So like the title says, do suits exist in DnD lore? Like has there ever been any person/creature in DnD that has been seen wearing a suit that isnt homebrew? And when i say suit, i mean like the classic design of a suit e.g. like the ones worn in Men in Black. It doesnt matter to me if they're different colours with odd patterns, etc, just that it is in some way a tight fit jacket and pants with a buttoned shirt and tie. Please and Thank you.
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The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
The only answer here is "if your DM wants them to exist, then they exist" 5e does not go into a lot of detail describing clothing, and my knowledge of most of the lore and campaigns would indicate that a suit-wearing NPC would not exist (though I could very easily be wrong).
As a general rule, modern fashion (by which i mean 1900's on) would be seen as anachronous in the general setting of the Forgotten Realms (which is typically described as being fairly medieval to renaissance era in terms of culture). That said, the DMG has guidelines for modern and future weapons, so modern fashions are at least feasible, but again, that would be up to the DM almost entirely.
However, in my own headcanon (and in my world as DM), Asmodeus wears a modern suit in his "typical" form, but that is part of his otherworldly presentation.
IRL people have been wearing suits of clothes for hundreds of years, and tight fitting suits are not new. Captain Hook has always been depicted as wearing a suit of clothes for example. Many characters in The Three Musketeers wore suits. What you refer to as “the classic design” is actually not “classic” at all but modern. A truly “classic” suit of clothes would look more like what was worn in the Middle Ages or Renaissance period or possibly even further back to before the fall of the Roman Empire.
IamSposta, your inaccurate presumptuousness about what i meant by 'classic' is not helpful. I just meant the typical design, not that it was the first iteration of what a suit is. You also didnt even attempt to answer my question...
iconarising, thank you.
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The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
I believe you could probably go to a tailor's shop and ask for them to make you the item "Clothes, fine" and just specify to them what a suit is. Maybe have your character make a sketch of what they want and give it to the tailor. "Hey mr tailor sir, can you please make me a custom black tight fit jacket and pants with a buttoned shirt and tie." If you can find a skilled enough tailor, I see absolutely no reason as to why the DM wouldn't allow this. The tailor knows what a jacket is, he knows how to sew pants. You may have to pay the tailor a bit more for a custom job, but I see no reason it shouldn't be possible unless the DM really wants the whole group to be in time-period appropriate dress.
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Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely. If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
Sorry, i should have been a bit clearer in my op. I'm referring to my own game i'm dm'ing. I want the players to be approached by a devil in a suit (i know its a bit cliche) and just wanted to see if there's a feasible lore reason for why he would know what a suit is, let alone be wearing one. Granted, i know im the dm and i can just make it so if i want but i was just hoping someone knew of an actual account of a character in dnd lore who wore a suit for my own piece of mind. But thats still a good idea if i ever want to play a character who wants a suit in the future. Thank you.
The Modern Day Suit, as seen in Men In Black, appears to have developed from the Tuxedo. I did a little poking around with Wikipedia and near as I can figure, what we would call a suit doesn't appear until the 1800s.
Long. Long. Loooooooooong after any common D&D game setting is based.
So no. No Suits in D&D unless you feel like adding them. If it suits you to put people in tee shirts and denim jeans, go right ahead. Might as well add in the sunglasses.
IamSposta, your inaccurate presumptuousness about what i meant by 'classic' is not helpful. I just meant the typical design, not that it was the first iteration of what a suit is. You also didnt even attempt to answer my question...
First of all, I didn’t need to “presume” anything, you explained what you meant by a “classic suit.”
And when i say suit, i mean like the classic design of a suit e.g. like the ones worn in Men in Black. It doesnt matter to me if they're different colours with odd patterns, etc, just that it is in some way a tight fit jacket and pants with a buttoned shirt and tie.
I then merely pointed out that while the suits depicted in MIB are more “modern” in style, cut, etc., of suit (as opposed to “classic”), that suits of clothing consisting of: a jacket (usually tight fitting), trousers, and frequently a vest intended to be worn over a shirt and typically some form of decorative neck adornment tied around the collar have existed for hundreds of years dating back to the renaissance period and further. So while the cut, fit, fashion, and colors would look nothing like a modern suit, that yes in fact suits existed during IRL time periods typically associated with the pseudomedieval worlds of D&D.
