Random Post

So, have been referred to the Random Blog Post Topic Generators from The Rusty Battle Axe which provides for an interesting assortment of, well, topics.

I rolled a 17, so it's Clothes and Style for Player Characters;

Copyright - Alan Lee

And I say, whatever suits you, providing it's functional for what you are trying to do, and you accept that it will get dirty, ripped, bent, broken, lose it's shine, and you'll probably need to buy a new one when you get back to civilisation as even the poor washer people who live under the bridge won't touch some things.

And I reserve the right to make ad-hoc judgements based on certain items carried or (especially) worn.  For example, few of the systems I play give a material bonus for wearing a helmet, and they can even hinder perception at times.  But I'll take that into account when the goblins pour burning coals onto the group. Along with flammable clothing choices.

Aside from that, mages really shouldn't wear long robes, as they aren't functional (ever tried running in a toga?), and get really wet and dirty when treading flooded corridors. I recommend soft leather pants and a cuirass, possibly reinforced with bone or the like.  So long as it doesn't mess with your casting or your fleeing skills, any protection is good.

As for warrior types, swashbuckling is fine in the City, or the Palace, where wearing full plate mail would be largely out of place, but peasants don't fight fair, and neither does anything that has to live in a dungeon.  Armour stops you getting hit, and then helps you survive the hit a little more.

Slightly irrelevant but a good picture

You can loot better weapons and armour from your beaten down foes, but even if the plate mail worn by the dark cultist is clearly magical, as it has engraved skulls and scenes of depravity, you will attract unwanted attentions if you insist on wearing it.  And even if the next group of cultist think you're on their side, your team may not be able to tell the difference when you're dressed the same as them.

But aside from that, conformity with stereotypes is discouraged. Why do all rangers have to wear leather, carry bows and fight with two swords? Somewhere in an unfinished dungeon crawl I've got a 2nd level woodsman character, who's the closest thing we have to a ranger.  Chainmail and a warhammer suit him well.The accompanying sorceress wears leather armour and uses daggers, but the barbarian is a stereotype, despite not having bulging muscles, and being an albino.

On that note, give your PC it's own style, and remember, clothing choices can both define and kill a character.