Guild Wars 2

If their natural “clothes” grow from their skin… Can they will the colors to change like some plants can? Do the colors change based on seasons? Do sylvari dye themselves?

Is it lore or game mechanics that allow us to change our colors?

Sylvari’s “skin” color is set as a permanent decision at character creation, just like every other race’s skin. However it can be changed with a Total Makeover Kit, obviously.

There is also a secondary color below the skin, which defines some specific portion’s color on racial armors, and is known as “glow”. Glow, as it’s name says, glows. At night. And it’s stunningly beautiful with a good combination of glow color and skin color. That’s the only “skin change” that happens as dynamically, at every night.

Well what I meant was more regarding the cultural armors, though that’s a good point. I always wondered why Sylvari are bioluminescent.

Yes I think Sylvari lore-wise are capable of changing their appearance. Canach (living story character) changed his appearance drastically from fresh green to grim grey pigment, “hair” and even face. There are also some NPC’s in Caledon forest who changed their appearance to look like Nightmare courtiers so they can spy on them.

A Sylvari’s physical appearance is sort of like an indicator of their internal personality. As was pointed out above, Canach’s appearance changed considerably (dev stated “his change in appearance is almost entirely due to the hardships he’s endured since he escaped Lionguard custody”). A Sylvari who turns to nightmare can also undergo a change in appearance.

I think the best way to think about it is as if they were literally plants, a plants appearance is affected by it’s surroundings. Nourish it and it will bloom beautiful, neglect it and it will wither.

As to the NPC in Caledon who changed their appearance, it’s possible that those changes were more of a disguise that had been put on over the top, rather than actually changing themselves to look like a Nightmare Courtier out of share will. – I say that because there is a heart quest in Caledon where our character is disguised as a Courtier in order to infiltrate one of their camps and mess around with things – so it’s probably more akin to a real world disguise, or perhaps a magically constructed disguise (e.g. mesmer illusion).

I wonder if you put us in a cup with red food coloring overnight, will we turn red?

Laurelinde.4395:

I wonder if you put us in a cup with red food coloring overnight, will we turn red?

We could cut your character’s feet off and find out! :U

I’ve RP’d all along that my sylvaris can change their leaf colors with a bit of effort and their glow with a lot. Because otherwise I don’t get to use all the wonderful dyes. Plus there’s some interesting story potential in why the glow color might change, be it from trauma or redemption.

Scarlet Briar changed her appearance as well. We know she was not red before she met OMAD, and after she went into that solitary chamber, she came out glowing red.

Soulmyr.8094:

Yes I think Sylvari lore-wise are capable of changing their appearance. Canach (living story character) changed his appearance drastically from fresh green to grim grey pigment, “hair” and even face. There are also some NPC’s in Caledon forest who changed their appearance to look like Nightmare courtiers so they can spy on them.

Theres also an NPC that transforms you into a Sylvan hound.