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Why would PCs wear capes?
- Thread starter caudor
- Start date
tetsujin28
First Post
I don't know how far back you're thinking, but we've got coats from earlier than 1,000 BC. The coat/no coat thing has a lot to do with geography and the materials and weaves involved. The northern response was typically twill, whilst the southern was weft-faced and tapestry weaves.Steel_Wind said:
Rel
Liquid Awesome
lissilambe said:As mentioned above, once you wear a cape or cloak for a while, you get quite used to it, and it snagging or a hindrance isn't a big deal. When I was playing NERO (a boffer weapon LARP), I wore one for years as my first character. Not only is it all the things above (stylish, protective against the elements and concealing, as well as a pillow and blanket), but a dark cloak at night can be used for camouflage by dropping to a crouch and using it over the body. I also used it as a shield against weapons, something I got very good at to the frustration of many an opponent. And finally, I took a page from the Shadow, who wore a trailing cloak/trenchcoat (depending on just when he was being written), for misdirection. To purposely hang or flutter a large portion of it to the side. In dark light, many people would target in that direction and miss my body entirely. Not so good for spells in our game, but for weapons and ranged attacks...worked well.
Don
Don, I must say that I find it intensely interesting that you've been registered since May of 03 but it finally took a discussion about capes to get you to post. I am intrigued, sir. Welcome to ENWorld.
Imhotepthewise
Explorer
Vampire in Dungeon 126 has a doppleganger cape. Very chic.
How sturdy Capes/Cloaks, etc. can be used:
1) Protect the hands/feet from sharp pointy things when climbing or crawling. Drape a multiply folded cape over a barbed wire fence and you have a point of easy ingress/egress.
2) Concealment of flashy clothing at night- perfect for the fop who is also an assassin. Concealment of NO clothing at any time of day.
3) Improvised weapon: weighted, can be used as a club or a short whip (I have personally seen people puncture metal cans with wet towels). Unweighted, as a garrotte or an eyeless hood. Any can be used to execute a trip attack, gag, or tie somone up.
4) Stash for Cash.
5) Protection from weather; improvised blanket/pillow.
6) Concealment of actions- think of a modern stage magician or a bullfighter.
7) Magic Item slot.
Not neccessarily- it may be pinned in place. It depends on the individual wearer.
1) Protect the hands/feet from sharp pointy things when climbing or crawling. Drape a multiply folded cape over a barbed wire fence and you have a point of easy ingress/egress.
2) Concealment of flashy clothing at night- perfect for the fop who is also an assassin. Concealment of NO clothing at any time of day.
3) Improvised weapon: weighted, can be used as a club or a short whip (I have personally seen people puncture metal cans with wet towels). Unweighted, as a garrotte or an eyeless hood. Any can be used to execute a trip attack, gag, or tie somone up.
4) Stash for Cash.
5) Protection from weather; improvised blanket/pillow.
6) Concealment of actions- think of a modern stage magician or a bullfighter.
7) Magic Item slot.
Not neccessarily- it may be pinned in place. It depends on the individual wearer.
Storyteller01
First Post
1) They are the trench coats of the medival age...
2) Protection from the elements
3) impromptu blanket/pillow
4) It can be used to disarm folks (used two handed to rake a weapon out of anothers hand)
5) Impromptu shield/defensive obstruction (every try to cut a thick rolled up piece of cloth?)
2) Protection from the elements
3) impromptu blanket/pillow
4) It can be used to disarm folks (used two handed to rake a weapon out of anothers hand)
5) Impromptu shield/defensive obstruction (every try to cut a thick rolled up piece of cloth?)
francisca
I got dice older than you.
And why not? If we can devote endless threads to edition bashing, whether or not dear old Fritz is relevent to those crazy kids of today with their new fangled game consoles and mp3 players, and whether being railroaded in an early Dragonlance module is a sign of a runaway plottrain or an incompetent DM, then why not spend some time talking about the utility of capes? :\Felon said:
caudor
Adventurer
Felon said:
I'll admit, I hesitated before posting the cape thread. But, I figured it would simply sink if no one wanted to discuss it. Anyway, I'm glad I did...there were lots of interesting comments.
