The Stable · Chapter 7
Barding
Barding is armour for the animal. It works exactly as armour works for a person in The Armourer.
How Barding Works
- Resistance is added to the mount's own. No barding adds more than +3.
- Deflecting X (type) adds X Bane Dice to attacks of that damage type against the mount.
- Vulnerable X (type) reduces the barding's own bonus by X against that type.
- Helm X reduces every Critical Injury roll against the mount by ten times X.
- Cumbersome X means the mount needs Might X. A weaker mount adds Bane Dice equal to the shortfall to its own checks and to its rider's Riding checks.
- Encumbrance counts against the mount's Carry.
A mount with Armoured Hide gains nothing from barding. Barding protects the mount, never the rider.
The Barding
Prices and Encumbrance are for a Scale 2 mount.
| Barding | Resistance | Enc | Price | Avail | Qualities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caparison | +0 | 1 | 60 | Common | None | Cloth. It shows whose horse this is, and keeps off flies and sun |
| Padded Barding | +1 | 3 | 120 | Common | Deflecting 1 (Crushing), Vulnerable 1 (Thrusting) | Quilted trapper. Worn alone or under mail |
| Leather Barding | +1 | 2 | 200 | Common | Deflecting 1 (Cutting) | Boiled leather over the chest, neck, and rump |
| Mail Barding | +2 | 5 | 600 | Military | Deflecting 1 (Cutting), Vulnerable 1 (Crushing), Cumbersome 3 | A mail trapper to the hocks |
| Scale Barding | +2 | 6 | 500 | Military | Deflecting 1 (Cutting), Deflecting 1 (Crushing), Vulnerable 1 (Thrusting), Cumbersome 3 | Horn, bronze, or iron scales on a leather backing |
| Lamellar Barding | +2 | 5 | 900 | Military | Deflecting 1 (Cutting), Deflecting 1 (Thrusting), Cumbersome 3 | Laced plates. The barding of steppe heavy cavalry |
| Plate Barding | +3 | 8 | 1500 | Rare | Deflecting 2 (Cutting), Deflecting 1 (Thrusting), Vulnerable 1 (Crushing), Cumbersome 4 | Peytral, crinet, flanchards, and crupper in steel |
| Chanfron | +0 | 1 | 100 | Military | Helm 1 | A plate for the face. Worn with any barding or none |
| Spiked Chanfron and Peytral | +0 | 2 | 250 | Military | Helm 1 | The mount's Trample or charge attack gains Pierce 1 |
| Flight Barding | +1 | 2 | 900 | Rare | Deflecting 1 (Cutting) | Light leather and silk cut for wings. The only barding a flyer wears without penalty |
| Sharkskin Barding | +1 | 2 | 700 | Rare | Deflecting 1 (Cutting) | Cured hide and shell. The only barding a swimmer wears without penalty |
| Howdah Shields | — | 6 | 400 | Military | — | Wooden walls on a platform: heavy cover for the crew. Not barding; fitted to a Platform |
Fit
Barding is made for a body plan and a size.
Weight. Each mount lists the heaviest barding it can wear. Light is +1, Medium is +2, Heavy is +3.
Body plan. Barding made for one body plan does not fit another. The plans in this book are Equine, Camelid, Bovine, Cervine, Caprine, Suid, Ursine, Lupine, Feline, Mustelid, Pachyderm, Avian, Reptile, and Aquatic.
Size.
| Scale | Price | Encumbrance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Half | Half, rounded up |
| 2 | As listed | As listed |
| 3 | Five times | Three times |
| 4 | Twenty times | Eight times |
Made to measure. Barding of +2 or more is fitted to one animal. On another of the same kind it is Inferior (Resistance 1 lower) until a Craft check and a day's work refit it.
Flyers and Swimmers
A flyer wears only Flight Barding in the air without penalty. In any other barding its fly Speed is 1 lower and it cannot Stoop.
A swimmer wears only Sharkskin Barding without penalty. In any other its swim Speed is 1 lower, and in barding of Encumbrance 4 or more it cannot surface with a rider.
Wearing It
| Barding | To put on | Travel |
|---|---|---|
| Light (+1) | 5 minutes | No change |
| Medium (+2) | 15 minutes, 10 with help | 5 miles less |
| Heavy (+3) | 30 minutes, 15 with help | 10 miles less, and the mount will not swim |
A mount is not left in Medium or Heavy barding overnight. If it is, it recovers no Wounds from that rest.
Barding is damaged and repaired as armour is in The Armourer.
