Favorite Refluffings?

[Elricaltovilla]

Refluffing things is fun. One of my favorites isn't a true refluffing, but I played a mystic (PoW:E) who told everyone he was a wizard, shouted out spell names whenever he used a maneuver and bluffed any spell he couldn't cast with judicious use of wands and scrolls. He was a blast to play.

So what are some of your favorite refluffing stories?

[IcarusWulfe]

I once took part in an (unfortunately short lived) campaign where I played an Artificer that refluffed all of his magic items as clockwork/teslapunk devices. One shot items such as scrolls were actually arcane batteries and my Homunculi were to be clockwork automatons.

[Geddy2112]

I convinced my DM to let me play a sorcerer who's verbal and somatic components for spells were playing epic guitar solos.


He was a blast to play.
I see what you did there!

[mistermysterio]

We have a bard in our group refluffed as a cook... so instead of performing, he cooks food. When he's inspiring us in combat, he describes the mouth-watering food he'll cook after the battle instead of singing or playing a song. He has a kitchen he can summon. Instead of having different types of performances to accomplish different things, he can cook different foods that result in similar effects when they are consumed. All of his knowledge checks are fluffed to be based on places he's gone to gather ingredients or to cook.

He really enjoys the character and it's definitely entertaining when he starts orating about dragon-blood truffles, etc.

He has the spell "tiny hut" and he was cooking in the tiny hut once. He made a cheese-infused bread and called it "hut pizza". ... :o

[Particle_Man]

I want to eventually run a game with all of 3.5 psionics (classes, races, monsters, powers, items, feats, skills, etc.) totally refluffed as "fairy gem magic", if only to trick some of my psionic-adverse friends into trying out the system.

Sadly I am too busy to even think about doing that. But if someone else wishes to, please do so and let me know about it! Heck if it is well done I would be willing to buy it!

[SergharCromwell]

A gestalt paladin/celestial bloodrager whose bloodrager abilities were explained as allowing an angel to temporarily possess him.

[Elricaltovilla]

I want to eventually run a game with all of 3.5 psionics (classes, races, monsters, powers, items, feats, skills, etc.) totally refluffed as "fairy gem magic", if only to trick some of my psionic-adverse friends into trying out the system.

Sadly I am too busy to even think about doing that. But if someone else wishes to, please do so and let me know about it! Heck if it is well done I would be willing to buy it!

What is "fairy gem magic"?

[atemu1234]

One of my favorites is taking the 'monstrous' humanoid races (not monstrous humanoids the type) like orcs and goblins and refluffing them as simply naturalistic cultures for the most part; with equal parts evil, good and neutral for the most part (though, to be fair, I typically make them chaotic).

I like to refluff some Incarnum stuff as from binding damned souls a la demon worship, but that only happened once.


I once took part in an (unfortunately short lived) campaign where I played an Artificer that refluffed all of his magic items as clockwork/teslapunk devices. One shot items such as scrolls were actually arcane batteries and my Homunculi were to be clockwork automatons.

There was a feat from Ravenloft, in the book Legacy of Blood, that actually made magic items nonmagical and had them run on batteries. I made an Artificer archetype for it, where they gave up spells and got that for all of their stuff - though, to be honest, it interacted very... strangely with Craft Construct.


What is "fairy gem magic"?

Jill Stein's chosen specialization. (at the risk of sounding political)

In truth, I'm guessing the intent was just to have psionics with the numbers stripped off; it's not meant to be something looked at seriously.

[EisenKreutzer]

Refluffing Power Points as Mana, and Psionics as just another form of Arcane magic.

It literally convinced my once Psionics-hating friend to be open to the system he had hated since 3.5.

[digiman619]

Refluffing Power Points as Mana, and Psionics as just another form of Arcane magic.

It literally convinced my once Psionics-hating friend to be open to the system he had hated since 3.5.

DSP's definitive psionic work suggested a refluff as runes for this very reason.

[Uncle Pine]

I've had the pleasure to first use Korg the annoying Barbarian Wizard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?195049-Help-Me-Be-Annoying-with-a-Barbarian-Wizard) as NPC in a campaign I DMed that lasted for almost a year and then play it again in two different series of adventures, this time as a player. The first even ended up with an almost TPK (with Korg being the only survivor).
Korg has been plenty of fun to use from both sides of the gaming table, as the PCs (especially the Wizard) feared his "amazing displays of powers", so great that even the highest Spellcraft check couldn't identify as magical. Every time the PCs met him they'd either pay him to teach them new tricks like Magic Stone or flee as far as possible because they thought he could throw a fireball against them at any moment. As a player, Korg was equally amazing as the DM and I spent a bit of every session laughing our asses off whenever Korg would use an obscure feat or a hidden magic item to accomplish something that would leave the rest of the party speechless because they never had a look at Korg's character sheet.

