If you look at the Game Informer magazine, you'll see that on pages 51 and the top of 52, we're shown a man in a cuirass that does NOT have pauldrons on it.

This is suggestive that they're a separate item; but it could still be argued that maybe pauldrons are still incorporated with chest-pieces when present at all, but they aren't present on that chest piece (that armor set doesn't have pauldrons).

But at the bottom right corner of page 52, you can see that the character seems to be wearing a pauldron on his left shoulder and not his right, and more importantly, WHILE WEARING NO CUIRASS.

So I think that more-or-less logically concludes the matter; individual pauldrons are in.

I could be negative and say that you're clearly describing a unique asymmetrical-pauldron "Gladiator's" armor style, but what the hell. I want to believe!

Hmm, well it looks like it's part of the strap he has for his claymore.

It looks to me like he IS wearing a chestpiece. It's just less a chestpiece and more a harness of some kind.

However, there's little point in speculating until the game is out or we see actual gameplay videos.

Well, that's the thing. Occam's razor.

At this point, if there AREN'T distinct pauldrons, then that means there are armors that have no pauldrons, or one asymmetrical pauldron... This is a clumsy supposition.

The simplest conclusion for the evidence is "distinct pauldrons".

Kinda similar thread already in the mix.
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1162553-there-doesnt-appear-to-be-many-armour-slots/

I see arguments from both sides. You are right, though. I might even say that we have MORE slots that Morrowind. You can see several characters with the "harness" armor that is essentially leather straps with a ring. One guy is wearing just that (pg 52, bottom right) another guy is wearing that OVER a leather shirt (pg 50, top right) I originally thought the guy of 50 showed separate pauldrons, but looking closer I thought it might be permanently attached to that cuirass. Maybe not tho.

Nice spot. If you look at the pic of the guy fighting the spider, it looks like he's got pauldrons on both shoulders. If these pauldrons are the same as that in the pic with the guy wearing only one pauldron, then it becomes even less plausible that the one pauldron is just part of that leather-strap thingy.

Pg. 52. That is just chest armor with combined pauldron. "Brawlers Harness" or something.
Probably pauldrons and chest peices are still merged.

I doubt the pg 52 harness is an extention of that measly pauldron.

I bet the spider pick is just a different chest peice implementing the same asset or a similar design.

There's already been armor without pauldrons in past games (The female model for http://images.uesp.net//9/95/OB-item-female-Chainmail_Armor.jpg in Oblivion, for example.), so I really wouldn't say it's that clumsy.

Perhaps what we see is in fact an indication of seperate pauldrons, but it also may be that Bethesda just thought those armors would look better without pauldrons, or with assymetrical ones. Now, I'd certainly like to believe seperate pauldrons are in, but right now, I don't feel that we have enough evidence to say they are with any certainty.

I'm hoping that, even if we have Oblivion-style armor slots, we'll see the return of multiple variants of armor pieces for each style. Kind of like how Morrowind's Imperial armor was subdivided into templar, steel, dragonscale, and the like. That may be the explanation for the different harnesses, but I'd be equally psyched about that all the same.

Yes, looking at the screenshots in the GI magazine, it's pretty clear that there is a high chance pauldrons may be separate.

Wow, you are setting yourself up to be dissopointed. While I would like more armor slots myself, I see nothing in those pics to indicate that. The pauldron with harness is always the same, in other word its always with the harness. Same goes for the other stuff, you do not see any mixing which would actullly tell you something.

Err... I don't think so. I see three GI screenshots with a character wearing that harness, and in each of them there are differences between the pauldrons being worn by the character wearing the harness.

1) The one with the sword on the character's back. There's a pauldron on the left shoulder.
2) The one with the character fighting the spider. There's a pauldron on the character's right shoulder; it also looks like there's one on the left shoulder.
3) The one with the Dunmer getting stabbed in the stomach. There's a pauldron on the left shoulder - but it is a different design to the one in the first screenshot I listed.

I agree. I believe they're in as well. But I think they'll be a "set" item like boots and gloves. Some "sets" will have a single pauldron like the nord and dark elf wear in the GI mag. And then some sets will have two pauldrons like the Elven armor. I could be easily be wrong on the "set" ideology, but that's my bet at the moment.

I'm hoping. It just ads that scrounging feel to get what you can when you can, and makes it that much more immersive. In my opinion anyways.

Hm, that's an idea. I would like them to have individual left and right pauldrons, but "sets" do seem more likely.

Look at page 52. Now look at the gap between the character's skin and the straps.... See what I mean?

Why would there be a gap unless the meshes for the straps are supposed to allow some armor or clothing underneath?

Pauldrons for the win.

I loved having mismatched pauldrons on my Morrowind character. It made him look even more badass with a large pauldron on his sword side (high ordinator pauldron) and a small one on the other side (Glass). I hope they implement this in Skyrim. i don't see why they are more likely to be sets, i hope your just being pessimistic