| Actually, it's that a normal (hunting) arrow could, in theory, penetrate plate at a 90 degree angle at mid range (power of an arrow increased through short range; it's not like a bullet where it is always most powerful at the point of firing) but bodkins were designed to get through plate; the curvature often didn't help and they could slice through chain and ring like nothing...
Once armour continued to be developed, of course, the effectiveness of bodkins continued to wane. This is assuming an early stage of plate armour... |