Personalized Powers

[Leif]

One of my favorite things about spells in D&D prior to 4E was that, while the game mechanics were given in the rules, the fluff, that is, the subjective appearance, sound, etc. of the spell was more nebulous and could be altered at the whim of the caster. Maybe one Wizards Magic Missile would always look like a bolt of shimmering green force, or maybe the color of the force would change like a mood ring, revealing the wizard's emotional state of the moment. But with 4E, all of the fluff is given in the power's description.

Now, I'm not trying to start any big fights or anything, but SO WHAT? Just because they claim to know what the powers look like in your game, it's still YOUR game! I recommend keeping the crunch mechanics of the various powers as written, but as long as you abide by the one 'rule,' I don't see any reason why the power's effects can't be personalized. We're in the process of trying this in my 4E game being played here. (But since I just now thought of the idea, we haven't had a chance to do much with it yet.) Also, I have an idea that one or two of my players have already been doing this, but I'm not really sure. Let's face it, with all these powers, even for 1st level characters, it's a very daunting task for a DM to be familiar with ALL of them. I haven't even tried and already I admit defeat. But, anyway, I shall let my players know that, as long as they keep the crunch effects of the powers as written (damage, slide, push, pull, etc.) they can take liberties with the fluff of the power to make it more their own.

Or, at least, that's what I'm thinking now. And I really want to know if it works, too. Any thoughts?

 

[Leif]

Specifically, here's how I worded it in http://www.enworld.org/forum/talking-talk/249276-leifs-keep-shadowfell-full-ooc-1-a.html#post4757941, my 4E thread:

I just had an epiphany! I was thinking about how all the fluff for 4E powers is given to you word-for-word in the descriptions of the powers, and how that limited player's imaginations, and then, I thought, well no, not really. So here's what I want to try in this game starting now and continuing until further notice:

As long as you keep the Crunch aspects of a power that you use identical to what the book says about the power, and I mean ALL crunch, from hp damage infliced, to pushes, pulls, and slides, and all other actual effects of the power on the target or anyone else, then you are free to adjust the fluffy aspects of the power (light, color, cound, smell, specific appearance if it won't affect the crunch of the power) to suit your whims. Maybe a power will look the same every time your character uses it, and maybe it will have a unique appearance each time. If you're ever too tired to come up with something new and original for a power, then you can always fall back on what's written in the books. And, it may take awhile before people start to get ideas for 4E powers, too. I know that I never even heard of doing that for previous edition powers until I had already been playing for years, so maybe it will take years for us to get bored enough wiith 4E powers to want to change them. I just don't know. But I thought that the option ought to be out there and available if someone gets that particular urge.

 

[fissionessence]

The PHB [somewhere] suggests you do this, including renaming your powers as you see fit.

Personally, I'm still trying to think of a rename for dire radiance because every time I use it people make diarrhea jokes.

~

 

[Leif]

Hahahahaha! Well, you have to admit that that's pretty DIRE, isn't it?

I didn't know that about the suggestion in the books, but that makes me feel better about the authors.

For a rename of Dire Radiance, how about Oppressive Glow?

 

[Leif]

The PHB [somewhere] suggests you do this, including renaming your powers as you see fit.

I don't suppose you could give me a page number, could you?

 

[Mentat55]

Page 54-55, under the section "Flavor Text":

A power's flavor text helps you understand what happens when you use a power and how you might describe it when you use it. You can alter this description as you like, to fit your own idea of what your powers look like. Your wizard's magic missile spell, for example, might create phantasmal skulls that howl through the air to strike opponents, rather than simple bolts of magical energy.

 

[Leif]

heh, silly me! Thanks, Mentat! (What's worse is, I actually remember reading that!)

 

[Garthanos]

heh, silly me! Thanks, Mentat! (What's worse is, I actually remember reading that!)

I think what is significant is that it is the players who are being encouraged to do the re-visualization. I am inclined to give the wizard free class feature is to allow any power with an energy key word to be swapped out with any other that the class has initially when you take it. Or at the cost of a feat to allow this at-will for a set of energies (I am an elementalist).

Heck not just Wizards, Swordmages, Warlocks just about anybody. Paladins and Priests ought to be locked in closer to whatever there god's feature energy type(s) are and feature weapon type is (but since I allow players to help me build my world a bit we can probably create a god with their favored types.)

For me the energy type has a large impact on visualization, if you are really allowing the players to re visualize I don't think it should be written in stone.

 

[WhatGravitas]

On the WotC boards, somebody compiled a list of alternative descriptions of the wizard's at-wills - by varying them, the wizard can have the flavour of knowing more spells than he actually does (e.g. a Bigby-style hand flings your opponent away, then you drop your shield spell, pushing somebody close to you away from you - very different fluff, but both times just a thunderwave).

Cheers, LT.

 

[Garthanos]

On the WotC boards, somebody compiled a list of alternative descriptions of the wizard's at-wills - by varying them, the wizard can have the flavour of knowing more spells than he actually does (e.g. a Bigby-style hand flings your opponent away, then you drop your shield spell, pushing somebody close to you away from you - very different fluff, but both times just a thunderwave).

Cheers, LT.

Love it and so double awesome... combined with the mix and match energy and we get hundreds of at wills ;-).

I might have to make my Rose Magick page (named after the Shakespear quote) entirely devoted to 4e.