A "What if you're stuck with Golden Wyvern?" thread

[Jinete]

Although I personally dislike the name, let's say that it comes out in the PHB, and that renaming it is not an option. So (pure speculation):

A wizard character has a spellcasting style that he calls "Golden Wyvern". He also dabbles in "Emerald Frost", and is known to throw in some "Iron Sigil" now and then. "Emerald frost" and "Serpent eye" are not his cup of tea.

My question: how do you explain why he uses these names. I'm sure PHB will have flavor that explains the names, but I just want to see if they can be applied, while completely ignoring the other fluff in the book.

Note: this thread is not about bashing the names, or advice how to rename them. Let's say you're stuck with them, and you need to find a clever and creative way to incorporate them in your game.

 

[Simon Marks]

Who taught the Wizard his magic?

Their master was a "Golden Wyvern Adept", obviously. He may learn from other schools of magic - but that's later.

It's the name of the Order his master belonged to.

Now, we don't know for certain if Traditions are required of all Wizards (like the Generalist Wizards of 3e). If all wizards are required to take a tradition then I hope, no Pray, that Traditions are reasonably easy to create mix'n'match stylee like Domains and Gods where.

Or, to put it even more simple -

I expect/hope Traditions to be like Spheres and Domains where for Clerics giving a much needed diversity to Wizards styles.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I can't really comment yet until I've seen it.

While I'm happy to house-rule all manner of things to provide the desired flavour for a particular campaign, I never do it until I've read the rules first!

Why don't you start the ball rolling by describing how you would do it?

BTW, it might be worth changing the title of the thread, to positively reflect the purpose you've got in mind for the question. Bait and Switch of thread titles can lead to involuntary thread closure in some cases

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Well actually it is. Although I personally dislike the name, let's say that it comes out in the PHB, and that renaming it is not an option. So (pure speculation):

A wizard character has a spellcasting style that he calls "Golden Wyvern". He also dabbles in "Emerald Frost", and is known to throw in some "Iron Sigil" now and then. "Emerald frost" and "Serpent eye" are not his cup of tea.

My question: how do you explain why he uses these names. I'm sure PHB will have flavor that explains the names, but I just want to see if they can be applied, while completely ignoring the other fluff in the book.

Note: this thread is not about bashing the names, or advice how to rename them. Let's say you're stuck with them, and you need to find a clever and creative way to incorporate them in your game.

Good example - it strikes me that most Wizards will be like this, perhaps - dabbling in different styles of magic. Different schools emphasise different aspects of magic (defense, offence, divination etc) and it's only the rare few who devote themselves to a single school or style and gain great power in it.

And yes, I appreciate that this was previously covered by schools of magic.

 

[Jinete]

I can't really comment yet until I've seen it.

While I'm happy to house-rule all manner of things to provide the desired flavour for a particular campaign, I never do it until I've read the rules first!

Why don't you start the ball rolling by describing how you would do it?

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I can't seem to come up with anything. Golden Wyvern adepts are good at shaping and sculpting spells they cast. I try to think why would they call themselves that and my mind grinds to a halt. I was hoping somebody has an idea.

 

[Patlin]

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I can't seem to come up with anything. Golden Wyvern adepts are good at shaping and sculpting spells they cast. I try to think why would they call themselves that and my mind grinds to a halt. I was hoping somebody has an idea.

At their parties, they throw fireballs into the air and have them explode shaped like a golden wyvern?

 

[Wormwood]

My question: how do you explain why he uses these names.

I see them less as taxonomic descriptors than as 'techniques' perhaps passed down from master to student.

Presumably, the techniques themselves are so ancient that their origins are lost in legend and myth.

I imagine that names such as Iron Sigil and Emeral Frost are invoked in similar fashion as the obfuscating esoterica used by alechemists and mystics (e.g. 'Tears of the Red Dragon', "The Black Sun's Fire', and 'Vesica piscis')

edit: cleaned it up a little. it's hard to concentrate at work

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Golden Wyvern, Emerald Frost, are all names that originated in Ancient Draconic (or insert any other ancient, no longer commonly used tongue) and where transliterated for use in the common tongue. Over centuries, people forgot the origins, and the words slightly changed so that they eventually could be exchanged with "real" words.

 

[Cadfan]

They're proper nouns. To me, they don't need much explanation.

 

[hexgrid]

I don't like the names, but if they're used in the PHB I'll use them in the game. My ability to enjoy the game isn't so fragile that something like this can threaten it. It's a much bigger issue in the world of internet speculation than it will be when we're sitting around the table.