Basic Information
Hide armour can refer to either of two different compositions.
The first is a primitive form made from thick furs and skins, tanned or otherwise, worn for protection. In general, untanned leather can be referred to as hide armour but furs can be tanned or untanned. This at least has the advantage of being cheap - and warm if required to be - but is likely to be bulky, heavy and foul smelling besides lacking resilience.
The second is a variation of leather armour made from the hides of thick skinned beasts such as rhinoceroi, crocodiles and the like. This functions much as ordinary leather does but is far less flexible in exchange for greater protection. Untreated it has many of the same characteristics as cuir boulli leather.
Arguably fantasy settings allow for a sub variant of the second kind made from the skins of dragons - how effective this is will depend on your campaign.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- The first form of hide armour is likely to be all there is in a stone age or similarly primitive setting. In more advanced milieux, it may still be used by primitive species.
- If your barbarian character insists on wearing it, the rest of the party may wish to stand upwind.
- The second form may be a badge of honour in some societies, especially if they expect the wearer to harvest the raw materials themselves.
- That will normally go double (at least) for dragon skin armour… although this may be considered a necklace of ears in some contexts.