Game where cloaks are relevant?

[harpy]

Are there any games that mechanically take into account the value of wearing a cloak?

As a kid I'd wander woods playing "D&D guys" with my friends. We'd have toy swords, bows made from branches, string and dowel rods, and cloaks. One of my friend's mom's was able to make cloaks for us, and so as 10 year olds we'd go play in woods, by a pond, or a gravel and sand depot and play out adventures in our heads as any kid does.

One of the things that made that time "magical" was this sense of adventure where all you needed was a good set of boots, a sword at your side, and a cloak and you'd be set to venture off into the wild. The cloak was the shield from the elements. It protected you from the cold, the rain and was also a blanket.

I'm sure it's the same feeling a kid in the previous generation felt about having a cowboy hat, a gun and a horse. That hat protected you from the heat, the rain and let you cover your face for some good sleep.

None of that was ever represented in D&D, or any other game I've come across, but is there anything out there that at a mechanical level makes you think, "good thing I have my cloak!"?

Now, someone might chime in, "why does there need to be some mechanical benefit? Why can't that just be a part of the story background." All I can say to that is that I'm old... I need me some simulation, or rather... I need some emulation. Distill out those elements that really capture the theme and give some mechanical relevance to them, and that mechanical turn can help fill in a bit of the magic that gets left behind in childhood.

 

[Rel]

World of Warcraft?

 

[noffham]

D&D rule zero:

Have Cloaks grant a +2 circumstance bonus to survival checks. You can call it bad weather gear or simply rule it "style".

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I'm sure I've seen mundane cloaks granting defense, or combat benefits of some sort, or advantages against the environment in some systems somewhere. MERP? GURPS? Maybe Rogue/Nethack/Angband and the like?

 

[Alt F4]

Cool post. I love the way you evoke the flavor of your childhood imagination.

To answer the question, I haven't seen any games like that. But I can imagine ways to add a mechanical aspect to D&D. Such as small circumstantial bonuses to skill checks like Hide or Disguise when wearing a cloak.

A winter cloak (price as a masterwork cloak) grants a small bonus to saves against cold effects, and when fighting in a cold environment, turns any attack that you miss by 1 into a hit that does minimum damage.

On the down side, cloaks restrict movement, so if you're wearing a cloak while fighting and miss an attack by 5 or more, you become entangled in your cloak and have to spend a round freeing yourself.

Thing is though, from where I sit, I'm not sure that captures the magic you're after. I think instead what you need is some sort of ability that is more freeform, that lets a cloak protect you when a cloak logically would, without having to enumerate all those situations in advance.

 

[Woas]

How about Dogs in the Vineyard? Characters are assumed to wear longcoat type garb that denote they are Dogs and show their authority. The garment is used mechanically in game but if you styled it more like a cloak then that would work.

 

[Destil]

For 4E it would be pretty easy to make a non-magical cloak provide +1 Fort/Reflex/Will and allow masterwork versions with better materials to bring this up to +2 and +3 as you advance (stacking with the bonus on a magic cloak, of course). This would also help smooth out some of the math issues at high level.

 

[maddman75]

Mouse Guard. The cloaks are essentially signs of office, and while there's no mechanical effect, the color of the cloak usually reflects the personality of the mouse.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Now, someone might chime in, "why does there need to be some mechanical benefit? Why can't that just be a part of the story background." All I can say to that is that I'm old... I need me some simulation, or rather... I need some emulation.

Really? What mechanical benefit do you "need" boots to have in your games? I'm just wondering.

 

[jdrakeh]

I could see a cloak providing an explicit mechanical benefit for protection from averse weather conditions, but not even Rolemaster or Harn Master go into this much detail where such matters are concerned. HERO 5th Edition Revised has some (brief) rules for clothing providing protection against low temperatures, however (Page 442, Protection From Temperature).