Technoir & Trenchcoats
One of the things that I really like about Technoir is the fact that gear is really simple. I mean, if it helps you, add some push dice. If not, ignore it. Simple.
However, one place where a lot of games fall a bit short is when dealing with non-combat, non-vehicle items. Today, I’m going to be talking about the trenchcoats!
Trenchcoats?
Yes, you hear me right, trenchcoats. Let’s face it, film noir is full of trenchcoats. So where does that leave us? With clothing.
Seriously?
Yes, I am serious. In on of the first D&D 4e games I played, a character spent quite a bit on a fancy dress, with no stats besides 20g (or close to it, it’s been a while). The rest of the party looked at the player quizzically, and asked why. He said, “Because my character is a princess, she should have appropriate clothes.”
It wasn’t until session 2 or 3 where we did our first social skill challenge. Before going into it, she (the character) changed into her nice dress, preparing for the challenge. At that point, the lightbulb came on for the rest of the group.
Even though there weren’t any in-game stats for the fancy clothes, I gave the player a bonus anyway. I mean, it’s 20 frickin’ gold worth of a dress. If that’s not fancy, I don’t know what is.
Enough Gaming Stories
Ok, on with the show, then. How this ties into our topic today is simple. Technoir has a great way of dealing with stuff like that. A Nice Dress could easily cost 2 or even 3 kreds, with good tags to go with it.
For example, Nice Dress - Fancy attire, Rich, Is that spun gold?
Simple! That’s a cost of 3 kreds, with a possible +4 push dice to any one roll (remember, you get one push die for the item itself, and one additional per tag).
Back to Basics
So we need a few tags for different types of clothes. Since there is a cyberpunk aspect, you need hookers, right? So sleazy or trying too hard sounds good. For trenchcoats, flowing, large, or imposing. This could be used for intimidation, hiding objects on yourself, etc.
Also to keep in mind is the idea that one thing trumps another. However, in social situation, what trumps what can shift. For a seduction attempt on the streets, sleazy would trump fancy in most cases. However, the same seduction at an upper-class party would see fancy trump sleazy.
Final Words
I really think that more games need to either have rules already for clothes and other things that could be gear for social conflict, or a gear section that is easily hacked. Perception is very important to people, and the way our characters - both player and non-player - look should be given a bit more credence than currently showed in most games.
