I have no idea how my Tabaxi bard should dress mainly due to finding much to go on for Tabaxi clothing styles besides the one picture in Volo's, but also due to the backstory.
Short timeline for backstory:
Born in Maztica and lived there till she was captured by slavers shortly after the continent returned to The Forgotten Realms.
Brought to Athkatla to be auctioned off where she was bought by a Calimshan merchant.
On way to Calimport, a rouge storm wrecked the ship she was on. She is the only known survivor.
Lived in the Forest of Tethir for 2-3 years where she was befriended by an Elven Bard who taught her the ropes of being a bard.
Now for some personality quarks for the lack of a better word, that might effect clothing choice:
She is in a market for a mate but she is a bit more practical in this aspect as far as she is looking for strong healthy males that can give her nice strong kids and is not too picky when it comes to her mate's race. Also, she isn't above pushing prospects down and "checking the goods" with very little regard to privacy or social reprocussions, she has been known to "grapple" in combat for the same reasons.
She was born in a hot far away very foreign land from the main part of the realms so she has very little modesty which compounded with just the fact that clothes on fur aren't the most comfortable, so she what she wears would need to be function over form and comfort over salacious.
I don't know how much if any elven influence would make sense in this situation, or how much cliche tribal would also make sense. The only source information I have found to go on are Volo's and the first 2 books of the Maztica trilogy and the trilogy doesn't seem to have Tabaxi in them... Also in if anyone knows where I can get information on slavery in Calimshan and Amn particularly in how slaves are marked and what happens if the master dies in a way that the slave had no hand in it.
It looks good there wouldn't be something similar that is of Spanish/central American origin? or lacking that how about something that screams belly dancer from places like Egypt and the middle east.
ya, I agree I can see my character very easily in the green sari you posted as opposed to the last two images. But how can a rationalize her wearing it...
[Edit:] I thought Amn was more Spanish inspired than Arabian but some of the things I have found at least implies that the entirety of the Lands of Intrigue is Arabian instead of just Calimshan. Even though I have no idea how the forests would look in that aspect...
I'm confused on what there is to rationalize. Does your character wear clothes? Yes? Then she wears whatever clothes you want her to. It can be a hodgepodge of cultural influences, or just a nice outfit that she found in a local market. She can wear local clothing because she needs to blend in a bit better or the climate really warrants it, or she can wear some sort of exotic fashion to really stand out.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Well, I want her clothing choice to be at least inspired by the very few places she has been. Most of her life has been spent on a parallel plane to the forgotten realms then after a short jaunt as a slave most of which was spent on ships then she spent 2-3 years in the deep woods/elven commune. So she wouldn't have a lot of exposure to various fashions. But like I said it seems that a sari or very similar dress would fit in due to the culture of Amn and Calimshan. And for as far as does my character wear clothes up till at least becoming a slave lets just say not really.
Now if my character was "well-traveled" then I could rationalize a lot more variations. And I know I am being difficult but I am trying to keep my character as lore friendly as possible.
Well, in that case, if most of her past was spent relatively naked minus the occasional sack-dress or whatever her owners put her in, then her clothing interests might have been influenced by her owners' styles. Failing that, maybe sailor garb or whatever the elf commune wore. I would suggest something like this:
That's Mirri, from Magic, the Gathering and her clothing styles were influenced by her time living in the forests, but also as a crew member on the Weatherlight.
well she wasn't a slave for long as in she was mainly a week travel by jungle/waiting for a boat, then however long it takes to sail from Helmsport to Athkatla then a couple days to be sold at auction, then to sail from Athkatla to about even with the forests of Tethir. So I would estimate no more than a month or two depending on the ship and season. But that aside I like the look of that outfit very much you have helped me narrow down things that I think make sense for her to wear. now I just need to find some books that takes place in the area that is canon so I can get a better feel of the place.
ya, I agree I can see my character very easily in the green sari you posted as opposed to the last two images. But how can a rationalize her wearing it...
[Edit:] I thought Amn was more Spanish inspired than Arabian but some of the things I have found at least implies that the entirety of the Lands of Intrigue is Arabian instead of just Calimshan. Even though I have no idea how the forests would look in that aspect...
well, for forests that would be in the middle east, you should think of it as a combination of the trees in the more desert region of greece combined with the trees from the African Sahara. Now, as for rationalizing why she wears that kind of outfit. for one thing, it reveals a lot of skin, which can distract most men and some women, which would give you a persuasion bonus depending on your dm. for a second, you can easily add in a fan, which could be a hidden weapon because of the spines of the fan being razor sharp spikes. Thirdly, even with all of that skin showing, you can still hide a lot of hidden weapons on your body. you just need to use the parts that are like a combo cloak and scarf to covers several, while also sewing a Garrote (something used for strangling/silencing an opponent with as little noise as possible) into the edge of it.
Fourthly, i think your tabaxi might look good in an outfit that is a combination of the two sari. For example, take the top one.expand the skirt so that it looks like the one the green sari has. Keep the corset, since you can hide a dagger or two inside of it (either them, or a pair of punch daggers.) Then, make the color a midpoint between the two, with the area around the shoulders be sequined like the second outfit, with smaller sequins sewedon in random spots that make you sparkle as you move.
Make sure you accentuate your tail and legs and don't cover up or distract from them with too much flowing behind. A sexy tail flick could drop some men to their knees! Heheh.
