Do the New 'do
Changes in appearances for your tabletop RPG character can come in many ways, and there's no reason a change of hair style couldn't be one of them. A simple change in description to reference cut, style, or color should have an impact, though. Consider providing a bonus (or penalty) for the changes. There can be a roll to see how well the character pulls off their new look or how well-done the change was. Any bonus though should be temporary, as people grow accustomed to the new style. After it's been described and determined how well it worked out, consider having NPCs react directly to it. The odd compliment or sneer can add some life to your scenes. This could be expanded to facial hair as well, but always be wary of the mirror universe.
Let's also consider the motivations behind the change. You might consider making it mandatory if the adventuring team has become too well-known and needs to sneak through an area, or if they’re on a mission where they are required to look different for some other reason. If you're including bonuses and penalties, make sure your players aren't abusing the system and changing just to try for that. In fact, for repeat offenders, it might even make sense to have a penalty against the change as their hair becomes more and more difficult to manage and style due to all the repeated attempts. Of course, hair does have a tendency to grow back over time... unless your character is bald. Then perhaps you want to consider head tattoos - temporary or otherwise.
The Shop
Historically, barbers weren't only the place one would go for changes to their hair, but for other services as well. Most prominently, you’ll likely have heard of them serving as dentists as well in older times. In your sci-fi stories set in the future, perhaps they're plastic surgeons to change your facial features, or even providers of robotic replacement limbs. You might even try more random combinations in your own worlds, like making them bartenders as well as barbers... but be careful of styles chosen under the influence. The barbers aren’t the only important part, though - the shop itself is of fairly significant importance. Throughout history, they’ve served as places to get together. You might even consider having your players start at a barber shop instead of the trope of starting things at an inn or tavern. Rumors spread in these places, business is done, and anything can occur, from idle banter to spy games.
Wig Sphere
While, unlike real-world hair, hair in our games can change at any time, we could also consider wigs. Often considered part of the classic "disguise kit", wigs can be a great way to temporarily changea character's look as well. How well they work, their quality, how other players and NPCs react, and maybe even whether the character is allergic, will still come down to GM choices and potentially some dice rolls. This also opens up opportunities for those aforementioned bald characters. You might want to even consider making wigs a requirement for certain things, as well. Who doesn’t appreciate a scene with a ridiculously large and powdered wig in a courtroom? You can bring that concept to other venues, as well. Participating in a dwarven logging competition? Everyone needs a beard, even if it's fake. Otherworldly religious ritual? Wigs might be required there, too. Want to get into that exclusive bar your mark is known to frequent? Wigs could easily be required.
Hair (and wigs) like other appearance changes in tabletop games should be used sparingly. (Unless your group are all into that, and enoy making it the focus of their adventures.) Make sure you don’t let your players abuse any system you've set up for the changes. Get them into the spirit of it by letting them provide their own descriptions, even if the results are informed by dice rolls. Remember that "required" doesn’t mean the players have to do it, they may just need to find a different route if they don’t want to blend in. Mostly, remember that the inclusion of changes to hair (or wigs!) is fleeting - hair today, gone tomorrow. Until next post folks, enjoy your hair, your tables, and your dice.
- A
Send questions, comments, and legendary yearbook photo hair embarrassments to neversaydice20@gmail.com.
