[SixOfSpades]

I, too, am more fond of lighter armor, simply because I prefer agressive blocking to passive. I've got a pair of leather gloves with chainmail sewn to the backs, and with these and a pair of bracers with iron bars impregnated within the leather, I'm good to go. (A mail shirt would be nice to go over the jerkin, but I'm fine with just leather.) With this gear and a staff, I can block/dodge/outrun pretty much any attack, and my own atacks have both power and range. BUT. It works great in single combat, but if I was taking part in a massive melee and trying to keep track of 3 or 4 guys at a time, I would be SO screwed. That's where personal mobility goes flying out the window, and passive blocking (plate mail) comes in.