That fact that you didn’t understand my answer is none on me.
So, to repeat, if you mean with a cut and lines visually similar to what Will and Tommy wore in the MIB movies, then no. But if you mean a suit consisting of those pieces regardless of current vs period fashions, then yes.
Sorry, i should have been a bit clearer in my op. I'm referring to my own game i'm dm'ing. I want the players to be approached by a devil in a suit (i know its a bit cliche) and just wanted to see if there's a feasible lore reason for why he would know what a suit is, let alone be wearing one. Granted, i know im the dm and i can just make it so if i want but i was just hoping someone knew of an actual account of a character in dnd lore who wore a suit for my own piece of mind. But thats still a good idea if i ever want to play a character who wants a suit in the future. Thank you.
Lore wise, Earth exists, our Earth. If I am not mistaken, that's where the human race on Toril came from. Acquisitions Incorporated is considered "lore" now (for better or worse). In one of their adventures, they transported to Earth, modern day... at the headquarters of Wizards of the Coast. Suits exist here. So a Devil from the Nine Hells would know about our Suits of Clothing just as much as what Mort the Moneylender wears... or Flash Gordon as well I assume.
Depends on the realm a little. In forgotten realms, the culture of the sword coast is something akin to medieval Europe (or slightly post medieval toward pre-renaissance maybe).
Something like a precursor to the suit might be worn by the rich, but nothing as modern as the men in black suits. Certain transcendental beings like gods or epic level spellcasters (like Tasha or mordenkainen) might be aware of such suits from other realms and wear them if they choose.
Eberron might have modern style suits. It's culture is probably closer to industrial revolution. (Obviously any comparisons to earth culture does not 1 to 1 as they are fantasy settings with completely different histories and species, but as the setting were created by real people inspired by real futures, so...)
I think having a Devil in a Modern Suit approach these characters in a medieval setting could be very interesting. I mean... the devil is presumably a magical, extra-dimensional being... that little taste of anachronism could just add to the mysticism.
That said... I think the only element of a modern suit that didn't exist in some form in medieval times is the neck tie. I looked it up and they were invented in the 1920's. Prior to that there were still ties, but they more closely resembled things like ascots or ribbons. I think if you didn't want to go too anachronistic I'd lean toward more Victorian-Era suits. They still have a certain old-timey mystique to them, and that's generally what D&D usually goes for... no reasonable person could argue that any D&D setting is a perfect 1-to-1 recreation of any specific point in history. As long as it "feels" more fantasy than modern, you're on the right track.
I think having a Devil in a Modern Suit approach these characters in a medieval setting could be very interesting. I mean... the devil is presumably a magical, extra-dimensional being... that little taste of anachronism could just add to the mysticism.
That said... I think the only element of a modern suit that didn't exist in some form in medieval times is the neck tie. I looked it up and they were invented in the 1920's. Prior to that there were still ties, but they more closely resembled things like ascots or ribbons. I think if you didn't want to go too anachronistic I'd lean toward more Victorian-Era suits. They still have a certain old-timey mystique to them, and that's generally what D&D usually goes for... no reasonable person could argue that any D&D setting is a perfect 1-to-1 recreation of any specific point in history. As long as it "feels" more fantasy than modern, you're on the right track.
This photograph is from 1875, so while I fully believe there was some innovation in necktie manufacture in the 1920s, neckwear that modern people would recognize as a necktie is definitely older.
But I think I agree with the thrust of your comment. Most existing 5e D&D settings are Renaissance at the oldest in terms of the fashion we see in art, and honestly it’s usually pushing into the 18th century. Victorian suits are anachronistic enough to be a bit weird but not so anachronistic as to be… immersion-breaking?
Eberron is maybe an exception; it routinely bumps into steampunk aesthetics, which are firmly rooted in the 19th century. The official art for the changeling is a great example.
Also, for anyone possibly confused with the different setting names being used here let me help. All the realms are separated by spelljammer setting stuff I wont get into.
