Game where cloaks are relevant?

[harpy]

Are there any games that mechanically take into account the value of wearing a cloak?

As a kid I'd wander woods playing "D&D guys" with my friends. We'd have toy swords, bows made from branches, string and dowel rods, and cloaks. One of my friend's mom's was able to make cloaks for us, and so as 10 year olds we'd go play in woods, by a pond, or a gravel and sand depot and play out adventures in our heads as any kid does.

One of the things that made that time "magical" was this sense of adventure where all you needed was a good set of boots, a sword at your side, and a cloak and you'd be set to venture off into the wild. The cloak was the shield from the elements. It protected you from the cold, the rain and was also a blanket.

I'm sure it's the same feeling a kid in the previous generation felt about having a cowbow hat, a gun and a horse. That hat protected you from the heat, the rain and let you cover your face for some good sleep.

None of that was ever represented in D&D, or any other game I've come across, but is there anything out there that at a mechanical level makes you think, "good thing I have my cloak!"?

Now, someone might chime in, "why does there need to be some mechanical benefit? Why can't that just be a part of the story background." All I can say to that is that I'm old... I need me some simulation, or rather... I need some emulation. Distill out those elements that really capture the theme and give some mechanical relevance to them, and that mechanical turn can help fill in a bit of the magic that gets left behind in childhood.

[Theodoric]

The 'neck' slot magic item in D&D4E is often a cloak.

[sonofzeal]

Cloaks of Resistance are probably one of the top three most popular magic items. Does that help?

[jmbrown]

Only game off the top of my head is GURPS 4E which treats cloaks as an improvised shield. You basically flail your cloak around throwing off enemy's attacks and deflecting blows.

[The Dark Fiddler]

When I ran through Crystal Keep's Equipment .pdf a day or two ago, I remember seeing something like "dueling cloak" that was essentially padded armor in cloak form (assuming I remember the stats correctly). There might be more.

[awa]

i think the dueling cloak works more like a shield

[KaeltheAwesome]

As a DM, I think I would grant circumstance bonuses to prevent weather based problems if the heroes were wearing a cloak. They are useful!

[Nero24200]

I kinda like that, outwith magical cloaks, there isn't any rules for using them. If having them granted bonuses X Y and Z, it would mean that, in not wearing a cloak, my character suffers, and I don't want something like that to happen to my character simple because I don't think a cloak suited their look.

[nekomata2]

There is a feat in the PHB2, Combat Cloak Expert, that gives you a few mechanical benefits to using a cloak in combat.

[erikun]

1.) Weather based conditions take into account how the character is clothed, and cloaks do factor into this. You character will resist cold when dresses warmly, and are more likely to resist heat when covered up. I'm not sure if Stormwrack forced rolls for the rain, but a cloak would certainly help with resisting penalities in rain.

2.) Magical cloaks do everything from granting bonuses to saving throws (one of the only items that does) to hide bonuses to extradimensional pockets.

3.) There are cloaks which (with a feat) can be used as a shield, or used to feint in combat. These may or may not have already been mentioned, as I don't recall exactly what they are...

4.) I kind of assumed that most adventures had a cloak, or something similar, as standard gear. I mean, even in mild climates, you want something to keep the sun and rain off your head.

[Tyndmyr]

Seventh Sea takes cloaks into account, and IIRC, one fighting style in there was based around the use of a cloak for distraction, misdirection, and concealment. Sounds a bit like what you're looking for.

[UglyPanda]

Cloaks aren't relevant for the same reasons that there's no relevance for high-heeled shoes or fingerless gloves.

It's overly detailed when magic items outclass them severely. And it results in players losing out on bonuses just because they have fashion sense.

[Heliomance]

More importantly, a cloak has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a non-adventurer discovers that an adventurer has his cloak with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a bedroll, face flannel, soap, trail rations, waterskin, compass, map, ball of string, smokesticks, wet weather gear, boots of the winterland etc., etc. Furthermore, the non-adventurer will then happily lend the adventurer any of these or a dozen other items that the adventurer might accidentally have "lost". What the non-adventurer will think is that any man who can travel the length and breadth of the wilderness, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his cloak is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

[Mike_G]

More importantly, a cloak has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a non-adventurer discovers that an adventurer has his cloak with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a bedroll, face flannel, soap, trail rations, waterskin, compass, map, ball of string, smokesticks, wet weather gear, boots of the winterland etc., etc. Furthermore, the non-adventurer will then happily lend the adventurer any of these or a dozen other items that the adventurer might accidentally have "lost". What the non-adventurer will think is that any man who can travel the length and breadth of the wilderness, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his cloak is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

That Elan is one hoopy frood who knows where his cloak is.

[waterpenguin43]

I believe cloaks take part on a level of protection from cold in Frostburn. They help protect you from cold.

