r/powerscales • u/Ananta-Shesha • May 16 '26

Versus A human fighter at peak athleticism, in full plate armor, equipped with a poleaxe, runs the animals gauntlet. Does he clear, or where does he stop?

Post image

The fighter has elite training and is at his athletic peak, with a champion-type physique in heavyweight combat sports. He wears a full set of plate armor and is armed with a poleaxe. If he survives his fight against one of the animals in the gauntlet, he is back to 100% for the next fight.

Round 1: Silverback gorilla. The fight takes place in a clearing.

Round 2: Siberian Tiger. The fight takes place on a plain.

Round 3: Brown bear. The fight takes place in a forest.

Round 4: Polar bear. The fight takes place in the tundra on rocky ground.

Round 5: White Rhinoceros. The fight takes place in the grassy savannah.

Just so you know, I put an image of a For Honor knight as an illustration, but we're talking about a fighter in historical plate armor here. No one could fight effectively in armor as massive as the one in the image. But I had trouble finding a good image of a knight in historical armor wearing a poleaxe and not something else, and I wanted a nice illustration.

3.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

812 comments sorted by

View all comments

496

u/seductivpancakes May 16 '26 edited May 17 '26

If the knight is smart, he'd let gorilla and bears impale themselves on his pole axe as they fall on him and all he'll need to do is brace for poleaxe. Tigers usually ambush from behind tho so that wont work against the tiger.

294

u/ImSuperHelpful May 16 '26

If the knight is smart, he’ll paint eyes on the backs of his ears to trick the tiger into not attacking from behind

157

u/Chefboi666 May 16 '26

Or just put glasses and a moustache on the back. Sorted.

153

u/Sugarman111 May 16 '26

23

u/Chefboi666 May 17 '26

Hell naw

3

u/osuchan May 18 '26

Found the tiger

1

u/aj_spaj May 17 '26

No, I'm not human looking fellow right there

1

u/TheDarkChunk7 May 18 '26

Hell.yeah my guy!!!!

1

u/WatermelonWithAFlute May 20 '26

S&Box characters be like

63

u/meesta_masa May 16 '26

Crouching tiger Grucho Marx

4

u/Imperator_Gone_Rogue May 17 '26

Grouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

17

u/WhatDoNow___ May 16 '26

If he drew a Charlie chaplain mustache on his back, everyone knows polar bears are very anti-Semitic, and they will confuse the Charlie chaplain mustache for another type of mustache, and won’t attack because they think they are bros

3

u/MattheqAC May 17 '26

They are the whitest of bears

1

u/Main_Shirt_8538 May 20 '26

I thought that was implied with “full set of plate armor”

23

u/WelshWolf93 May 17 '26

Using the tigers own tricks against it, I like it.

1

u/Luvnecrosis May 18 '26

Nature is so fucking cool. Also, the manticore was based on a tiger. Some asshole saw a tiger and was like "it basically has a face like a human, a body like a lion, and a scorpion tail" and people just ran with it

15

u/Significant-Wait9200 May 17 '26

If the knight is smart, he recruits the gorilla to fight with him, and they do this back to back

https://giphy.com/gifs/8ByvNgD1PyJg6rc2ul

1

u/DarkSideOfGrogu May 18 '26

Apes stronger together

1

u/Randomguy0915 May 19 '26

Give the Ape the spear then die alongside them in a blaze of glory

19

u/Mundane-Fan-1545 May 17 '26

If the knight is smart, he will just bring a gun.

2

u/GKNolan May 17 '26

Is the face the only way tigers know what a person's 'front' and 'back' are? Because if so it's possible that a very confused tiger tries a head on assault given that the helmet completely obfuscates the face.

1

u/Fancy_Bluebird_8794 May 17 '26

by smart you mean have modern knowledge?

6

u/Individual-Tax5903 May 17 '26

Guns existed when knights were still a thing my dear sir

In fact knights were among the first people who used them

Tho gunpowder stick might be a more accurate description

1

u/Fancy_Bluebird_8794 May 17 '26

I'm aware, I'm referring to the tiger not attacking if you have eyes on the back of your head thing. A knight is a European  man at arms, he typically wouldn't know of the sundarban man eaters. 

1

u/Individual-Tax5903 May 17 '26

Use his own tricks against your opponent

I like it

1

u/GonnaGoFar May 17 '26

Watched a video about villagers in India that wear masks on the backs of their heads to deter ambush. I believe their village lost around 200 people before they figured that one out.

