Life expectancy of clothing? (In game)

[Hand of Evil]

You have a player that has had Boots of Speed for a number of levels, that has taken him thousands of miles through the harshes of conditions. You have another with a Cloak of Protection that has seen battles and a number of tavern fights and fire.

At what point do you as a DM say; "It no longer functions and time to send it to the Savage Orken Army?

 

[arwink]

After they roll a 1 on a savaing throw vs fireball.

I figure, for the most part, magic clothing holds up pretty well.

 

[Umbran]

If the clothing is magic, it holds up. Just as a magical weapon won't be physically harmed by contact with non-magical objects short of the forge, neither will magical clothing have mundane wear and tear problems.

Mundane degradation of magical clothing may seem to make sense, and be realistic, but it doesn't make a great part of a story. Conan doesnt worry that walking across the plains is gonna wear a hole in the sole of his sandals. Neither should the PCs.

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

I'd like to play a manga-style game in which clothes are always the first casualty in any battle: the drow swordswoman's slash cuts through the belt of the handsome paladin: will he provoke an AoO as he tries to keep his pants up, or fight heroically in the buff? The dragon's breath weapon vaporizes the robes of the elven sorceress, forcing her to make a Concentration check to try to cast and modestly cover herself with her hands at the same time!

Barring that, though, I'd say clothes last forever. After all, it's a fantasy game, and one of the core fantasies is living in a world where you could wear your T-shirt from Jethro Tull's Beast and the Broadsword tour every day and it would never fade.

 

[Dthamilaye]

This is an old story, but I'll just make a reminder.

When a player fails a saving throw versus area spell, part of his magical stuff needs to make a save. However, ALL normal clothing is gone at that moment.

Now the $1000 question: What part of clothing does not appear in any form of magical equipment?

..
..
..

Yeah. Pants.

 

[Henry]

My favorite phrase a DM once used: "Sorry, but you don't have time to get your clothing on before the dragon attacks. You either need to take several rounds to get on some trousers, or grab your sword and go into battle with everything swingin'."

Generally, I make references to clothing that's gone shabby, getting repairs on their cloaks, tunics, or buying new, etc. when in town. However, mostly it's for color, and we don't spend much time on it.

 

[fusangite]

D&D does not permit a lot of flexibility when it comes to wear and tear on magical clothing. The conditions under which magic items degrade are pretty clearly spelled-out.

Also, there is some strong influence from Tolkien and other traditions that what a magic item is, in essence, is something made supernaturally well. That the superlative quality of manufacture is what makes it magical.

In my world, magic items do not wear out unless
(a) they have charges
(b) the rules spell out that they need to make a saving throw

 

[Sir Elton]

I had a Morrowind Mod in which clothing suffered wear and tear during a fight. now, I think it would be very embarrassing if one fights furiously, and one's opponent strips the character. It would be cool, however, if the PCs had an adversary that would only strip them and then run away; laughing.

It would be a cruel joke if the PC had strong reservations about modesty being based on clothing.

 

[AuraSeer]

I'd like to play a manga-style game in which clothes are always the first casualty in any battle

You can do that now. Knock does not allow a saving throw.

 

[Tonguez]

I'm getting images in my head of all those 70's cartoons (Modesty Blaise et al) in which the heroine ends up with her shirt ripped and skirt off just before she (in her underwear) lays the whoopass on the now distracted enemy