No dresses allowed!

[Vern5]

God this thread is subconsciously screaming for an Arcanum sequel. Where you can make your elf character shoot people with a flintlock pistol and wear steam powered armor... if only...

Yes Please. ;_;

I like playing as a caster who wears cloth becuase I'm allergic to Iron irl and it makes my skin burn if i come into contact with it. So watching someone 24-7 who wears armour makes me feel itchy. :< I tend to avoid plate wearers in games although most of the time I don't do it conciously I go for rogues and mages.

I like robes I think is what I'm trying to say.

That's incredible! You're fero-lergic! I didn't even think that existed. Aaww well you could always dabble in leather?

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

Because when I conjure the forces of the universe to do my bidding I want big, bad-ass billowing cloaks, robes, scarves and other assorted cloth centerpieces whipping about me in a torrent of magically induced movement.

Good day to you, sir!

*Puts on his robe and wizard hat*

Oh goodness, I got way too much of a laugh out of this post with your avatar.

Ahem. Actually on topic... as a few people have already said, put mages in heavy armor and they become overpowered and unstoppable. Now, as for why they wear robes and not, say, pants or what not, that's probably just because of the stereotype. Want an easy way to identify the mage? Put them in robes! No one else will wear them.

But I can think of a few subversions of the stereotype as well. Mostly in JRPGs, for whatever reason- though I do play more JRPGs than WRPGs.

 

[archvile93]

There is a valid gameplay reason behind that, and it's the same reason arrows are so weak. If mages could wear heavy armor, they could have extremely high defense in addition to their high offense and primarily range abilities. This would make them better than every class in pretty much every way, which is quite obviously poor balance. Why be a warrior who's limitied to a short range weapon or an archer who has weak attacks, when you can be the mage that has ranged attacks, is nigh indestructable thanks to its new found armor, and can rival the Manhattan Project just by blinking?

 

[Meggiepants]

I find this relevant.

Can't really think of much else to be honest.

Oh Anders, back when you were a proper mage who knew the importance of a witty retort. What happened to you?

Tis relevant indeed, though really, pants don't actually hinder my ability to get down to business. Those circle mages must be incredibly inept when it comes to such things.

This suddenly reminds me of a rule in my grade school when I was young. We weren't allowed to wear sweatpants. Ease of access issues. Again, I wonder at the neccesity of a drive by sex act. Truly, this seems crazy to me.

Also, since I've already meandered so far from your point, I am still amazed Oghren is Spike Spiegel.

Mages tend to be members of closed organisations that have a lot of authority, the mage's robe is a uniform designed to impress upon people exactly how important you are. it's supposed to stand out and convey how learned and powerful you are. they're always going to be ostentatious because it conveys power and high status, though I personally liked the Tervinter robes from Dragon Age, much less obstructive.

Now a mage who's renegade or otherwise not wanting attention probably would wear regular clothes.

Call me a rebel. I think it suits me, and my dress denial tendencies.

 

[theheroofaction]

Ha, I usually use mages, and I wear armor as much as possible. But, too often have the wielders of the nexus of power have to wear stupid robes and goofy hats, this requires an upheaval of some sort.
Join me in the Ironmage revolution.

I'm joking of course but it still is kinda annoying not being able to wear steel.

 

[michael87cn]

Well I.. well, um, I blame Gandalf. Yes. I blame Gandalf.

He had a robe, wizard hat and staff.

That's 'Magic'!

I guess.

 

[P0RTAL]

I'm always a mage and it's awesome. I think that the dress thing is ridiculous, especially with the argument that armor limits movement. If you're going for clothing that doesn't limit movement, wear some pants and light armor. Have you ever tried running in a dress? Now imagine running in a dress while trying to shoot fire from your hands. It's a mess. However, I don't think that mages should start tankin' it and wearing heavy armor because if mages had good defense it would give them some major advantages over everyone else. Range, high hitting and high defense are a bit too much. Let the paladins soak up damage like a sponge. I prefer hiding behind a tree and destroying the enemies from a distance.

 

[tharglet]

I think this actually goes back to some old D&D classes that couldn't wear metal, like the Druid. So I can actually see where this argument comes from, even if it is a bit antiquated
[..]
Do mages get dirty fast? They need to take showers more often?

Well, as a nelf druid... you never know when you're gonna need to suddenly drop yer dress ¬¬

Oh Anders, back when you were a proper mage who knew the importance of a witty retort. What happened to you?
Tis relevant indeed, though really, pants don't actually hinder my ability to get down to business. Those circle mages must be incredibly inept when it comes to such things.

Either that or the pants-o-disappero spell magicked away a little more than the pants.... so a robe would prevent that from being an attractive option

Yeah, when I used to play WoW, sometimes I'd be wanting my mage to wear trousers instead of skirts lol, tho the stereotype is useful in MMOs - it makes it easier to pick out who the casters are at a glance.

 

[michael87cn]

Then again another good question is "why is this so important?" it's not like all games require mages to be clothies.

