Classes refluffed for an Egyptian campaign
by Blacky the BlackballThose of you who have been playing 4e will be familiar with the emphasis on "refluffing" powers and classes and so on.
For those of you who aren't, it's basically the process of taking a game element that you think works well in terms of game mechanics, but one that you don't like the flavour text of; and then changing the flavour text so that the game element is - in character - a very different element, but with the same mechanics.
The classic versions haven't particularly emphasised doing this, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it.
I once did a complete refluffing of most of the races/classes for an Egyptian themed campaign. Basically, I didn't want the standard Elves, Dwarves and Halflings because they didn't fit. So rather than write them out, I simply changed them.
Here's what I ended up with:
- Cleric - Pretty much unchanged.
- Elf - Re-fluffed as being human magic-users; there's no reason for human magic-users to be unable to fight or wear armour, but human magic-users are inferior to Djinn magic-users in terms of pure magic use.
- Dwarf - Re-fluffed as "Sons of Ptah"; short hairless beings made of clay/stone.
- Fighter - Pretty much unchanged.
- Halfling - Re-fluffed as "Basteti"; cats that can change into human form (but when in human form they're only the size of a child).
- Magic-User - Re-fluffed as "Djinn"; desert spirits that are inherently magical but cannot abide being restricted by armour because it goes against their spiritual nature to be constricted in that manner.
- Mystic - Re-fluffed as "Sekhmeti"; anthropomorphic lions who start out looking relatively human, but who slowly grow more bestial (only physically, not mentally) as they fight more - the increasing unarmed combat ability represents the growing of their claws and fangs and toughening of their hide rather than an ability with martial arts. Like the Djinn, they can't abide wearing armour.
- Thief - Pretty much unchanged.