Often overlooked as a social mechanic (in D&D-likes anyway): Fashion

[PhoenixPhyre]

Come to a court ball in your armor and armed? Very different response than coming in the latest fashion. And even fashion can be used as a weapon--if different major nations/parties/social groups have different fashion trends, adhering to one or the other or neither can be a sign of allegiance to one social group or another.

Spoiler: An article I wrote about one area where the PCs will be engaged in some social contremps

Show

Note: Mirzapor is one of the major cities, as is Varanasi. The first is traditional and "stodgy", while the second is heavily commercial and "popping". Ikela is the country, which is located in the southern sub-tropical jungle. And yes, these are impractical garments for tropics. Noted. Most of the work-day fashion is much more light, this is fashion (not practicality).

Three main "streams" of fashion: High Mirzapor fashion, High Varanasi fashion, and low fashion.

High Mirzapor mode is the "classic" high fashion. Traditional to a fault, it changes only slowly and emphasizes good breeding and status. High Varanasi is the experimental fashion, with trends being born and dying like froth on the sea. Low fashion is the clothing and styles worn by the country folk (nobles and common alike) who don't follow either style. It emphasizes practicality and changes extremely slowly.

Fabrics and Materials
Mostly cotton and linen, with silk used extensively among the most wealthy. Fur is used only very rarely, and mostly as an accent (Ikela being a warm, humid climate). Leather is used in low fashion and as protective gear. Exotic materials such as spidersilk and coralweave are used in tiny amounts by the very wealthiest. Elastic fibers (sourced from a few types of plants) are known but expensive (relative to Earth).

Fasteners and decorations are bone or wood (at the low end) and brass and gold and gemstones at the high end.

High Mirzapor
Attractive men are slender, pale skin, with dark hair and eyes. Tans, calluses, and visible musculature are lower-class markers. Women are hourglass (enforced by corsets and stays), but also pale with dark hair. "Languid" is a term of approval.

Male Fashion: think "Regency England" (aka Jane Austin's era) in cut. Frock coats, tailored shirts, tight breeches and boots. Generally unembroidered and without lace or ruffles. Nobles go armed, mostly with a smallsword (like a cut-down rapier), but this is usually decorative. Hats are worn, but closer to a tricorne (except). Colors are bright, generally being shades of a single color across an outfit. Blues and greens predominate, with reds being seen as a more feminine color.

Female Fashion: Corsets narrow the waist and push up the bust. The upper bodice is cut low, tight and square, exposing much of the upper side of the breast, with puffy shoulders and long, fitted sleeves (often extending to a point on the back of the hand). Breathing is optional. Lace and ruffles are used sparingly. The skirts are voluminous and layered, often with 7-8 layers of petticoats or with hoop skirts. Artificial bustles are added. Colors are pastels, often very pale ones. Reds (well, mostly pinks) show up frequently. But most dresses are cream or other off-whites or very pale pastels. Women wear substantial jewelry, especially necklaces with heavy pendants. Hair is worn up, but no wigs, although jewels are woven through it. Big hair.

High Varanasi (ca 250 AC)
Attractive men are slightly more muscled and fit than High Mirzapor fashion dictates, but still very pale and soft skin. Slightly more forgiving of various hair colors. Attractive women have more natural figures (although slender is a necessity, cf the dresses).

Male Fashion: Similar in cut to High Mirzapor, but with frills, ruffles, and BRIGHT CLASHING COLORS and high-heeled boots. Men wear jewelry, including ear studs and rings. In the highest fashion, trousers tend to be laminated on with large, padded codpieces made of a very different, contrasting color. Seriously, they look ridiculous.

Female Fashion: Ditch the corsets and bustles and large skirts. Necklines stay low but become V-shaped, but every artifice is made to fit the dress to the skin. Women frequently have to be sewn into their dresses and can barely walk, as the skirts only flare out in the last 6-12 inches (and often have large trains). Bright colors are the norm, as are arm bands and big chonky jewelry. Hair is worn down (often to the lower back) or pulled back, but not braided. Jeweled ropes tie it back and are woven through it.

