Iconic D&D 5E Clothing Options
For Your Next Player Character
Find the Wizards outfit descriptions broad and unhelpful? Every player needs at least one outfit inspired by DND clothes. Read on to learn about D&D 5E clothing options and get inspired to design the clothing outfits your character owns!
Want to give your players a quest reward that doesn’t increase their power level but still feels gratifying? Or maybe you’re starting a fresh campaign, and have no idea what D&D 5E clothing outfits to give your new character? Even if you only carry one quarter, whether you're an elf or other small characters, we have t shirts and other items for you.
D&D 5E clothing is readily available and incredibly adaptive. A new character starts with at least one outfit, such as appropriate armour and a spare set of clothes to exist in regular society with. Armour isn’t particularly comfortable and deemed more than a little menacing to be worn about town, apparently! So there are other, perhaps more normal clothes you character owns.
Your players will hopefully have some loose ideas about their character’s normal clothes. The D&D 5E Player’s Handbook includes some vague clothing descriptions to help give them a starting point. However these can feel too broad to give useful details; the following clothing outfits we will discuss should help you. Whether your character is wealthy or they only carry one quarter, we have ideas for powerful and small characters.
With this article I’ll run down the options presented in the Player’s Handbook. Hopefully I’ll inspire you with the following clothing outfits. If your character needs to move freely, then some of these items weigh one quarter, so this shouldn't be a problem.
01 Common Clothes
An oft-overlooked option, this outfit consists of a loose shirt and baggy lower half made of canvas or jute. These are coarse, uncomfortable materials and don’t make for an outfit that offers much in the way of style. These items are heavy, you might prefer items weigh one quarter.
If you have players who like a challenge, you could suggest this option to them. Who doesn’t love a rags to riches story arc?
02 Traveller’s Clothes
While designed for more nomadic characters, the nature of adventuring makes traveller’s clothes a catch-all. This makes it likely the most common option. Most players imagine their characters in a much more elegant outfit than the description implies. It’s therefore up to your DM how stringent they want to be.
The biggest limitation in the D&D 5E clothing options is materials, which people often overlook. Wool was a challenge to treat and the results were irregular depending on the flock — that which would be available to an adventurer would likely be of lesser quality.
03 Fine Clothes
For those starting from a more gentile background, fine clothes are a happy medium option. This is a go-to if your party needs to make an appearance in front of someone impressive, even for small characters. Most outfits players want to use probably ought to fall into this category.
This is because modern clothes are much more colourful than medieval options really allow for. Those playing as someone extroverted in particular should look to these.
04 Class Specific Options
Editions past included more niche options — monks’ clothes, entertainer's outfit, clerics’ vestments and more. The categories of D&D 5E clothing are broadly designed so that they could fall into these categories, needing the DM to reference fewer stat blocks. The only things DMs now need to worry about is that players act in good faith.
05 Clothes of Mending
For the member of your party who simply must look fashionable at all times, particularly on the battlefield, where they should act in good faith, there can be no greater reward than the clothes of mending. This magical travellers outfit magically repairs itself of any daily wear and tear, including minor battle damage.Â
This is an iconic D&D 5E clothing option that you probably shouldn’t give your players straight away, but could be a fun reward for a simple side-quest or found in an early shopping trip after their first big payday.
You could also use this item as a spark to drive your player. If they’re too heavily damaged these clothes won’t repair themselves and will require the hand of an experienced magic tailor to fix. This could be a great hook for your players, especially if their appearance matters to their character.
So long as you remember not to box yourself or your players into a corner with their outfit it’s hard to go far wrong with the 5E D&D clothing options.
And for even more inspiration regarding lore and location building for a D&D game, don't forget to check out ShopDND on social media too!
