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RE-SKINNING: Who needs rules to customize?
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<blockquote data-quote="HRSegovia" data-source="post: 5420727" data-attributes="member: 99950"><p>It seems the days if imagination are dead and players need rules to tell them what to do. If we can break away from that, perhaps we can remember why we played when we were young and reconnect with our characters.</p><p></p><p>When creating a character, the rules are always about substance. <em>What can your character do?</em> And for the most part this is all players consider. While substance will help you enjoy your adventure and your place in a party, it will never allow you to enjoy your <em>character</em>. So how do we inject <em>style</em> into <em>substance</em>? Re-skinning.</p><p></p><p>Re-skinning takes creativity, and not everyone can do it without forgetting the "one rule": <em>re-skinning cannot change the function</em>. This rule can be bent, and you'll learn that later. But for now, lets start with the easiest form of re-skinning: armor.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'"><span style="font-size: 18px">ARMOR</span></span></p><p>If you've never re-skinned before then armor is a good place to start. Your armor does not have to look like the picture portrayed in the rulebook. Redesign it! If you don't like the intricate fleurs (or you want more), or perhaps you want a new look altogether, then do it. The function of the armor remains the same. You're not re-skinning yet, but by redesigning a current look you have taken the first step to learning how to re-skin. To small a step? Then lets get to it.</p><p></p><p>- Your cleric wears chain and carries a shield. But that is not the way you envisioned a cleric in your head.</p><p>- You want to play a cleric, but you don't want to look like Eric the Cavalier in the old D&D cartoon.</p><p></p><p>So, your cleric is wearing armor equivalent to chain, but it's:</p><p>- a robe covered in metal prayer beads and trinkets</p><p>or</p><p>- actual chains woven into his tunic that he carries in penance</p><p></p><p>As long as it does not change the function (meaning it must follow all the rules of the original item) then your chainmail can look like anything.</p><p></p><p><em>But I want spikes and a horned helm.</em> Then your spikes and horns are purely cosmetic and can NEVER be a factor in combat.</p><p></p><p>As for the shield? How about:</p><p>- a piece of oaken wood broken from one of his mead barrels?</p><p>or</p><p>- a giant holy symbol</p><p>or</p><p>- flattened roadkill enchanted with barkskin.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'"><span style="font-size: 18px">WEAPONS</span></span></p><p>Now your getting the hang of it. The next step is weapons. You've learned the one rule, so it's safe to say you can handle weapons without breaking it. Here you'll learn to bend it. Let's <em>change the function.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>But I thought crossing the streams was bad.</em></p><p></p><p>The world won't implode. As my old boss used to say, "We have ways to make things conform."</p><p></p><p>Let's have fun with the artificer.</p><p></p><p>A thrown weapon from an artificer returns. So <em>why</em> is this not the Glaive from Krull? That thing was cool!</p><p></p><p>Oh! Oh! Oh! And I want him to use a big-ass wrench as a weapon!</p><p></p><p><em>Whoah there Kimosabe. A wrench has a different function as well, it can fix things.</em></p><p></p><p>... ... yeah ... ... BUT my artificer <em>did</em> purchase a tool set. As long as he has his tool set, there's no reason to say he can't use his wrench as part of it. Visually, he may be caught using his wrench to repair items or disable devices. But if he loses his tools, then he has his wrench but loses the ability to use it AS a tool. If a mace (or whatever weapon he re-skinned) can't do it, then neither can the wrench.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'"><span style="font-size: 18px">SPELLS</span></span></p><p>Now let's have some real fun!</p><p></p><p>There's no reason:</p><p>- Tenser's Floating Disk can't have a tiny pink elephant carrying it.</p><p>- Magic Missiles can't look like skulls, rockets, hamsters or <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />'s.</p><p>- Melf's Acid Arrow can't be spit from your mouth or look like a Xenomorph head.</p><p>- Arcane Lock can't be an illusionary squirrel desperately keeping your device shut with all his might (to which knock responds with a blunderbuss and the squirrel either puts his hands up and surrenders or is shot and dies comically).</p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'"><span style="font-size: 18px">MONSTERS</span></span></p><p>This is for you, GM's. Listen up! Your players have memorized the MM's. Re-skinning is a way of bringing intrigue and fun back into games with experienced players.</p><p></p><p><em>Your players have foolishly taken the great open field thinking it to be easier than the dense woods. Besides, the open space makes it easier to spot an ambush. But one of the party trips. Something has caught his leg. -- Oh, he just entwined it in a vine. -- But the vine begins dragging him across the field. An orange glow of a Jack`o Lantern emanates from his destination. The Pumpkin appears to start floating, but closer examination shows that vines are crawling and slithering to form a body. It's a Vine Horror!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Silly GM, vine horrors don't have glowy pumpkin heads.</em></p><p></p><p>To that I say a prophetic and resounding... <em>so?