Low Fashion
Trousers and tunics, belted at the waist and laced up the front. Not particularly fitted. Formal dresses tend to be simple but follow somewhat similar patterns (without the excesses) of High Mirzapor fashion: full skirts and square necklines. Sleeves only reach the elbow and the dresses generally are worn with only a single petticoat and no corset.

[Alcore]

Don’t forget colors; appearing in certain colors (even by accident) can have others assume you stand with a specific group.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Don’t forget colors; appearing in certain colors (even by accident) can have others assume you stand with a specific group.

Absolutely. That's a classic one. Even happens today. I'll use the example of football teams (to avoid the obvious minefield of more...political...examples)--my graduate alma mater was blue and orange. One of our (many, this being the SEC) rivals was a school in crimson red. On game day, you made darn sure you were wearing the right colors. Some of those games had to be held in neutral cities because of riot potential.

In a game environment, this is the sort of thing that you'd want to make really clear, or at least have a rebuttable presumption of allegiance. Having them swarmed under because their (unstated up to that point) shirt was the wrong color with no warning is, well, not something I'd like to have happen to me in a game. Obvious arm bands, people warning them, giving them obvious dirty (or welcoming!) looks, etc.

[KorvinStarmast]

When in doubt, wear basic black.
Is that now a dangerous proposition?

[Tawmis]

While not for any form of gala, but in my homebrew - my players are in a desert setting (where magic runs rampant) and the very heat itself is magical.

So anyone wearing any form of armor, is regarded as potentially ready to start a fight, and all social interactions are at Disadvantage in this town, because people feel uncomfortable speaking to them.

[Anonymouswizard]

So anyone wearing any form of armor, is regarded as potentially ready to start a fight, and all social interactions are at Disadvantage in this town, because people feel uncomfortable speaking to them.

I've had guards try to arrest PCs because they're fully armoured, and they'd have done the same if they were openly carrying most weapons. First switched away from D&D to not inconvenience fighters so much, now I spend a lot of time in modern settings where PCs might be unwilling to carry weapons at all.

But yeah, dress for the occasion. Armour shows that you're expecting to fight and normal workclothes won't do for the royal ball. Plus your character's fashion can say a lot about your character and how people react to them.

I actually spend more time on PC outfits than their physical attributes, and I'm not into fashion IRL. But it's very useful to have at least two or three sets of everyday clothes, a set of formal wear, and some kind of more serious adventuring gear defined.

Like just imagine the embarrassment and alienation you'll feel if you're the only hatless person at the gala.

[jjordan]

Come to a court ball in your armor and armed? Very different response than coming in the latest fashion. And even fashion can be used as a weapon--if different major nations/parties/social groups have different fashion trends, adhering to one or the other or neither can be a sign of allegiance to one social group or another.

Spoiler: An article I wrote about one area where the PCs will be engaged in some social contremps

Show

Note: Mirzapor is one of the major cities, as is Varanasi. The first is traditional and "stodgy", while the second is heavily commercial and "popping". Ikela is the country, which is located in the southern sub-tropical jungle. And yes, these are impractical garments for tropics. Noted. Most of the work-day fashion is much more light, this is fashion (not practicality).

Three main "streams" of fashion: High Mirzapor fashion, High Varanasi fashion, and low fashion.

High Mirzapor mode is the "classic" high fashion. Traditional to a fault, it changes only slowly and emphasizes good breeding and status. High Varanasi is the experimental fashion, with trends being born and dying like froth on the sea. Low fashion is the clothing and styles worn by the country folk (nobles and common alike) who don't follow either style. It emphasizes practicality and changes extremely slowly.

Fabrics and Materials
Mostly cotton and linen, with silk used extensively among the most wealthy. Fur is used only very rarely, and mostly as an accent (Ikela being a warm, humid climate). Leather is used in low fashion and as protective gear. Exotic materials such as spidersilk and coralweave are used in tiny amounts by the very wealthiest. Elastic fibers (sourced from a few types of plants) are known but expensive (relative to Earth).

