At 05:44 PM 12/20/2004 +0100, Hrandal wrote:



>I`m not sure fashion should be rewarded with any kind of bonus, to be

>honest. I`ve seen plenty of girls wearing "fashionable" stuff that looked

>completely weird (skirt over trousers anyone?) :rolleyes: Psychology

>studies have shown that the main reason girls tend to follow fashions is

>to impress other girls, not to impress men (mind you, young men are

>supposed to be spending more on fashion clothing these days, so maybe the

>trend is no longer limited to girls.)Anyway, I`d say fashion is to do with

>peer pressure, not actual attractiveness, hence you should be punished if

>you don`t keep up with it (akin to not having the jewellry to accompany a

>courtier`s outfit in the PHB) rather than rewarding it if you do. True

>style comes from within, and is largely to do with self-confidence and

>natural good looks, which is basically what CHA represents anyway.



Lots of what goes on in fashion makes me want to put a gun to my head, but

that aside there is a social factor involved in that one needs to have the

right clothes, jewelry and other things in order to be considered a member

of a certain social group. This isn`t necessarily just amongst the

nobility, of course, but it is certainly more expensive and taken to an

extreme in the upper social classes. I`ve seen a few games in which

characters are expected to spend a certain amount of their money in order

to maintain the lifestyle that supports their social level--which has its

own set of modifiers and game mechanics. In BR/3.5 terms, a diplomacy

check made by someone from the peasant rank of society upon a member of the

aristocracy is going tougher than one made between social peers.



On the whole, I think you`re right in the way it should be handled. It`s

more a system of penalties rather than bonuses. At most, one could argue

that a finely crafted, au currant (expensive) set of clothes might warrant

a sort of masterwork bonus to interaction checks made in social conditions,

but I wouldn`t go for anything beyond that.



Gary