Some of the new warrior types represented by the warrior kits also have their own special forms of armor: the Gladiator and Samurai both introduce new forms of armor to the campaign.
Gladiator Armor[]
There are three normal types of gladiator armor: Thracian, Gallic, and Samnite.
Armor Type Class Thracian 9 Gallic 7 Samnite 5
They're all made up from several smaller pieces of armor, which include:
| Armor Piece | Cost | Wgt (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Belt: | ||
| Protective metal | ||
| belt at waist | 2 gp | 5 |
| Cuirass: | ||
| Leather or metal chest plate |
50 gp | 20 |
| Fasciae: | ||
| Leather bands on legs |
10 gp | 5 |
| Galea: | ||
| Visored Helm | 10 gp | 5 |
| Galerus: | ||
| Shoulder piece on weapon shoulder |
5 gp | 3 |
| Manicae: | ||
| Leather sleeve | 10 gp | 5 |
| Myrrmillo: | ||
| Visored helm resembling sea fish |
10 gp | 5 |
Also used by the gladiators are the parma (a small shield, either square or round) and scutum (an oblong medium shield).
These armor types are named for real-world sites (Thrace, Gaul, and Samnos); if you have gladiators in your campaign, you may want to rename these types according to place-names more appropriate to your setting.
Thracian[]
The Thracian gladiator wears only fasciae on his legs. This gives him AC 9, or 8 with a shield—and he carries a shield, a parma. In gladiatorial combat, the Thracian gladiator fights only with a dagger. In the field, adventuring, he could use anything he wants.
Gallic[]
The Gallic gladiator wears the galea, the belt, manica on his weapon arm, and fasciae. This confers an AC of 7. He also carries a scutum, to bring it to a 6. The Gallic gladiator fights with any number of weapons.
Samnite[]
The most heavily-armored type of gladiator, the Samnite, wears a cuirass, fasciae on his legs, manica on his weapon arm, and the galea helmet. His basic AC is 5, or 4 with the scutum he carries.
Should someone just wear the cuirass, his base AC would be 7.
Samurai Armor[]
The main difference between oriental and occidental armor, from a game-mechanics point of view, is descriptive. Oriental armor is colorful and elaborately constructed, often brightly enamelled or decorated with paint or painted leathers, silk cords, precious-metal plating, etc.
But from a game-mechanic point of view, leather armor is leather armor, plate is plate. Samurai wear armor that is the equivalent of padded leather, studded leather, scale mail, and brigandine; basic costs, weights, and AC values are identical to the western armor styles. However, a samurai may wish to spend more than the minimum amount on his armor; the extra money goes into making it a remarkable example of eastern art.
Kote[]
The samurai also have one sort of armor unknown to the west: The kote. This is a pair of armored sleeves which may be worn concealed under the samurai's tunic.
Mechanically, the kote costs twice as much as and acts almost the same as a buckler. There are a couple of differences between buckler and kote, though. Kote cannot be Disarmed, and you can use weapons in the hands of the arms to which kote are attacked. Although the kote consists of a pair of sleeves, you do not get a +2 bonus to AC; only the +1 normally conferred by a buckler.