I don't know if my she actually knows how to be sexy since being sexy or a seductress in the deep wild jungle would increase survival chances. I would think that she has been taught some of that by the elf that also taught her to be a bard, but in that same avenue, I don't think she actually gets it which can cause some comedy in the right group of players. I know she has that natural grace with her primary stats being dex and cha. As far as her being a man trap, I can see her at least trying to be sexy to bed someone that has some sort of story or knowledge she is interested in but I don't see her doing it for the sake of doing it. Yes, she is looking absentmindedly for a mate but she would approach those situations candidly with the same style as a farmer looking to purchase an animal like a horse and would go thru the same checklist actually pretty much-giving someone she thinks fits the bill a physical right then and there not caring if they are in a busy city street or if her party is actually fighting his party/group.
I am keeping what all of you are saying and I think I will go with something similar to a belly dancer like outfit with some elven and Mexican influences that is a compromise between pretty much a loin cloth and what passes as modest dress on the sword coast. I hope all this rambling made some sense to somebody. Also, I am surprised that this thread is still getting some posts.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I have no idea how my Tabaxi bard should dress mainly due to finding much to go on for Tabaxi clothing styles besides the one picture in Volo's, but also due to the backstory.
Short timeline for backstory:
Now for some personality quarks for the lack of a better word, that might effect clothing choice:
I don't know how much if any elven influence would make sense in this situation, or how much cliche tribal would also make sense. The only source information I have found to go on are Volo's and the first 2 books of the Maztica trilogy and the trilogy doesn't seem to have Tabaxi in them... Also in if anyone knows where I can get information on slavery in Calimshan and Amn particularly in how slaves are marked and what happens if the master dies in a way that the slave had no hand in it.
In India, they have a garment called a sari, which I think would fit what you're looking for quite well.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
It looks good there wouldn't be something similar that is of Spanish/central American origin? or lacking that how about something that screams belly dancer from places like Egypt and the middle east.
You'd be surprised how versatile a sari is. Both of the following are saris
In Spain and Central America, you tend to get more frills.
ya, I agree I can see my character very easily in the green sari you posted as opposed to the last two images. But how can a rationalize her wearing it...
[Edit:] I thought Amn was more Spanish inspired than Arabian but some of the things I have found at least implies that the entirety of the Lands of Intrigue is Arabian instead of just Calimshan. Even though I have no idea how the forests would look in that aspect...
I'm confused on what there is to rationalize. Does your character wear clothes? Yes? Then she wears whatever clothes you want her to. It can be a hodgepodge of cultural influences, or just a nice outfit that she found in a local market. She can wear local clothing because she needs to blend in a bit better or the climate really warrants it, or she can wear some sort of exotic fashion to really stand out.
Well, I want her clothing choice to be at least inspired by the very few places she has been. Most of her life has been spent on a parallel plane to the forgotten realms then after a short jaunt as a slave most of which was spent on ships then she spent 2-3 years in the deep woods/elven commune. So she wouldn't have a lot of exposure to various fashions. But like I said it seems that a sari or very similar dress would fit in due to the culture of Amn and Calimshan. And for as far as does my character wear clothes up till at least becoming a slave lets just say not really.
Now if my character was "well-traveled" then I could rationalize a lot more variations. And I know I am being difficult but I am trying to keep my character as lore friendly as possible.
Well, in that case, if most of her past was spent relatively naked minus the occasional sack-dress or whatever her owners put her in, then her clothing interests might have been influenced by her owners' styles. Failing that, maybe sailor garb or whatever the elf commune wore. I would suggest something like this:
That's Mirri, from Magic, the Gathering and her clothing styles were influenced by her time living in the forests, but also as a crew member on the Weatherlight.
Here's a better look.
well she wasn't a slave for long as in she was mainly a week travel by jungle/waiting for a boat, then however long it takes to sail from Helmsport to Athkatla then a couple days to be sold at auction, then to sail from Athkatla to about even with the forests of Tethir. So I would estimate no more than a month or two depending on the ship and season. But that aside I like the look of that outfit very much you have helped me narrow down things that I think make sense for her to wear. now I just need to find some books that takes place in the area that is canon so I can get a better feel of the place.
Definitely some nice loose fabrics, with a bit of artistry and sex appeal. Like she wants to perform to impress.
I definitely see 'foreign dancer' almost a 'belly dancer' vibe without looking too cliche with a more magical/fantasy touch.
Some cool flavor and personality in this one, like the hat and cat buckles
3D Artist - www.charliepharis.com
i think a combination between the first pic, the last one, and the idea i posted earlier this week would look good on her
Make sure you accentuate your tail and legs and don't cover up or distract from them with too much flowing behind. A sexy tail flick could drop some men to their knees! Heheh.
3D Artist - www.charliepharis.com
I don't know if my she actually knows how to be sexy since being sexy or a seductress in the deep wild jungle would increase survival chances. I would think that she has been taught some of that by the elf that also taught her to be a bard, but in that same avenue, I don't think she actually gets it which can cause some comedy in the right group of players. I know she has that natural grace with her primary stats being dex and cha. As far as her being a man trap, I can see her at least trying to be sexy to bed someone that has some sort of story or knowledge she is interested in but I don't see her doing it for the sake of doing it. Yes, she is looking absentmindedly for a mate but she would approach those situations candidly with the same style as a farmer looking to purchase an animal like a horse and would go thru the same checklist actually pretty much-giving someone she thinks fits the bill a physical right then and there not caring if they are in a busy city street or if her party is actually fighting his party/group.
I am keeping what all of you are saying and I think I will go with something similar to a belly dancer like outfit with some elven and Mexican influences that is a compromise between pretty much a loin cloth and what passes as modest dress on the sword coast. I hope all this rambling made some sense to somebody. Also, I am surprised that this thread is still getting some posts.