Roleplaying GamesThe all-purpose forum for general advice or system-independent (or multi-system) discussion. Come discuss adventure plots, gamemastering dilemmas, or player advice here. For ruleset-specific discussions, see the subforums.
What are some of the strangest, or most ingenious, refluffs that you've encountered/used in a game? I don't have any spectacular examples of my own, at least not off the top of my head, but a minor one that comes to mind is when a fellow player recently refluffed a mithril shirt as some kind of mithril-meshed leotard (the character is an acrobat/dancer of some sort, and the player wanted her to have inconspicuous armor, I guess).
__________________
Ponified Remilia avatar by Kurien.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayardSPSR
Do you have 'craft: disturbing mental image' as a class skill?
"Inconspicuous leotard" has to be the weirdest refluff ever.
__________________
Quotes:
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Claudius Maximus
Also fixed the money issue by sacrificing a goat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subject42
This board needs a "you're technically right but I still want to crawl into the fetal position and cry" emoticon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukitsu
I define [optimization] as "the process by which one attains a build meeting all mechanical and characterization goals set out by the creator prior to its creation."
Eh, I'd say refluffing a dragon into a amoeba-like mass with psionic powers (that allow it to fly, for instance), would be weirder.
Only if said amoeba-like mass wore a leotard.
__________________
Quotes:
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Claudius Maximus
Also fixed the money issue by sacrificing a goat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subject42
This board needs a "you're technically right but I still want to crawl into the fetal position and cry" emoticon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukitsu
I define [optimization] as "the process by which one attains a build meeting all mechanical and characterization goals set out by the creator prior to its creation."
OK, so take fighter (or more like swordsage) and take a rat (kobold) and take Splinter (from TNMNT) and take a jedi....and you have a rat-ish jedi-ish0-awesomesauce!
__________________
Murder is wrong... Unless it levels you up.
Last edited by randomhero00 : 08-20-2011 at 04:57 PM.
We refluffled Battle Sorcerer into a Dr. Who-like science guy. His raven familiar was a floating orb that scanned things (adding to his appraise skill) and spoke, and he used color spray as a stun weapon, that was fluffed as coming from his sonic screwdriver.
__________________
Click the spoiler to see all the great games I design:
Spoiler
Who Beats Who? the hilariously geeky game of hypothetical battles.
Who has two thumbs (up) and a board game coming out from Rio Grande? This guy. Gladiators (Rio Grande)
I played a Warforged Warlock once who was entirely mechanical/alchemical in nature. His Eldritch Blast was a laser cannon, he fired smoke grenades from his torso for Breath of the Night, and rocket jets in his feet fired when he used Fell Flight. All his other invocations were tech-based as well, but I can't remember them.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by GungHo, on Battletech
The Atlas is also goofy but it has that whole "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" menacing smile thing going for it. The guy who drew that one up was obviously taken to the Nutcracker when he was a child... and he was screaming in terror the entire time.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enterti, Cogidubnus
Glyphstone, out of all the playground I think you scare me the most...
2. A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on.
3. An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
27. Don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence.
What's cheesy about a re-fluffed Warforged Warlock? It's just a class / race combo. Warforged even takes a hit to casting stats, so if anything it's a sub-optimal, if awesomly flavorful choice.
__________________
Click the spoiler to see all the great games I design:
Spoiler
Who Beats Who? the hilariously geeky game of hypothetical battles.
Who has two thumbs (up) and a board game coming out from Rio Grande? This guy. Gladiators (Rio Grande)
What's cheesy about a re-fluffed Warforged Warlock? It's just a class / race combo. Warforged even takes a hit to casting stats, so if anything it's a sub-optimal, if awesomly flavorful choice.
Some people have a reaction to anything that sounds cool; it has to be cheesy.
Last edited by Drachasor : 08-20-2011 at 08:17 PM.
Some people have a reaction to anything that sounds cool; it has to be cheesy.
The half-giant (with no LA buyoff) fighter who took EWP: Dwarven Waraxe, TWF, monkey grip, and OTWF is full of cheese somehow, despite being worse than the human fighter who took EWP: Spiked Chain, Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, and Stand Still.
The half-giant (with no LA buyoff) fighter who took EWP: Dwarven Waraxe, TWF, monkey grip, and OTWF is full of cheese somehow, despite being worse than the human fighter who took EWP: Spiked Chain, Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, and Stand Still.
Well, it's big guy with a pair of huge axes rolling lots of large dice, it has to be cheesy!
__________________
Quotes:
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Claudius Maximus
Also fixed the money issue by sacrificing a goat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subject42
This board needs a "you're technically right but I still want to crawl into the fetal position and cry" emoticon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukitsu
I define [optimization] as "the process by which one attains a build meeting all mechanical and characterization goals set out by the creator prior to its creation."
