What if there was a way of making your character unique without any new rules? A way of making them more distinctive, more memorable?
What if there was a way of creating new spells monsters without complicated new stat blocks?
What if you could make the game your own with a quick and simple hack?
It already exists! And it’s one of my favourite tools as a player and DM.
Reskinning!
Reskinning is when you change the appearance, flavour, or description of something—a class, an item, a spell, a monster—without any change in mechanics. Often, it’s essentially not very different from renaming.
I’ve always enjoyed doing this. Amber Fireforge isn’t a ‘ranger,’ she’s a hunter, and she wears a leather jerkin, not ‘studded leather.’ She’s a hill dwarf, yes, but she’s also one of the great Neidar clans, and she’s armed with a composite bow and a hunting knife. It might not be much of a change, but it suddenly makes my character feel more personal, more my own.
Reskinning can also be a way of avoiding problematic names or names that remind you you’re playing a game. I remember a game of D&D as a teenager where one of my friends introduced his character as ‘[Name], fighter-wizard,’ and even at the age of 14, we cringed. Spellblade or mage-knight would have been so much cooler.
For this article, I have gone through as many different game elements as I could think of and come up with some alternative names for each them. In some cases, I wonder if the new names are actually better. As always, let me know what you think in the comments below.
The full text of this article is on my Patreon; this is just a sample. To people reading there, thank you very much for your support!
Character races
- Dwarf. Mountainfolk, Stonekin, Rockborn
- Elf. Feyborn, Sylvan, Starlight Kin, Moonkin
- Halfling. Shirefolk, Littlefolk, Small Folk, Hearthlings
Character classes
Tip: subclasses often work well! Thus, you’re not a rogue, you’re an assassin; you’re not a ranger, you’re a beastmaster.
- Barbarian. Berserker, Wildling, Raider, Warrior, Battlerager
- Bard. Minstrel, Skald, Troubadour
- Cleric. Priest, Templar, Oracle
- Fighter. Warrior, Swordsman, Knight, Blademaster, Soldier, Champion
- Rogue. Thief, Assassin, Cutpurse, Infiltrator, Sneak
- Wizard. Mage, Arcanist, Sage, Scholar
Alignment
easydamus.com is excellent for this!
- Lawful Good. Righteous, Principled, Justicar, Crusader, Saint, Honourbound
- Neutral Good. Benefactor, Altruist, Gallant
- Chaotic Good. Rebel, Freedom Fighter, Liberator, Free Spirit, Maverick
Armour
Controversial opinion: I kind of hate D&D armour. I much prefer the options in Level Up 5e and The Armourer’s Handbook.
- Padded Armour. Quilted Vest, Gambeson
- Leather Armour. Leather Jerkin
- Studded Leather Armour. Reinforced Leather, Leather Brigandine
- Hide Armour. Furs, Thick Hide
- Chain Shirt. Mail Shirt, Linked Vest, Hauberk, Chain Tunic
- Scale Mail. Scaled Armour, Lamellar
- Breastplate. Cuirass (note: pronounced ‘kwi-RASS’. See my pronunciation guide for more!)
Weapons
- Club. Cudgel, Bludgeon, Shillelagh
- Dagger. Stiletto, Dirk, Shank
- Greatclub. War Club
- Handaxe. Tomahawk, Hatchet, Cleaver
- Javelin. Throwing Spear, Pilum, Harpoon
- Quarterstaff. Bo Staff, Walking Stick
- Battleaxe. War Axe
- Glaive. Fauchard
- Greatsword. Claymore, Zweihander, Bastard Sword
Skills
- Acrobatics. Tumbling, Gymnastics
- Animal Handling. Beast Whispering, Animal Training
- Arcana. Arcane Lore, Spellcraft
- Athletics. Prowess, Endurance
- Deception. Lying, Bluffing, Trickery
- History. Lore, Antiquity
- Insight. Intuition
Spells
There are 370-odd spells in the Player’s Handbook alone. I’m not doing all of them.
CANTRIPS
- Fire Bolt. Flame Dart
- Eldritch Blast. Arcane Ray, Dark Bolt, Shadow Blast
- Mage Hand. Spectral Hand, Arcane Hand
- Prestidigitation. Minor Magic, Simple Spell, Wizard’s Trick
- Guidance. Divine Aid
- Ray of Frost. Frost Beam, Ice Ray
- Sacred Flame. Holy Fire, Divine Light, Radiant Flame
1ST-LEVEL SPELLS
- Cure Wounds. Healing Touch, Mending Hands
- Magic Missile. Arcane Arrow, Energy Dart
- Shield. Arcane Barrier, Protective Ward
- Thunderwave. Sonic Boom, Thunder Clap, Shockwave
- Burning Hands. Flame Burst, Fire Wave
- Bless. Holy Boon
Conditions
- Blinded. Sightless
- Charmed. Enchanted, Bewitched
- Exhausted. Fatigued, Weary, Drained
- Grappled. Held
- Incapacitated. Powerless, Helpless
Planes of Existence
There are a lot of planes. Just a sample:
- Material Plane. Prime Material, Mortal Realm
- Ethereal Plane. Ghost Realm, Spirit World
- Astral Plane. The Void, Astral Sea, The Expanse
- Feywild. Faerie Realm
Monsters
There are more than 400 monsters in the Monster Manual alone. This is just a sample.
- Banshee. Wailing Spirit, Phantom
- Beholder. Eye Tyrant, Sphere of Many Eyes, Floating Horror
- Displacer Beast. Phantom Panther, Phase Cat
- Doppelganger. Shapeshifter, Face Stealer
- Dragon. Wyrm, Drake, Dracus
- Elemental. Primordial
- Empyrean. Godchild, Titan
- Golem. Construct, Guardian, Automaton
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