[NOhara24]

Korg the annoying Barbarian Wizard



I'm glad someone mentioned this. In my last campaign I had a Barbarian and a Wizard as part of my party. During a fight the Barbarian watched the Wizard Inflict Light Wounds on a foe. In her mind, there didn't seem to be anything magical about that, so every time after that session she swung her d8 weapon she said "I'm going to inflict light wounds." Whenever she rolled a critical hit it became "Oh, so I'm inflicting Moderate Wounds this time."

Not so much a re-fluffing, but still funny. :smallbiggrin:

[Telonius]

My favorite one is to take the Warlock, file off the numbers, and call it an Arcane Archer.

[Particle_Man]

What is "fairy gem magic"?

Basically, the magic of the fey. All that stuff involving crystals (down to crystal armour, psicrystal familiar, etc.) could be re-flavoured as gems (cheap ones in some cases) that power magic in one way or another. This would be the magic system that originates in the world of the fey, and that mortals have learned to tap into through bargains with them, ancestors' bargains with them, accidentally wandering into a fairy wood and getting magic'd by a fairy, etc.

Basically, I think that 3.5 D&D underuses the fey, seelie/unseelie so there is room to shove all the psionic stuff in there. Throw in some Seelee court stuff too.

The components of psionics being different from the usual V,S,M also helps here. Sometimes you hear a buzzing sound, or see a person glow, or . . . and then MAGIC happens!

For a minor example, imagine that Astral Construct is "Dream Creature", that Dromites are changelings (transformed human children into slightly feyish humanoids), etc. The Wilder pretty much is there already.

I wouldn't change the stats (much), just the fluff.

[Bakkan]

The favorite refluff that I've used is describing Whirling Frenzy as a sort of Zen Battle Trance for a NG character from a good-aligned monastic order.

[Inevitability]

I'm glad someone mentioned this. In my last campaign I had a Barbarian and a Wizard as part of my party. During a fight the Barbarian watched the Wizard Inflict Light Wounds on a foe. In her mind, there didn't seem to be anything magical about that, so every time after that session she swung her d8 weapon she said "I'm going to inflict light wounds." Whenever she rolled a critical hit it became "Oh, so I'm inflicting Moderate Wounds this time."

Not so much a re-fluffing, but still funny. :smallbiggrin:

How was the wizard casting Inflict Light Wounds?

[IcarusWulfe]

How was the wizard casting Inflict Light Wounds?
Arcane Devotion?

[johnbragg]

How was the wizard casting Inflict Light Wounds?

That's an excellent question, and i have a logical and convincing answer right here in my wandcase--INFLICT LIGHT WOUNDS!

[Morphic tide]

A very new one, as in posted just today:

Ascetic Bladesman. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513325) A Barbarian refluffing with actual mechanical consequences. Namely, it is not eligible for Rage based things. Which opens up so many options it's quite nonsensical. I made a post describing some of those options.

[Mr Adventurer]

I've come up with a couple (https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?319666-D-amp-D-3-5-Retheming-Classes-stuff-I-ve-come-up-with) in years past.

Rune Axe Warrior. What, you thought spells and melee was an Elf idea?

Fiend-bound. Barbarian, but instead of rage, you've bound fiends into your body and draw on their power.

[ATHATH]

Copy-pasted from one of my posts in another thread:

Druids can easily be refluffed into witches. In other words, you're not worshipping nature- you're exploiting it/using it as a tool.

[Elricaltovilla]

Copy-pasted from one of my posts in another thread:

Druids can easily be refluffed into witches. In other words, you're not worshipping nature- you're exploiting it/using it as a tool.

The last time I met a druid refluffed as a witch, she turned me into a newt.

[digiman619]

The last time I met a druid refluffed as a witch, she turned me into a newt.

A newt? extra text

[Elricaltovilla]

A newt? extra text

I got better!

[Celestia]

Someday I want to play a Warforged Warlock refluffed as being completely non-magical. All the Warlock abilities are mechanical in nature. Eldritch Blast is an arm cannon. Flight is jet boots. Detect Magic is an eyepiece scanner. Fiendish Resilience is self-repairing nanobots. Etc.

