaments grappling and wrestling were allowed (and often proved fatal to those who engaged in it, later tournaments erected barriers between opponents). The bascinet was made to be screwed on to the gorget as it was found that the conventional straps had a tendency to snap. A globular visor with heavy ribbing was popular. Some German designs incorporated a metal skirt, conical in shape, reaching almost to the knees. 

In the 17th Century, this type of armour fell into decline and ceased to be used on the battlefield. Gunpowder weapons could penetrate more thickness of armour than a man could carry, and armour was used more and more for ceremony and parades. Armour of this period is even more baroque, but much less effective than it’s predecessors. 

Hide 

This armour is prepared by stiffening the hide of a thick-skinned animal, such as an elephant. It was experimented with as an alternative to chain mail, but was much stiffer and thus was rarely used. It was made into plates, rather like plate mail, but with hide replacing the metal. These plates would be sewn together to make a whole or partial suit. Hide armour was invented in the Dark Ages and has been ever since. 

Leather 

This armour was invented in the Dark Ages also, by those looking to improved chain mail. It was boiled first to soften it for moulding, and when it cooled it set hard. It was commonly worn over chain mail to provide protection against the piercing weapons against which chain mail was inefficient. It is made of plates, like hide armour, but it is not hard enough to make sophisticated joints as are found in field plate, so it is sewn together. Mail often guards the joints. 

Padded 

This is a very simple type of armour, consisting simply of thick, quilted garments that were next to useless against an arrow but could deflect a glancing sword blow. It was said to have had most of the advantages of mail but little of it’s weight. It was, however, the equivalent of wearing about ten thermal undergarments at once and it was stiflingly hot to wear. A thinner form evolved to become the backing for mail and plate suits, providing cushioning from the shock of blows. It was invented during the Dark Ages, but it is simple to make and there is no reason why a fantasy society with Ancient technology could not conceive of and manufacture it. Quilted armour was often used as leg and horse protection while a mail hauberk was worn. 

Plate Mail 

This is not the all-enclosing field or full plate armour, but rather the plate-mail hybrids that started to emerge in the early 14th Century. In the beginning, this armour merely consisted of plates on the knees, elbows and shoulders over a mail suit, then it evolved to consist of a full mail suit with additional plates to protect the shins (and later the thighs), arms and sometimes a breastplate in addition. A surcoat would be worn over the top. Overlapping plates would be fitted to the top of the chainmail socks. Generally, this armour only faced the front and the back of the knight’s legs and body were trusted to mail, as were the insides of the arms. Plate came to cover more and more of the body, until the mail underneath began to disappear, eventually covering only the groin. After a while that too disappeared. 

Ring mail 

There is a lot of doubt as to whether this armour ever existed. It is basically chain mail, but with much bigger links. The links were too big to be used alone, unlike mail, and would be sewn on to a leather backing. It would have been virtually useless against piercing or bludgeoning weapons, but would have given some protection against slashing attacks. If it had existed, it would have been used before chain mail became widespread as it is merely a more primitive form. Historically accurate campaigns and DMs may wish to ban this armour from their games. 

Scale Mail (metal) 

This is brigandine armour (see above), extended down to the knees and worn with additional leggings. It thusly affords more protection. It was introduced in the Dark Ages, in fact, it was a favourite with the barbarian horsemen who attacked the Roman Empire in the 4th Century. The scales were small in size, and sewn on to a leather or padded backing. It was more efficient than chain mail, particularly at stopping missiles. 

Splint Mail 

This is another armour that may well be merely another flight of fantasy. If it did exist, it was made of vertical metal strips riveted to a leather or padded undergarment. It is inflexible and alternative protection had to be found for the joints, apparently chain mail being the popular choice. I have been unable to find much information on this armour, as (strangely) it is absent from the history books I researched. 

Studded Leather 

This armour consisted of leather (not hardened as with plain leather armour), closely set with rivets. A decent amount of protection was thus gained, without the heat and weight premium of mail and the inflexibility of plate. In some cases, the armour developed until it was almost like scale or brigandine. Mail neck protection was generally worn as well. This armour has been used since the Middle Ages.