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My favorite house rule

image from one of my tumblrs, The Minds Project
Here is a good litmus test as to whether or not you're interested in my thoughts in gaming:

My favorite house rule, which I will shoehorn into every setting and ruleset that I possibly can, is Goblin Punch's rule for fashion counting towards armor class. Here's how I wrote it up for a Microlite20 campaign:

Style
Even squamous horrors feel the power of a well-put-together ensemble. Style will save you.
Stylish clothes are expensive. And fashion is fickle, so be prepared to buy new clothes every season.
Stylish Clothes (10 x Normal Clothes prices) = +2 AC
Exquisite Clothes (100 x Normal Clothes prices, must have a Maid or Valet to maintain clothes) =+4AC
Stylish clothes are mussed beyond hope on a critical hit, losing all their AC benefit. A tailor can fix it up in a few hours, however.
Wearing Stylish Clothes
It takes a certain sophistication to bring an ensemble together. Your Communication skill rank must equal or exceed the Armor Class benefit you receive from your clothes. Otherwise, no benefit is gained. A Maid or Valet provides +1 to your Comm for this purpose.
Stylish clothes do not take up inventory slots. Exquisite clothes take up one slot (you’re probably holding a cane or cigarette holder or mink muff or something).
 It's an eye-roller, I know. But I love it.


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Comments

  1. The Angry MonkFebruary 3, 2014 at 8:20 AM

    I think the player would have to roll play the heck out of it for the rule to sit right to me. Some barbarian or dwarf wearing fancy clothes just to claim the AC benefit would be a NOPE from me. However, if you were a mountebank or a swashbuckler, with a fine waxed mustachio and a penchant for scented handkerchiefs...sure.

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  2. DaveFebruary 3, 2014 at 9:10 AM

    No, I kinda like it! And when The Angry Monk's barbarian gets "fancied up" to gain AC, he'll likely lose the same amount of Charisma when it comes to his henchmen, for "putting on airs!"

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  3. PulpatoonerFebruary 3, 2014 at 10:45 AM

    The above was written for Microlite20, which has four skills: Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge, and Communication. I tied the effectiveness of Stylish Clothes to Communciation in order to address exactly that concern. Groo in Armani is still going to look like a slob. I also tied regular armor to Physical, since I'm pretty sure that if I wore plate armor, I'd just be a greater danger to myself.

    In straight up D&D, I would require it to be part of the character concept, and might ask for a Charisma check in borderline cases.

    Although, I also like Dave's repercussion-based model!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AndrewFebruary 3, 2014 at 2:41 PM

    See, I think dwarves could use this with expensive moustache waxing and beard braiding and jewelry, and the finest in osquip leathers, and plumes on their hats that make them seem as tall as others.

    For monks, they could have intricate body painting, and the finest robes out of expensive material with gold rune stitching. It's about the level of expense and style, rather than everyone using a single style.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PulpatoonerFebruary 3, 2014 at 3:52 PM

    I've now posted a D&D-specific version, using the Charisma modifier:
    http://abominablefancy.blogspot.com/2014/02/style.html

    ReplyDelete

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