Basic Information
The sabaton - also known as a solleret was an articulated shoe made out of plate armour. Actual designs varied and, as might be expected for an expensive piece of kit worn by high status people, fashion played a role as well, to the extent that sumptuary laws were enacted at some points to determine what rank was required to wear a given length of toepiece. Some designs wrapped around the entire foot, whilst others covered only the top and/or sides and were worn over a more practical sort of boot (much like the distinction between a fully articulated plate gauntlet and a demi-gant).
Regardless, these were not particularly practical pieces of footwear for anyone who was planning to walk anywhere - a lesson not entirely learned at Agincourt - and were mainly intended for wear by horsemen, whose feet were, after all, far more exposed than those of a man on foot.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- PCs probably won't want to wear sabatons anywhere outside a cavalry battle - especially not down a traditional dungeon. Fantasy art aside, anyone walking down a stone floored corridor wearing these is going to make a noise like someone digging up a scrapyard.
- Most sets of armour rules won't have this degree of granularity, but these things should provide serious penalties to movement, dexterity generally and anything involving stealth.