I don't think either position is silly. If an item has a special quality, then altering it could easily destroy that quality--either because the item was magic and changing it caused it to lose the magic, or because the structure of the item was necessary to its having the quality (form follows function).
Also, wanting a certain appearance increases the value of craftable items.
I can also see, however, player frustration if the favored gear for a particular class were to be unique and convey an unpleasing aesthetic. Rather than arguing this point on a server-wide basis, it might be better to address individual items.
I think not being able to use items because they don't fit your style is also part of roleplay. Also sometimes wearing stuff that does not fit your regular style because it suits your purpose can also generate roleplay.The issue is likely that what can/can't be modded is typically very selective. Lets see some of the BiS stealth-gear and armors be un-moddable too?
Being stuck with the default Garda armors for years, I know the pain, but we can live with that, they have to look the same anyway. I partially agree with taking out the limitation, but then I saw the other day someone drop a uber mega hyper good Platinum Helmet, but it had the looks of a hood.... You'll say that the helmet is beneath the hood there, but it's just fishy to do that...
In fantasy games like this, unique appearances and customization is just one of the "fun" little bones that players get thrown. You get to make your hero/villain look unique and creative, rather than strict adherence to historical accuracy, realism, and combat equipment design. I always liked that, and I always liked seeing some variation in what players choose to have their PCs look like. Do these items kill that entirely? No, of course not. But it just seems like we're putting water on something that wasn't on fire, you know?
The best answer might simply be proposing other items in a same slot that have similar properties with some different flavor and more or less negatives attached.
In fantasy games like this, unique appearances and customization is just one of the "fun" little bones that players get thrown. You get to make your hero/villain look unique and creative, rather than strict adherence to historical accuracy, realism, and combat equipment design. I always liked that, and I always liked seeing some variation in what players choose to have their PCs look like. Do these items kill that entirely? No, of course not. But it just seems like we're putting water on something that wasn't on fire, you know?
Sure. But Ravenloft is a specific setting, and many of the loot items are designed to add flavor to that setting. It's a reason they have text descriptions that are sometimes quite lengthy.
Since I've been here, most of the change has felt (to me) as though the setting has grown progressively weaker in influence. Partly this is likely from IC experience; being higher level and spending more time in other domains inevitably give the server more of an "Epcot" feel than Gothic Horror.
Do times change and POTM needs to change with them? Perhaps, but the setting is a major factor that distinguishes POTM from other NWN servers. Players aren't allowed to play any race they want. The last I checked, we couldn't have bizarre combinations of skin, hair, and eye color (although maybe that, too, has been relaxed). So limits exist and have long existed in customization of character to keep from damaging the setting.
This:QuoteThe best answer might simply be proposing other items in a same slot that have similar properties with some different flavor and more or less negatives attached.
And we are always willing to consider new items, modifiable or not. So do keep those suggestions coming. ;)
I feel like if you really wanted to argue it, you could make just about any item non-craftable by the whole "function" argument. It seems like it was arbitrarily peppered in on about 30% of items it could apply to.
Maybe these items could be modifiable, but at a 2x cost increase to represent how difficult it would be to change the delicate nature of the item's complicated inner workings?