Flavor "Reskinning" of character features

[Wasp]

Hi everyone!

What are your experiences with changing class or race features from the way they are presented in the books. Like for example the Eberron book suggesting that Warlocks and Sorcerors could derive their power from specialized military wandslinger training as opposed to the usual sources - so "reskinning" without changing the rules or the function of the feature.

Do you have examples that worked great? or didn't work at all?

Cheers

Wasp

[lunaticfringe]

So spells & spellcasting at my table can be described however you like as long as it doesn't change any mechanics. My favorite example is Fire themed casters dealing Cold damage by describing it as sucking the heat out of creatures/localized areas.

My tiefling Valor Bard is from a tribe that made a bargain with fiends for power to avoid an ethnic cleansing. Inspiration, Song of Rest, etc aren't musical or performance based but a form of Black Speech battle tongue. I liked the idea at the time but one of the players started calling him Molly after the Critical Role character (even though we started playing before c2 started). And I kinda hate that character, sooo.

[Sahe]

I like the idea of an artificer wizard who crafts special steampunky-magic stuff to do her magic. A fantasy Tony Stark if you will.

I also once played a Tiefling Desert Stormherald Barbarian and fluffed her fiery Rage as connecting to her Infernal heritage rather than the essence of Storm or Desert of whatever.

[Grear Bylls]

Planning on bringing a Dragon Tortle sorcerer to a game at Rome point who has virtually no magic, aside from his innate dragon breath. He can spit lava at will (fire bolt), can breath steam (fog/stinking cloud), and can breath boiling gas (burning hands/dragons breath).

[Vogie]

My most recent group imploded, so I haven't seen these in action, but...

Non-magic explosives expert, using a reskinned Evocation Wizard
Blizzard or Wildfire Druid, using a reskinned Circle of Spores Druid
Superhuman Characters using dips into certain casters (specifically, War & Divination wizards, Divine Soul & Shadow Sorcerers, Forge & War Clerics) to give a supernatural physique (spells like Mage armor, Feather fall, Shield, longstrider, bless, guidance, or jump) but no traditionally-recognized "spells".
Similar to the above, a Fencer with some advanced technology, using a reskinned Bladesinger wizard
"Origami Mage" using a refluffed Shepherd Druid
Hitsugi no Chaika-style Wizard where the spellcasting focus is a sniper rifle, using a refluffed Sorcerer or Warlock (using Spell Sniper feat and either Distant Spell or Eldritch Spear, respectively).

[Pex]

I played a Lawful Good hexblade whose patron was Ra, the fun sun god. His blade pact weapon was a golden yellow sword, the Sun's Ray. He was Shadow's Light. The specter servant he would get utilizes the mythology. The servant would come from the evil doer he vanquished. In exchange for being a servant for one day, the soul would earn passage on Ra's Sun Barge, safe from Apep, to be delivered to Osiris for Judgment. It's still Evil for Osiris to Judge, but it's spared being devoured or tortured by Apep. It doesn't have to fight to get on the Barge trying to escape as other Evil souls.

I also once played an Old One warlock. His patron was not from the Far Realms. His Patron was the gods of old, the Babylonian Pantheon no longer worshiped.

[Trustypeaches]

I do it all the time.

Most recently I reskinned Draconic Ancestry as Demonic Ancestry.

[Belac93]

I enjoyed reskinning a Druid as a witch-type character. It worked surprisingly well.

[DMThac0]

I played a Dwarven Barbarian who tapped into a rage that was granted to his ancestors by Moradin. They had offered themselves to Moradin to help in a time where the gods were warring, they stoked the forges and did other tasks in service of Moradin. After the war came to a close they were blessed with the fires of the forge in their souls. This led the entire bloodline to be born with, at least those who went Barbarian, a frenzied rage that made him look like he could have been kin to Azers, but it was just the coloring of his hair/beard when he raged.

[Honest Tiefling]

As long as the mechanics don't change, it makes sense for the character or setting, I'm okay with most examples. One thing I wouldn't ever allow is refluffing magic to be not-magic. I don't care if the mechanics won't change, it gets silly and weird.

[Sception]

Have refluffed the oathbreaker mechanics as evil curse/taint/brand on the character that they could draw strength from but that tainted their magic and empowered the evil creatures that they fought against. Like Simon Belmont from Castlevania games or Gutts from Berserk comics.

The character in particular was a fallen aasimar oathbreaker - fallen not because they themselves turned from the path of righteousness, but because the celestial patron they drew strength from was captured and twisted into a fiend some time after siring the PC. The divine connection between them remained, unbreakable by either side, but the celestial power that flowed from that bond was now tainted by evil, resulting in the fallen subrace and oathbreaker features.