Fasteners and decorations are bone or wood (at the low end) and brass and gold and gemstones at the high end.

High Mirzapor
Attractive men are slender, pale skin, with dark hair and eyes. Tans, calluses, and visible musculature are lower-class markers. Women are hourglass (enforced by corsets and stays), but also pale with dark hair. "Languid" is a term of approval.

Male Fashion: think "Regency England" (aka Jane Austin's era) in cut. Frock coats, tailored shirts, tight breeches and boots. Generally unembroidered and without lace or ruffles. Nobles go armed, mostly with a smallsword (like a cut-down rapier), but this is usually decorative. Hats are worn, but closer to a tricorne (except). Colors are bright, generally being shades of a single color across an outfit. Blues and greens predominate, with reds being seen as a more feminine color.

Female Fashion: Corsets narrow the waist and push up the bust. The upper bodice is cut low, tight and square, exposing much of the upper side of the breast, with puffy shoulders and long, fitted sleeves (often extending to a point on the back of the hand). Breathing is optional. Lace and ruffles are used sparingly. The skirts are voluminous and layered, often with 7-8 layers of petticoats or with hoop skirts. Artificial bustles are added. Colors are pastels, often very pale ones. Reds (well, mostly pinks) show up frequently. But most dresses are cream or other off-whites or very pale pastels. Women wear substantial jewelry, especially necklaces with heavy pendants. Hair is worn up, but no wigs, although jewels are woven through it. Big hair.

High Varanasi (ca 250 AC)
Attractive men are slightly more muscled and fit than High Mirzapor fashion dictates, but still very pale and soft skin. Slightly more forgiving of various hair colors. Attractive women have more natural figures (although slender is a necessity, cf the dresses).

Male Fashion: Similar in cut to High Mirzapor, but with frills, ruffles, and BRIGHT CLASHING COLORS and high-heeled boots. Men wear jewelry, including ear studs and rings. In the highest fashion, trousers tend to be laminated on with large, padded codpieces made of a very different, contrasting color. Seriously, they look ridiculous.

Female Fashion: Ditch the corsets and bustles and large skirts. Necklines stay low but become V-shaped, but every artifice is made to fit the dress to the skin. Women frequently have to be sewn into their dresses and can barely walk, as the skirts only flare out in the last 6-12 inches (and often have large trains). Bright colors are the norm, as are arm bands and big chonky jewelry. Hair is worn down (often to the lower back) or pulled back, but not braided. Jeweled ropes tie it back and are woven through it.

Low Fashion
Trousers and tunics, belted at the waist and laced up the front. Not particularly fitted. Formal dresses tend to be simple but follow somewhat similar patterns (without the excesses) of High Mirzapor fashion: full skirts and square necklines. Sleeves only reach the elbow and the dresses generally are worn with only a single petticoat and no corset.

I really, really dislike it when players run around town in battle armor and obviously armed to the teeth.

[Alcore]

I really, really dislike it when players run around town in battle armor and obviously armed to the teeth.

Favoring the “Space Marine” look any character of mine with plate mail is in plate mail (minus helmet of course).


In reality anything about as big as longsword should prompt a guard visit and armor better than hide a friendly guard shadow. Unless your a noble.

[KorvinStarmast]

In reality anything about as big as longsword should prompt a guard visit and armor better than hide a friendly guard shadow. Unless your a noble.

Why do you hate martial characters and love spell casters?
(As a one time Starcraft addict, the space marine look is, to me, high fashion!)

[Anonymouswizard]

Why do you hate martial characters and love spell casters?
(As a one time Starcraft addict, the space marine look is, to me, high fashion!)

Yeah, this is a major issue. Such restrictions in D&D tend to heavily impact the weakest classes without majorly affecting more powerful ones (they might have to leave their staff at home, but can probably sneak spell components/casting foci in relatively easily). It's not the case in every system, my favourites tend to put big enough limits on casters or just straight up don't have the distinction.

