Cloaks, rings, robes, hats, bucklers, and codpieces.

[Jolly Giant]

The five players I DM all have their distinctive views on character dress codes:

There's the guy who always plays either an elven wizard or a low-int paladin. Either way, his PCs are always dressed to impress: Silk clothes, plenty of jewelry etc. More than once I've seen him refuse to wear a magic item (robe, cloak etc.) because it didn't look good enough.

Then there's the guy generally plays a rogue. He doesn't want to look good, he wants to look cool! He always come up with some rather outrê outfits for his characters, and can frequently be heard sayin "image is everything" during gaming sessions.

A third guy is usually the tank of the party, playing either a barbarian or fighter (or a multi-classed brb/ftr). He just wants to look savage, and scary and intimidating. Lately though, he's developed a taste for the bard class, so things might change...

The fourth guy used to ALWAYS play dwarf fighters, but has lately started playing dwarven clerics instead. As long as his clothes and equipment are functional and more or less clean, he doesn't care too much about how he looks.

Finally, there's my soon-to-be wife. She wants to try a new class or race every time she rolls up a new character. All of them have this in common, though: They don't give a hoot about how they look! She's the one who is no rush to wash off after a sewer crawl... She'll go naked if her clothes are somehow lost or destroyed. She usually puts a lot of effort into making herself a comfortable and good-looking home to hole up in between adventures, though...

 

[Falkus]

think the problem with clothes in D&D is that they usually become forgotten immediately after the game itself starts. You may lovingly choose your outfit during character creation, but when the action goes on, who addresses his own outfit or can tell what any of the other players' characters are wearing?

What do you call a person with 200,000 GP worth of magic items and one set of clothes? An adventurer.

 

[Kid Socrates]

Two games, same universe. In one game, the players hardly talk about their character's clothes at all, to the point of me not remembering at all what they have. In the other game, they're very particular about what their characters have on, and I'm using that to my advantage, as for the last fight, half their weapons and Defense-boosting paraphenalia was still in the first train car, so what was supposed to be an easy fight became much harder and more memorable.

I don't know if it would do much for the first party, but the second one enjoys detailing what they're in. I enjoy it as it makes for more vivid imagery, but I also enjoy the first game for not having a potentially bogged-down detail.

Kinda weird, how that works.

As a PC, lately I've been trying to go more into what my characters wear. It's easier in a modern game than a D&D game. Apparently cargo pants aren't plentiful in Eberron. Who knew?

 

[domino]

Don't forget, Codpieces were once used as storage for coins and the like.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

You're always getting into fights with slimy monsters in nasty environments. You're going to get smudged with soot, your clothes will be stained with your own blood, and slashing is not uncommon.

IMO adventurers should adventure in regular clothes and have casual clothes for other circumstances. I rarely see anyone play nobility or other characters who are expected to "show" their wealth. (All your money goes to magic items anyway.)

 

[Steverooo]

Heh! If D&D were AT ALL realistic, you'd either die, or hafta get yer clothes replaced after EVERY adbenture! (Can you imagine how many holes the average adventurer's suit of cloth armor has in it?!?)

 

[domino]

Of course, were DnD realistic, nobody would be able to wear armor taken off of another character, people would need to make fort saves after a few days in the dungeon against crotch rot, lice, and other common side effects of wearing clothes for a long time with no bathing...

 

[eris404]

Of course, were DnD realistic, nobody would be able to wear armor taken off of another character, people would need to make fort saves after a few days in the dungeon against crotch rot, lice, and other common side effects of wearing clothes for a long time with no bathing...

ewwwww....I'm so glad we just assume a normal level of hygiene in our games.

There are a few people in our group who care about what their characters wear. It doesn't come into play every session, but we have had NPCs consult with a PC due to her fashion sense. I also run a game set in Victorian England and one of the characters is very much an outsider (not an Outsider, just someone who doesn't understand the ways of polite society) and so I ask him what his character is wearing - and have NPCs treat him accordingly.

 

[Roadkill101]

I insist on my players having at least a rough description of the clothing their character wears. They can't run around in armor 24/7. I kick off most campaigns where the pc's don't know each other very well (if at all), and have the players introduce their characters with said description. So when or if it's necessary, the pc's have a description ready.