i recently got a cool idea for a costume piece for my rough around the edges Urizen battle mage, but im not sure it on brief for Urizen. It is, however, on brief for my character.
So my main question, is it ok for an item of costume to be possibly out of brief for nation so long as it is in brief for character? i would only wear this during a battle or if things get REALLY serious at camp 
bonus question: mage armour?
I think having one piece of kit not on brief is ok. There was a case of someone in the league with an off brief hat. as long as youāre recognizably urizen I donāt think people will complain.
Mind if we ask what it is? IE if you were to have a very highguard hood that could be confusing.
Iām Dawnish but my basic kit is almost all dark colours (until my order arrives) but my accessories are coloured, to be honest people generally just ask nation rather than guessing.
As long as something is not specially off brief, and is not detrimental to the brief, it should be fine. You could argue a mask helps you keep poise in battle.
I think @wraith33 means the mempo they linked to.
Personally I think itās borderline, as to me itās obviously a mempo which is not part of any national brief. However there was a thread on the Empire facebook recently about where to draw the line with slightly immersion-breaking kit and Matt Pās guidance was āitās a case-by-case basisā.
So I think this is acceptable, as long as itās a one-off. If everyone started wearing them, itād be an issue.
On the other hand, if you really like the idea of using masks in specific situations, have you considered the League?
https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/The_League_hearth_magic and https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/The_League_magical_traditions#Masks_Anchor
The only thing that makes me hesitate is that kind of face mask is reasonably iconic for Samurai and while Urizen have influence in the direction, the cut and style of robes and the like, theyāre not a direct analog of Japan.
Hopefully weāll have bit more inspiration for Mage Armour up on the wiki soonish as weāre gathering examples atm.
@Mr_Haystacks this could maybe be confused for the league (as it is a mask), but the rest of my costume should be Urizen enough
@Noodle thats a good idea! and it also makes it fit even better with my character forā¦ reasons.
@Laura I have a backup character in mind for the league, but possibly wearing a mask is where the similarities will end for this character
@Mark_Wilkin i knew Urizen had an Asian influence and i would have thought that this would have helped make it more in brief
Iām not sure what āon brief for my characterā means - yes, you can have something that works well with the character, but thatās pretty much a case of āthis works with the theme Iām trying to go forā, there is no ābriefā that your character has to follow. National costume briefs, on the other hand, are trying to put across a consistent look that the game designers would like you to go for.
Urizen may have āan Asian influenceā but itās in the Orientalist-mashup thatās come via, say, the Lord of the Rings film elves, rather than Japanese, Chinese, Korean or any other East or South Asian countriesā actual customs. So going for āthis would be okay if I were playing a historical Japanese characterā may actually steer you wrong in this case, alas.
I think what Iād ask myself before using that mask is āwhat am I trying to convey with this, and does that fit the cultural brief?ā. Not just in terms of the look - is āIām wearing a mask with a fierce face on itā something that fits in Urizen, not just for your character?
Urizen may have āan Asian influenceā but itās in the Orientalist-mashup thatās come via, say, the Lord of the Rings film elves, rather than Japanese, Chinese, Korean or any other East or South Asian countriesā actual customs
This is the key point here in my opinion. There are some aspects of Asian culture, mixed in with Urizen but itās much more high elf than oriental. Costume tends to go for subtle and understated look. To put it in context, there is no player in Urizen that Iām aware of who looks even remotely like a samurai, or ninja and masks are extremely uncommon. (You should be able to control your facial expressions without artificial aids 
)
None of which means you ācouldnātā wear that mask I suppose, just so long as youāre ok with the fact it will make you look slightly odd, (as if you were wearing a rather outrageous hat) rather than make you blend in with the nation brief.
Wearing a mask, you might get people thinking that your character is from the League but wearing odd clothes.
And with that particular mask, players who recognise the style of mask OOC might find it rather jarring.
Honestly, if you are going to spend money on something that distinctive for one character, Iād suggest trying hard to keep it as on-brief as possible.
It seems to be the consensus that the mask is too off brief. Now I know. Thanks