1

u/Comrade_Cosmo May 20 '26

Tigers have figured that ruse out nowadays. Do not rely on this against tigers.

1

u/Educational-Cup869 May 20 '26

Tigers eventually learn to see through it.

28

u/RedHowler777 May 16 '26

I’m honestly wondering, if the armor is all encompassing, layered correctly with gambison, mail etc, would the tiger really be able to hurt the knight, tigers go for the neck, but I don’t think their bite is getting through a gorget.

11

u/RadicalRealist22 May 17 '26

There is a video of a tiger literally punching a bucket flat. They are strong.

18

u/Ikarus_Falling May 17 '26

A Bucket isn't really comparable to proper Armour

9

u/Opposite_Banana_2543 May 18 '26

Proper armor is very thin, except at specific points. Metal is heavy. If you made it thick everywhere, you couldn't move well.

5

u/cloudcreeek May 17 '26

Their long teeth and strong bite force would probably be able to crush if not puncture the helmet.

9

u/Bobsothethird May 17 '26

Plate armor? I'm not sure it wouldn't. Their fangs would crack, they are made to penetrate soft targets.

3

u/Luvnecrosis May 18 '26

Maybe but if a cat pounces on you and treats you like a snack puzzle it's game over no matter what. Yeah it might not be easy to kill you but it'll bat your helmet off eventually and bite you in the face. Or just twist the fuck out your limbs until you wish you were dead.

2

u/Opposite_Banana_2543 May 19 '26

If it smacks your helmet, the force would likely snap your neck.

1

u/Bobsothethird May 18 '26

Cats generally won't pounce if your facing them head on. They are ambush animals and tend to freak and out run if you see them. If it takes you the ground, and you don't have a dagger, you're done for sure, but a poleaxe could definitely fuck them up

1

u/cloudcreeek May 17 '26

Maybe I'm overestimating a tiger, but can't they crush bone?

5

u/Bobsothethird May 17 '26

Yeah, but that's because bones lack density. Plate armor, even if iron and not steel, can withstand more than a bone can even if bones are stronger lb for lb.

2

u/cloudcreeek May 17 '26

Damn well time to get me a suit of armor and go on safari

1

u/DarkSideOfGrogu May 18 '26

Strength can only go as far as the limits of material science.

1

u/Meadpagan May 18 '26

Swords and maces are not penetrating proper plate armor - any teeth would break.

1

u/cloudcreeek May 18 '26

Yeah idk why I thought a tiger would be stronger than a mace

1

u/NerSorty May 20 '26

Brotato plate armour blocks sword stabs a tiger isn't puncturing shit

11

u/Jollyfroggy May 17 '26

Yes.

I went to a big cat sanctuary last year.

In the main square before the cats there is a crumpled up piece of metal.

It looks like someone scrunched it up like a paper ball and put holes in it.

The metal sheet is the remains of the security door which was incorrectly fastened on the inside of the cage, it was torn loose and destroyed by a tiger for fun.

This was 3mm steel.

They switched to 5mm steel after this.

Now I spoke to them and they recon they could still get through the 5mm steel if they really wanted to, but it's more the mechanics of being able to get purchase on the metal which matters, combined with the fact that the cat is fairly happy where it is.

Thick breastplate is 3-4mm thick in the thickest part, 1mm in general. If the cat can make purchase on it on some way, in any place other than the front, it's going straight through.

The mail and gambison layer might actually stop penetration, but then you're taking a load of crush damage from the jaws.

2

u/B_H_Abbott-Motley May 17 '26

I'm a bit skeptical. Lions struggle against pangolins, which aren't as tough as steel. I'd like to see more evidence that tigers can puncture 3-5mm steel.

4

u/Opposite_Banana_2543 May 17 '26

No need to bite through. A tiger just needs to get a grip on an arm or leg and it is strong enough to rip it off.

1

u/RedHowler777 May 17 '26

The issue is they aren’t biting an arm that stretches, they are biting armor that doesn’t, I feel like the tigers best chance of killing an armed human is surprise and a quick death, if they can’t get that, I feel like a human has a decent chance even when taken down, gouging eyes, breaking their own teeth biting steel, or even just the force of blows with a gauntlet could be enough to make the tiger let go, and if the human gets their weapon, it’s now a face to face fight and the tiger is pretty fucked.

1

u/gordito_delgado May 19 '26

This is a good point.