The patron's influence remained, a nagging voice always seeking to either drag the PC down into corruption with them, or else drive or trick them into getting themselves killed in order to sever the bond and return that portion of the patron's divine power back to them. Further, the nature of the tainted bond drew fiends and undead to the PC, where their attacks against the PC and his allies were empowered by his own damage-boosting aura, a mechanic that really brought that 'cursed warrior' theme to life, though my fellow party members didn't always appreciate it. Having to weigh the benefits of staying inside the PC's aura of protection against the costs of extra damage from undead and fiendish foes was a constant conundrum, though it did provide extra motivation for such enemies to focus attacks on the paladin whenever his allies weren't within reach, which made him slightly more effective at tanking.

The PC's long term goal was to hunt down his patron and either redeem them (which would have resulted in the PC becoming a protector aasimar & devotion paladin) or slay them (which would have resulted in the PC becoming a scourge aasimar & vengeance paladin). Unfortunately, the campaign didn't go on long enough for that to happen.

[dejarnjc]

I've done:

Totem Barbarian as a lycanthrope

Oath of Conquest Paladin as a Githyanki Knight. I just swapped CHA for INT in regards to abilities and spellcasting so technically there was some mechanical change but barely.

[Honest Tiefling]

Oath of Conquest Paladin as a Githyanki Knight. I just swapped CHA for INT in regards to abilities and spellcasting so technically there was some mechanical change but barely.

I feel like substituting intelligence for charisma is often a trade down in power, unless the party is strapped for a lore monkey...In which case, I doubt many people would complain. I personally think this change is very flavorful, but I do think some people wouldn't like the mechanical change.

[xroads]

"Origami Mage" using a refluffed Shepherd Druid


Oooooh! I like this concept. I may have to try this one out sometime.

[Sception]

I feel like substituting intelligence for charisma is often a trade down in power, unless the party is strapped for a lore monkey...In which case, I doubt many people would complain. I personally think this change is very flavorful, but I do think some people wouldn't like the mechanical change.

Off topic, but I've often felt that the spellcasting stats are a bit too restrictive. Martial classes almost always have a choice between strength or dex allowing for build differentiation, but the lack of that selection in casters, combined with the painful overrepresentation of cha casters and underrepresentation of int casters, excessively pidgeon holes a lot of character classes and forstalls otherwise interesting multiclass combinations. Giving players some freedom in choosing casting stats, whether by letting players just choose between two or more options (eg choice of int or wis for wizards and clerics, wis or cha for sorcerers and druids, int or cha for bards or warlocks), or maybe by giving different caster stats to different subclasses (eg cha for feylocks and fiends who barter for their pacts, int for starlocks and deathlocks who stumble into their pacts through forbidden research, wis for hexlocks and celestlocks who form a pact by answering a supernatural callling; or maybe some other split depending on how you characterize the subclasses in your game).

Or maybe just let any caster choose any mental stat provided they can reasonably justify it. Might or might not need to soften multiclassing requirements and apply the same change to various stat based class features apart from spellcasting, depending on whether you wanted at least some mechanical push towards particular mental stats for particular classes, such that a cleric/wizard could use either int or wis for all of their spellcasting, but would still need at least 13 in both, and would still use wis mod for some cleric features even if using int for spellcasting?

Again, off topic, but it's a relatively simple (if significant) mechanical change that could allow for an a lot of additional refluffing changes.

[Honest Tiefling]

Off topic, but I've often felt that the spellcasting stats are a bit too restrictive. Martial classes almost always have a choice between strength or dex allowing for build differentiation, but the lack of that selection in casters, combined with the painful overrepresentation of cha casters and underrepresentation of int casters, excessively pidgeon holes a lot of character classes and forstalls otherwise interesting multiclass combinations.

I feel like the origin of your powers should matter more than the class. I feel that Pathfinder/3.5 got a little weird with what ability score would be tied to magic. But since power source doesn't have any effect in this edition, swapping it does nothing mechanically other than the ability score.

Like the problem with warlocks, where the fluff and lore present a good argument for the class to be intelligence based instead of charisma based. An intelligence warlock learns to steal/borrow/bargain for power, while a charisma warlock has power put inside of them or have their own power be unlocked but is far more innate.

I just assumed that the Githyanki Knight probably learned their magic, so intelligence made sense. A charisma based wizard would be too weird for me in contrast.

[lunaticfringe]

Eh in 5th mundanes have a choice between str & dex. 4th had options too (I think there were feats to sub your weapon attacks to the stat of your choice(eventually)), but prior to that you had to invest in Strength or both Strength & Dexterity to excel at weapon based combat.

[Skyblaze]

I do it all the time.

Most recently I reskinned Draconic Ancestry as Demonic Ancestry.

Same, tiefling dragon sorcerer just...doesn't compute.

[Unoriginal]

I just assumed that the Githyanki Knight probably learned their magic, so intelligence made sense. A charisma based wizard would be too weird for me in contrast.

Githyanki Knights have innate psionic powers, no?

[JackPhoenix]

Githyanki Knights have innate psionic powers, no?

Yep. Innate Spellcasting (Psionics).