[Uncle Pine]

Someday I want to play a Warforged Warlock refluffed as being completely non-magical. All the Warlock abilities are mechanical in nature. Eldritch Blast is an arm cannon. Flight is jet boots. Detect Magic is an eyepiece scanner. Fiendish Resilience is self-repairing nanobots. Etc.

So, Iron Man?

[Celestia]

So, Iron Man?
Iron Man is a suit, not a robot. So more like Megaman. *nods*

[Uncle Pine]

Iron Man is a suit, not a robot. So more like Megaman. *nods*

Makes sense. Maximum number of known invocations = size of the character's folder. :smalltongue:

[Morphic tide]

Someday I want to play a Warforged Warlock refluffed as being completely non-magical. All the Warlock abilities are mechanical in nature. Eldritch Blast is an arm cannon. Flight is jet boots. Detect Magic is an eyepiece scanner. Fiendish Resilience is self-repairing nanobots. Etc.

Works better for Psionics, as you can focus on powers that build off of already known ones and you have a pool of energy to act as a much better representation of mechanical limits.

You can also go with Artificer. If you want to be boring about it, that is. Or fluff it as "self upgrading," which is kinda needed anyway for the "level up" mechanic D&D uses.

[Celestia]

Works better for Psionics, as you can focus on powers that build off of already known ones and you have a pool of energy to act as a much better representation of mechanical limits.

You can also go with Artificer. If you want to be boring about it, that is. Or fluff it as "self upgrading," which is kinda needed anyway for the "level up" mechanic D&D uses.
Yeah, but I like warlock more.

[Grim Reader]

A Dragon. Cursed to live among the lesser races as one of them, the inferno of its vast powers reduced to just an ember of its native shape-shifting and sorcery, trapped in a mortal body.

Changeling Sorcerer, Racial Emulation: Kobold and Dragonwrought. Needed one feat.

[Particle_Man]

One I heard of that made sense to me was refluffing monks as prison guards. They are lawful and they are very good at subduing people (stunning fists, non-lethal damage) without needing to use weapons (which prisoners might otherwise take from them). They are also slightly better at resisting magic (all good saves, SR at high levels). They are also cheap to outfit (no weapons or armour required).

[Morphic tide]

One of the ones I thought of was refluffing a Synthesist Summoner/Beastmorph Alchemist, stacking up the Mutagen improvements on the alchemist side as much as possible and keeping the attacks on the Synthesist side maxed out with extra limbs and biting. The refluffing would, essentially, be that the character is a follower of Lamashtu that actually becomes monstrous as they level up.

The idea, like many good character concepts, started with the character concept and then looked for mechanics supporting it. I wanted to make a character that was an empowered follower of Lamasgtu, then looked for classes and archetypes that supported the idea.

[Milo v3]

Reflavouring dwarves into formian-style antfolk was amusing, especially since I had them take all the alternate racial traits which make them anti-giant so it was like ants vs. humans.

Having a forgeborn aegis' astral armour actually be him turning into a gigantic manapunk mecha.

Paladin class reflavoured from "Chosen of Good-ness" to "Chosen of the Positive Energy Plane".

Horses into giant riding lizards.

Reflavoured some earth elementals into gold elementals so my playtest vigilante could be a super rich thief who has bound Gold Elemental minions to go with his golden swordcane.

Reflavoured my dhampir geokineticist to manipulating his own blood. Shooting his blood out as javelins, hardening his blood whenever he is attacked and giving himself blood-claws is so much more interesting than the official bloodbender which is basically just "my water is red now".

Azata are angels of dead gods who had to tie their essence to narratives to stop themselves being pulled down with the ship.

Humans do arcane genetic engineering, trying to increase the chances of awakening bloodlines which is why they are all so diverse in ability scores and starting feats, and humans all have minor physical differences depending on what feat their bonus feat was. One with Stealthy might have blue skin to better blend into the darkness, while one with Combat Reflexes might have eyes which dart around more and more jittery fingers.

[mabriss lethe]

I've refluffed monks as royalty/high nobility: Good saves, immunity to poison and diseases, skilled with a variety of exotic "noble" weapons, ability to heal themselves, and a decent suite of skills appropriate to a king.

Bards are great for refluffing into cthulhu cultists. Instead of bardic music, they droned chants in inhuman tongues, and instead of bardic knowledge, they could draw on the secret lore of their order.

NPC Experts actually make for great spies/secret agent antagonists using Iaijutsu focus and autohypnosis along with stealth and face skills.

Barbarians can be easily converted over to any sort of "super soldier" archetype, invested with dark magic, implanted with alien runes, the product of generations of selective breeding, whatever.