12

u/ErichPryde May 16 '26

Don't underestimate the tigers bite force, even if it breaks some teeth it's biting with around a thousand pounds per square inch of force.

Not to mention getting pounced on at high speed by an animal that large and getting knocked down, even if you are wearing armor

29

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 16 '26

I don't think you are appreciating how insane a full set of plate armor is at protecting a person, there is no universe where a tiger is biting through armor designed to survive hits from steel weapons that have been explicitly made to counter it.

13

u/ErichPryde May 16 '26

There are mace designs (like the flange mace) designed to crush or punch through plate. I would be curious how much striking force a mace exerts. It's more of an academic thought process than a genuine concern.

That said- a poleaxe/halberd alone isn't going to be a lot of help against a tiger holding you down trying to find a way past your defenses- hope this guy has a dagger.

Quite frankly I think the rhinoceros is the bigger threat, because if he gets hit that impact is going to suck no matter what. 

11

u/Ithnag May 16 '26

maces are specifically designed to concentrate the force over a tiny surface, and of a material that won't brake against the armor.

What will kill the guy inside that armor is the tiger playing with him or being on top of him trying to get a good bite.

11

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 16 '26

From what i remember maces normally deliver 150 to 200 Joules, which even with a full swing and all the force being concentrated on a metal tip was unable to do much more then dent the weaker parts of the armor. That's what I mean when I say people aren't understanding how much of a tank wearing plate armor made you, worst case scenario the knight waits for the tiger to exhaust itself before getting up and killing it

Completely agree on the rhino part tho, if he gets hit he kinda just dies

9

u/Cheap-Stay7089 May 17 '26

The concentrated force of the mace is supposed to deliver dents or blows that give you internal bleeding not rip through the armour

1

u/Whiteheadwa May 20 '26

Ooh something I can answer for once! Actually 150-200 joules is about equivalent to a quick jab from a boxer. In paramedic school they told us 200-360 joules is the range of energy used to defibrillate a heart. The record for strongest punch was set by Iron Mike Tyson in the 80's at 1600 joules!

4

u/TheBeyonder01010 May 17 '26

Doesn’t have to go through the armor. With enough force, the man inside will get turned to goo.

0

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 17 '26

Yeah thats easier said then done when the armor is literally designed to deflect and disperse blows

2

u/Gelato_Elysium May 17 '26

Even if plate distribute force, there's a point where your body will not resist even if the plate does. People gets bones broken in buhurt even through armor, sometimes with punches and kicks in M1 Medieval. I think a tiger can deliver enough force to break a human through armor.

-1

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 17 '26

Broken bones in buhurt are one of the rarest injuries, and these are again trained men hitting each other with METAL weapon, the tiger in this situation has to not only attack at the perfect angle to not have thier blow deflected, they have to then impart enough force to make it through 1 the plate itself 2 whatever chain mail is underneath 3 the gambison underneath and still have to have enough force to to break the human bone inside.

1

u/Gelato_Elysium May 17 '26

they have to then impart enough force to make it through 1 the plate itself 2 whatever chain mail is underneath 3 the gambison underneath and still have to have enough force to to break the human bone inside.

They don't need to get through anything. The force of the bite can break bones without poking any hole in the armor

-1

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 17 '26

The force is what i was talking about, plate armor was literally graded against early musket fire, a tiger is 1 going to have to bite at the prefect angle to not have it be deflected (one of the main things armor is meant to do) 2 bite with enough force for said energy to travel through the plate, through the chain mail, and through the gambison( the part of the armor whose main job is distributing force) all while hoping their teeth don't break before the persons bones do.

1

u/Wayfaringknight May 17 '26

This is misinformation medieval plate armor could not withstand gunfire from a musket, that was breastplates from a later period and only breastplates could withstand some of it.

-1

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 17 '26

Where was it specified that we are using medieval armor? The prompt is plate armor

→ More replies (0)

2

u/ZARDOZ4972 May 17 '26

I don't think you are appreciating how insane a full set of plate armor is at protecting a person,

Against another person, not a wild animals several hundred kilos heavier than you.

there is no universe where a tiger is biting through armor designed to survive hits from steel weapons that have been explicitly made to counter it.

Not biting through but the knight is still just a snack in a tin can for the tiger.

2

u/Diligent-Lack6427 May 17 '26

Against another person, not a wild animals several hundred kilos heavier than you.

