TOPIC: Costuming into the dungeon

Graven wrote: I grew my beard out to be a more convincing Dwarf Fighter!

And when I got home my wife promptly made me shave it off.

one of my favorite moments this year was working with a group, totally forgetting one volunteers name who was in costume, yelling "oi Dwarf" across a crowded room and having him instantly answer.

he had a beard most awesome.

Brad wrote:

Graven wrote: I grew my beard out to be a more convincing Dwarf Fighter!

And when I got home my wife promptly made me shave it off.

one of my favorite moments this year was working with a group, totally forgetting one volunteers name who was in costume, yelling "oi Dwarf" across a crowded room and having him instantly answer.

he had a beard most awesome.

It wasn't me. But I almost certainly would have answered too.

Baruk Khazad!

I wore a costume for the first time this year, made from stuff from the thrift store with the sewing skills of my daughter. The part that worked the best and the worst was the leather vest made from a jacket 10 sizes too big for me (cut off the collar and sleeves and had pieces for matching bracers.)

As others have said, do not underestimate the heat, especially Wednesday before the air conditioning is turned on.

jedibcg wrote: Adeya costumes in a variety of outfits each each into the dungeon. In fact I don't know if I ever not seen her in a costume at GenCon. She also does multiple other cons as characters I would talk to her about it if she doesn't see this thread.

Ah, costuming into the dungeon... One of my favorite ways to make it all come to life even more. I love dressing up for True Dungeon and like to encouraging others to do the same. I guess it's not for everyone though so a note to everyone reading this: If I'm ever pressuring you to dress up and you don't want to, just kindly tell me to back off.

So I started playing TD in 2011. I instantly fell in love with it since it was a wonderful combination of two of my other loves: Dungeons and Dragons and the Maryland Renaissance Festival. On my first TD run ever I wore my renn fest costume. In fact it was the main reason I picked up the Wizard character card: I thought my costume (fancy corset, frilly sleeves, long skirts) fit the look of a wizard best. I came to love the wizard class for itself, but it's funny to look back on it now and see what initiated it.

Now for some suggestions I have for people wanting to give costumes a try. These are things that have worked for me, but please don't feel like I'm saying "my way or the highway."

Form & Function - In every costume I have I always try to combine form and function. And this almost always manifests in a usable belt. My multiple renn fest costumes that I commonly wear on TD runs all have a belt with various pouches that I use to hold consumable tokens, my gear tokens, my build, as well as my cell phone, cash, driver's license, etc. (Although, this year I also carried a satchel since I switched to using a dansco book for my build.)

Hands Free - This is my personal preference for any costumes, but I think it's especially helpful in the dungeon. I don't want to have to worry about props. Even though a wizard's staff would look cool, I just think it would be too much of a hassle in a run. I would think the same would apply to a prop sword, shield, bow, etc. You'd just end up having to sit it down in each room when you need to slide or pick up something. And if you have to constantly put your prop on the floor, then it's not really doing much for you, is it?

Beware Dragging Bits - In my old Batgirl costume I had a much longer cape. Every time I had to take an escalator I would always lift it up first instead of risking it getting eaten. There aren't escalators in the dungeon, but if your costume has a cape or long robes that drag behind you, you'll need to be extra careful. A fellow party member might trip or step on it, or it might snag on parts of a puzzle or on the decorations. Best to keep your flowing garments to a manageable length.

Comfort is Important - Remember that you'll be in this thing for about 3 hours. So make sure your shoes are made for walking and that nothing itches or hurts when you are trying things out. Also, many on this thread have mentioned the heat issue. That's usually not a problem for me, but it's something to think about. (One solution for heat: bring an icepack or two in a water-tight pouch that you can put on the back of your neck to cool off a bit with later.)

Don't Hinder Others - You'll be wearing this in tight spaces that are crammed with your fellow party members. A long scabbard that you forget you are wearing and are wacking your teammates with every time you turn probably isn't a good idea. Any prop or bulky part of your costume that constantly blocks line of sight, bumps into people, or just causes your party members irritation just isn't helpful.

