D&D 5E The non barbarian barbarian

[Azzy]

I have a player in my game who is playing a non-barbaric Barbarian character, using the totem path.
He's one of the last surviving members of a mercenary company, haunted by the comrades who died in a terrible battle.
He gains toughness from the spirit of his bearlike commander, and superior vision from his eagle-eyed scout, etc.
The totems he carries are medals that belonged to each of his fallen friends.

Dude, that's freaking awesome! Tell your player that some random dude on the internet is really impressed with his character.

 

[Valmarius]

Dude, that's freaking awesome! Tell your player that some random dude on the internet is really impressed with his character.

I will!
Brand new player too. I think it's safe to say that he's hooked.

 

[Valmarius]

Double post.

 

[77IM]

I have a player in my game who is playing a non-barbaric Barbarian character, using the totem path.
He's one of the last surviving members of a mercenary company, haunted by the comrades who died in a terrible battle.
He gains toughness from the spirit of his bearlike commander, and superior vision from his eagle-eyed scout, etc.
The totems he carries are medals that belonged to each of his fallen friends.

I am totally 100% stealing this idea.

 

[Azzy]

3e gave the player license to choose the appearance of his character and gear, that's re-skinning to a limited degree. I don't recall DM approval being needed, but I could be wrong, it's been a while. 4e did the same, and extended it to the flavor text of powers.

Sure, but there are still some things that will require DM approval. Even if you can reskin a class, et al. to be a Dumas-style musketeer, that's not going to fly in a campaign setting that's based on pre-classical Greece. Likewise, a late middle ages knight in shining armor isn't appropriate for a Dark Sun campaign. Unless you're going gonzo-style (and that's not a bad thing if you want to do that), there will always be some things that are not campaign appropriate even if the mechanical effects remain the same.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I will!
Brand new player too. I think it's safe to say that he's hooked.

Make it two random strangers on the Internet. That's one of the coolest character concepts I've come across, and I've not just been gaming since I was 9, but writing for D&D halfway through 3E. He deserves all the kudos.

 

[Ancalagon]

Yeah, that's a excellent character concept. Well done!

 

[Saeviomagy]

In 4e, it was out of control (actual I'm-not-making-this-up examples: an umbrella re-skinned as a light shield, a holy symbol re-skinned as a pistol, rods re-skinned as wheel-locks, a genasi re-skinned as a Djinn, a dragon re-skinned as a water elemental, a pixie vampire re-skinned as a sentient mosquito, a Sorcerer re-skinned as a mad scientist with a flamethrower, a druid re-skinned as Dr.jekyl/Mr.hyde, an Avenger and an Ardent re-skinned as 'secret agents,' a warforged warlock re-skinned as the terminator....).
In 5e, it's back under the DM's control. (Like mouseferatu said "with DM approval.")

Nothing in your list is edition dependant and nothing in your list was done without DM approval.

 

[FXR]

In my campaign, many gladiators follow the barbarian class.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Sure, but there are still some things that will require DM approval. Even if you can reskin a class, et al. to be a Dumas-style musketeer, that's not going to fly in a campaign setting that's based on pre-classical Greece... there will always be some things that are not campaign appropriate even if the mechanical effects remain the same.

OK, maybe it's not an important distinction, but, IMHO there is a difference between bringing a completed character to the DM to assure it's OK (or checking that the concept is all right before you build the character), and needing to engage with the DM to build the character at all. Both are 'DM Approval' but the second puts the ball more in the DM's court. In the first case, the DM can just reject you outright, in the latter, he has latitude in deciding more of the details of how the customization will work.

Nothing in your list is edition dependant and nothing in your list was done without DM approval.

Some of the things on my list were done by the DM, others were done by the player without checking with the DM first. Is there tacit "DM Approval" in everything you do in a game, from sitting down at the table on? Sure. Does that mean there's no distinction between a system that puts tools in the hands of the player (risking 'player entitlement') vs one that keeps tools in the hands of the DM (DM Empowerment)? No.