Sorting armor by effectiveness

[cavetroll]

Also, you don't have Padded/Quilted.

For the poor peasant conscript, a hastily stitched multi-layered surcoat by the missus was better than nothing.
For the noble, wearing an arming coat in the evening during times of strife is better than trying to don armor for a sudden attack.

Both of the above examples are anecdotally historical.

Good catch, added thanks!

 

[Thunderfoot]

Good catch, added thanks!

I live but to serve, sahib... lol

 

[Bluenose]

I'd be more inclined to go with three types - Light, Medium, Heavy - and list some examples in each category from round the world that would fit that category, then let people describe it however they like. So for instance, the Light armour category would include the European Jack, Aztec cotton armour, Chinese paper armours, and perhaps some ancient world armours like Egyptian leather and metal straps, the tiny breastplates strapped on to poorer Roman hastati, the think coats worn by steppe nomads, and so on. That's if you're going to go with full sets, as opposed to individual pieces (while the latter is more accurate to history it's a lot of work).

 

[Bilharzia]

Does this look decent, as a generic list of armor sorted by effectiveness (not D&D specific)

(weakest)
LEATHER
STUDDED LEATHER
SCALE
RING MAIL
LAMELLAR
BRIGANDINE
CHAIN MAIL
PLATE MAIL
SPLINT
FULL PLATE

Does anything stand out as being out of order?

thanks!

Natural Hides & Furs
Gambeson, Quilted
Linen, Laminated
Scale, Lamellar, Brigandine
Half Plate
Mail, Laminar
Plated Mail, Splinted Mail
Full Articulated Plate

 

[aramis erak]

Does this look decent, as a generic list of armor sorted by effectiveness (not D&D specific)

(weakest)
LEATHER
STUDDED LEATHER
SCALE
RING MAIL
LAMELLAR
BRIGANDINE
CHAIN MAIL
PLATE MAIL
SPLINT
FULL PLATE

Does anything stand out as being out of order?

thanks!

Scale, splint, Lamellar (esp. Wiesby), and Brigandine are all about equal... if of the same material. They're all about spreading the blow by overlapping metal bits. (and, yes, I've worn all of them at one point or another... the hazards of borrowing armor for fighter practice.)
"Plate Mail" is a Gygax invention. A non-sense term. Ringmail is a redundant term. Mail is always rings.
Scaled mail is a thing; it's scale attached to chain, rather than to cloth or leather. Heavy. Improves spread of energy. Romans called it lorica plumata. It was rare.
ring-joined plate is a real thing, but it's just a less labor intensive mail equivalent, but suffers from the plates also being lighter, and thus not so good vs blunt. It should be considered chain. It's historic users were east of Iran through india...

Based upon having worn a bunch in training...
Soft but thick leather*
stiff Leather*
Studded leather*. Plate of rawhide. Plate of baleen. Cuirboulli. Ring on leather*.
Scale*/Splint*/Lamellar*/brigandine* including braces of same.
Mail*
Mail plus braces.
Scaled mail. Breast and braces*.
Field Plate (Breast, Back, articulated arms, pauldrons, articulated legs)
Full plate (Articulated whole body, plus mail skirt and camail)

* I've worn these types at practices.

Braces being Vambraces, rebraces, Greaves, and cuisses.
Ring on leather is surprisingly good. The rings are stitched to heavy leather, not interlocked, but they spread the force out quite well.

 

[Bilharzia]

"Plate Mail" is a Gygax invention. A non-sense term. Ringmail is a redundant term. Mail is always rings.

Plated mail

Plated mail (sometimes called plated chainmail, splinted mail or splinted chainmail) is a type of mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, Japan, China, Korea, Central Asia, Greater Iran, India, Eastern Europe, and by the Moors. In Russia there are three...

military-history.fandom.com

 

[GMMichael]

Plated mail

Plated mail (sometimes called plated chainmail, splinted mail or splinted chainmail) is a type of mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, Japan, China, Korea, Central Asia, Greater Iran, India, Eastern Europe, and by the Moors. In Russia there are three...

military-history.fandom.com

Fandom has spoken. Now crawl back into your non-authoritative holes

This list (and why it differs from OP's) is pretty authoritative, if you ask me:
Padded Jack
Boiled Leather (Leather)
Brigandine (same as studded leather)
Mail (includes scale, although real maille is less cumbersome)
Plate (plate mail and full plate, because who's counting?)

There's not much point in adding a bonus for breastplate, since that breastplate would just weigh a fighter down and get in the way (unless it's part of the armor in use/original design). Also, "slowed" is likely to dissuade most would-be users of OP's full plate, so it's probable that armorers would invent a plate design that doesn't actually slow its user. Now helmets, there's a whole different set of pros and cons...

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Studded Leather was never a thing as far as I can tell.
Combination armours were a thing, like mail over gambeson (padded) or Brigandine over mail over a padded arming jacket.

 

[cavetroll]

Studded Leather was never a thing as far as I can tell.

Fair point. So maybe I can call it leather brigandine?

 

[cavetroll]

Also, "slowed" is likely to dissuade most would-be users of OP's full plate, so it's probable that armorers would invent a plate design that doesn't actually slow its user.

Its a good point, I am trying disuade the use of it for dungeoneering, maybe I should just remove it from the list of player options.
I just don't think (per someone elses comment) that it is practical to go into a megadungeon dressed like