Studded leather armor
[ studded leather armor 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | studded leather armor |
| Slot | body armor |
| AC | 3 |
| Special | |
| Base price | 15 zm |
| Weight | 200 |
| Material | leather |
Studded leather armor is like leather armor, but one AC point better, providing three instead of two. It also provides MC1. Despite the studs, studded leather armor does not rust, but it does, however, rot. Studded leather does not inhibit spellcasting, so it's a common body armor choice for early wizards.
Generation
Armor comprises 10% of all randomly-generated items in the main dungeon, 0% in containers, 12% on the Rogue level, and 20% in Gehennom. There is a 72 in 964, or ~7.47%, chance that a randomly spawned armor object will be studded leather armor.[1]
Studded leather armor is one of the protective items that can be spawned of certain eligible monsters—including all of the Yendorian army, as well as watchmen and watch captains.[2]
Trivia
Studded leather armor does exist in the real world, but not as it's generally thought of from video games such as NetHack. In real life, the studs on leather armor did not add to it's protection in any way, but rather, were strictly ornamental, or in some cases, merely what was holding the layers of leather together.
This is a carry-over from D&D, the inspiration behind many fantasy games, as NetHack, and is seen in many, many games. This misinterpretation is most likely based on seeing medieval artworks of brigandine armor[3]—which has highly visible rivets on the outside layer of leather—but is another type of armor entirely.
Studs, as often seen on fantasy leather armor, would add weight without adding protection, and weight was an omnipresent enemy in medieval warfare, even more-so than in NetHack. Worse, the studs could drive into the wearer of the armor, actually limiting the protection it provides.[4]
