How do you choose armor in classless RPGs?

[Gilberticus 374]

In games where anybody can wear any type of armor (like Skyrim) how do you choose what you wear? Are you a cut and dry "function only" type of person; "I have a big, burly tank, so I wear thick plate armor"? Does form factor in there, like would you sacrifice a few armor points if you found armor that was a little more aesthetically pleasing yet a little weaker than your current set? Do you have a backstory for why your toon's wearing his/her chosen set of armor, or is it simply "I found/crafted this, so this is what I'm wearing, mystery solved"? I have a wall of text coming up, because this is something I'm passionate about. My new interest in peoples' armor selection was inspired by a conversation I had about Skyrim yesterday. The main gist behind all of this is I'm just looking for kindred storytellers. I've always been a storyteller at heart, and probably always will be. There's a reason why life pulled me away from my English major and directed me to gemology, but that's for a different time.

 

Yesterday, someone was helping me look through files on my computer for a suspected virus (which we found) and they asked why in the world would I have 100+ save files for Skyrim. "Skyrim's not THAT good, I see maybe five or six character saves at best." I told her "that might be true if I was playing console, but this is pc, and there's only one reason why the only console games I have are Too Human and Katamari= mods." On a side note, here's a little secret= I CLAIM I purchased Katamari for when kids come over, but I actually got it for myself. I normally like dark, visceral games, but I find Katamari to be therapeutic. Anyway, my love of mods is the whole reason why I only game on my Alienware, and I have tons of self-made and downloaded mods for Skyrim; dozens of races, several factions, thousands of armor and weapons. And a few......."after hours" mods. She told me "now it makes sense, no offense, but you're like a little girl with dolls; you're playing dress-up. You find/make a race that you find cute, so you make or download a cute little outfit for her." That's a gross oversimplification, I'm a storyteller, so I'm curious if others can relate to my play-style.

 

First off, I can't just play as a hero or villain who sprang out of the ground 3 seconds before the Skyrim intro; everyone I make has their own backstory. I also find vanilla archetypes to be boring: the holy paladin who'll blush if he sees so much as a female's ankle, the dumb-as-dirt barbarian who lets his axe do the talking, the mage so old that they're bordering senility. I make my own backstories and my own archetypes, and sometimes vanilla races, spells, and armor don't quite fit my vision. My favorite example is my female paladin. This gal came back from a crusade disheartened and disillusioned, just as I did from war. She fell into a deep depression, and joined a lot of dark cults. However, she's chosen to be on what she calls "the path to redemption". But, some times she slips. She has the traditional "dispel dark critters/undead" types of spells, but she some times chooses a few blood magic/necromancy types of spells when her back's against the wall. None of what I've typed screamed "vanilla Skyrim" to me, so I made my own spells. I had to make my own armor, since what I found in mods was either too modest or too skimpy for her. She IS a paladin, but she's slightly flirty. I don't choose what armor my characters wear, I design a bunch and let them tell me what suits them, if that makes sense, and some times vanilla armor just doesn't fit the bill. I can't post a picture because the race isn't mine, someone else made a "paladin with flavor" type of race that's better than mine. My pregnant monk is another one of my favorites. Anyway, that's me, that's why I have close to 100 toons and why I'll probably never be quite "finished" with Skyrim. It's been..what...four years since this came out, and I still haven't made my way to any of the dlc I've bought yet. Heaven forbid me play a vanilla version of a game

[SX255 630]

My decision is always based on survival first, looks second, stats third.

 

I prefer to play the same type of Paladin-Rogue tank Jack-of-all-Trades with armor in dark colors. Don’t have time to make multiple toons to play in one game. If the new armor has epic stats, but looks ridiculous on my toon, I keep the old cool looking weaker one and make up for it with endurance stats. If I don’t find anything good and the game supports mods, I look into any good mods to dress up myself and my team.

 

I stay away from games that call anything with "exposed midriff" heavy armor.

 

 

 

If you want a real story about personalized armor, here is one with pictures and video:

 

As a hobby I spent the second half of my childhood making prototypes for best 21 century armor out of paper and cardboard. Started from misunderstanding the knowledge on “paper armor” and went into making full on papier-mâché armor. There is merit in it. Here is my first design stopping a knife easy in 2008:

 

 

I researched into design over material – its easy to switch from cardboard plates to reinforced tungsten carbide plates. Dreamt of building indestructible armor that would shrug off everything thrown at it, then claw my enemies to death. Had a one hell of mental breakdown in 2007 when I finished first college, put on my Mark 1 and looked in the mirror. Just look at it:

 

 

But with failure after failure I keep on coming back to my childhood passion, tinkering and experimenting, in hopes of one day getting some real power to challenge the world and save lives.

 

Through the years I confirmed that there is no such thing as indestructible armor, Hollywood be dammed – any antitank piercer will kill you with a 250% guaranty. Concluded that bomb squad armor is the best in terms of taking a hit. Invented hingemail – a simple idea of using caterpillar tracks as plating that flexes only one way.

 

2 month ago made a shrine/armor rack out of newer parts to honor those years of my life, and remind myself that even in the worst of times I still have some very awesome and useful skills.

 

 

At the moment the armor design hobby is on the bottom of my to do list. Preserved almost all of the designs. Still have the poorly made Mark 1 in storage, in hopes that one day I do find the best armor design, and it becomes a museum piece. As I end my 3 decade of life, only those pieces of glue, paper, rubber and string are all that exists that can outlive me an become my legacy... About time I start my own family.

 

For my next project I have a very cool idea, and it will look something like this:

 

 

[Gilberticus 374]

Very interesting, thank you for posting. I tried making armor once, with failure. I've always liked how ice and quartz are transparent yet are cloudy in places, and tried to mimic that, it was a horrible disaster. On top of that, I discovered I absolutely hate having my biceps and chest confined. I'm not a exactly He-Man , but I'm not exactly a stick man, either, and I can never get the darn measurements right, I always end up feeling constricted.

[SX255 630]

Yeah, that's how we all start.

You don’t know how important comfortable shoulder armor and armpit protection are until you try something like that. The armor just cuts into your upper arm, and you are better off without it. And when you do get enough room, you end up with a huge gap around the area.

Can you even begin to imagine doing just 1 pull-up with bulky shoulder guards? Impossible, even if your life depended on it.