Plate armour

Plate armour (male, female)

Plate armour (iron armour in the Nintendo-port of Ultima III) is protective clothing that has been crafted entirely out of articulated metal, such as iron or steel. It is available to characters from Ultima I through Ultima IX.

Description

A full set of standard Britannian plate generally consists of a helm of some variety (typically a great helm), a metal cuirass, leggings (formed of component greaves and some type of upper thigh and knee protection), gauntlets, a gorget and metal boots (termed sabatons on Earth).

Throughout the Age of Darkness and into the early Age of Enlightenment, plate armour was presumably always sold as a set. As time progressed (and as the Ultima game engine grew more complex and better able to support discrete armour slots), plate became a commodity sold by the piece, and it could take some shopping around on the part of an enterprising adventurer to assemble a full outfit. In later eras still, the arm-shielding portions formerly included with a cuirass (likely similar to the pauldrons and vambraces of Terran armour) were also sold separately.

Plate offers the most comprehensive form of protection affordable from non-enchanted armour, but has significant drawbacks in its heavy weight and high price. Those lacking the stamina to march long in such apparel, or whose purses are simply light, often combine pieces of plate with other varieties of armour to make do.

Protective Value

In Ultima I, plate armour has a protective rating of 24 (blocking 9.4% of attacks)

In Ultima II, plate armour has a protective rating of 75% and requires a minimum strength of 21.

In Ultima III plate armour has a protective rating of 60% and can only be worn by fighters, rangers and paladins.

In Ultima IV plate armour has a defensive value of 176, an evade rate of 69% and can only be worn by fighters, paladins and tinkers.

In Ultima V plate armour has a defensive rating of "7" and the iron helm a rating of "3".

Ultima VI

In Ultima VI, the components and defensive values of plate armour were as follows:

Icon	Piece	Defense
	Helm	3
	Chest	7

Ultima VII and Ultima VII Part Two

In The Black Gate (BG) and Serpent Isle (SI), a complete set of plate armour contains the following pieces. The numbers listed after indicate the relative effectiveness of the armour in both games and the warmth rating:

Icon	Piece	Defense (BG)	Defense (SI)	Warmth (SI)
	Helm	4	3	5
	Gorget	3	–	–
	Chest	4	4	-10
	Gauntlets	2	2	-5
	Leggings	3	4	-5

Ultima VIII

In Ultima VIII, the components and defensive values of plate armour were as follows:

Icon	Piece	Defense
	Chest	4
	Helm	4
	Armguards	2
	Leggings	2

Ultima IX

In Ultima IX, the components and defensive values of plate armour were as follows:

Icon	Piece	Defense
	Helm	3
	Chest	8
	Arms	4
	Gauntlets	3
	Leggings	4
	Boots	3

Lore

“	The aristocrat of the armourer’s craft, plate affords more protection than any other conventional armour. Each suit is tailor made to thy shape. The cost is naturally sizable, but the effect is inspiring. A favorite among Paladins. – from History of Britannia (Ultima IV)

“	Custom made from hand-forged sheets of metal, plate armour affords its wearer the most complete protection possible. However, it is very expensive and can be borne only by the strongest. – from Book of Lore (Ultima V)

“

Foolish is the adventurer who embarks on a quest without the best armour he can afford. Several different types of armour are available — everything from inexpensive and relatively ineffective cloth to costly but highly protective plate. The armourers of Britannia will gladly allow you to examine their wares. Take advantage of this and acquire the armour best suited to your abilities and fighting style. – from Compendium (Ultima VI)

“

There are six parts of the body that one does seek to protect: the head, the torso, the legs, the hands, the feet and the neck. All pieces of armour are specifically designed for the protection of one of these places. There are basically four types of armour: leather, scale, chainmail and plate. Leather provides the least protection, but it is exceedingly light and is relatively inexpensive. While scale and chainmail provide roughly the same level of protection, scale is the heavier and the less expensive of the two. The heaviest type of armour is plate; since it provides great protection it is also the most expensive. – from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)

“

Armour is crafted from four types of material: leather, metal scales, chain mail (or chain links) and metal plates. For the most part, the thicker the material, the higher the level of protection. In addition, the thicker the material, the heavier and more expensive it is. Leather, being light and inexpensive, is useful for those less likely to face powerful foes. But were one to enter a war-torn battlefield without metal armour of some sort, I would assume the warrior poor, weak, or fatally foolish! – from Beyond the Serpent Pillars (Ultima VII Part Two)

“	Plate mail affords the finest protection, as a mailed warrior can lead the vanguard of any charge. Yet, it is extremely expensive to have a suit of mail tailored. Those who make the investment do not regret it. – from Journal (Ultima IX)

Trivia

• At the time of Ultima II, a minimum Strength attribute of 21 is required to wear plate armour.
• In Ultima VII Part Two, plate armour is (apart from the helm) actually decreasing the warmth numbers of the wearer. Therefore it is basically useless once the party has to venture to the frozen northlands (Petra, who doesn't get cold, can still wear them however).

See Also

• Armour values

References

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Armour

Basic Armour	Cloth armour ☥ Leather armour ☥ Ring mail ☥ Scale armour ☥ Chain armour ☥ Bone armor ☥ Plate armour ☥ Blackrock armor
Enhanced Armour	Magic armour ☥ Anachronistic armour ☥ Exotic Armour ☥ Mystic Armour ☥ Leather Vest of Flameproof ☥ Artifact armor
Other Armour	Armour in Martian Dreams ☥ Primitive armour ☥ Antique armour ☥ Armour of Beauty ☥ Winter gear ☥ Wyrmguard armor ☥ Pirate outfit ☥ Avatar armor
Head Protection	Helmets ☥ Viking helm ☥ Spiked helm ☥ Helm of Courage ☥ Caddellite helm ☥ Cap of Missile Protection ☥ Cowl of Valor ☥ Helm of Light ☥ Living toupee
Shields	Shields ☥ Shield of Monitor ☥ Shield of Valor ☥ Magic shield ☥ Jeweled shield ☥ Dupre's shield ☥ Mage shield ☥ Kiran shield ☥ Serpent Isle shields
Legs and Arms Protection	Swamp boots ☥ Boots of Bouncing ☥ Dragonskin boots ☥ Leather Leggings of Stealth ☥ Greaves ☥ Stocking ☥ Gauntlets of Missile Protection ☥ Gauntlets of Quickness
Other Items	Kidney belt ☥ Loriel's Gift ☥ Spiked collar ☥ Serpent artifacts ☥ Ring of Protection