How I do combat, and also house-rules for gear.

That's right, more of my Lamentations of the Flame Princess house rules. One of these days I should probably actually gather them all up in one place.
By and large, monsters and enemies will use these just as much as PCs. If you're fighting a human soldier, don't be surprised if they use these options to get an edge. 

Combat Options

Rather than the combat options listed in the book, every character can use the following options. As well as fighters themselves, if  a class gets access to fighter combat options in core LotFP, then they count as a fighter when using these options.

• Flurry - you get +2 to hit, and -4 armour class. If you're a fighter instead get +2 to hit and -2 armour class. Only usable in close combat. 
• Back Up - you get -4 to hit, and +2 armour class. If you're a fighter, instead you get -2 to hit and +2 armour class. Only usable in close combat.
• Go for the Throat - you get -2 to hit and -2 armour class, but deal +2 damage, or +4 damage if you're a fighter. This even works on enemies without throats, so long as you can explain where the Weak Spot is that you're hitting for Massive Damage.
• Parry - you don't get to make an attack, and spend your entire action defending yourself. +4 armour class, or +6 if you're a fighter. 
• Aim - you skip your action this turn to get +4 to hit with a ranged weapon next turn, or +6 to hit if you're a fighter.
• Sneak Attack - make a Sneak Attack skill roll. If you succeed, your attack deals damage directly to flesh. To do this, you actually need a way to get the drop on your enemy - shooting from a hidden position, no sign that you're armed, etc.

Hands

If you have a second weapon in your off-hand, get +1 to hit with close-combat attacks. No, you don't get multiple attacks for duel-wielding, it just gets easier to land a blow. If you've got a pistol in both hands, you can also do this - firing both (meaning you use up ammunition and will need to reload) gives you +1 to hit, as its likely something will hit.

If you've got a shield, buckler, cloak (of cloak-and-dagger fame) or similar parrying item in your off-hand, get +1 to your AC. If it's a shield, you get an extra +1 to your AC against arrows, thrown weapons and so on.

If both hands are on your weapon, get +1 damage.

Initiative

Use group initiative unless there's a compelling reason not to. The group's initiative roll is modified by the best Dexterity modifier in the group. 

Gear

Assume a silver standard - prices may be converted down from gold if a supplement assumes a gold standard.

Use the firearms and related equipment from the back of the book, but not the historic armour given. 

If you can't afford a spell-book, you can record your spells in a blank book. One book is enough for a spell. Alternatively, you can spend twice as much as for a blank book to have the spell inscribed onto something, such as tattooed onto your skin or carved into the interior of a wagon.

Wooden holy symbols can be made into a part of any wooden item. Likewise steel holy symbols into any steel item and silver ones into any silver item. Yes, you can have a wooden stake that's also a holy symbol if you really, really hate vampires. Doing this costs double, but makes the item non-encumbering and means you don't need a free hand to brandish it.
Ignore the armour types listed (other than shields) and instead use the rules for armour given later.

You can buy bucklers, but only in the city. They cost 5 SP, and give you +1 armour class but don't give you the extra AC versus missiles.

Specialist's Tools are split up into surgeon's tools, artist's tools, thieves tools, and engineer's tools. All cost the same, specify which you're buying when you take them. They cover basically everything you'd need for the profession given. If you can think of something else you ought to have a tool kit for, it's probably doable.

You can (and probably should) have everybody in the group cash in a bit towards buying some sort of transport for you all.

Firearms

Firearms have no chance to misfire in normal conditions, because remembering to track that is fiddly. Instead, in moist conditions, matchlocks suffer -2 to hit and flintlocks -1. In very wet conditions, matchlocks suffer -4 to hit and flintlocks -2. Wheel-locks don't take penalties for the damp.

Rather than ignoring a certain amount of AC, firearms simply cap the enemy's AC at 16. (Similarly, Light and Heavy crossbows cap the enemy's armour at 18 and 16 respectively).
You can buy firearms that are crude. These cost half as much as normal and don't cap AC.

You can totally buy artillery pieces if you're rich enough, or pool your money with other players. However, turning up to a town with a big-ass cannon will cause its own problems, as will trying to fit one down a dungeon. 

Armour

So, I wanted to have mix-and-match armour as a thing. The early-modern armour in the back of the LotFP book is a step in this direction, but I wanted to take it a bit further. This way, you can have adventurers scavenging bits of armour here and there, and decking themselves out with a mixture of leather, chain and plate depending on what they can afford. 

It just feels cooler to say that you're kitted out with a brigandine, tassets, gauntlets and a sallet helmet than to say you're in chainmail, even though both are AC 16.

You don't buy armour in whole suits, you buy it in bits. Each bit of armour you wear improves your AC by 1. However, you can only have one bit of armour on a given body-part (your body parts, for this exercise, are the head, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, groin, legs, and feet). Better armour types cover less body parts meaning you can fit more on you for more protection.

The armour you wear counts towards the number of items you're carrying. The more heavily armoured you are, the more individual items you've got on. Ignore all that stuff about '+1 encumbrance if you're wearing chainmail', and just work out standard encumbrance.

Where you're wearing armour matters for things like attacks that target your head specifically; wearing armour on a given location might let you soak damage with your Grit rather than it going straight to your flesh.
You'll notice that all the leather armour costs as much as 'leather armour' in the core book, and gives the same protection (although it encumbers more, you can even wear it with a helmet!). Similarly, all the mail armour costs as much as chainmail in the core book and all the gothic plate costs as much as plate armour in the core book.
The pieces of armour available to you are:

Leather Armour

• Leather Jack. Worn on the shoulders, torso, and groin. Costs 10 SP in the city, or 20 SP in the country.
• Cuir Bouilli. Hardened pads and plates of boiled leather. Worn on the arms, legs, hands and feet. Costs 15 SP in the city, or 30 SP in the country.

Mail (or chain) Armour 

• Hauberk. A long shirt of chain armour. Worn on the torso and groin. Costs 25 SP in the city, or 50 SP in the country.
• Chauces. Mail worn on the legs and feet. Only available in the city, where it costs 30 SP.
• Voiders. Mail worn on the arms and hands. Only available in the city, where it costs 30 SP
• Mail Coif. Worn on the head and shoulders. Costs 15 SP in the city, or 30 SP in the country.

Partial Plate Armour

• Sallet. Worn on the head. Worth 25 SP in the city, or 50 SP in the country.
• Tassets. Worn on the groin and legs. Only available in the city, where it costs 40 SP.
• Pauldrons. Worn on the shoulders and arms. Only available in the city, where it costs 40 SP.
• Brigandine. Worn on the torso and shoulders. Only availible in the city, where it costs 40 SP.

Gothic Plate Armour

• Closed Helm. Worn on the head. Worth 75 SP in the city.
• Spaulders. Plate armour worn on the shoulders. Only available in the city, where it's worth 150 SP.
• Cuirass. A breastplate and backlpate. Worn on the Torso. Only available in the city, where it's worth 350 SP.
• Cuisses. Worn on the groin. Only available in the city, where it's worth 175 SP.
• Greaves. Worn on the legs. Worth 100 SP in the city, or 125 SP in the country. 
• Vambraces. Worn on the arms. Worth 100 SP in the city, or 125 SP in the country.
• Gauntlets. Worn on the hands. Only available in the city, where it's worth 50 SP.
• Sabatons. Worn on the feet. Only available in the city, where it's worth 50 SP.