As Aaron mentioned, I love wearing a costume in TD. But I also pare it down for the Dungeon.

My regular costume includes a cloak, and I've had it stepped on countless times in the dark. Now I only wear it for Rogues Game, or when I'm OUT of True Dungeon, wandering the brightly lit corridors of GenCon. Otherwise, it's a strangulation hazard.

I also like wearing belts, with things dangling off them - pouches, prop daggers, token wallets, etc. But anything which dangles or sticks out gets put into bag check when I do a dungeon run, so I can move quickly, and not poke anyone else in the process.

My costume has changed over the years, too. I used to love puffy pirate-style sleeves. But they get in the way when sliding, and worse, when doing the Rogue boxes. They're really hot, too. So this year I went the opposite direction: Sleeveless tunics! I don't regret the change one bit.

And my belts.... did I mention that I like belts? ... they have multiple pouches (kinda Bat-man style, like Adeya) with room for various tokens and equipment and space to store my flashlight/ wallet/ phone / whatever. Extra pocket and pouches are *very* useful in the dungeon. Especially ones which seal shut, so tokens don't come rolling out when you bend over to examine a cool prop.

All told, I like costuming for the dungeon because it makes me think like an adventurer. Would a real Rogue venture into the dungeon wearing a long cloak, dangling gear, and a fluffy feather in his hat? Apparently not... unless he wanted to be strangled when the barbarian stepped on this cape, caught on a rocky outcropping by his pouch lacings, and ZAPped by the Wizard for sticking a feather up the Magic-users nose one-too-many times.

Thank you all for the advise. Upping the immersion factor is a big reason I'm considering putting a costume together. Most of the costuming I've done has been to mimic specific characters. Left to my own devises I wind up with Stuff like this . So far I've been playing the Monk in True Dungeon, so I've been mentally working on what sort of outfit I might do for that, the character has not yet crystallized in my head.

If anyone has links or pictures for good pouches/belts I would love to see them.

I've purchased a couple things from Ravenswood Leather , and have been quite happy with them. Also, if you have any renaissance festivals near you, that's a great place to find (and try on) costumes, belts, and pouches. And there are great vendors at lots of gamer conventions that sell leathercrafts too.

Things can get expensive quick though, so it might take awhile complete your costume. But I think adding to costumes and making them a little better each year is part of the fun. I started assembling a costume in 2009 with the purchase of a corset, skirts, and shirt, but I was still adding pieces to it last year. (It might be done now though, since I don't have room for anything else.)

On the link I posted above: I own the top one pictured of the Privateer Pouch-Medium, but I would also recommend the Horseman Pouch. Anything that has a clasp that you can easily open and close with just one hand is nice. Things with a drawstring, buckle, or complicated button annoy me when I want to get something from my bag in a hurry!

Speaking of pockets, someone asked me where I got the bandolier I was using (you can see me wearing it in the Zephyr solution video).

www.altkilt.com/bandoleer

Its a bit expensive but its got pockets galore and the bottom two loops above the pocket are the perfect size to fit two pill tubes I got from The Container Store, so its like ammo tubes for tokens!

The extra pockets you can just hang off your regular belt are cool too.

I think I may try to equip a staff next year for my wizard.

I already own this 3-section staff which breaks down nicely for packing:

www.brazos-walking-sticks.com/travelers-walking-stick-55/

And I had previously bought some rare earth magnets that I was originally going to try sewing on the back of a fishing vest so that I could affix tokens to it, but I'm going to try getting some replacement tennis grip wrap and wind it around parts of the staff with the magnets inside. That way I'll have a handheld token holder that I can easily just peel off consumables that I might decide to use.

Then if that works, I'll screw an eyelet in the top of the staff so I can hang a LED flashlight from and/or attach a flashlight at the bottom of the staff.

I used these last year and they are bright and inexpensive:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006E0QAFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The flashlights ships from overseas so I make sure to give enough time to receive them before the con.