Shadowrun Play > Gamemasters' Lounge
Lets talk about the clothes for a minute...
Beta:
I feel like the punk vibe has cooled down some over the years. Which kind of makes sense -- in the 2050s, things were still emerging from survivor culture -- vitas, goblinization, balkanization in many places, crash 1.0, coming to terms with the night of rage ... 2040 to 2050 had been the longest stable period in many ways, and perhaps people were beginning to rage against the machine, but also just to show some individuality, celebrate life a bit, and maybe experience a bit of hope that things were going to get better. Not everyone was going to be full on punk, but some flashes of colour or other attention-getting items may have been more common.
By 2080, hope for much improvement is struggling, there has been ongoing disruptions while the megas tighten their grip, technology has improved enough to make life much more heavily monitored, so perhaps less people are going to trying to stand out?
Stainless Steel Devil Rat:
Fashion fluctuates. And quickly. There is an old sourcebook that mentions "Mercenary Chic" as being a recent rage that's now (as of, like 2055) considered gauche.
A player should have at least a little agency in a game, and being able to say this or that is all the rage right now is exactly that sort of thing, imo. However that player's character should have a relevant knowledge skill (in this case, fashion) to contribute to the collective campaign canon in such a way.
Mechanically, the way I view fashion is by Lifestyles. High or higher lifestyle? You're current. If you want to be. Lower lifestyles are either not able to put fashionable outfits together at all, or their very best isn't considered up-to-date in fashion trends. Social armors still do what their mechanical benefit says they do. But if you have a Middle or lower lifestyle, social armors are clearly dated in a "fashion" sense.
prismite:
--- Quote from: Stainless Steel Devil Rat on ---Mechanically, the way I view fashion is by Lifestyles. High or higher lifestyle? You're current. If you want to be. Lower lifestyles are either not able to put fashionable outfits together at all, or their very best isn't considered up-to-date in fashion trends. Social armors still do what their mechanical benefit says they do. But if you have a Middle or lower lifestyle, social armors are clearly dated in a "fashion" sense.
--- End quote ---
This is a fascinating turn on it. I've never thought of it like this. Great addition!
Ghost Rigger:
--- Quote from: Stainless Steel Devil Rat on ---Fashion fluctuates. And quickly. There is an old sourcebook that mentions "Mercenary Chic" as being a recent rage that's now (as of, like 2055) considered gauche.
--- End quote ---
I would still separate being able to dress well from being fashionable, though. If you watch Victorian era period pieces, the suits the men were wearing don't look very different at all from modern suits, and the descriptions of Executive Suit indicate that suits haven't changed significantly by the year 2080 either. Stick to timeless classics, and you won't have to worry about chasing fashions....and that's not just advice for dressing like the 1%. On the street side of things, an Iron Maiden t-shirt still looks as good as the day The Number of The Beast was released.
Stainless Steel Devil Rat:
Sure.
For certain venues, low lifestyles might organically fit in. Someone at Low lifestyle might live in ME-109 concert tees (as far as I'm concerned, they're a canonical Iron Maiden tribute band!), but only if the runner has a knowledge skill that reasonably infers they're a fan. On the other hand, someone paying 10,000 nuyen a month at High lifestyle can afford to just go buy one at the drop of a hat, even if he or she hates metal and had no plausible reason to have already had one.
So, sure. Lower lifestyles might have coincidentally have "correct" clothing on-hand, but the way I like to run it Higher lifestyles always either have it, or can get it without having to track the expense.
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