Falling 10m/32ft into water wearing full armor

Discussion in 'Research' started by T.Trian, Sep 17, 2013.

  1. T.Trian

    T.Trian Overly Pompous Bastard Supporter Contributor

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    That's where Garball's suggestion came in perfect: a controlled fall would mean that she has a good idea which direction to take, and since the fall is relatively short (1 second), her position in the air won't change much. Visibility will be something between poor to non-existent, so that's why it's good I don't have to rely on it much if at all.
    Pressure and temperature, not so much of an issue as the scuffle takes place during summer. I've done some diving (with just goggles and shorts) to those depths in the sea here in Finland, and while I didn't feel like lingering long, it wasn't like ice swimming and the pressure in my ears was definitely bearable at 16ft/5m (which I thought would be a happy medium for the depth of the moat).

    Another thing that may contribute to things is adrenaline: her blood's already riddled with it and she's been fighting prior to the dive, so the chances of her freezing/panicking are much less than if she were pushed off by surprise after standing around peacefully. Adrenaline also gives you extra strength and endurance and it speeds up your reaction time, all of which would come in handy in a situation like that. The only downside I can think of is a faster heartbeat, i.e. she spends more oxygen with adrenaline in her blood than without, but that can't really be helped.

    Agreed on it being a tricky situation, though. Then again, realistic doesn't have to mean dull or without risk, just as long as it's plausible and I don't need to rely purely on luck or things that have nothing to do with realism. At the moment I'm considering it plausible enough, but again, will keep researching things until I'm sure it's doable (or as sure as possible anyway). Or, alternatively, it turns out the whole scene is completely unrealistic and could never work irl.
     
  2. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    a lot depends on what type of armor she's wearing... a metal, full-body 'enclosure' such as we see standing in manor houses' entry halls would restrict movement so severely she'd drown before being able to do anything to save herself... while lighter armor such as just a breastplate and gauntlets/leg guards could be easy enough to shed, or climb out while still wearing it...

    material also matters... metal vs leather... so, if you want her to survive, just build survival into what you have her wearing...
     
  3. T.Trian

    T.Trian Overly Pompous Bastard Supporter Contributor

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    That's a good point and goes along with what I've read about plate armors the past few days. They varied a lot in price (didn't have to ne a knight/lord to afford one of the older/lower quality/simpler models), weight (didn't have to be 6'4/275lbs of solid muscle to be able to move and fight effectively in one), amount of components (some armors just have less parts than others), and its purpose: e.g. before firearms, plate armor intended for actual combat appears to have been quite a bit lighter than plate armor meant for jousting tournaments, which was also much more restricting whereas armors worn for combat allowed almost perfect mobility. That even makes sense: if you can't move well and quickly in a fight, you're dead even if you're against a guy wearing nothing and wielding but a knife.

    Her plate components are likely around the 25lbs range give or take a few (and around 5lbs is lost when she ditches her helmet) + additional gear (the clothes/bits of mail worn under the plates but not weapons since she's lost her sword and dagger before falling into the water). So yeah, she's definitely not wearing anything akin to this. :D
     

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