In thinking about the Uther, Anarchy (& Vortigern period) I have seen around roman armour ( can't recall what it is called ) and shield. The armor absorbs 12 and the shield 8. Now this is better than is generally available at the time so is there any game mechanical reason a character isn't wearing this stuff ?
Indeed the shield remains superior all the way through the GPC. Any mechanical reason it isn't used?

A follow up question are there any stats for other types of armour, roman gear etc?

You could rule that a Scutum (the Roman shield) is only usable by infantry, being too large and unwieldy for cavalry. I myself decided, for consistency's sake, that every single shield affords 6 points of protection, unless it's a magical/masterwork shield.

In my campaign, I also made the Roman infantry ill-equipped and poorly trained, to reflect the general decrepitude and decadence of Roman cities. The Romano-British "Legionnaires" often had Leather or Cuirboilli armours, Lorica Hamatas (10 pt. chainmail) at best. Needless to say, their skill levels were also much lower than those given in the Book of Battle/Book of Armies, which equal those of Famous Knights :-\

You could rule that a Scutum (the Roman shield) is only usable by infantry, being too large and unwieldy for cavalry.



And that would be historically correct. A scutum can't be used on horse in an effective way, not to mention that the shield's grip in a scutum is horizontal, not vertical. It's an 100% infantry item.

EDIT: roman infantry since about the 3rd-4th century droped the iconic ractangular, concave shield. If I remember correctly, city roman infantry in KAP is more similar to their historical counterparts for the KAP period anyway. If anyone is using the old scutum and lorica segmentata those should be regarded as unique items that are not produced anymore.

As said by others the scutum is too large to use on a horse. Even roman cavalry did not use the large shield. They used a smaller round shield.

As for the lorica segmentata I would say that the main reason almost no one has one is that it is extremely expensive. Both in buying as in maintenance. Most armorers are unfamiliar with them and will not be able to repair them properly.

A second more fluff reason is that the lorica segmentata is old style. Wearing one means you are honoring the old conquerors?

What the previous posters have already said, the Late Empire legionnaires were equipped somewhat differently from the iconic lorica segmentata + scutum + pilum + gladius equipped legionnaires of Trajan.



"In the 3rd century, the segmentata appears to have been dropped and troops are depicted wearing chain mail (mainly) or scale, the standard armour of the 2nd-century auxilia. The artistic record shows that most late soldiers wore metal armour, despite Vegetius' statement to the contrary."

"The legionary scutum, a convex rectangular shield also disappeared during the 3rd century. All troops except archers adopted the auxiliary oval (or sometimes round) shield (clipeus)."

"The infantry adopted the spatha, a longer (median length: 760 mm/30 in) sword that during the earlier centuries was used by the cavalry only. ... At the same time, infantry acquired a heavy thrusting-spear (hasta) which became the main close order combat weapon to replace the gladius, as the spatha was too long to be swung comfortably in tight formation (although it could be used to stab)."

"In addition to his thrusting-spear, a late foot soldier might also carry a throwing-spear (verutum) or a spiculum, a kind of heavy, long pilum, similar to an angon. Alternatively, a couple of short javelins (lanceae). Late infantrymen often carried half a dozen lead-weighted throwing-darts called plumbatae (from plumbum = "lead"), with an effective range of c. 30 m (98 ft), well beyond that of a javelin. The darts were carried clipped to the back of the shield."


However, that would be the limitanei, who are still full time soldiers. To portray the fact that the true legions left Britain in 410, I'd make most of the 'legionnaires' wear hard leather, like Helmward suggested, with perhaps a portion of them wearing chain mail hauberks/tunics (8 points, from Saxons!). I'd let them have large shields as infantry, though, 8pts seems fair for that. And if they are drilled more regularly in larger groups than the manorial spearmen, I'd let them have better discipline as well. While not as good as the legionnaires of old, I think they would make a good, steady infantry for the Briton side.