Fauchard1520
Adventurer
For those of you who haven’t stumbled across the term before, I’m using “reflavoring” to denote the re-fluffing of game mechanics. Instead of rage my barbarian gets possessed by ancestor spirits. Instead of a sword my fighter uses a macuahuitl. Instead of a bow that shoots enchanted arrows my weapon is a glove that throws enchanted rocks. In game terms these things may be identical, but the flavor is distinct.
On the surface, that's all creative good fun. But when taken too far, you begin to muddle the flavor of mechanically distinct options. As a point of comparison, Savage Worlds often gets accused of this. When I’m obliged to reflavor “melee +2” as anything from expert judo to medieval jousting, my characters begin to feel samey.
So as an exercise in better character building, please hit me with your best example of successful reflavoring that you’ve used in a game. And if you’ve got an example of “reflavoring gone too far,” shout that out as well. With any luck, we can all walk away with a broader understanding of the pros and cons of the technique.
(Comic for illustrative purposes.)
On the surface, that's all creative good fun. But when taken too far, you begin to muddle the flavor of mechanically distinct options. As a point of comparison, Savage Worlds often gets accused of this. When I’m obliged to reflavor “melee +2” as anything from expert judo to medieval jousting, my characters begin to feel samey.
So as an exercise in better character building, please hit me with your best example of successful reflavoring that you’ve used in a game. And if you’ve got an example of “reflavoring gone too far,” shout that out as well. With any luck, we can all walk away with a broader understanding of the pros and cons of the technique.
(Comic for illustrative purposes.)