Hello I just started UO after some other MMORPGS and i have a few questions about different things. first off, exactly what is the difference between plate armor and leather armor? is there something different behind the stats? or is it entirely possible to get a piece of leather and have better stats then plate.
secondly, I enjoy rping and was wondering if there was an actual shard for rp'ers or if you just have to find people to rp with on any server.
thanks much.

Head over to the shard forum area, I'm sure the folks posting for your shard will inform you about RPing on thier shard. Unlike other games, most shards have a mix of everything, except of course Siege Perilous & Mugen neither have a Trammel side and abide by a different set of rules. One needs to lose thier "Young" tag before the Siege/Mugen option will show.

I'll let those more knowledgable about armor to explain the difference.

PS ~ Welcome to UOForums!

Welcome to UO and UOForums!

I can't really help you on the RP scene, I just like to go monster bashing.

There is very little inherent difference in leather vs metal armor. Most leather will allow you to actively meditate (studded leather won't), and metal armor will not allow you to actively meditate. UNLESS it has the 'mage armor' property. Then you can meditate no matter what it is made from. The properties seem a bit screwy to me because it is very easy to get higher protection from leather. You need to look at the armor ratings as well as the properties (hit chance, defense chance etc...). You can work your way up to better armor as your increase skills and the monster difficulty.

If you just started I would highly recommend you head over to the desert in Tokuno and start killing beetle hatchlings, rabbits, and orcs. They are running a quick scenario (supposedly 2 weeks) and any kill has the chance of giving minor artifacts. When you get 10 of the minor artifacts you can trade them in for a major artifact. (some very good weapons and armor) Collect a bunch of them and we can help you decide what to trade them in for later.

The best armor comes from crafters. Depending on the tool being used and the skill of the crafter, both metal and leather armor can be awesome. Just remember that if you use mana you want to have "mage armor" so that you can meditate and regenerate your mana. Leather armor is crafted using barbed runic sewing kits and alternately, nice metal armor can be made with smith hammers recieved from bod rewards, the best being a valorite hammer. It is also possible to craft good wooden armor with the new mondains legacy elven materials using a dovetail runic saw; which is awarded for doing certain quests in Heartwood, the elven city in the middle of Yew. If you are looking for some good armor I recommend starting a crafting related thread question thread and you will get a lot of good info as there are lots of crafters on these forums.

As stated the basic difference in the types of armor is based on regenerating Mana. So it may or may not make a difference to you depending on your character and skill set...

As far as RP goes, there are many on each shard, some having more than others. I think that most would argue that Europa shard has the highest population of RPers, but no matter where you go, Im sure youll find them.

I'll second this suggestion; Tuka means specifically Makoto-Jima island in the Tokuno Island chain, and the desert known as the Waste there. The Deathwatch Beetle Hatchlings are plentiful and not hard to kill, and if you take an empty mage spellbook and necro spellbook and a pouch with you, in a few hours you will have the first three circles of Mage spells, many of the necro spells, and a full bag of magery reagents. You will also boost your fighting skills wonderfully.

There is indeed a special event going on in the Tokuno Islands, even lowly creatures such as Deathwatch Beetle Hatchlings can drop minor artifacts into your backpack. Many of these can be combined to give you a nice set of fighting armor: Ancient Do, Daimyo's Helm, Arms of Tactical Excellence, and Legs of Stability all combine to make a nice matched set. I'd hesitate as a new player to turn them in, because the rate is 1:10, 10 minor items being required to receive a major item, and frankly we can't rely on the event to continue for more than a few more days, unless the devs do as they did in a previous year and extend the event. So I'd concentrate on trying to get as many minors as possible and bank them, and wait to redeem them, because they can be redeemed at any time, even after the event ends.

Welcome to the UOForums XxCrimsonKnight,and welcome to Ultima Online.

There is roleplay on most shards and most shards are represented here on these forums.

Which shard do you actually play on at the moment?

As for rp, it depends upon the shard you choose. RP communities are usually not overwhelmingly large, and it sometimes takes a bit of looking to find them. Europa, as mentioned above, has a large rp population. Catskills used to be known for rp, I am not so certain anymore. Atlantic, and Pacific have active rp communities. Lake Superior and Chessy have a bit. When you choose a shard, post on the shard forums for fellow rpers. They are out there. I would avoid the very small population shards though (Origin, Lake Austin, Legends) as there usually isn't enough of a population for smaller communities to successfully exist within them.

thanks for the responses and for the answer to my first question, right now i'm currently on Baha (or baja i forget how it's spelled) but to get into the rp scene I am more then willing to switch. my char is far along and even though I have conflicting powers (chiv, necro) it seems to work out pretty well. i plan on sticking with this build as they go best with the background for my character, however if anyone has any suggestions for skills to take, im willing to listen to suggestions,

thanks again.

Check out the Pacific Roleplaying community

http://www.theprc.com/