Then you have systems like Chronicles of Darkness where weapons are nice, but not as key to winning a fight as skill and Willpower (because if you don't hit you don't get those tasty bonus successes). A skilled brawler with plenty of Willpower will probably best an untrained gunman running on fumes. Sneaking a pistol in under your clothing is great, sneaking a knife in isn't a major deal, and if one player has powers everybody probably does. In Nobilis I'm fairly certain it doesn't matter if you can sneak your warhammer into the Louvre or not, I believe calling Treasure to you is a fairly minor miracle.


Plus the space marine look can't be high fashion, it doesn't have a hat!

[Alcore]

Why do you hate martial characters and love spell casters?
(As a one time Starcraft addict, the space marine look is, to me, high fashion!)

What spell casters?


“In reality” = historical (in my context at least)

[DigoDragon]

In my Saturday group, our party keeps at least one fancy outfit each for occasions when we meet nobles. And since nobles pay us very well for jobs, we will go out of our way to look good in their courts. :3

The GM does give us a small bonus to social checks for dressing up. Anything between +1 and +3 depending on our style choices and whether we wear the same outfit often or switch it up.

[Lemmy]

Full plate would be weird indeed... But some types of armor that would be considered light or medium armor in D&D could pretty reasonably pass for clothing or be used under normal clothing.

Similarly, most the time, most people shouldn't have much of an issue with someone carrying a sidearm, like a dagger or arming sword... But carrying a spear, zweihander or longbow might not be the best choice for social events.

(Not to mention that in D&D there's magical armor that literally transforma into clothing)&

[Zekestone]

I know the Cyberpunk game does cover this (it even has a skill for wardrobe & style). Walking around in heavy armour carrying heavy weapons? You ain't going anywhere but the combat zone in that. Light armour can be made to look like regular outfits though, and any weapons you take to some place would have to be concealable.

[Martin Greywolf]

Concealing armor as clothes

Do whatever in your games if it pleases you, but in reality? No really a thing, outside of very few exceptions. When I'm wearing my gambeson, it's very obvious I'm doing it, no matter what else is on top, simply because my head is now disproportionately small to the rest of me, let alone the details like padded armor not folding or flowing like normal clothes.

Just about the only armor you can get away with like this is chain mail sewn into clothes - this was done historically, but is nowhere near as effective as proper chain mail (lacks padding, for starters), and it can still be seen if you are paying attention - the garment doesn't move like clothes. You won't be able to dress in height of fasion like this, but you may be able to passs as a servant in a baggy tunic. I'd probably call it a chain shirt with one or two less AC in DnD terms.

Just for the record, plate inserts do work, but they can't overlap or be shaped properly, so you get no padding and a lot of gaps. It's basically chainmail, but slightly worse.

Weapon and armor laws

First thing to note is that they are highly localized, you only very rarely see a national law governing this before early modern era. They are usually city laws, and as such often can't apply to nobility, only burghers and commoners, which is why you will often get the effect of a noble being able to carry a sword in a city even if such a case isn't explicitly mentioned in the city laws.

As for the form they take. Well. The earlier you go, the more vague the language gets, in 12th-13th century they refer to full panoply of war or weapons of war and leave it up to the town guard to decide what that is.

Once we get to late medieval 14th-15th centuries, the language gets more specific. Armor is usually called out, and weapons are usually regualted by length. There is a steel measure bolted onto the city's church/cathedral that local merchants use as a standard, and the length of weapon is often regulated by it, as in "no swords, long knives or other weapons longer that the elbow". The guards will then just... cut a string the length of said measure to take around with them, not unlike a tape measure.

Note that this applies for moving around in the city, if you just arrived and are on your way to your accomodations, you will be fine. If you start to wander around the market, some of the local town guard/militia gentlemen will politely ask you to leave.