As always, I bring in my example of my [3.5, obviously] warforged DFA who had absolutely nothing to do with dragons and who was instead a direct ripoff of Inspector Gadget. (Go Go Gadget Hot Glue!) All of his abilities were Go Go Gadget something-or-other. He also got all of his items made as attached or embedded components, so he had all kinds of things popping into and out of his body with a simple GGG declaration.
In D&D 4e, I play my Runepriest as a Truenamer (or, if you catch me on a punny day, a Rune Aimer), but that's not so much "refluffing" as "finishing what WotC started."
Then there was my [3.5 again] Spirit Shaman. He was a dwarf from Boatmurdered and, rather than a traditional imaginary friend spirit guide, he thought that the spirit of an elephant was stalking him. The spirit of the elephant WAS stalking him, actually, but it wasn't an elephant. It was the ghost of his dead husband, who Chrysanthemum Vow'd himself while off fighting the Elephant Wars. (What? Like YOU'VE never combined Dwarf Fortress lore, Edo-period literature, and D&D into an unholy abomination before!) Rather than actually meditating with his spirit guide, he just drank until he couldn't see the elephant anymore (a process I called "communing with the spirits." Commence groans).
Gentlefolk, learn from Zaq's example, and his suffering. Remember, seven out of eleven players who use truenamer lose their ability to taste ice cream.
When you ask a question, and I respond with something about the Truenamer, it might be because I think it's the best answer. More likely, though, is that I'm saying it because no one else will.
Had a Spirit Shaman who was quite literally a hippy a while back. Bought as much hempen rope as he could and started smoking it. He ended up getting killed by a tree that decided to hug him (ie. he was hiding in a tree while incorporeal when someone dispelled magic on the area. DM ruled that I got stuck in the tree).
__________________
Proud owner of: 0.36 0.43 Internet(s) and 2 Win(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Welknair
*Proceeds to google "Bride of the Portable Hole", jokingly wondering if it might exist*
The most annoying (and yet quite clever) was when a DM of ours refluffed the choker as a jack-in-the-box for a christmas adventure we did. Damndable thing near killed my char too.
The most annoying (and yet quite clever) was when a DM of ours refluffed the choker as a jack-in-the-box for a christmas adventure we did. Damndable thing near killed my char too.
Note to self: as D.M, Refluff EVRYETHING. Keep the barstards on their toes.
refluffed binders and warlocks that i ended up not using:
Spoiler
Long ago the people of these islands followed the old gods, strange inhuman entities that supposedly predated the creation of the cosmos. In the beginning (according to their beliefs) there was nothing but the endless void and the GodFire, what would become the catalyst for all creation. From the GodFire came the first ones, and the first ones used the GodFire to begin the universe.
The GodFire burned and reacted and brought forth the lands and the skies and the seas. All things come from the initial chain reaction. This new world even began to birth people, all who worshipped the first ones, the old gods. But the first ones, not being of this world but before it, found they had difficulty maintaining a connection to it. So they taught these people how to call forth the first ones and to anchor them in their very souls.
All was good...for awhile, until settlers, immigrants from far shores came to this place. They saw these inhuman spirits dwelling in willing hosts and declared them to be fiends and horrors. They defiled the temples and rededicated them to their own gods, petty, new gods. They began converting the followers of the old ways, by swordpoint if necessary. The first ones, seeing the destruction being wrought by these foreingners, chose the bravest warriors, the wisest sages, the cleverest tricksters and placed a spark of the GodFire into their souls. And these champions did war with the newcomers. But the damage was too great, the old gods too distant from creation. The newcomers won and made worship of the old gods heresy.
But all this is ancient history. Few remember the old gods, and most that do only consider them a footnote in the history books. Only a handful keep the old ways, and always in secret, for worship of the old gods is still considered blasphemy.
Note to self: as D.M, Refluff EVRYETHING. Keep the barstards on their toes.
Yeah, I learned a good lesson on refluffing from reading a story on these boards. The DM's players knew the MM inside and out just through sheer amount of play, so he needed to give them an unexpected challenge. They ended up fighting a huge cat like creature on fire that tore through the party. They were utterly terrified.
It turned out that it was an Elephant with a single template, Fiendish I think or some kind of elemental kind. Replace the bash with claws but that was about it.
I didn't so much refluff a creature but I modified it's description so much no one knew what it was. It was a literal hill of rock that could move in the semi-shape of an animal. It would boulder through people and smash them underneath it. It was an advanced (huge) Rhino with the Mineral Warrior template. No one guessed.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadow_archmagi
DM says: WHY!? WHY!? WHY?!
DM means: NO! NO! NO!!!
Player hears: GOOD JOB PLAYER! DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!
As always, I bring in my example of my [3.5, obviously] warforged DFA who had absolutely nothing to do with dragons and who was instead a direct ripoff of Inspector Gadget. (Go Go Gadget Hot Glue!) All of his abilities were Go Go Gadget something-or-other. He also got all of his items made as attached or embedded components, so he had all kinds of things popping into and out of his body with a simple GGG declaration.
