Gauntlet

Medieval History

Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour.

Historically, gauntlets were used by soldiers and knights. It was considered an important piece of armour, since the hands and arms were particularly vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. With the rise of easily reloadable and effective firearms, hand-to-hand combat fell into decline along with personal armour, including gauntlets.

Some medieval gauntlets had a built-in knuckle duster. When the hand was bunched into a fist the backhand protection becomes pronounced from the fist just above the knuckles. This allowed the user to utilize the gauntlet as a melee weapon while still protecting the hand from damage when punching. However, against an armed combatant the use of this feature would have been risky, so it was very unlikely that a gauntlet would have been used in this way when a more suitable weapon was within reach. But if the user had no other means to defend themselves the tactics they would have employed would be to attempt to surprise the opponent with this inconspicuous attack, possibly by dodging and countering, aiming for exposed areas of flesh such as the face or weak areas of armour, such as under the arm or the groin.

A "Demi-gauntlet" (also called a "demi-gaunt" for short) is a type of plate armour gauntlet that only protects the back of the hand and the wrist; demi-gaunts are worn with gloves made from mail or padded leather. The advantages of the demi-gaunt are that it allows better dexterity and is lighter than a full gauntlet, but the disadvantage is that the fingers are not as well protected.

In Belegarth

Since the hand is only a legal target area while not holding a weapon or shield; 'authentic' gauntlets are seldom used. Most fighters wear hockey or MMA gloves for hand protection, although they do not count as armor.

Class 1: Blue Armor confers one additional hit to the Target Area covered by the Armor, so a single hit from a blue weapon 'breaks' the armor, and an additional hit kills the Target Area underneath.

Class 2: Red Since armor only provides one additional hit to the covered area, this allows class 2 weapons to functionally ignore armor.

Class 3: Green A two-handed strike from a green weapon causes two hits of damage against a Target Area, ignoring any Armor the Target Area may have. A one-handed strike causes no injury to an Armored Target Area.

Class 4: Yellow Class 4 (missile) Weapons cause two hits of Injury to a Target Area, this allows class 4 weapons to functionally ignore armor.

Class 5: White Since the only legal target zone for these weapons is the head, it does not provide any benefit aside from protection from personal injury.