[dejarnjc]

Githyanki Knights have innate psionic powers, no?

Githyanki Gish, a subclass of knights (or a higher rank than knight), use arcane magic and martial prowess. Correct me if I'm wrong but the very term Gish came from the Githyanki title referring to such.

[Sception]

Eh in 5th mundanes have a choice between str & dex. 4th had options too (I think there were feats to sub your weapon attacks to the stat of your choice(eventually)), but prior to that you had to invest in Strength or both Strength & Dexterity to excel at weapon based combat.

3rd also let you focus on just one or the other.

[Unoriginal]

Githyanki Gish, a subclass of knights (or a higher rank than knight), use arcane magic and martial prowess. Correct me if I'm wrong but the very term Gish came from the Githyanki title referring to such.

Githyanki Gishes indeed have training in wizardry. But as you noted, Knight and Gish isn't the same thing.

[Honest Tiefling]

Huh. Didn't know that, don't really know much of the planes. Still, assuming that knights learn their psionics, I wouldn't personally have an issue with the ability modifier being different.


Same, tiefling dragon sorcerer just...doesn't compute.

Hey, most tieflings are descended from humans. Do you think the human's desire to bang anything is going to stop just because of a world-wide curse from an emergent god warping humans that had already been corrupted by the influence of the lower planes that affected them for generations?

No. No it will never be stopped.

[Guy Lombard-O]

Off topic, but I've often felt that the spellcasting stats are a bit too restrictive. Martial classes almost always have a choice between strength or dex allowing for build differentiation, but the lack of that selection in casters, combined with the painful overrepresentation of cha casters and underrepresentation of int casters, excessively pidgeon holes a lot of character classes and forstalls otherwise interesting multiclass combinations. Giving players some freedom in choosing casting stats, whether by letting players just choose between two or more options (eg choice of int or wis for wizards and clerics, wis or cha for sorcerers and druids, int or cha for bards or warlocks), or maybe by giving different caster stats to different subclasses (eg cha for feylocks and fiends who barter for their pacts, int for starlocks and deathlocks who stumble into their pacts through forbidden research, wis for hexlocks and celestlocks who form a pact by answering a supernatural callling; or maybe some other split depending on how you characterize the subclasses in your game).

Actually, I always thought that clerics should properly be Cha based. Or at least some of them. The big tent, televangelist types, at the very least. It's really their own personality and charisma (in the Webster's Dictionary sense) that gives them power and extends their message of promoting their deity. Performers and persuaders, for sure.

More on topic, I have a paladin/bard who's a choirboy, I re-fluff his spells as psalms and peons (Tasha's HL became a psalm of peace, calming the target to immobility, stuff like that).

[Crgaston]

Actually, I always thought that clerics should properly be Cha based. Or at least some of them. The big tent, televangelist types, at the very least. It's really their own personality and charisma (in the Webster's Dictionary sense) that gives them power and extends their message of promoting their deity. Performers and persuaders, for sure.

More on topic, I have a paladin/bard who's a choirboy, I re-fluff his spells as psalms and peons (Tasha's HL became a psalm of peace, calming the target to immobility, stuff like that).

The homonym you're looking for is "paeans." :-)

And yes, the fact that 5e made Paladins synergize great with Sorcerers, Warlocks and Bards instead of Clerics bugs the beans out of me.

[Wasp]

Hmmm... "Refluffing" probably would have been better than "Reskinning"... :smallcool:

In any case: What I see from time to time is Warforged characters that for example treat Druid Wildhape more as a "Transformer" ability... Which may already cross the line though...

[RedMage125]

I have a Kobold Paladin Concept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?553776-Kobold-Paladin-Ideas). He may seem amusing, but will be played straight. Very "Minsc" or "Don Quixote", where he is very serious. And for this, I re-flavor "Grovel, Cower, and Beg" as him instead flourishing his weapon and declaring his intent to deliver the swift boot of justice to the naughty behind of evil", or something. And the distraction provided to nearby enemies is because they're laughing at him, not because he's pathetic.

I mean, 3 foot tall reptile man in armor with a rapier declaring he's a mighty force for justice...

Maybe from the back of his pony...

...named Indomitable.

[xroads]

I've often played around with idea of refluffing a caster class as a technomancer cowboy. His guns would be his arcane focus.

I've also often thought about playing a cleric who came from a small cult of Lathandar. One that worshipped him as a volcano god. His light & fire spells would all be lava themed.


Actually, I always thought that clerics should properly be Cha based. Or at least some of them. The big tent, televangelist types, at the very least. It's really their own personality and charisma (in the Webster's Dictionary sense) that gives them power and extends their message of promoting their deity. Performers and persuaders, for sure.


I totally agree. One of my fellow players recently asked why my cleric's charisma was so low. The only reason I could give him was that I need a dump stat and everything else ranks more important to a cleric.

I guess in D&D, clerics are more like tools of the gods. While paladins are the face. Or something like that.