Skinning Game Systems
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Reading the latest Roleplaying Tips Weekly (Issue 424, which as of the moment I’m writing is not posted up online, but should be soon) talks about “Skinning Game Systems”. It’s a fantastic article, in which Hannah L. talks about rewriting the fluff of your RPG. Basically, the idea behind it is that every single race and class is a set of numbers surrounded by fluff. It’s not so hard to play a Dwarf but say you’re playing a human who particularly loves the earth, or your Eladrin wizard is actually a human wizard who has focused a lot of time studying up on teleporting.
I found this very interesting, since my group has already begun doing this, realizing that 4e is a lot more flexible if you ignore the fluff and pay attention to the variety you can have with your crunch.
In our upcoming Living Forgotten Realms game, one of my players is playing a ranger, but he’s actually playing a pirate, using two-weapon fighting with a rapier and dagger. I’ll be playing a knight, which is just a human fighter with Plate Armor Proficiency and Mounted Combat feats at first level.
And for our upcoming Ravenloft 4e campaign, I’m going to be playing a Vistani (the Gypsies of Ravenloft), who is actually a Warlock, due to their cursing abilities.
Skinning is so easy, it’s ridiculous!
What types of skinning have you done in your games?
Sounds what you re-discovered is what has been true for any edition of any RPG. Just because the rules say you are one things, it doesn’t really stop you from playing your character as something else. This is more true in D20 systems than anywhere else. Where it seems people want a PrC to handle all these things.
I’ve used the rouges as ninjas. (no need for a ninja PrC or class)
I’ve used a rouge with 1 level of wizard to be a type of wizard
charlatan.
I’ve seen halflings used as humans with Skeletal dysplasia.
I look forward to reading that article you mentioned.