The main realm of 5e is the forgotten realms (sometimes called realmspace) which refers to the solar system, Torril is the name of the planet, Faerun is the name of the continent, and sword coast is the region on the continent where most of the stories take place. Ravenloft and the domains of dread are also in realmspace, but are in demiplanes in the ethereal plane and not the material plane.
Eberron is a separate realm with no connection to realmspace except via spelljammer setting stuff. I think Eberron is the name of the planet and the realm, and it doesn't have planets etc for lore reasons, but I really don't know. The 5e setting book covers one of its continents: Khorvaire and pretty much all the countries and regions within (with a particular interest in the 5 countries that used to be 1 before a civil war).
I don't know if the Critical Role setting is its own realm or if it has been made part of Toril (I haven't been following that).
The two MTG settings Ravnica and Theros have been added as D&D realms that pretty much work the same as Eberron (the planet is the realm).
Re: Devil in a suit. I put plenty of anachronisms in my game, clothing, pop cultural references etc. They are usually made by extraplanar beings who I explain have a sort of "asychronous" and multiplanar perspective on things like fashion and culture. I mean Merlin did that sort of stuff all the time in White's Once and Future King books. My main game's party has a sort of patron whose ... palace ... is based on the grounds and architecture of the Luxor Casino in Vegas (Sphinx is real, and the patron is aware he's appropriating a questionably tasteful appropriation but thought it was a good idea a the time when he had it constructed).
It all works if you do it right. Everyone in Stephen King's Gunslinger universe knew the words to "Hey Jude" for example.
So does contemporary earth men's business attire show up in FR? Dunno, I'm pretty sure I've seen pics that look like Victorian and Edwardian dress does, so ... why not?
The Devil in a suit is a message you're making more for your players than their characters. Just don't overdo it and it'll be cool.
Re: Devil in a suit. I put plenty of anachronisms in my game, clothing, pop cultural references etc. They are usually made by extraplanar beings who I explain have a sort of "asychronous" and multiplanar perspective on things like fashion and culture. I mean Merlin did that sort of stuff all the time in White's Once and Future King books. My main game's party has a sort of patron whose ... palace ... is based on the grounds and architecture of the Luxor Casino in Vegas (Sphinx is real, and the patron is aware he's appropriating a questionably tasteful appropriation but thought it was a good idea a the time when he had it constructed).
It all works if you do it right. Everyone in Stephen King's Gunslinger universe knew the words to "Hey Jude" for example.
So does contemporary earth men's business attire show up in FR? Dunno, I'm pretty sure I've seen pics that look like Victorian and Edwardian dress does, so ... why not?
The Devil in a suit is a message you're making more for your players than their characters. Just don't overdo it and it'll be cool.
Don't overdo it? No, center the entire campaign around destroying the nine layers of heck to get to Asmodeus and raid his wardrobe of his fancy clothes that he got from those strange future-men from another dimension. Obtaining maximum drip is a very worthy quest to go on.
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Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely. If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
It all works if you do it right. Everyone in Stephen King's Gunslinger universe knew the words to "Hey Jude" for example.
Yeah, but that’s only because it’s one of the best songs ever written. The older I get, the more I realize how right The Beatles were about so many things. Lennon was right, his teacher didn’t understand life.
There are dress clothes in D and D. When have the wealthy not worn their sunday best to show the little people their social place? They even gave themselves titles. The wealthy and well off have a need to feel important.
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So like the title says, do suits exist in DnD lore? Like has there ever been any person/creature in DnD that has been seen wearing a suit that isnt homebrew?
And when i say suit, i mean like the classic design of a suit e.g. like the ones worn in Men in Black. It doesnt matter to me if they're different colours with odd patterns, etc, just that it is in some way a tight fit jacket and pants with a buttoned shirt and tie.
Please and Thank you.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
The only answer here is "if your DM wants them to exist, then they exist" 5e does not go into a lot of detail describing clothing, and my knowledge of most of the lore and campaigns would indicate that a suit-wearing NPC would not exist (though I could very easily be wrong).
As a general rule, modern fashion (by which i mean 1900's on) would be seen as anachronous in the general setting of the Forgotten Realms (which is typically described as being fairly medieval to renaissance era in terms of culture). That said, the DMG has guidelines for modern and future weapons, so modern fashions are at least feasible, but again, that would be up to the DM almost entirely.
