Wearing bling has historic and even modern reasons for being worn. So why don’t you often see players wearing it?
Wearing jewelry makes your wealth portable- no more bringing a wheelbarrow or wagon to transport all your money on a long journey, just turn it into expensive jewelry, and then redeem it for cash at the other end when you need to pay people (or literally hack it up and pay people with chunks of it). A commoner wearing rags and dirt isn’t likely to be ransomed (for what, their fleas?), but a noble high-class warrior wearing jewels can literally ransom themselves (why make an ongoing enemy by killing someone’s brother/sister/child/parent, when you can peacefully take their money and gear, and send them home poor but alive? This way, there are no hard feelings!). In modern times, this is allegedly the reason that pimps would wear blingy gold necklaces- any money they carried would be confiscated on arrest, but they could hand off a necklace to an associate to be pawned for bail money. Jewelry also isn’t usually as traceable as money in a bank account, which makes it quite handy for underworld figures. Having jewelry as part of your wardrobe also distinguishes you as someone who can afford to literally wear their money. People who think similarly are more likely to talk to you, make deals with you, and regard you well. This applies equally to nobles, merchants, and (perhaps surprisingly) mercenaries. Medieval mercenaries were often paid on the battlefield, or allowed to loot a city they had taken (leading to the term “to sack a place”), and so would often wear portions of very rich clothing, looted jewelry, and so on, to mark their success and effectiveness. In game terms, allowing player characters who dress in clothing other than “travelers’ gear” or “adventurers’ clothing” should gain a small bonus to interaction checks from their outfits, perhaps +1 to +5 depending on the tailoring, wardrobe co-ordination, fabulousness, appropriateness to the occasion, and cleanliness (filthy nobles’ silk garb that’s been dragged through a sewer will *definitely* not look as impressive!). (Originally posted on game Masters Stash on 21 February 2019) Comments are closed.
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