Flaunt it if you got it

If you are a noble, it may very well be fashionable to carry a weapon, just to show that you are, in fact, a noble. The less you have to travel to parts of the country that are regulated, the more likely it is that there will be a specialized fashionable dress-sword specifically for that purpose. While most likely still functional, it will be much smaller and less capable of parrying a halberd than a proper military sidearm - this is more ore less where smallswords come from.

The evolution may then come full circle, taking this fashion sword and beefing it up to a size that is serviceable for military porposes - which is where spadroons come from.

Point is, you can have a lot of fun with designing this, if this is your jam.

[King of Nowhere]

if you have some kind of official position as "problem solver", your weapons may actually be your work uniform, and you may get exceptions.

but nobody is mentioning casters. so the fighter is forbidden from carrying his sword, but the wizard can move around freely, despite being potentially a lot more dangerous?
seems to me that either a society would try to restrict spellcasting similarly, or they'd just give up on trying. as in, if we can't control who may be a spellcaster ready to unleash death, we may as well have anyone armed and just crack down really hard on those abusing it

[Anonymouswizard]

but nobody is mentioning casters. so the fighter is forbidden from carrying his sword, but the wizard can move around freely, despite being potentially a lot more dangerous?
seems to me that either a society would try to restrict spellcasting similarly, or they'd just give up on trying. as in, if we can't control who may be a spellcaster ready to unleash death, we may as well have anyone armed and just crack down really hard on those abusing it

Staffs will likely be banned, as will wands and similar items (although they're easier to hide). Holy symbols run into the fact that you can't tell if the holder can use it for spells until they do so, as well as religious discrimination issues. Finally spell components can easily be relatively mundane items or hidden in normal pouches.

That's not getting into the fact that many settings do try to regulate spellcasting and related items, or the fact that spellcasters are relatively rare. An average town or city might have a handful of casters, if that, but a desire to not have weapons of war being carried around (if owned at all).

[Batcathat]

While it would almost certainly be harder to do, it seems unlikely that the authorities wouldn't at least attempt to control and regulate magic, considering it has all the risks of mundane weapons plus a bunch of extra ones.

Maybe have the magic detecting version of a metal detector at the city gates and other important locations? Though I'm not sure if that would work for non-magical components and such. If nothing else, there's always searching the pack and person of anyone who enters (though magic allows some new ways of getting around that).

[Vahnavoi]

Spellcasters of fantasy are based on historical scholars & clergy, so if you want inspiration for what kind of fashion etiquette they'd be subject to, look there. Chances are, wearing a robe, a staff and a fancy hat as well as symbols of your god and school are mandatory, but if they're the wrong robe, staff and hat for your station or if the symbols are of a foreign or unpopular god or school, you've at least given everybody a reason to be suspicuous, and at worst created a scandal and given a lot of other spellcasters a reason to punish you.

[Lemmy]

Concealing armor as clothes

Do whatever in your games if it pleases you, but in reality? No really a thing, outside of very few exceptions. When I'm wearing my gambeson, it's very obvious I'm doing it, no matter what else is on top, simply because my head is now disproportionately small to the rest of me, let alone the details like padded armor not folding or flowing like normal clothes.

Just about the only armor you can get away with like this is chain mail sewn into clothes - this was done historically, but is nowhere near as effective as proper chain mail (lacks padding, for starters), and it can still be seen if you are paying attention - the garment doesn't move like clothes. You won't be able to dress in height of fasion like this, but you may be able to passs as a servant in a baggy tunic. I'd probably call it a chain shirt with one or two less AC in DnD terms.

IMO, gambeson could reasonably become a type of clothing by itself... As in: At very leas, it wouldn't be aggressively out of place in a social setting, unless it's an occasion with a specific dressing code, like a gala or something... And I've literally seen people wearing chain shirt under their shirts and no one could tell it was there until the person wearing it showed it.

[Thrudd]

Spellcasters of fantasy are based on historical scholars & clergy, so if you want inspiration for what kind of fashion etiquette they'd be subject to, look there. Chances are, wearing a robe, a staff and a fancy hat as well as symbols of your god and school are mandatory, but if they're the wrong robe, staff and hat for your station or if the symbols are of a foreign or unpopular god or school, you've at least given everybody a reason to be suspicuous, and at worst created a scandal and given a lot of other spellcasters a reason to punish you.