However, in my own headcanon (and in my world as DM), Asmodeus wears a modern suit in his "typical" form, but that is part of his otherworldly presentation.
IRL people have been wearing suits of clothes for hundreds of years, and tight fitting suits are not new. Captain Hook has always been depicted as wearing a suit of clothes for example. Many characters in The Three Musketeers wore suits. What you refer to as “the classic design” is actually not “classic” at all but modern. A truly “classic” suit of clothes would look more like what was worn in the Middle Ages or Renaissance period or possibly even further back to before the fall of the Roman Empire.
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IamSposta, your inaccurate presumptuousness about what i meant by 'classic' is not helpful. I just meant the typical design, not that it was the first iteration of what a suit is. You also didnt even attempt to answer my question...
iconarising, thank you.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
I believe you could probably go to a tailor's shop and ask for them to make you the item "Clothes, fine" and just specify to them what a suit is. Maybe have your character make a sketch of what they want and give it to the tailor. "Hey mr tailor sir, can you please make me a custom black tight fit jacket and pants with a buttoned shirt and tie." If you can find a skilled enough tailor, I see absolutely no reason as to why the DM wouldn't allow this. The tailor knows what a jacket is, he knows how to sew pants. You may have to pay the tailor a bit more for a custom job, but I see no reason it shouldn't be possible unless the DM really wants the whole group to be in time-period appropriate dress.
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely.
If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
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Sorry, i should have been a bit clearer in my op. I'm referring to my own game i'm dm'ing.
I want the players to be approached by a devil in a suit (i know its a bit cliche) and just wanted to see if there's a feasible lore reason for why he would know what a suit is, let alone be wearing one.
Granted, i know im the dm and i can just make it so if i want but i was just hoping someone knew of an actual account of a character in dnd lore who wore a suit for my own piece of mind.
But thats still a good idea if i ever want to play a character who wants a suit in the future. Thank you.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
The Modern Day Suit, as seen in Men In Black, appears to have developed from the Tuxedo. I did a little poking around with Wikipedia and near as I can figure, what we would call a suit doesn't appear until the 1800s.
Long. Long. Loooooooooong after any common D&D game setting is based.
So no. No Suits in D&D unless you feel like adding them. If it suits you to put people in tee shirts and denim jeans, go right ahead. Might as well add in the sunglasses.
And the Neuralizers.
<Insert clever signature here>
First of all, I didn’t need to “presume” anything, you explained what you meant by a “classic suit.”
I then merely pointed out that while the suits depicted in MIB are more “modern” in style, cut, etc., of suit (as opposed to “classic”), that suits of clothing consisting of: a jacket (usually tight fitting), trousers, and frequently a vest intended to be worn over a shirt and typically some form of decorative neck adornment tied around the collar have existed for hundreds of years dating back to the renaissance period and further. So while the cut, fit, fashion, and colors would look nothing like a modern suit, that yes in fact suits existed during IRL time periods typically associated with the pseudomedieval worlds of D&D.
That fact that you didn’t understand my answer is none on me.
So, to repeat, if you mean with a cut and lines visually similar to what Will and Tommy wore in the MIB movies, then no. But if you mean a suit consisting of those pieces regardless of current vs period fashions, then yes.
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Lore wise, Earth exists, our Earth. If I am not mistaken, that's where the human race on Toril came from.
Acquisitions Incorporated is considered "lore" now (for better or worse).
In one of their adventures, they transported to Earth, modern day... at the headquarters of Wizards of the Coast.
Suits exist here.
So a Devil from the Nine Hells would know about our Suits of Clothing just as much as what Mort the Moneylender wears... or Flash Gordon as well I assume.
That's the best I got...
...cryptographic randomness!
Yeah, but it depends on the world. I could definitely see them in Eberron but probobly, not Faerun.
Depends on the realm a little. In forgotten realms, the culture of the sword coast is something akin to medieval Europe (or slightly post medieval toward pre-renaissance maybe).
Something like a precursor to the suit might be worn by the rich, but nothing as modern as the men in black suits. Certain transcendental beings like gods or epic level spellcasters (like Tasha or mordenkainen) might be aware of such suits from other realms and wear them if they choose.
