Attention Armored Fighters
In early January, the Society released a new edition of The Marshal’s Handbook, which made several changes to the rules for armored combat. An Tir will implement these beginning with Summits Spring Coronet the weekend of March 25-27th. There are three major changes in the Society’s rules that will affect An Tir:
- Rawhide will no longer be allowed as a covering on swords. I am aware that there are many who would prefer to keep using this more period looking sword covering. Kingdom Armored Marshal Equis Decimus Marius Gavinus Brittanicus is going to work with a small group to present a case for reconsideration, but that will take time, and we will need to comply with the Society’s rules in the meanwhile. (Section VII. Weapon Standards, specifically A1 and A11.)
- Non-Newtonian Fluid garments, such as those manufactured under the Zoombang brand, will now only be allowed as padding. An Tir has allowed this as stand alone armor for the kidneys since January 2015. (Section VI. Armor Requirements, specifically E. Body, Shoulder, and Groin Armor.)
- Fighters using a side strapped shield must wear padding on their elbows, even if that is more than 4 inches from the edge of the shield. If it’s less than 4 inches away, then rigid protection is required.
There are 3 items with wording changes: Weapons need to be 1.25 inches in diameter including tape for their entire length, except for the hilt of two-handed weapons. On combat arrows, the PSI for APD’s made of HDPE is increased to 100-160. There are also some changes to the types of rivets used in helms that will need closer review.
There are a couple of wording errors in this edition that will be fixed at an upcoming Board of Directors meeting. This includes returning to the long-standing definition of how the kidneys and short ribs are to be covered, rather than all the way up to the shoulder blades. Also clarifying that strapping tape with fiberglass strands is fine on rattan weapons, it’s full fiberglass wraps or resin coating which are prohibited.
Finally, there are 2 changes that don’t affect An Tir, but are seeing discussion in other venues: We have banned Mandrake tips on fiberglass spears since 2015, but other Kingdoms were still using them. They are still allowed on two-handed swords. The Armored / Re-bated Steel rules are now in their own manual.
If you have any questions on these changes, please contact the Kingdom Armored Marshal, Equis Decimus Marius Gavinus Brittanicus at [marshal.armoured (at) antir] OR Kingdom Earl Marshal at [earlmarshal (at) antir]. We are also collecting comments through the end of February about other aspects of the armored manual for consideration in the new edition.
An Tir’s martial manuals are posted at: https://antir.org/library/
The Society’s martial manuals are posted at: https://www.sca.org/resources/document-library/#marshal
