» Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:02 am I'll center the argument around a recurring piece of upper-body vestment: a 4-strapped leather armor that goes over the shoulders and under the armpits, that meets in the middle of the back in a metal ring. The closest name I can find for this in historical armor/clothing is a baldric, though usually it seems a baldric goes over one shoulder, so I suppose it could be argued this is a double-baldric. But I digress. It's a very nominal piece, and certainly lacks for body coverage. However, what is interesting is the number of combinations we see it in.
On the left corner of page 52, we see the protagonist wearing this baldric alone, with not but his skin undernearth and no armor on top, sans a single pauldron that goes underneath the baldric on his left shoulder. Therefore, I think we can confidently surmise that this piece of armor can be worn alone. We do not know if the pauldron is part of the armor or if we'll have the ability to add it underneath as a customization option. It could also be argued that this is the carrying device used for back-stored two-handed weapons, as the character has a greatsword slung across his back from right to left.
The next picture of interest is on top right corner of page 50. Here we see the protagonist from the front, garbed in black robes and a hood, running a dagger through an enemy. While it is far from conclusive, I argue that the enemy is a Goblin, but it's not important. What IS important is what that enemy is wearing: that same baldric. What's interesting is that this identical piece is now sitting on top of a leather jerkin. We also see that same pauldron from the first screenshot on the left shoulder, but now we also see a second metal pauldron on TOP of the first pauldron. Further, this character is weilding some type of one-handed sword, as evidenced by the pommel in his right hand and the scabbard on his left thigh. Therefore, we can conclude that this baldric is NOT the fastening system for the character's weapon. Further, we see here that you can wear additional armor underneath the baldric. Also, we can see that you can add additional shoulder protection on top of the baldric, supplementing the pauldron undernearth the baldric. What we still don't know is if the "under" pauldron from the first and second screenshot is "locked" or if it is customizable.
The final screenshot I'll dicuss is on page 59. Here, we have the protagonist weilding a two-handed axe and facing off against Shelob's cousin. If you look, the character is again wearing a baldric. This time, the baldric is sitting on top of scale armor and runs over pauldrons on both the right and left shoulders. Here we finally see a two pouldron system, squashing the possibility of the single left pauldron being "locked". It should be noted, that in this screenshot, the baldric is *slightly* different. Where the first two baldrics had the bottom leather straps fastened without buckles, this final screenshot shows the baldric with two metal buckles on the bottom straps.
What conclusions do I draw from these pictures?
1. I have way too much time on my hands this weekend.
2. Baldrics play an important part in the function and style of Skyrim's armors.
3. Pauldrons seem to be inter-changable and stackable
4. I can't say for sure if baldrics are stackable with armor. I would have dared to make this claim based on the first and second screenshots, but the third one threw this out the window, as the baldric is slighly different. It's possible that many armors just have baldrics on them, and that you have the option to wear a lone baldric as well.
That's all I can think of now. I haven't anolyzed any other screenshots from other magazines so I would love to hear feedback from others who have/want to. Also, would like to get some feedback on your opinions about what we've been shown so far in regards to armor layering. Needless to say, I'm excited for this game!