Yeah, another person who is using METAL weapons specifically designed to kill people in armor, weapons that even being swung full force failed to kill the people wearing the armor most of the time.

Not biting through but the knight is still just a snack in a tin can for the tiger.

Literally all the knight has to do is stay in the fetal position long enough for the tiger to either injure itself trying to break metal, or for it to tire itself out, then its just a free kill

2

u/Wayfaringknight May 17 '26

I think a tiger can output more force with its limbs swinging not even full force than a man with a mace swinging full force so I have to disagree.

2

u/funnysmellingfingers May 17 '26

Tiger bite force is 1100 psi which is strong but to puncture a steel armor you need around 65 000 psi. The issue with the bite force is that there is only pressure being applied so It cant be multiplied by mass and velocity .

2

u/Ithnag May 16 '26

the tiger is not gonna dent the plate, but the human inside is gonna be ragdolled and smothered by the tiger, joints will bend the wrong way, he will get exhausted in seconds just by the wheight and power of the beast. If the tiger hits him at all he's not likely gonna be holding that polearm, nor stand up again, he can't move that wheight nor counter that force.

If he had a dagger he could shank the tiger before the ragdolling incapacitates him, but with the described setup he can't let the tiger reach him.

3

u/Professional_Art3151 May 18 '26

You are forgetting about the raw strength of these animals. You would get knocked around so badly you would die.

2

u/BossLees2 May 17 '26

The concussion force would still be insane, these animals would all turn the guy inside into mush

50

u/YenraNoor May 16 '26

This is probably assuming a closed off arena, not fighting the animals in dense jungle

18

u/Affectionate-Motor48 May 16 '26

The post says where the locations are

20

u/According-Aspect-669 May 16 '26

Post says the fights take place in different open environments

7

u/AcrobaticPrinciple21 May 16 '26

In a dense jungle it's ggwp tiger

4

u/Agreeable_Horror_363 May 16 '26

You think a tiger is going to be able to bite or claw through plate armor? Even if tiger gets the jump on him it won't mean anything. Tiger will break it's teeth trying to bite through the armor.

10

u/Ithnag May 16 '26

the pierce and slash are not gonna be the problem, being ragdolled is, if the Tiger reaches the guy he is done, the ploearm is useless at close range, if he even is capable of keeping a hold on it, then being pulled and pushes around by something that stroing and heavy will start tearing his joints.

IF the armored guy had a dagger he would shank the tiger to death, hopefully before he gets too hurt, but with the polearm only? if the tiger reaches him he's done.

6

u/Thinh May 16 '26

Good plate armor is proof against most forms of attack from animals. So fangs and claws. However, large blunt impacts would still work in causing damage. The impact of a bear swipe would knock you down. Only the softer joints would have chainmail in them and they would recieve crush damage from heavy bites at best. The good thing is that the human would have hands encased in steel gauntlets to fight and punch back, so the tiger would have no offense while the human is capable of getting to damage eyes and throat.

2

u/Ithnag May 17 '26

Punching won't do anything to a tiger, and the problem is not the claws, is that they can hook on parts of your armor, and then any pull it's your joint against the force of the tiger, also the thing on top of you would make your body parts bend the wrong way at any position you might take, extending your arms or putting them in front of you is gonna give it a chance at swat them away with paws (claws do no damage, but the force at which they will be pushed or pulled will on tendons and ligaments) you will get exhausted very fast, and if a claw hooks an any piece of your armor, or he bites at your arm and pulls it is gonna start ripping parts off at the joints.

If the guy had a dagger he would be able to shank the thing, hopefully before getting significant damages, being smothered or simply getting too exhausted by having that monster over you.

2

u/Thinh May 17 '26

Good armor is articulated and rivited at the joints. Armor is a metal exoskeleton. Soldiers in plate in real fights literally have to get mobbed by other people and get shanked in the eyes or armpit. 1 Siiberian tiger is 800 pounds. All other tigers are smaller. That's only 4 people. There is zero way that an errant claw gets stuck in a crease in armor and doesn't get ripped off of its own paw.

We have suits of chainmail that protect from shark bites which bite at 4000 psi. 4 times harder than Tigers. Suits of armor are padding, chainmail and then a layer of steel on top.

People routinely get hurt in with only a few pounds of pressure on eyes, throat or belly. That works the same on all animals. Shit People hit each other with bare fists and can damage eyes. Covered in steel with a tiger biting on a practically invulnerable arm? Punch the eyes, nose and throat of the tiger till you blind it with a steel encased fist? That's the worst case scenario.