In D&D 4e, I play my Runepriest as a Truenamer (or, if you catch me on a punny day, a Rune Aimer), but that's not so much "refluffing" as "finishing what WotC started."
Then there was my [3.5 again] Spirit Shaman. He was a dwarf from Boatmurdered and, rather than a traditional imaginary friend spirit guide, he thought that the spirit of an elephant was stalking him. The spirit of the elephant WAS stalking him, actually, but it wasn't an elephant. It was the ghost of his dead husband, who Chrysanthemum Vow'd himself while off fighting the Elephant Wars. (What? Like YOU'VE never combined Dwarf Fortress lore, Edo-period literature, and D&D into an unholy abomination before!) Rather than actually meditating with his spirit guide, he just drank until he couldn't see the elephant anymore (a process I called "communing with the spirits." Commence groans).
I snorted soda out my nose when I read your last one. Good work sir
__________________
Awesome FE sprites done by Penguinator
"Inconspicuous leotard" has to be the weirdest refluff ever.
True enough; presumably (from what I've seen so far) though, leotards are actually a known garment in the setting worn for acrobatics and whatnot (as we know them), so that's one thing. I think the idea was just that the protective aspect is inconspicuous, not the character herself, going around in a leotard; like wearing a bulletproof vest under your jacket (only in this case the vest is visible, except that it doesn't look like a bulletproof vest)... or something.
Anyway, brilliant stuff so far ; keep it coming.
__________________
Ponified Remilia avatar by Kurien.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayardSPSR
Do you have 'craft: disturbing mental image' as a class skill?
Once upon a time we played a d20 future game. It was zombie apocalypse on the moon. My character went to Moon High. Everything we fought were dnd monsters refluffed to be plant based zombie mutants. Some of the notable ones were a zombie mutant girallon, which was just a gorilla escaped from the zoo that grew more arms.
There was also a thing described to us as 'basically picture a grey render, but its 40 feet tall and has a plant zombie wizard riding on the back'.
By the way, there was a wizard who was fluffed as a plant zombie. His spells were changed to reflect this. It was wicked. I hit him with a Gravball Stick. He didn't die.
__________________
I do avatars on request, but due to computer issues I can't right now. Sorry.
I got a DM to pass the Jedi Guardian from Starwars d20 after some re-flavoring and minor tweaks. I re-fluffed it as an order of Lawful Good knights from the elemental planes. You didn't start with a lightsaber but instead had to go on a pilgrimage to an elemental plane to find a focus crystal to craft one. The time you could survive such a quest is about the time the lightsaber wouldn't be a game-breaker anymore. The lightsaber did energy damage based on the plane the focus crystal came from (Fire, Cold, Acid, Lightning). Using force powers dealt non-lethal damage to the Jedi instead of costing Vitality and some of the powers were reworked to fit D&D's power scale. For example my ice-energy variant of force lightning whose damage actually increased with the skill's result instead of a static 3d6 whether you're level 1 or 20. Also darkside points were out, D&D has its own alignment system and attacking people with energy damage is hardly the paragon of evil in it.
The DM who passed it always had a lot of love for planes and planar politics so my character concept fit in much better than I had ever expected.
Last edited by Captain Six : 08-21-2011 at 09:28 AM.
Well, it wasn't a game, but in a series of books I once read, the author re-fluffed a simple ring of invisibility in a children's book into the One Ring of Power which needed to be destroyed, requiring the heroes to take on a quest to a volcano in the heart of the evil realm over the course of a three-book epic to end the threat of the Dark Lord forever.
The author also re-fluffed a comic-relief gardener into a great warrior who could slay giant spiders and storm an orc fortress.
Well, it wasn't a game, but in a series of books I once read, the author re-fluffed a simple ring of invisibility in a children's book into the One Ring of Power which needed to be destroyed, requiring the heroes to take on a quest to a volcano in the heart of the evil realm over the course of a three-book epic to end the threat of the Dark Lord forever.
The author also re-fluffed a comic-relief gardener into a great warrior who could slay giant spiders and storm an orc fortress.
Ah yes, I think that was one of the more ingenious ones. What's really amazing about it though is how he managed to pull that refluff off before D&D even existed.
__________________
Ponified Remilia avatar by Kurien.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayardSPSR
Do you have 'craft: disturbing mental image' as a class skill?
Well, it wasn't a game, but in a series of books I once read, the author re-fluffed a simple ring of invisibility in a children's book into the One Ring of Power which needed to be destroyed, requiring the heroes to take on a quest to a volcano in the heart of the evil realm over the course of a three-book epic to end the threat of the Dark Lord forever.
The author also re-fluffed a comic-relief gardener into a great warrior who could slay giant spiders and storm an orc fortress.
Well played, good sir. Well played.
__________________
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Spikey Mace of Looking at All Sides of the Question
Anyone who can tell me what my avatar is gets a cookie.