LARP Armor

There are two basic categories of LARP armor:

leather armor

made from real or fake leather (or suede)
Absorbs one hit to any given location, then must be repaired.

metal armor

made from plastic or some other semi-rigid material and covered with silver duct tape (which represents metal)
Absorbs two hits to any given location, then must be repaired.

It is essential that the materials that armor is made from be somewhat pliable, and that it not have sharp corners that could scratch someone. As with weapons, armor must be free from damage or defects that could cause someone to be injured.

Armor with stripes of brightly colored tape represents armor that has magical properties.

Before any game/session, you must check your armor for the following:

1. No sharp edges.
2. No cracks or damage that could cause the armor to break.
3. Fasteners must be intact and in good shape. (Pull against them to make sure they aren't frayed or partially torn, and that the holes that they go through aren't broken.)
4. There must be plenty of space—at least 2“ between the top of the breastplate and the neck, and at least 1” between arm or leg pieces and the elbow or knee joint.
5. Armor must not cut off circulation or impede visibility in any way.

The easiest way to make leather armor is to buy an old leather jacket from a thrift store. If you want to be lazy you can wear the jacket as is, but it will look more like armor if you cut off the sleeves and:

1. Use the sleeves for separate arm or leg pieces.
2. Cut up the rest of the coat to make a vest.
3. Grommets and shoelaces add a nice touch.

Feel free to decorate or stylize your leather armor. The more it looks like armor and not an old coat, the more in character it will be!

Metal armor is made from flexible plastic. We use 1/16“ thick low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sheeting, which we buy from U.S. Plastic Corp.

1. Cut LDPE sheeting to the desired shape for arm, leg, or breastplate pieces. Make sure to round off all corners.
2. Sand any rough edges with sandpaper.
3. Drill 3/16” holes spaced approximately 1“ apart along edges that need to be laced together.
4. Thread a shoelace through the holes and use it to tie pieces of armor to themselves or each other as needed.
5. Cover the outside of the armor pieces with silver duct tape (which represents metal).

Feel free to decorate or stylize your armor, especially if you have an emblem or standard. The more real your armor looks, the more in character it will be!