Basic Information
Technically speaking, an armorsmith is someone who makes armour from metal. But, as with weaponsmith, the term is often used more generally to mean someone who makes armor, regardless of the material they make it from. The title also doesn't technically apply to unskilled labor putting together armor on an assembly line.
The non-metalworking versions might be more rightly refered to as armorers, but that term has other things it can mean as well, so "armorsmith" will probably do.
There are a few other terms that may apply to armorers who work in particular materials or on particular types of armor:
- blacksmith - one who works with iron and steel, possibly making armor, tools, weapons, horseshoes, etc
- leatherworker - one who works with leather, a very broad designation that could include the makers of leather armour
- linen-armorer or merchant taylor - makes padded armour, as well as the padded tunics that soldiers wear under metal armor to soften the impact of attacks and reduce fatigue of wearing uncomfortable metal.
- mailmaker - an armorsmith who specializes in chainmail or ring mail
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Game and Story Use
- A community with access only to a particular specialist type of armorsmith may result in interesting challenges or flavor in your campaign. If one group makes breastplates, a different group is equipped with chainmail, and a third can only manage crude hide armor, they'll have different game stats and may have to rely on different tactics or weaponry. See weaponsmith for related ideas.