In some forms of magic, specific garb is actually necessary for the rituals to have effect, as well. It's possible a prohibition on spellcasters wearing armor in the system/setting is not only a concession for game-balance reasons, but can also be explained as a necessary component of magic in-world. Someone walking around town in a spellcaster's garb would be a dead giveaway, if authorities were on the lookout for them. Just like the fighters, you need to "disarm" in order to blend in, or be allowed into certain places, meaning that all characters are equally disadvantaged without access to their best tools. Maybe some simple/low power forms of magic (non-combat cantrips?) are possible without the special garb, but anything else needs the long robe with embroidered gold runes and the hat with a specific crystal attached to the forehead, that nobody could mistake for anything else.

[Vahnavoi]

Ah yes, that's a good point. In older editions, what magic-users could or could not wear was definitely influenced by ideas of what they'd need to wear for magic. It would be possible to go all in with that and have specific spells require specific ritual clothing. No battle magic for you in everyday clothes etc..

[Lord Torath]

Concealing armor as clothes

Do whatever in your games if it pleases you, but in reality? No really a thing, outside of very few exceptions. When I'm wearing my gambeson, it's very obvious I'm doing it, no matter what else is on top, simply because my head is now disproportionately small to the rest of me, let alone the details like padded armor not folding or flowing like normal clothes.

Just about the only armor you can get away with like this is chain mail sewn into clothes - this was done historically, but is nowhere near as effective as proper chain mail (lacks padding, for starters), and it can still be seen if you are paying attention - the garment doesn't move like clothes. You won't be able to dress in height of fasion like this, but you may be able to passs as a servant in a baggy tunic. I'd probably call it a chain shirt with one or two less AC in DnD terms.

Just for the record, plate inserts do work, but they can't overlap or be shaped properly, so you get no padding and a lot of gaps. It's basically chainmail, but slightly worse.

This is why you need the 2nd Edition Shadowrun "Fashion" spell. You can change target's garments into any fashion you desire, but you cannot affect the protective properties of the clothing. So you can turn regular clothing into useless armor, or turn real armor into regular (or fine or Tres Chic) protective clothing.

I generally *do* have my characters purchase one set of nice clothing, but they don't always have it with them when they need it.

[Thrudd]

Ah yes, that's a good point. In older editions, what magic-users could or could not wear was definitely influenced by ideas of what they'd need to wear for magic. It would be possible to go all in with that and have specific spells require specific ritual clothing. No battle magic for you in everyday clothes etc..

Just musing on this concept -
It might have an interesting effect on game balance and tactics, as well as roleplay scenarios, if the types of magic a caster had access to was identifiable by obvious pieces of garb. You can look at the battlefield, see there's a guy wearing a turban with a blue jewel, and know that he's got conjuration spells, or a red robe with golden dragon runes embroidered on it for an evoker or pyromancer, etc. If you see a guy with a blue robe, a bejeweled necklace/chestpiece, a pointy hat, and holding a staff with a big claw on top, you know they have multiple schools. Some schools' implements might be more concealable than others, and some might be mutually exclusive (ie. two schools require different types of robes or headgear). I'm not saying this should be applied directly to D&D as-is, but a homebrew system could certainly work it in, with the schools and spells balanced around this feature of the game.

[Beleriphon]

Favoring the “Space Marine” look any character of mine with plate mail is in plate mail (minus helmet of course).


In reality anything about as big as longsword should prompt a guard visit and armor better than hide a friendly guard shadow. Unless your a noble.

With enough filigree any plate can be high fashion. I mean if Robute Guilliman dress below for meeting with the High Lords of Terra as well as ripping space Orkz in half with his bare hands so can you. Paint that armour blue and you can bust out such quotes as:

"Never wish for danger. Danger needs no help. There is no such thing as fate that can be tempted, but morale is never improved by an active lust for war."

