Plate Armor Should Be Not Just Expensive But Restricted

I have previously posted about how plate armor should be much more expensive than listed in most RPG equipment lists. While this will make its acquisition by Player Characters more difficult, it is neither the sole nor primary reason they should rarely have it: ownership would be restricted by any organized government to trusted individuals. In a word, loyalty. Men-at-arms who have sworn to serve that government and not act contrary to it.

PCs must earn such trust, and give oaths of loyalty, before being granted access to such critical military technology.

There are other ways for PCs to achieve “heavy armor” equivalency—say, wearing two “medium” armors atop one another—but that has (and should have) obvious disadvantages.