a good fighter can misjudge his timing and get hit. That hurts, and armor helps protect against pain, even if not loss. We do this for fun, not as an exercise in masochism. Well, most of us...
As for RQ, the reason for armor on arms, legs, whatever is simple - the hit location table. If you can be hit somewhere, you can take damage there. Take enough damage and you're dead. Ergo, armor everything as much as you can.
Without armor, an average sword blow will render the average arm useless. This makes it hard to make your own attacks. If you don't like arm armor in your campaigns, make a GM decision that it's not available, or culturally proper, or whatever. But don't be surprised if your players try to make their own, or invent it. Few players like having their PC's vulnerable, especially in a campaign heavy in adventuring.
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