[Guess whose catching up a *long* way on old TMLs :-]
First a real-world example. My wife and I are both in the SCA
(Society for Creative Anachronism, medieval recreation). We both fight.
I.e. we wear suits of armour and hit each other with sticks. I am 5'10",
she is 5'4". I weigh #140, she weighs #xxx (acutal number ommited for
diplomacy, consider it to be considerably more than me :-). I.e. I am
"tall" and "thin" and she is "short" and "not-thin". However, we can
both fight effectively wearing each other's armour. Actually there are
suits of armour we have that people even taller than me (and shorter
than Lesley) can fight competantly in.
My personal body armour was made by and for someone of Lesley's
proportion (and gender) and her's was made by and for someone of her height
and my build. I fought in Canada in armour for someone basically the same
height & weight but the other gender.
So what I am saying is that, with regard to Medieval plate armour,
we have quite a degree of flexibility. Now custom shaped armour is always
better (I can't wear the new legs I've made for Lesley) but will not
greatly inhibit use. If you carry this over to Battle Dress and Traveller
game mechanics the worse I would apply is to increase any task by one
level.
The second is a literary example. C.J.Cherry's "Rimrunners"
goes into some detail on Battle Dress. Since I beleive Traveller has been
a major influence on her works they bear particular relevance. Much of
the tension toward the end of the book is derived through the repair
and fitting of two damaged suits of Battle Dress by a technician/marine.
It is quite clear in this that because Battle Dress acts as an
amplifier of your actions it must be fitted *precisely*. To do otherwise
sends the user jittering and shaking around the room.
I reccomend the book to anyone interested in Battle Dress or for
thematic background for Traveller.
There you go. Two opposite examples :-). Take you pick.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Jo Grant | "Love is blind, or so it seems, to make me
[email removed] | offer you my dreams. But after all is said and
[address removed] | done, a blind man's dreams are not much fun."
Dublin 24, IRELAND | -- Horslips, "Blindman"