Tom, have you seen the item system for battle brothers? It suits the dark age theme quite well.
Also, I like it because the power scale is rather gentle. Just like in Battlemaster.
The average human in the game has about 50 (anything from 30 to 70+) hitpoints. Armor simply adds more hitpoints to either the head or body.
Gameplay wise, I never leave home without a shield (you collect them like baseball cards because they keep you alive but keep breaking), and I never give flanking troops anything heavier than basic mail. The best armor in the game gives 6 times the hitpoints of a naked man on both the head and the body.
The Early game is marked by hilarious noob rushes where your untrained conscripts slash away at monsters and bandits dressed in their knives and tunics. The typical early game warband usually has one or two professional soldiers anchoring a group of recruits.
Daggers: has puncture skill which bypasses armor
Knives 15-25 dmg 50% vs armor
Dagger 15-35 dmg 60% vs armor
Sax 25-35 dmg 60% vs armor
1 handed Swords: has riposte skill which allows a free hit on every block
Shortsword 30-40 dmg 75% vs armor
Falchion 35-45 dmg 70% vs armor
Arming Sword 40-50 dmg 80% vs armor
Noble Sword 45-50 dmg 85 % vs armor
Blunt: has stun skill
Wooden Stick/Club 15-25 dmg 50% vs armor
Bludgeon 20-25 dmg 90% vs armor
Winged Mace 35-55 dmg 150% vs armor
1-handed Spears: has spear wall skill that pushes enemy back
Militia Spear 25-35 dmg 100% vs armor
Boar Spear 30-40 dmg 100% vs armor
1-handed Axes: has split shield skill
Hatchet 25-45 dmg 120% vs armor
Handaxe 30-55 dmg 120% vs armor
Fighting Axe 35-55 dmg 125% vs armor
msc weapons:
Flail 25-55 dmg, 100% vs armor, bypasses shields
Military cleaver: 40-60 dmg 90% vs armor, 10 bleed dmg per turn on any hit that goes through the target's armor
War Hammer 30-45 dmg 200% vs armor, has an armor piercing effect, and has an attack that crushes armor
2-handed weapons:
Greatsword: 85-110 dmg 125% vs armor, splits shields, swings to hit 2 targets
Greataxe: 80-100 dmg 175% vs armor splits shields, roundswings.
Billhook: 70-100 dmg 135% vs armor, has a range of 2, can pull enemies from higher terrain down.
Pike 70-100 dmg 100% vs armor, range of 2
Ranged Weapons: (still quite undeveloped, most players find them difficult to use tactically because of friendly fire in the game. I personally love crossbows)
Javelin 50-80 dmg piss poor range with range penalties.
Short Bow 30-50 dmg 70% AP
Hunting Bow 40-60 dmg 75% AP
Crossbow 40-60 dmg 150% AP
Armor: Name/durability/Fatigue Penalty
Headgear
Hood 30
Aketon Cap 40 -1
Full Aketon Cap 50 -2
Mail Coif 80 -4
Closed Mail Coif 90 -4
Reinforced Mail Coif 100 -5
Nasal Helmet 105 -5
Padded Nasal Helmet 130 -7
Nasal Helmet with Mail 200 -12
Kettle Helmet 115 -6
Padded Kettle Helmet 140 -8
Kettle Helmet with Mail 215 -4
Flat Top Helmet 125 -7 (Looks like a kind of open bascinet)
Padded Flat Top Helmet 150 -9
Flat Top with Mail 230 -13
Flat Top Helmet with Closed Mail 265 -18
Closed Flat Top Helmet 170 -10
Close and Padded Flat Top Helmet 180 -11
Closed Flat Top with Mail 280 -21
Great Helm 300 -20
Body Armor name/durability/fatigue Penalty
Tattered Sackcloth 5 0
Sackcloth 15 0
Linen Tunic 20 0
Woven Tunic 30 0
Padded Surcoat 40 -4
Gambeson 55 -6
Padded Leather 70 -8
Basic Mail Shirt 100 -12
Mail Shirt (with mail pauldrons, I would just call it a hauberk) 120 -14
Scale Armor 180 -22
Coat of Scales 245 -30
Lamellar Harnes 210 -26
Heavy Lamellar Armor 270 -34
Coat of Plates 300 -38
Heraldric Mail 320 -42
Shields: Round shields and above have a shield wall ability that increases (doubles I believe) the character's defense and the defense of the characters adjacent to him (by +5) that are also in shield wall mode. A shield wall generally keeps everyone alive. The AI does it too, so the battle then turns into shield breaking galore, while lightly armored troops try to outflank the shields.
Hilarity also ensues when one has to fight in forests and on uneven terrain and simply can't move people into the right formation. This is especially catastrophic when facing giant orcs that can beat most humans one on one.
On open ground shield wall tactics are a bit more interesting, one would try to rotate wounded men and men who lose their shields out of the line and replace them with reserves. This gives you a fighting chance against difficult odds.
Buckler: 10 melee def 5 range def -4 fatigue
Wooden Round Shield: 15 melee def 15 range def -10 fatigue
Heater: 20 melee def 15 range def -14 fatigue
Kite Shield: 15 melee def 25 range def -16 fatigue
