D&D 5E (2014) Fluffs or Feats? Your re-skinning thread

[Azurewraith]

Yeah see I don't get this reply. What, exactly, do Clerics do that benefits from high Charisma? It's not like a Paladin, where literally every class feature that keys off an ability does so with Cha. The result is still a class that's MAD, wanting Wis and Cha instead of Wis and Str (or Wis and Dex). Also, if their "divine blessing" works like actual heavy armor, they get no bonus to AC from Dex--which is unlike any form of Unarmored Defense. (Presumably a suitably large "donation" to their church would be required to upgrade to better armor--and the best protection requires a substantial donation, say...1500 gp? )

I dont get it either i simply had a senior moment.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I dont get it either i simply had a senior moment.

No worries--remember that you weren't the only one who thought that!

 

[Kabouter Games]

For me, a feat really only needs to come into play when you want to do something that is more powerful than what you could otherwise do.

That's kind of the definition of "feat."

1. An act or accomplishment of great courage, skill, or imagination; an achievement.
2. Obsolete A specialized skill; a knack.

If the word-salad lets you do something beyond the ordinary, something special, it's a "feat." That's more than a re-fluff. It should cost the player more than merely renaming something. By the book, if you want to take a feat, your DM has to allow it and you sacrifice the ability-score increase. So if the proposed "fluff" becomes a "feat" a sacrifice is in order.

Fluffing ends when the numbers change. Everything up to that point is just deciding if you want green elves or blue elves.

This is my rule of thumb also.

"Fluff" is a 5e Samurai. There is no mechanical difference between a RAW Fighter and a Samurai. You just call their weapons and armour by different names. It's still a Fighter using longsword and bow, and wearing plate armour. It's just that you call them "katana," "yumi," and "Ō-yoroi." The numbers don't change. About the only mechanics-specific feature I'd consider disallowing is if the player wanted to take the Eldritch Knight archetype.

Things can get complicated when the numbers don't really change, but the mechanics - how the numbers work, what they accomplish - change.

Like the above-mentioned cleric's armor of faith and hand-mace, sure, you can have that, but you you have to give up something, too. Like no longer have any armor or weapon proficiencies at all. You want to hit the fire elemental, you can't just switch weapons; you have to touch it with your bare hand. I think I'd also want them to give up more, like some spell availability, maybe restrict the domains they can access to one or two, but that's a discussion for another time/place.

There's already a workable substitute for armor - Shield of Faith. Works with DEX, too. But it burns a spell slot. I'd be okay with that. That's a sacrifice - to get the AC you want, you have to A. burn a spell slot, and B. possibly burn your first action in combat to cast it. Those are the cons. On the "pro" side, you get a free "cantrip" which causes 1d8+WIS bludgeoning and radiant damage which you inflict by touch. It's at least an attempt at balancing within the class itself, not really re-skinning or even fluffing anything.

 

[Uchawi]

The more options that are present in the game will present more options to change fluff. So if you compare a fighter versus a wizard, then the wizard has more opportunities to re-use abilities (change fluff) for different purposes. That is true even if you grant feats. The capability to change fluff is a constant, just like any one can roleplay, or any character can buy equipment.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

A big advantage of the Unarmored Defense is that they can't ever lose their armor.

But to develop a character like you're describing is a bit more than re-skinning fluff as you are mixing and matching different abilities. I'd need to know more as to how this ties into the campaign, at which point there would undoubtedly be others that have the same abilities.

For example, in the Forgotten Realms it could be the basis of a new domain for Ilmater. Macehand would be a good cantrip, though I don't see why it would be keyed to Charisma, though. Unarmored Defense replacing armor proficiency would work. You'd have to work out the rest of the class abilities and a list of domain spells. I did something different with my Cleric of Ilmater, but this would make sense as a starting point too.

I've gone back and forth with the idea of specialty domains for each Deity a la 2nd Edition Faiths and Avatars. Since they haven't gone in that direction in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, it will largely depend on how many clerics are in my campaign. I've already done Ilmater and Bane, though. It's easy enough to go through the 2nd and 3rd edition versions for inspiration.

Ilbranteloth

 

[EvanNave55]

Another way you could essentially "re-fluff" the armor is to make it some sort of disc they wear with the god's blessing in it. It could be made of the same materials as whatever type of armor they would otherwise be using (thus still be vulnerable to things like rust monsters) you could have different strengths/variations of it equivalent to the different types of armor, and since it's actually physical you could find some in a dungeon (possibly with special features for magic armor equivalent) or buy it from the church. It'd also be vulnerable to being confiscated if you're ever captured like real armor would be. So with this you get all of the same mechanics as the armor but the character isn't actually wearing any.