ENWorlders have a way of making even mundane topics into interesting discussions.
Last edited:
Elder-Basilisk
First Post
So far, only one person has posted the most serious answer in D&D: a magic item slot.
More importantly, it's the kind of magic item slot that it is. In D&D 3.x, there are a few kinds of magic cloaks and capes. In order of frequency (in games I've played or DMed), they are as follows:
Cloak of resistance
Cloak of Charisma
Cape of the Montebank
Cloak of the arachnida
Cape of Elemental Protection (Mini HB)
Now, you might take off your cape of the montebank or cloak of the arachnida when you go inside the pub for a drink. After all, the odds that you'll want to dimension door away or walk through a web spell are pretty slim. However, the cloak of resistance is the kind of thing you wear all the time. Who knows when your enemy might scry on you or someone in the shadows might be detecting thoughts? And, if that weren't enough, simply wearing a cloak of resistance makes you noticably less likely to catch any kind of disease. Cold, flu, indigestion--a magic cloak protects against them all; wouldn't you wear it?
A cloak of charisma would simply be addicting. If you had a black leather trenchcoat of charisma +6 that transformed you from a pimply faced geek into a cool, dark and menacing man of intrigue, wouldn't you wear it outside GenCon in August? (I submit that at least one person thinks he has such a trenchcoat and actually demonstrates that he does wear it in August). And if it also increased your confidence and presence and actually made people like you more as well, were you trolling a bar or going to a social event, wouldn't you be more likely to wear it rather than less? You might take the cloak of charisma off to sleap, but I would imagine people would wear them even in the most intimate of situations. (Suddenly being less charismatic when you strip has effects....)
The cape of elemental protection is like the cloak of resistance but even more dramatically--it has to be worn for 24 hours prior to functioning. So, if you ever take it off, you have to not only be sure that you won't need it immediately, but also that you won't need it less than 24 hours after you put it on again.
So, there you go. D&D magic cloaks are generally the kind of thing you'd wear all the time. It's not just a magic item slot; it's a magic item that you'd usually want to wear.
More importantly, it's the kind of magic item slot that it is. In D&D 3.x, there are a few kinds of magic cloaks and capes. In order of frequency (in games I've played or DMed), they are as follows:
Cloak of resistance
Cloak of Charisma
Cape of the Montebank
Cloak of the arachnida
Cape of Elemental Protection (Mini HB)
Now, you might take off your cape of the montebank or cloak of the arachnida when you go inside the pub for a drink. After all, the odds that you'll want to dimension door away or walk through a web spell are pretty slim. However, the cloak of resistance is the kind of thing you wear all the time. Who knows when your enemy might scry on you or someone in the shadows might be detecting thoughts? And, if that weren't enough, simply wearing a cloak of resistance makes you noticably less likely to catch any kind of disease. Cold, flu, indigestion--a magic cloak protects against them all; wouldn't you wear it?
A cloak of charisma would simply be addicting. If you had a black leather trenchcoat of charisma +6 that transformed you from a pimply faced geek into a cool, dark and menacing man of intrigue, wouldn't you wear it outside GenCon in August? (I submit that at least one person thinks he has such a trenchcoat and actually demonstrates that he does wear it in August). And if it also increased your confidence and presence and actually made people like you more as well, were you trolling a bar or going to a social event, wouldn't you be more likely to wear it rather than less? You might take the cloak of charisma off to sleap, but I would imagine people would wear them even in the most intimate of situations. (Suddenly being less charismatic when you strip has effects....)
The cape of elemental protection is like the cloak of resistance but even more dramatically--it has to be worn for 24 hours prior to functioning. So, if you ever take it off, you have to not only be sure that you won't need it immediately, but also that you won't need it less than 24 hours after you put it on again.
So, there you go. D&D magic cloaks are generally the kind of thing you'd wear all the time. It's not just a magic item slot; it's a magic item that you'd usually want to wear.
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