Eberron might have modern style suits. It's culture is probably closer to industrial revolution. (Obviously any comparisons to earth culture does not 1 to 1 as they are fantasy settings with completely different histories and species, but as the setting were created by real people inspired by real futures, so...)
I think having a Devil in a Modern Suit approach these characters in a medieval setting could be very interesting. I mean... the devil is presumably a magical, extra-dimensional being... that little taste of anachronism could just add to the mysticism.
That said... I think the only element of a modern suit that didn't exist in some form in medieval times is the neck tie. I looked it up and they were invented in the 1920's. Prior to that there were still ties, but they more closely resembled things like ascots or ribbons. I think if you didn't want to go too anachronistic I'd lean toward more Victorian-Era suits. They still have a certain old-timey mystique to them, and that's generally what D&D usually goes for... no reasonable person could argue that any D&D setting is a perfect 1-to-1 recreation of any specific point in history. As long as it "feels" more fantasy than modern, you're on the right track.
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This photograph is from 1875, so while I fully believe there was some innovation in necktie manufacture in the 1920s, neckwear that modern people would recognize as a necktie is definitely older.
But I think I agree with the thrust of your comment. Most existing 5e D&D settings are Renaissance at the oldest in terms of the fashion we see in art, and honestly it’s usually pushing into the 18th century. Victorian suits are anachronistic enough to be a bit weird but not so anachronistic as to be… immersion-breaking?
Eberron is maybe an exception; it routinely bumps into steampunk aesthetics, which are firmly rooted in the 19th century. The official art for the changeling is a great example.
Also, for anyone possibly confused with the different setting names being used here let me help. All the realms are separated by spelljammer setting stuff I wont get into.
The main realm of 5e is the forgotten realms (sometimes called realmspace) which refers to the solar system, Torril is the name of the planet, Faerun is the name of the continent, and sword coast is the region on the continent where most of the stories take place. Ravenloft and the domains of dread are also in realmspace, but are in demiplanes in the ethereal plane and not the material plane.
Eberron is a separate realm with no connection to realmspace except via spelljammer setting stuff. I think Eberron is the name of the planet and the realm, and it doesn't have planets etc for lore reasons, but I really don't know. The 5e setting book covers one of its continents: Khorvaire and pretty much all the countries and regions within (with a particular interest in the 5 countries that used to be 1 before a civil war).
I don't know if the Critical Role setting is its own realm or if it has been made part of Toril (I haven't been following that).
The two MTG settings Ravnica and Theros have been added as D&D realms that pretty much work the same as Eberron (the planet is the realm).
Re: Devil in a suit. I put plenty of anachronisms in my game, clothing, pop cultural references etc. They are usually made by extraplanar beings who I explain have a sort of "asychronous" and multiplanar perspective on things like fashion and culture. I mean Merlin did that sort of stuff all the time in White's Once and Future King books. My main game's party has a sort of patron whose ... palace ... is based on the grounds and architecture of the Luxor Casino in Vegas (Sphinx is real, and the patron is aware he's appropriating a questionably tasteful appropriation but thought it was a good idea a the time when he had it constructed).
It all works if you do it right. Everyone in Stephen King's Gunslinger universe knew the words to "Hey Jude" for example.
So does contemporary earth men's business attire show up in FR? Dunno, I'm pretty sure I've seen pics that look like Victorian and Edwardian dress does, so ... why not?
The Devil in a suit is a message you're making more for your players than their characters. Just don't overdo it and it'll be cool.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Don't overdo it? No, center the entire campaign around destroying the nine layers of heck to get to Asmodeus and raid his wardrobe of his fancy clothes that he got from those strange future-men from another dimension. Obtaining maximum drip is a very worthy quest to go on.
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely.
If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
Homebrew races: ~Otterfolk! Play as a otter!~ Playable Dryad! (Literally just the monster sheet ported to player race)
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According to Curse of Strahd yes, there are suits.
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Oh wow, thats a lot of info. Thanks a lot everyone! Most of this was incredibly helpful :D
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
There are dress clothes in D and D. When have the wealthy not worn their sunday best to show the little people their social place? They even gave themselves titles. The wealthy and well off have a need to feel important.