From the introduction:
This netbook was written principally for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd Edition). It tries to describe in detail the armours that were briefly listed in Player's Handbook (AD&D 2e Revised). I felt these descriptions lacked a lot in terms of detail and explanations of use, so I sat down to write this. I’ve been as comprehensive as I felt was needed. What was required was a fairly brief but all-encompassing description of the item, a little history (for those running historical campaigns, or for those obsessed with accuracy), and maybe a new weapon statistics listing or Armour Class to reflect an item’s design. Armours from other locales and time periods I have largely ignored, for the simple reason that the AD&D rules do these items justice anyway. For all their sophistication and grandeur, an Aztec warrior’s most sophisticated weapon was the club, and his most sophisticated armour the hide shield. It really doesn’t matter how many different types of club you describe, they all act in the same way. The same is not true of different types of swords.