What is the best Armor for slashing Protection?

[Annoyingkid]

Agian, when I say magic, I don't mean firballs and lightning bolts. All I ment was enhancing speed, or an animal attack. The reason I'm not concern about direct piercing, is that most attack would be by magicans who can enhance their physical strenght and no armor will be able to stop such a direct hit (that is also why freedom of movment is so importent since the only way to avoid a direct hit would by dodging it).
The aspect of magic came up to show the unexcpected nature of such an attack and the reason for always wearing armor.

Nevertheless, I did get enough information to decide what armor (probably a combination of some sort) would be used (based on climate, attacking weapon, mobility and weight), so thank you all.

p.s. the video realy helped.

How do you dodge an opponent with enhanced speed and strength? Those knights would go down hard. All those wizards need to do is get a warhammer or a greatsword and the concussive effects alone would take out a knight in full plate. Doesn't have to effectively slash or pierce. Hell they just need to pommel attack with a longsword and they'd get knocked out.

 

[matanya]

Annoyingkid, speed and strength isn't everything about swordplay, if you fight someone that is very skilled and just bush at him he can easily get you off balance and take advantage at your reckless attack. Besides, you can allways have several knights fighting one magician if you really have to.

 

[TheKillerBs]

I'm sorry but speed is everything. The only reason skill matters when two people fight with swords is that there is a limit to the speed an ordinary human can move, which brings up the concept of tempo. If you can do something, your opponent can react and do something else as well. If you have a magical speed boost, that renders the whole concept of tempo meaningless, because now you can do things in a time frame in which your opponent just cannot react to.

 

[matanya]

True. However if someone doesn't realy know what he's doing, then he opens himself for an attack (or counter attack).
Remember that high speed isn't infinit, you can still fight someone who is faster than you and win. And you also need to consider that a faster person might overastimate his adventage and make reckless mistake, like falling for a misleading move (or whatever the professional name is) that will get you off balance.
In addition, you can learn what is the fighting style of someone and intisipate his moves, which also helps. And there is also an intimidation effect that would make a magician hesitated when attacking a knight.

Clarification: the knights are realy skilled (training day and night), the magicians are outlaws and don't get very good training (imagina a fight between a fast kid who just started learning, and some older sword master).
Enhanced speed is just a bit faster than human, but not like superman fast or a vampier).

 

[Russ]

I'm sorry but speed is everything. The only reason skill matters when two people fight with swords is that there is a limit to the speed an ordinary human can move, which brings up the concept of tempo. If you can do something, your opponent can react and do something else as well. If you have a magical speed boost, that renders the whole concept of tempo meaningless, because now you can do things in a time frame in which your opponent just cannot react to.

Speed is not close to everything in a sword fight. Tempo is a function of skill not speed.

 

[TheKillerBs]

Speed is not close to everything in a sword fight. Tempo is a function of skill not speed.

You're right... when two humans with human limitations are fighting. Tempo matters in skill because humans have such similar speed to each other. Trying to go against someone who can lunge and recover in less time than your brain can even receive visual information is a good way to get killed.

 

[Russ]

You're right... when two humans with human limitations are fighting. Tempo matters in skill because humans have such similar speed to each other. Trying to go against someone who can lunge and recover in less time than your brain can even receive visual information is a good way to get killed.

While that is indeed true, since the OP clearly suggested that the attacks could be dodged, despite their enhanced speed, I did not take that to be the case he was trying to discuss.

I have however, seen and experienced much faster swordsman losing bouts to much slower swordsman with no dodging involved.

Dodging is actually very slow compared to a parry, and if a cut (albeit very fast) is at a speed it can be dodged, it surely is at a speed it can be parried.

 

[TheKillerBs]

While that is indeed true, since the OP clearly suggested that the attacks could be dodged, despite their enhanced speed, I did not take that to be the case he was trying to discuss.

I have however, seen and experienced much faster swordsman losing bouts to much slower swordsman with no dodging involved.

Dodging is actually very slow compared to a parry, and if a cut (albeit very fast) is at a speed it can be dodged, it surely is at a speed it can be parried.

See, when I wrote that I had not seen that and the OP later clarified not extreme boosts, so I understand my post was kinda irrelevant to the conversation. And yes, of course a full body movement is clearly slower than a single muscle movement amplified by a lever – although my belief is that it's best to parry and dodge whenever possible.

 

[Russ]

See, when I wrote that I had not seen that and the OP later clarified not extreme boosts, so I understand my post was kinda irrelevant to the conversation. And yes, of course a full body movement is clearly slower than a single muscle movement amplified by a lever – although my belief is that it's best to parry and dodge whenever possible.

Dodge is kind of a funky word. To my mind it brings up images of cartoon characters diving around, or rolling or some such.

At the sword school where I train we say "Perry and step off line".

But you have the principle dead right. Put your piece of steel between you and his piece of steel, and don't be where his piece of steel is appearing to be going.

 

[ChasingSuns]

How do you dodge an opponent with enhanced speed and strength? Those knights would go down hard. All those wizards need to do is get a warhammer or a greatsword and the concussive effects alone would take out a knight in full plate. Doesn't have to effectively slash or pierce. Hell they just need to pommel attack with a longsword and they'd get knocked out.

They could even end a fight immediately if they "end him rightly"