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Tribe Armor Concept: Dras Light Armor

Good tidings, friends,

Last week's Kypiq Light Armor got many a cosplay enthusiast's heart thumping and others thinking seriously about life in the trees.

This week, as we anticipate the approach of The Eye, it makes sense to share some armor in one of the tribes devoted to the Two-Fold Queen: the Dras.


The Swamp is home to a variety of creatures with thick hides adapted for water exposure. This means that the Dras have sturdy, yet malleable leathers in ready supply.

It is not in the Drasean nature to parade about with gaudy ornamentation - a prideful trait the Janoa relish. Instead, the Dras prefer to dress drably and express their joie de vivre through deeds of compassion and selflessness. The dense foliage of their home biome further demands that their gear be smooth, lest it catch on everything as they slink through the swamp.

This concept sculpt helped to explore semi-rigid and tightly-bound, fitted armor. Unlike many other tribes, thick padding is eschewed in favor of sleeker forms. This isn't a problem because it is the Dras's preference to not engage in direct combat but, rather, to let the toxic hazards of the swamp fell their enemies without a fight.

Stay shiny,

Vye


10/12/2018 6:05:59 AM #31

Posted By Blaquestone at 3:35 PM - Mon Oct 08 2018

Posted By Arkkin at 10:12 PM - Thu Oct 04 2018

They would need a very open faced helmet, as they would need to see enemies from afar, respond to sound (order to attack or retreat, and orders from the enemy to advance or retreat) and watch their step in the swamp (difficult terrain). Please consider open faced helmets like the Greek Boeotian or Thracian Helmets.

I think part of this begs the questions of how do the Dras traditionally conduct their battles, and exactlu how dense are the swamps? Firstly, this face guard does not impede sound; the back sides of the head are left fully open. Signal sounds and such should work fine. If the swamp has any moderate level of floral cover, be it trees, bushes or irregular terrain, visual queues are most likely not a primary form of vital communication.

But flora density in the swamps... if the player can theoretically maneuver through thick vegetation, perhaps crawling, or maybe (given familiarity) moving at quick speeds, a more open-faced design would leave the face unprotected from thorned or otherwise painful vegetation. A helmet with larger open spaces also leave more room for getting snagged by an errant vine or branches.

I was wrong when I thought the facemask was a full helmet instead. This is apologize.

Indeed sound would be less of an issue here. However, vision is still very very important, as you are a skirmishing troop, needing to hit-and-run and fight from afar. Having as unobstructed a view as possible with good peripheral vision is vital. Also helps you to navigate through difficult terrain.

Don't think thorns or scratches from vegetation would be an issue. Even if so, a forward facing brim (like a baseball cap or a bonnet that women used to wear in Europe) could do the job, and still give you unobstructed vision.

Add a terrifying mask from the nose down and you have the scary boogymen that is the Dras warrior.


10/12/2018 7:54:16 PM #32

I love both the look and the philosophy behind it.


10/17/2018 12:20:08 AM #33

Unisex was it?

Since it is that kind of month and I couldn't look in their eyes since those masks are ankward, my gaze drifted to another place that sure was smooth and sleek... perhaps a bit too much.

I kinda understand the kypiq not being well endorsed... or at all, though I don't like such archetype/trope it settles in. And now dras suffer from the same mysterious affliction.

The two sets of armor should depict a male and female variation right? I can see some thinning at the waist, but it seems damn too corsety or breath-killing to be usable in combat activities.

Mask full of holes

Ok, now to the finer details... the mask, having eyes not in front of any holes... please don't try it at home, it is dangerous especially with pointy things at hand.

The top and back of the mask look good and practical, but could afford a cover on the top, not as armor but protection against the elements.

Leather plating

The leather plates are tightly bound with rings, maybe? I guess iron... but it shouldn't be as it would become weak points like those found in "fake" chainmail, unless true riveted rings, something they don't look like.

Then maybe some tough strapping, but wouldn't they get cut too easily? So it must be something else I don't understand. Could someone explain me that type of fastening please? ty.

Arm guards in the way?

From the drasean tribe description:

In most cases, Dras who have chosen to no longer don these (jet bracelets) are considered to have lost their ways, no longer embracing the Two-Fold Queen or the Dras culture and, therefore, are commonly exiled of their own volition or by the will of the tribe. The exception to this are the Mergoin, who will don armor when the time comes for them to act, and replace the bracelets with shawls instead.

So except if we are looking at one of those "armor designed to elevate their already frightening appearances" and worn by their elite Mergoin warriors, the armguards which look rather nice and well-fitting seems not in touch with the lore.

Moreover I don't see a shawl coordinating that well with this armor (or was it the reason of the lack of covering at the rear of the mask), though the recent waerd armor shown how well clothing layering can render in CoE.


Kurugi [A5D079]

11/1/2018 1:35:36 AM #34

I'm thinking this is the armour of an ambush-fighter - especially with those masks disguising their faces.

Speaking of shawls - do you think they'd have something comparable to a ghillie suit? You really wouldn't see them in the swamp until you ran smack into them, and by then it's too late.

If the Dras had any kind of pattern or individualisation on their clothing, it'd be on the inside anyway, where noone sees it.