</em></p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>Customization is not rules-bound. Rules are modular and limit the number of builds. You are playing a character that is also being played by thousands of others: a cardboard cutout distinguished only by his name until he becomes seasoned with a unique history. Re-skinning makes your character <em>yours now</em>. Get it? Got it? Good.</p><p></p><p>What are some of <em>your</em> re-skins?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="HRSegovia, post: 5420727, member: 99950"] It seems the days if imagination are dead and players need rules to tell them what to do. If we can break away from that, perhaps we can remember why we played when we were young and reconnect with our characters. When creating a character, the rules are always about substance. [I]What can your character do?[/I] And for the most part this is all players consider. While substance will help you enjoy your adventure and your place in a party, it will never allow you to enjoy your [I]character[/I]. So how do we inject [I]style[/I] into [I]substance[/I]? Re-skinning. Re-skinning takes creativity, and not everyone can do it without forgetting the "one rule": [I]re-skinning cannot change the function[/I]. This rule can be bent, and you'll learn that later. But for now, lets start with the easiest form of re-skinning: armor. [FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=5]ARMOR[/SIZE][/FONT] If you've never re-skinned before then armor is a good place to start. Your armor does not have to look like the picture portrayed in the rulebook. Redesign it! If you don't like the intricate fleurs (or you want more), or perhaps you want a new look altogether, then do it. The function of the armor remains the same. You're not re-skinning yet, but by redesigning a current look you have taken the first step to learning how to re-skin. To small a step? Then lets get to it. - Your cleric wears chain and carries a shield. But that is not the way you envisioned a cleric in your head. - You want to play a cleric, but you don't want to look like Eric the Cavalier in the old D&D cartoon. So, your cleric is wearing armor equivalent to chain, but it's: - a robe covered in metal prayer beads and trinkets or - actual chains woven into his tunic that he carries in penance As long as it does not change the function (meaning it must follow all the rules of the original item) then your chainmail can look like anything. [I]But I want spikes and a horned helm.[/I] Then your spikes and horns are purely cosmetic and can NEVER be a factor in combat. As for the shield? How about: - a piece of oaken wood broken from one of his mead barrels? or - a giant holy symbol or - flattened roadkill enchanted with barkskin. [FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=5]WEAPONS[/SIZE][/FONT] Now your getting the hang of it. The next step is weapons. You've learned the one rule, so it's safe to say you can handle weapons without breaking it. Here you'll learn to bend it. Let's [I]change the function. But I thought crossing the streams was bad.[/I] The world won't implode. As my old boss used to say, "We have ways to make things conform." Let's have fun with the artificer. A thrown weapon from an artificer returns. So [I]why[/I] is this not the Glaive from Krull? That thing was cool! Oh! Oh! Oh! And I want him to use a big-ass wrench as a weapon! [I]Whoah there Kimosabe. A wrench has a different function as well, it can fix things.[/I] ... ... yeah ... ... BUT my artificer [I]did[/I] purchase a tool set. As long as he has his tool set, there's no reason to say he can't use his wrench as part of it. Visually, he may be caught using his wrench to repair items or disable devices. But if he loses his tools, then he has his wrench but loses the ability to use it AS a tool. If a mace (or whatever weapon he re-skinned) can't do it, then neither can the wrench. [FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=5]SPELLS[/SIZE][/FONT] Now let's have some real fun! There's no reason: - Tenser's Floating Disk can't have a tiny pink elephant carrying it. - Magic Missiles can't look like skulls, rockets, hamsters or :lol:'s. - Melf's Acid Arrow can't be spit from your mouth or look like a Xenomorph head. - Arcane Lock can't be an illusionary squirrel desperately keeping your device shut with all his might (to which knock responds with a blunderbuss and the squirrel either puts his hands up and surrenders or is shot and dies comically). [FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=5]MONSTERS[/SIZE][/FONT] This is for you, GM's. Listen up! Your players have memorized the MM's. Re-skinning is a way of bringing intrigue and fun back into games with experienced players. [I]Your players have foolishly taken the great open field thinking it to be easier than the dense woods. Besides, the open space makes it easier to spot an ambush. But one of the party trips. Something has caught his leg. -- Oh, he just entwined it in a vine. -- But the vine begins dragging him across the field. An orange glow of a Jack`o Lantern emanates from his destination. The Pumpkin appears to start floating, but closer examination shows that vines are crawling and slithering to form a body. It's a Vine Horror! Silly GM, vine horrors don't have glowy pumpkin heads.[/I] To that I say a prophetic and resounding... [I]so?[/I] --- Customization is not rules-bound. Rules are modular and limit the number of builds. You are playing a character that is also being played by thousands of others: a cardboard cutout distinguished only by his name until he becomes seasoned with a unique history. Re-skinning makes your character [I]yours now[/I]. Get it? Got it? Good. What are some of [I]your[/I] re-skins? [/QUOTE]
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