A lot of good games allow variation now, like some previous examples and the elder scrolls games I feel deserve credit too.

 

[Vern5]

Now that I think about it, I think I like the Saga Frontier 2 reasoning behind not using metal armor. Metal pretty much has no soul when compared to wood or stone so it does not conduct magic at all.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Armor is stuffy and mages are flightly...thats why rangers wear tights!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lUjhEHlh7s

 

[jonyboy13]

Well, you want mage with armor? Have fun melting it while shooting fire balls.
I really like the robes, they give more magical look than a damn piece of metal.
And if you pay attention, not all games follow this. A lot of casters wear diffrent type of armor, robes are just the basic which I really don't see a problem with. If I could wear robes efficiently with a warrior damn right I'll wear them.

lol at the captcha:
SP-I geMAGE

 

[Telumektar]

I agree with both LiberalSquirrel and archvile93, it's amatter of cultural stereotypes and gameplay balance. If mages could act as every other member of the party at the same time it would be pointless to play as any other class. One of the best examples is Merrill in DA2, she is a good support char and can resist a serious ammount of damage. Luckily the only thing she can't do is healing, otherwise she would monopolize the whole game. The only good example of battlemages I've seen was Wynne in DA:O, she would use some of her magic to be able to fight in melee form while still acting as a formidable healer, I think she was bit overpowered though.

I recommend you all to check on Titan Quest and its expansion (it fixes maaany bugs and adds a lot of great content), the class system allows the player to mix a couple of classes to get a different char with every possible combination, it lets you play as melee, ranged physical, ranged magical, mixed magical and melee or magical and ranged, use lots of pets or go absolutely solo. That is without counting all the mods the community has made as the game is fully moddable since its launch. Those, ammong other stuff, add several classes more.

 

[Sejs Cube]

Who the fuck needs heavy armor? You've got magic.

Oh no, dude's swinging a sword at me. Oh, nevermind, magic ************.

Oh no, dude's firing an arrow at me. Thank god I've got this kickass magic going for me.

Oh no, somehow someone got the drop on me and stabbed me with a knife and now I'm injur... oh wait, problem solved, magic fixed it.

Armor is for chumps. If you need armor and you're a mage that just means you're a shitty mage.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Well im not an D&D expert, but in the game i am playing its 1) The Iron makes casting more difficult thing, which is somehow explained by..reasons and 2) The Law forbidding it for Mages to wear armor or weapons (except the ones in the royal military who are allowed studded armor and longswords) to make them a ...stoppable risk for society.
The robes are a product of Tradition, as they were/are for professors, lawyers, judges or any other kind of higher institutions. Plus there are ancient techniques of producing magerobes that can improve his abilities somehow, that either cant be used on other kinds of clothing, or the knowledge is just lost for newer reproductions.
Last but not least, just because the traditional and honourable part of "i am a mage, so i wear mages clothing and a staff as symbols of my trade with proud" dont satisfy your powergaming needs, it doesnt mean that they are not of importance for the character. Same for the laws.

 

[Meggiepants]

Well, as a nelf druid... you never know when you're gonna need to suddenly drop yer dress ¬¬

True... wait, why does this post seem secretly salacious? You are funnin me. I will figure this out!!!

Either that or the pants-o-disappero spell magicked away a little more than the pants.... so a robe would prevent that from being an attractive option

I have never needed a pantso-whatso spell. I find a carefully controlled incendiary spell does the trick nicely. Anders just probably didn't get enough practice...

Yeah, when I used to play WoW, sometimes I'd be wanting my mage to wear trousers instead of skirts lol, tho the stereotype is useful in MMOs - it makes it easier to pick out who the casters are at a glance.

Well it isn't useful to me, since I always play a mage. I find it most un-useful. I still want my stealthy non-magey pants.

A lot of good games allow variation now, like some previous examples and the elder scrolls games I feel deserve credit too.

Yes, they do. I like Elder Scrolls. They allow me to pretty much dress how I want, no matter how crazy it looks.

The even had the decency to include glass armor. I love the look of melted recycling on my nice steel plate stuff.

 

[teebeeohh]

because armor is uncomfortable unless you are a space marine, so if you don't have to wear it you don't. I mean why wear a heavy suit of metal when you can just summon a nice shiny sphere around you that absorbs all the incoming blows as effective and does keep your hands free

what i find strange is who if you are a mage in DA2 you are supposed to keep a low profile and every armor choice is a robe and a staff that could not pass as a walking stick.

 

[Susurrus]

SNIP

There's a quality moment in BG2:ToB, in Watcher's Keep, where you wake a liche (an undead wizard) up from a centuries-long sleep. He's about to go all magic on you, with all the cliched lines about "You dare disturb my slumber?"..

But there's an item on the level, a pair of slippers. And if you have them on you, he says:
"Ahem. Sorry, I always wake up in a bad mood. Thank you for returning my slippers to me. Good day to you" or words to that effect, and goes back to bed.

Also, if mages wore armour, they couldn't run away as quickly when things go bad.