Interlocking metal rings, usually half an inch or less in diameter. Mail may be butted, coiled or rivetted, these considerations are reflected by armour quality. While mail is a superb defence against edged weapons, and reasonable against the point, it does little to reduce force of a blow, and may be driven into its wearer's flesh. Because of this, leather or wool garments are usually worn underneath.
Mail is a non-organic armour material. Articles of mail armour are derived primarily from this material type.
Contents
Availability
Raw materials for mail armour are not found in the game and thus cannot be manufactured, nor can mail armour be repaired. Like other metallic items, mail armour must be gained by trading or looted from hostile NPCs. Mail is the most expensive armour material type. Foreign traders peddling these items typically request dozens of valuable furs from the player in exchange for larger piece of mail armour.
Effectiveness
Mail armour is highly desirable for its overall effectiveness in many different combat situations, being especially effective against edged weapons and the "tear" attacks of clawed animals. Its only weaknesses are prohibitive costs and poor resilience to blunt damage. For this reason, mail should never be the only type of armour or clothing used. Compared to the other metallic armour types, mail offers the most coverage, particularly when wearing the longer variants of hauberk and cowl, while lamellar and iron offer somewhat improved point and much superior blunt damage protection but suffer from limited coverage, with individual pieces usually only protecting the vitals (head, thorax, abdomen) or specific parts of limbs (like the knees or forearms).
