Each set was custom tailored to a specific person. While it is heavy, full plate armor is intricately articulated, allowing for a surprising amount of agility.

One correction plate armor isn't necessarily difficult to move in it's restrictive in certain ways and less bulky armor is certainly easier to move in, but it isn't like the Romantic era notion of knights being helpless if they fall to the ground or being unable to mount a horse without elaborate pulley systems. By the Enlightenment, body armor had pretty much been reduced to gorgets to protect the neck. In fact, as time went on, and as gunpowder weapons became more prevalent during the Renaissance, you saw a reduction in armor for standard infantry and such because guns were simply too powerful. Most soldiers were still armored lightly (archers, infantry, pikemen, etc.). This is purely conjecture, take it for what it is, since I don't know the lore all that well.Įven in our medieval European history, full plate armor was rare, the purview of mounted heavy cavalry. It's logical to expect they'd dress differently than those who guard the Imperial City. Remember, the only Imperial Legion members we see in Skyrim are a part of a rag tag forward operating base. Not only that - but the races are more like they were in Morrowind too.Īnother point worth mentioning is that maybe the Imperial guards are still wearing full plate armour in Cyrodiil? We woudn't know. The Imperial Legion wears very similar things to what they did in Morrowind. Nearly everything in Skyrim return to the Morrowind art direction. You obviously never played Morrowind then.

Humanity here on Earth was more advanced in a lot of ways in 250 B.C than it was in 1000 A.D.Īnyhow, the moment I started Skyrim and saw the Roman style Legion armor, I was immediately turned off and disappointed that Bethesda chose to go that route. Just because something is set in the future doesn't mean things necessarily have to move forward. Maybe because it has been 200 years without a Septim emperor and they just got their ass kicked in a brutal, resource draining war that left them a shadow of what they used to be? So, if the Imperials had full plate during the time Oblivion took place, why would they go 'backwards' as far as armor craftsmanship and technology goes?

Skyrim imperial light armor