Refluffing limits

[KahlessNestor]

I'm just curious as a player how much refluffing of the rules we are legally allowed to try and achieve a character concept? I'll give the example I'm working on that brought this to mind.

Concept: Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper; from Game of Thrones

Str 15 (+2)
Dex 16 (+3)
Con 10
Int 10
Wis 10
Cha 13 (+1)

Variant Human (Str and Dex)
Feat: Mobile
Skill proficiency: Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Persuasion

Background: Noble

Class: Fighter (Battlemaster eventually)
AC 14 (Leather)
Weapons: Longspear, longbow, shortsword, dagger

And now for my questions:

1. The longspear isn't in the PHB equipment list. Is it permissable to refluff a lance? (1d12, reach, drop the special quality). Or a glaive? (1d10, reach, pierce instead of slash). 4e had a longspear with those stats.

2. Ideally I would want to make the spear a finesse weapon to better reflect his style from the show. Would this be a bridge too far? I might even be willing to sacrifice some damage for this (1d10 or 1d8, depending on refluffed weapon).

Or is this something I should expect to have to get the permission of every AL DM at every table I play? (ETV?) I'd like to know before I finalize the CS so I don't waste my time or have to dumb him down to a "traditional" fighter and swap Str and Dex and throw him into some heavy armor.

 

[kalani]

1. You can refluff weapons, but you cannot change their mechanical traits. While you could refluff a lance to be a longspear, it would have all the mechanical traits of a lance (including the special property). Refluffing a glaive would still deal slashing damage however (we are not allowed to change damage types when refluffing).

2. Refluffing involves making no mechanical changes (only cosmetic changes). You could not create a spear with finesse. The closest I could think of is to refluff the rapier, but that would limit your refluffed rapier to being a one-handed piercing weapon.

What you are asking is if you can make minor house rule adjustments, which is not allowed. Refluffing = cosmetic changes only (such as a club being called a nunchaku, but being mechanically identical; a glaive being treated as a naginata; or a dagger being treated as a sai or tiger claw).

 

[KahlessNestor]

So basically my idea is crap. Great. Thanks, Adventure League...

Edit: I guess looking at the weapon list again I could refluff the pike into a longspear.

 

[GMMichael]

1. The longspear isn't in the PHB equipment list. Is it permissable to refluff a lance? (1d12, reach, drop the special quality). Or a glaive? (1d10, reach, pierce instead of slash). 4e had a longspear with those stats.

Yes.

2. Ideally I would want to make the spear a finesse weapon to better reflect his style from the show. Would this be a bridge too far? I might even be willing to sacrifice some damage for this (1d10 or 1d8, depending on refluffed weapon).

No.

Or is this something I should expect to have to get the permission of every AL DM at every table I play?

AL? Oh boy. Take the opposite of what I just said.

 

[StinkyEttin]

Changing the flavor is perfectly fine to an extent. Mechanical changes are not permissible. The Adventurers League uses the rules as presented in the PHB.

While you can use the pike and simply call it a longspear the PHB doesn't permit you to add the finesse property to the weapon. Therefore, doing so would not be in accordance with Adventurers League guidance.

 

[Eltab]

I created a Wood Elf character so I could simulate a Volodni - closest thing available.
I can tell everybody that he bleeds sap and his skin looks like greenish tree bark (all fluff things), but I can't change his race to Plant (because that's a mechanics thing).

 

[Coredump]

The Glaive into Spear refluff is an interesting situation. There are *very* few situations in the game when piercing vs slashing makes a mechanical difference. Plus, most weapons damage type is their typical primary damage type. For example, a glaive does piercing damage also, but primarily slashing.
So, I would advise one of the two:

1) You not have a 'longspear', it is a reach weapon that does 1D10 damage, but *your* style is less stabby-stabby and more using the tip to cut and gouge.... basically, you are using your spear to do slashing damage. (so, just refluffing the glaive)

2) You have a longspear, it is a reach weapon that does 1D10 damage. You stab people with it all the time, you 'run them through' you 'brace for the charge' etc. But..... you (and the DM) realize that 3% of the time you need to remember that it is 'really' doing slashing and not piercing damage.

 

[kalani]

In respect to 2) this is relevant only when facing creatures which are resistant/vulnerable to slashing (or piercing) damage, or when dealing with spells, abilities, items, or other features which only function with slashing/piercing/bludgeoning damage, or specific weapon types (eg. swords).

For example - your refluffed "longspear (glaive)" would work with the polearm master feat, but you would not be able to gain a magical version which has an ability limited to spears or piercing weapons.

 

[Pauper]

So basically my idea is crap. Great. Thanks, Adventure League...

Hey, you're the one who wants to bring a Game of Thrones character into Adventurers League -- I mean, if we were going to be canon, he'd die in the first adventure anyway, so why worry about the details?

; )

--
Pauper

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Pauper: You have a good point. His character would be lucky to survive a session and Im trying to picture Faction Charity.. or any sort of Charity in Game of Thrones.