Are you a "Walking Thrift shop", or an "Adventurer"

[Deadguy]

I can't help thinking that those of you who are shocked, nay appalled, at the idea that characters might be concerned about their appearance are focussing a little to much on the campaign as an...ummm... game. As a DM I'm delighted if someone engages with my campaign enough to care about their character's appearance. I recently had a Wizard spend several hundred gps buying an entirely mundane robe of sumptuous design, just so he could look good. It's already paid off - he used the colours of his magical school and he impressed the local master. This is the same Wizard who made is bodyguard a magical tabard that would clean and repair itself, so he'd look good around people. Attention to detail like this indicates a degree of character conceptualisation which we ought to encourage.

Or so I reckon. Clearly others' mileage does vary!

 

[drnuncheon]

Dead on, Deadguy!

I'm rather frightened to see all of these "*gasp* Actual roleplaying? They don't deserve to live!" messages, and I really hope I don't wind up in any of their games.

J

 

[ksignorini]

I've had my characters turn down items (or trade them with other characters' items) due to "how well" they go with the character.

Imagine, for a moment, a character who is afraid of mice and their ilk using something equivalent to a good old Cloak of the Bat. It just wouldn't be in character.

And of course, a character played as a cat burgler would certainly have no interest in anything that would/could give them away at night while burgling, non?

I think it's important for my players to make those decisions for their characters (when I DM) as it truly does add to the role playing of our fine RPG.

But heaven forbid roleplaying at the D&D table.

Oh, and to take an item simply because it's so powerful that it couldn't be refused, to me is more munchkin than the character making an actual decision about an item and its worth to that character. Oh, but that's roleplaying again...

Kent!

 

[HeavyG]

Poly any object?

That works. Actually, it's great for maximizing your item slots usage.

 

[Hikaru]

Don't give out as many magic items but upgrade the ones which are part of them. Heroes in stories seldom jungle between magic items anyway; very often, the name of their trusted sword is as famous as they are.

The sword is part of the character, part of his or her legend; they should progress together.

 

[Nifft]

"My outfit clashes with itself? Pardon me, I dressed by Darkvision."

-- Nifft

 

[ThoughtBubble]

I don't think I'd ever ofer an easy solution to this. It's fun watching them have to make the choice.... It's perfect armor for the dwarf, but it's pink.... Perfect stats... no self respecting dwarf would ever wear it. Decisions, decisions. Of course, I'd only do this in a game where it matters to the players. However, putting this sort of thing in starts to bring in a little more awareness and fun into the game (leastways it has in my campaign).

Besides, the basic idea of an 'adventurer' in my mind is someone wearing patched armor, taken from several suits, a clashing cloak, and some headgear that's obviously several hundred years old. When they have the time to worry about looking good, they're trancending my definition of the pure ol adventurer shell. Not that that's bad.

 

[Arnwyn]

The majority of the PCs in my campaign would not wear things that make them look bad. But then, in my campaign, reputation is pretty important, as are looks and style. Even if that clown mask granted you mind blank you would not want the effects it had on your reputation.

IMC, it really depends on the characters. However, to be perfectly honest, most of the time my players feel much like what Fenes 2 puts forth, above.

And, as DM, I often do not make it easy for them. When Thag the Fighter wears his "tiara of combat reflexes" and his "prancing ballet shoes of balance", he gets mercilessly mocked when hanging around other adventurers... some of the characters (and their players!) don't appreciate this.

 

[buzzard]

Dead on, Deadguy!

I'm rather frightened to see all of these "*gasp* Actual roleplaying? They don't deserve to live!" messages, and I really hope I don't wind up in any of their games.

J

Ahh yes, it is only roleplaying if you are fashion coordinated- not if you are trying to use some wonderous equipment which might keep you alive. Feh.

In a life or death situation, which some of you might have noticed is the norm for adventurers, you care about functionality, not appearance.

When one is jaunting around town, without apparent threats, sure the character can try to have a distinct image. However, delving in dungeons, or mixing it up on battlefields is not the place to be fashion conscious.

Role playing is not an excuse for acting stupid (though it is often used as such).

Though my point, which apparently escaped people, was that magic items should not be so commonplace, and humdrum that anyone would refuse them simply because they clash with an image.

buzzard

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

To some degree, this is common and inevitable. In one Living Greyhawk game I played (we were 3rd level at the time), the party destroyed an item that gave +4 to concentration checks because it was a holy symbol of Iuz. There wasn't anything spiritually wrong with the item--it didn't radiate evil--but no-one in the party was going to go walking around in the Theocracy of the Pale (our homeland) with that. In another adventure, my character found a helm that enables him to talk with insects 1/day. It spends most of its time in his Haversack and he only puts it on if he needs to talk to insects.

However, I think that other aspects of it are exaggerated. Why, for instance, would someone make a gold and diamond tiara that granted combat reflexes? If it's not designed to look manly, was it designed for the female bodyguards of some ancient queen? The point I'm making is that, to a great degree, magic items are designed to be functional and they're designed to be functional for specific kinds of people. It's unlikely that someone would make a sword that turned a powdery baby pink color or that someone would put an intelligence enhancing magic into a steel helm. (After all, it's primarily useful to wizards--who don't wear armor as a rule--and secondarily useful to rulers-- who don't usually wear full helms while sitting in the hall of justice--and in all cases is the kind of bonus that a character would want to have active all day--and (unlike headbands) helms are uncomfortable to wear all day and innappropriate to wear on many occasions).