Hi,
TLDR: Quite generic ranger character, what kind of clothes to wear and where to buy them?
Right now I’m making myself a little set of leather armour as a little fun project and i thought it’d be cool to be able to use it and found here and after a bit of looking around I’ve decided it’d like to try going to the September event if possible but more likely next years events. The armour I’m making is very adventurer and ranger inspired
Quite similar to this (ik this is a game its just something similar)
I’ve determined that the gear and character i want to play fits with the marches and particularly beaters. A question here is that is there a particular weapon beaters are supposed to use? I’m a big fan of longswords and would like that to be my first weapon extending into archery as i get deep into the hobby, I don’t know if those choices can mesh with the others I’ve made in the world of empire
Also, despite making my own armour I’m lost looking for standard clothing, tunics look cool to me and might fit the vibe I’m going for but I don’t know where to get one or at least something similar, preferably on the cheaper side if possible. On top of this I have no clue about trousers so any help there would be appreciated
Any advice is appreciated and im always open to other tips for newbies, I realise I might be shooting a tad high with my armour but that’s just a fun little project at home and I can always just wait till the next event and save up for whatever equipment I need
First of all, hallo!
So, you’re looking at the Marches?
Clothing wise you’re going to want to look a bit more real world cues from the War of the Roses era than Witcher High Fantasy inspired, frustratingly enough
But have no fear, because it’s a fairly common re-enactment period and there’s lot of off the shelf kit that can be tweaked
Personally, I’d recommend Burgschnider, especially their plain long sleeve tops (which can be embroidered or painted or dyed for customisation quite easily)
Order a size or two up, as they shrink like all hell if you’re not cautious with the wash and I find their limb proportions to be slightly off if you’re broader on the shoulders
Trousers…the classic look for Marchers is braise (linen/cotton boxers essentially) under hose (linen or wool crotchless tights).
However, a pair of tighter to the leg khaki chinos (if your top is long enough to hide the modern gumph at the top) or plain straight leg trousers (not too baggy) in a neutral tone work well.
(H&M, Marks and Spencers, and New Look all have dyeable plain drawstring linen trousers in their women’s section rn. Strongly advise shopping both sides of the aisle, because you can get some really good bits)
1 Like
Welcome along, to the game and the forums 
Good advice from Squeek_D, I can confirm that some simple plain trousers in neutral colours will do you fine.
There are, if you get stuck, a LOT of places selling costume at the events, and Marcher kit, being slightly generic, is some of the more common stuff.
A simple shirt maybe with laces at the collar, neutral trousers, and a tunic or vest of some sort will get you most of the way. Keep the colours fairly simple, to avoid shading into the Dawn look.
A lot can be done with accessories: a floppy hat with some badges on, a belt with some pouches, a few designs painted or sewn on… lots of options.
Armour is great, and you can really have fun with making your own. If you’re wanting to get the mechanical advantage from a set of light leather armour, you will need to cover quite a bit of yourself; your chosen illustration is a good example.
If you find you’ve got a lot of leather that’s a bit soft for armour, you might be able to use it as part of a vest or shirt or similar?
You’ve got the time to work on it, anyway. Have you found the Marcher facebook group? They will also give advice re costume, and possibly sell you some spares 
Hats!
A classic, almost “oh, I can tell you’re a Marcher” piece of kit for the summer months is a linen/cotton coif and then either a big ol’ floppy brimmed straw hat on top of that
The more well loved the straw hat, the better.
Winter wise, a coif + a hood and caplet/cowl combo is also quite similarly iconic
Both offer a good way of protecting scalp and can be customised to glorious levels
According to The Marches look and feel - Empire the look and feel of Beaters are influenced by the Rangers of Ithilien and I can see that your image has similarities with the images that come up when I Google that.
If you want to have a longsword, then no-one will have a problem with that.
If you are making your own armour, consider the thickness of the leather. To count as medium it needs to be 3mm thick. Light armour should be at least 1.5mm leather or be padded cloth.
1 Like
Am I right in thinking that bycocket hats scream “Marcher” too? They might fit more with the beater/ranger vibe.
They do, but they’re also something I’ve seen start drag down debates about in Marcher spaces…so, for newer/less certain costume building folks, probably not the most accessible kit piece
(And they’re debates more akin to the Urizen discussions around the phrygian (“Smurf”) caps and pesatos)
I get that the marches are more inspired by that era but i hope it would be alright to take a bit more creative license with the armour, nothing crazy fantasy just stuff like a single pauldron and a bandolier kind of thing, i just think they look cool and they’ve been fun to make so far but I can always drop them
Ive had a look at Burgschnider before i just didnt know what i was looking for so that helps a lot and especially that tip about regular trousers but i can definitely look into braise and hose eventually
Thanks for all the advice
Id like to have at least a main costume set up before the event and not gamble too much on what’s available on site but that’s definitely something i can keep in mind.
Im definitely going to have a belt with pouches, I’ve already made the belt i just need to decide on what pouches i want to make.
Unfortunately i dont have any spare at the moment, i try to keep my scraps to a minimum
And i didnt ill definitely have a look at that soon!
Oooo theyre some really interesting things to look into thanks! What about cloaks? I’ve always found them quite cool and afaik the purpose of them is to protect from the elements a bit and it seems to make sense that the beaters might want a bit more protection as they go out tracking. Ofc id still keep it those neutral colours id just like to know if it would fit
Yeah i had a look at that I just wanted to make sure with people that have some experience
The leather sheet I’ve used so far is advertised as 2.8-3.2mm i think, but the design of armour i want to make would for sure fall into a typical light armour
When it gets cold, cloaks, especially nice heavy wool, rectangular ones, are on brief for the Marches…tbh, they’re on brief for everyone if it gets Baltic
Your health trumps exacting kit design.
…I wouldn’t recommend them for the summer, especially if we get more events like E2 three years back. XD
Also, as general costuming advice:
- If you can afford it, always go for mostly natural fibre clothing.
- Wool is good for warmth, is pretty windproof, and stays warm when wet…is heavy as all hell, but it’s good material
- Leather is windproof but is also very sweaty at warmer events
- Cotton is good for staying cool, but linen is even better
- Synthetics are… beautiful and a burn hazard. There’s open fires at colder events.
If you do chose to wear them, good for base layers, not for outers
- Always pack more socks than you think you will need
- A good pair of boots is well worth weight in gold, but break them in before field, not in field
If you’re not certain if something’s “as advertised” on fibre content, burn test it…well, if it’s a bolt of fabric:
- If it melts, rather than burning, it’s mostly synthetic
- If it burns fast and flakey ash, plant fibre heavy
- If it takes forever to catch and then smolders rather than lighting up, filling the room with the stench of burning hair, that’s likely wool heavy…ash from that will also feel very greasy
oh thats a super helpful list thanks!! my first even will either be in September or April so i imagine it might be a bit cold but at this point who knows right?
Ill for sure tae that advice on board though, thank you so much
1 Like
April’s events are increasingly becoming the only ones where many super layers are needed.
… well, I say that as if E1 this year wasn’t surprisingly warm (and dry) for late April
However, keep weather eye on the forecast before an event and build your kit with the possibility of getting all seasons in one event.
Layers, especially ones you can easily get on and off, are very big and clever
Also, I do recommend ensuring that you have a good sleeping bag/blanket layers for sleeping/evenings.
It’s absolutely miserable to go to bed and then not sleep because you’re violently shivering the whole night.