[Samb]

Cloak dance (XPH) and elusive target (CW) both give concealment as part of your movement, you might be able to make a hide check in plain sight since it never specificly stated you can't use that concealment to hide (unlike the ToB stance cloak of shadows). Elusive target is tougher to qualify for but do so much more since it is a tactcal feat.

PS both require you to have a cloak on.

[Sliver]

Batman uses his cloak. Just saying..

[Yakk]

I could imagine a 'logistics' abstract system in which gear like a cloak was somewhat important.

[Zain]

IN races of Stone, there is a "Gnome battle cloak" or something, is a shield, who's AC bouns works on touch attacks

[Katana_Geldar]

Cloaks can help you look dark and mysterious too.

[horseboy]

It also has the same function as the giant golden "!" in wow.
"Hey, look! It's a dark stranger in a hooded cloak in the corner, he must be a quest giver!"

[kjones]

I don't know if this is a rules thing or not, but I've had proper clothes (cloaks included) give a bonus to the Fort saves against environmental conditions.

Other than that... I wouldn't make it a mechanical benefit, simply because D&D isn't fine-grained enough to represent that sort of thing. Make sure you note that when it starts raining, the people wearing cloaks are much happier than the ones with out, and leave it at that. If you give them a penalty or something for not wearing one, that seems too harsh.

[arguskos]

It also has the same function as the giant golden "!" in wow.
"Hey, look! It's a dark stranger in a hooded cloak in the corner, he must be a quest giver!"

"Or he's Cloak, from Cloak and Dagger! Stay back! He might eat us all!" /nerdyjoke

[ghashxx]

Cloaks are like a man's best friend. They're a blanket, pillow, poncho, can be used to help hide yourself, make an emergency stretcher, a coat, wind jacket, and hat against the sun. For all of these things you can figure out some kind of bonus. Like if it's raining then you don't suffer any negatives on spot checks since the rain is being kept out of your eyes.

Also they're definitely great in combat with the aforementioned feats, though there's all kinds of homebrew feats you could make for disarming, tripping, feinting, distracting, and temporarily blinding an enemy. I've seen the feinting and distracting in actual fencing, though the others aren't allowed for safety concerns. But before the new rules people would throw the cloaks to the side and stab the distracted guy, or wrench a blade out of someones hand / get it out of the way long enough to strike a nasty blow. Incredibly effective.

[Dixieboy]

More importantly, a cloak has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a non-adventurer discovers that an adventurer has his cloak with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a bedroll, face flannel, soap, trail rations, waterskin, compass, map, ball of string, smokesticks, wet weather gear, boots of the winterland etc., etc. Furthermore, the non-adventurer will then happily lend the adventurer any of these or a dozen other items that the adventurer might accidentally have "lost". What the non-adventurer will think is that any man who can travel the length and breadth of the wilderness, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his cloak is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

I knew that joke was gonna come up, not this well written though,
Kudos.

[Reinboom]

Cloaks were significant during the renaissance, for a wonderful description of the use of such:
diGrasse's True Art of Defense - Cloak chapter rewritten into modern English.

Though for this level, as well as the simple elements protection, systems tend to only treat it as a "oh weird, some people actually care about this stuff" thing and throw it in awkwardly and completely in adjunct.

[Heliomance]

I knew that joke was gonna come up, not this well written though,
Kudos.

Eh, I just found the quote and replaced the sci-fi terms with D&D appropriate ones. Send most of the kudos where it's due, the late, great Douglas Adams.

[Fhaolan]

I love me some cloak.

To be serious, my wife and I actually wear cloaks in RL on many occasions. We've got a pair of nice 30oz heavy wool cloaks made by a friend who sells them on the RenFaire market. Unlike a lot of the ones you see that are barely costume-grade at best, these things are utterly functional. And at a fall show, when it's raining half the day every day (Pacific Northwest), they are a lifesaver.

Then again, I also have my grandfather's old bridge coat (a long peacoat) and several other heavy old-fashioned bits of clothing that I find more comfortable and functional than any of the modern stuff.

[Thorcrest]

Cloaks are just cool!

But in serious game terms, Using simply the DM guide and PHB (3.5), cloaks can be used to help against whether effects, as well as Hide(? going off of memory) and, if your like me you use cloaks to conceal weapons everywhere (increases check by +2) then sneak into no weapons allowed functions and arm the party! Then you can adventure in "inadvisable" locations!

[Jayabalard]

Only game off the top of my head is GURPS 4E which treats cloaks as an improvised shield. You basically flail your cloak around throwing off enemy's attacks and deflecting blows.

3e (and I'm pretty sure 2e) GURPS treated it that way as well; the usage of light and heavy cloaks was generally covered any time you looked at something that addressed swashbuckling

they could be used as kind of an improvised shield, or used for an entangling attack, or used as a makeshift net.