Editing 40d:Armor piece

There are several different separate pieces of armor that can each cover a different part of a dwarf's body and provide protection.  In Dwarf Fortress, armor (as so many things) is not a simple formula where a single, bigger number replaces a smaller one.  Different armor pieces work slightly differently to provide more or less protection in different way.  The exact piece, [[quality]], and [[material]] all factor in, at least - combat is not fully understood. However, overall, rest assured that, factoring in the known variables of quality and material, your intuition will generally be correct - pieces of chain armor are better than the equivalent pieces of leather armor, and plate pieces better than chain.

For a general discussion of how armor works and some of the game mechanics behind it, including charts on quality and material, see [[Armor]].  

==Clothing vs Armor==

Civilians will wear leather caps and boots, but no other piece of armor, with one exception.  A civilian with the [[hunting]] labor enabled will seek to wear the level of armor designated - but they will also attempt to actively hunt any huntable wildlife on the map.  (Only if there is none, they will seek another [[job]], until there is a valid target.)

In seen in either the {{k|m||ilitary}} menu or an individual dwarf's {{k|p}}references for "{{k|s}}oldiering & hunting", armor can be one of 4 overall levels of armor, as defined by the game and using the terms Clothes, Leather (armor), Chain (armor) and Plate (armor), in reference to the maximum protection a dwarf will seek to wear when activated into the military (or when [[Hunting]]).  This is designated by viewing a dwarf and selecting the soldier menu - Clothes, Leather, Chain or Plate. (In the military weapons menu, these are abbreviated as " - " (none), Lth, Chn or Plt, and also whether or not to use a Shd or Bkl - shield or buckler). This defines the maximum class of protection they will seek to wear for each body part (but they may not completely succeed, depending on available items).  

 

 

 

 

 

==Armor pieces==

===Head protection===

Civilian dwarves will never equip caps except those they arrive with, probably due to a bug.

===Torso protection===

====Leather armor====

Leather armor is the least protective but simplest of the armors (the protection level of the current implementation of leather armor is extremely low - even animal bites will very often penetrate).  It is also light, and so does not slow down a dwarf who lacks the [[attribute|strength]] or [[armor user]] skill for heavier armor levels.  It is made, obviously, from [[leather]].  It can be worn as part of the leather armor level or under chain mail (but not plate mail).

====Chain mail====

Chain mail is made from two [[metal]] bars and is somewhat heavy.  It can be worn as part of the chain armor level or under plate mail.  A dwarf can wear multiple suits of chain mail (see [[layering]]).

====Plate mail====

===Hand Protection===

'''Gauntlets''' are a piece of [[armor]] worn around the hands. They are typically made from [[metal]] but can be made from [[bone]] or [[shell]]. They are part of both the plate and chain armor.

===Leg protection===

Leather, shell, and metal leggings are made from a single material (a piece of leather, a shell, or a metal bar, respectively).  Bone leggings require 3 stacks of bones, regardless of the stack size.

They can be made from [[metal]] and [[bone]] but not from [[shell]]. "Greaves" are a single item, like "[[leggings]]" or "[[Trousers|trousers]]" -  for one set of bone greaves you need 3 ''[[stack]]s'' of bones, no matter how many single bones are in the stacks; for one set of metal greaves you need 2 metal bars. Even though bone greaves are part of the plate armor level, they are in between copper and bronze leggings in terms of protection.

===Foot protection===

Boots are always made in pairs, but the [[quality]] of each is not guaranteed to be matched. Unlike gauntlets, they are generic - no left/right distinction.

{{Category|Armor}}