"What doesn't kill me... isn't trying hard enough."

Spoiler

Show

[PhoenixPhyre]

With enough filigree any plate can be high fashion. I mean if Robute Guilliman dress below for meeting with the High Lords of Terra as well as ripping space Orkz in half with his bare hands so can you. Paint that armour blue and you can bust out such quotes as:

"Never wish for danger. Danger needs no help. There is no such thing as fate that can be tempted, but morale is never improved by an active lust for war."

"What doesn't kill me... isn't trying hard enough."

Spoiler

Show

I'm not sure that everything that passes muster in WH40k (especially from a primarch, who are rather above such pretty concerns) would pass muster in any random world.

But sure, if you're level 20, dripping in legendary gear you tore from the dead hands of your foes and are in a mortal court somewhere, wear what you want. Few will safely gainsay you.

[AceOfFools]

I think the problem with mechanizing fashion is that it’s such a nuanced topic that it would require a reasonably high level of complexity.

Just as a for-instance, going full spiky-Mohawk-punk will endear you to some audiences, alienate you from others, make you more intimidating to many. Even determining if it should be a bonus or penalty is a complicated question. Further, can one even have “fine” clothing in a style that celebrates torn & ragged?

So I think the only way this works is if you have a fairly generic system, one that relies heavily on GM adjudication. Like, you could totally give a character proficiency in “aristocratic clothing” as a tool in 5e, and let them apply their bonus where proper dress makes a difference: impersonating a noble, demanding your rights as an aristocrat, etc.

[Mechalich]

The problem with fashion mechanics in D&D-likes is very simple: every character is actually Iron Man, demanding that they change out of their battle gear means massively reducing their personal power and severely compromising their personal safety. This was already a risk management issue in pre-industrial historical cases - European cultural mores were strongly against this, but elsewhere people got murdered at banquets or under a flag of truce distressingly often - and the incredible force multipliers tied to gear in D&D-like scenarios multiples the constraint by orders of magnitude. For one thing the traditional methods of providing VIP security - having your retinue secure literally every place you ever visit before you get there - simply isn't viable because no one a tier lower on the power scale can protect you at all.

[Vahnavoi]

@AceofFools: this is a case of "don't make things more difficult than they have to be". If a game is governs a short timespan, a natural language list of things that are in fashion and which aren't will go a longer way than any amount of numerical models. For longer time spans, changes in fashion can be tracked in same ways as changes in weather: a random chart that's periodically checked on, or a cyclical calender with information on how fashion is changing and why. If you have multiple factions or cultures, pictures of what members of those cultures consider fashionable or not will go an even longer way. The rest is just paying attention to how characters look and being willing to say things like "you showed up in the wrong clothes - they won't let you in", "your garb is hideously out of fashion - disadvantage for this social situations", "you came in literally wearing colors of the enemy, of course everyone is hostile to you".

---

@Mechalich: people sometimes got killed under truce or as result of false flag operations, yes. But most characters don't start from the top, with ability to ignore the rules with impunity. To get the gear and the personal power, they will have to act according to the rules first, and for most steps along the way, they will have people equal to or above them who will act to take their gear and power away from them if they break them. If there aren't enough people acting in good faith, you will never get truces or flags to use as cover for your deception to begin with.

A steep power curve doesn't make all that much a difference for this. It just means each tier of power is chiefly concerned with their equals and lowers.

[Anonymouswizard]

So I think the only way this works is if you have a fairly generic system, one that relies heavily on GM adjudication. Like, you could totally give a character proficiency in “aristocratic clothing” as a tool in 5e, and let them apply their bonus where proper dress makes a difference: impersonating a noble, demanding your rights as an aristocrat, etc.

That's kind of how GURPS does it, it first assumes that 90% of your starting wealth is tied up in things like your living place and a full wardrobe, and then let's you buy Fashion Sense to get a bonus to reaction rolls when you can prepare your outfit (and give your allies the bonus as well if you dress them).