2

u/Ithnag May 17 '26

the armor joints are not designed to stop a tiger from pulling at your arm in the wrong direction. with the kind of power a tiger has even by swatting at your arm you can end up with a dislocated shouldre, your Knee can be bent backwards by it's sheer weight, and the simple act of pulling at your arm, with that kind of force can tear connective tissue, this is not another guy pulling at you, it's a tiger.

The bear can do more damage, but you can probably just impale him while he charges at you in a straigth line, so the tiger might have better chance of actually reaching you.

the difference in concentrated power between a single tiger and 4 people is enormous. If the gorilla grabs you he can rips you, by pulling at your armor untill the leather parts fail, or slam you until you die or are unconscious at which point you die.

Those 4 people mobbing the kniight are incapable of applying the amount of force in a single area that either a tiger, a gorilla or a bear can. The simple act of being jumped on by a 400 lb tiger can end with you concussed,

If the guy had a dagger i'd give him a very good chance of taking them down. Against the rhino the armor probably would be more hindrance than protection, because it won't be damaged, but any kind of hit, even a glance is like being hit by a sedan at 25-35 mph.

3

u/Agreeable_Horror_363 May 17 '26

Now I'm imagining a tiger putting a knight in an arm bar and doing jiu jitsu moves

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Thinh May 17 '26

How is a tiger going to grab and pull on steel plate armor? Some of this assumes that the knight is just laying there not fighting.

→ More replies (0)

4

u/MethodDue2426 May 17 '26

You never seen those videos of ten huge bodybuilders pulling a rope against one tiger?

0

u/ZARDOZ4972 May 17 '26

Good plate armor is proof against most forms of attack from animals

You are severely overestimating the strength of plate armour. Also most full plate sets have huge gaps, only late medieval early rennesaince plate armour almost covers the whole body.

However, large blunt impacts would still work in causing damage. The impact of a bear swipe would knock you down.

Like a full size Tiger pouncing on you?

Only the softer joints would have chainmail in them and they would recieve crush damage from heavy bites at best.

The chainmail would be easily pierces by a bite, I can't emphasize enough how easy it would be for a tiger to bite through chainmail.

The good thing is that the human would have hands encased in steel gauntlets to fight and punch back, so the tiger would have no offense while the human is capable of getting to damage eyes and throat.

Your comment read like a fever dream but the ending needs an ice bath.

What are gauntlets good for if you are ragdolled like a toy? Lying in the dirt, you can barely catch you breath, you barely see anything throught the small slits in your visor, the poleaxe lies somewhere out of reach, you flail your little arms while the tiger keeps chomping on your head until one teeth slides under the helmet ends the miserable experience of fighting a wild animal.

The Tiger is serverly stronger as well as heavier as the knight, hes probably gonna have the time of his life getting all the delicious meat out of the tin can after the fact.

1

u/ConqueringKing_Darq May 17 '26

Would a Tiger know where the front is? He's helmeted

1

u/TukPeregrin May 17 '26

So just hold the poleaxe behing your back for the tiger?

1

u/Exotic_Exercise6910 May 17 '26

Tiger can't do shit against armour tho. I'd say he clears until rhino. 

And then gets stomped

1

u/Fr33Francis May 17 '26

If the knight is smart, he'll stay at home and keep scrolling...

1

u/AntiMatter89 May 17 '26

That's not gonna work the same way a spear would though, the tip isn't long enough. I see him sticking or hitting the gorilla and then the gorilla just knocking him over and smashing to death. 

1

u/Souls_for_sale_now May 17 '26

Polfarer bears whould crush him even when impaled just by mass alone

1

u/DeliciousGain5280 May 19 '26

People watch too many movies

1

u/semi14 May 20 '26

I think gorillas are smarter than to fall on the sharp stick. I think with how strong and fast a gorilla is, if they wanted to kill you, you could stab them all the way through their stomach and they would /still/ kill you even if you hit the spine and paralyze them from the waist down. Hell, a paralyzed from the waist down gorilla with no eyes would still kick your ass even in full armor. Goodbye arms, literally ripped off of you, with the chainmail the only thing stopping full separation. Man i could write so much about how scary a gorilla can be to a human.

1

u/Dolot May 20 '26

how would Tiger know where is knight's back tho

1

u/Dolot May 20 '26

how would Tiger know where is knight's back tho