Are you a refluffer?

[Pbartender]

For something like Distance Cut simply having the spell leave a echoing jagged visual warp where space itself was cut during the attacks passage probably suits the core description nicely.

You don't even need to go that far... You've got one guy wildly swinging a ceremonial dagger at thin air, while muttering unspeakable curses. on the other side of the room, you've got a guy shouting and screaming, "AUUUUUGH! I'VE JUST BEEN STABBED!"

In between, you've got a room full people thinking, "I don't know how he did it, but THAT guy just cut up THIS guy."



Incidentally, the description I used for that particular Magic missile effect was blatantly stolen from Conan the Destroyer.

 

[Desdichado]

Also, using martial powers outside of combat creatively, where the problems with raflavoring arises, is quite a lot more difficult.

There aren't any problems with reflavoring outside of combat. To use the example that's been batted around most frequently; if one guy says that when he casts magic missile, he shouts "HADOKEN!" and gets a blue ball of light, while another guy says that his magic missile looks like tiny little fairies with swords that unerringly go and attack the target, how in the world does that change give anyone any out of combat benefit?

The whole premise of your argument is silly to begin with.

As antagonistic as the majority of 4E groups then, just where the average 4E group is concerned about combat balance over all else, I am concerned about out of combat balance. One players shouldn't be at a disadvantage, just because he has chosen not to reflavor something while an other player has some big advantages with reflavored spells.

I don't know what the first sentence in that paragraph has to do with the rest of them. Unless this whole affair is yet another poorly disguised attempt to bash 4e.

 

[Garthanos]

You don't even need to go that far... You've got one guy wildly swinging a ceremonial dagger at thin air, while muttering unspeakable curses. on the other side of the room, you've got a guy shouting and screaming, "AUUUUUGH! I'VE JUST BEEN STABBED!"

Right the obviousness of the connection technically only has to work in context... somebody worrying about surreptitious use of magic.. can it be done without incantations... can the gesture (slash be subtle) etc... etc...those might be choices too then maybe other effects can be brought in (perhaps because you went subtle on the first part other things come out).

 

[Somebloke]

Oh yes. Since my campaign is very low magic, the party wizard and avenger are enjoying their new lives as an alchemist-gunner and kung-fu monk who's belief is enough to drive away demons.

All of the player races have been re-fluffed to become backgrounds...so the Tiefling is a nobleman, the Deva spent his childhood in a monostary, the dwarf is now from peasant stock, etc.

The monsters are easy by comparison.

 

[Barastrondo]

Right the obviousness of the connection technically only has to work in context... somebody worrying about surreptitious use of magic.. can it be done without incantations... can the gesture (slash be subtle) etc... etc...those might be choices too then maybe other effects can be brought in (perhaps because you went subtle on the first part other things come out).

Over in Hero System (which could be called Reskin System with a totally straight face if it weren't for the fact that all the skins are player-contributed in the first place, so there's no "re-" involved), it would be obvious from the start. "Does your spell have Gestures and Incantations? Right, so they can see you gesture and hear you incant. Did you buy it Invisible? No? Then they can tell you're the source." Same standard for D&D, reallly; reskinning doesn't change the nature of V,S,M.

 

[Pbartender]

Right the obviousness of the connection technically only has to work in context... somebody worrying about surreptitious use of magic.. can it be done without incantations... can the gesture (slash be subtle) etc... etc...those might be choices too then maybe other effects can be brought in (perhaps because you went subtle on the first part other things come out).

And, of course, the description of how the skill check is used to mask the effects for stealth purposes can also vary from situation to situation.

My orc witchdoctor might try muttering as quietly as possibly, and thrust that ceremonial dagger from beneath his cloak, where its less likely to be seen.

The guy with the fairy Magic Missiles, might have them sneak under the furniture, before they crawl up the pants leg of the target to attack him.

An ordinary Magic Missile guy might do his best to make his Missiles glow as little as possible, or distract the enemies into looking elsewhere.


For my group, it's all about integrating role playing with colloquial "roll playing"... Using one to explain the other and vice versa.

 

[Garthanos]

And, of course, the description of how the skill check is used to mask the effects for stealth purposes can also vary from situation to situation.

My orc witchdoctor might try muttering as quietly as possibly, and thrust that ceremonial dagger from beneath his cloak, where its less likely to be seen.

The guy with the fairy Magic Missiles, might have them sneak under the furniture, before they crawl up the pants leg of the target to attack him.

An ordinary Magic Missile guy might do his best to make his Missiles glow as little as possible, or distract the enemies into looking elsewhere.

Most definitely you got it!

 

[Garthanos]

Over in Hero System (which could be called Reskin System with a totally straight face if it weren't for the fact that all the skins are player-contributed in the first place, so there's no "re-" involved), it would be obvious from the start. "Does your spell have Gestures and Incantations? Right, so they can see you gesture and hear you incant. Did you buy it Invisible? No? Then they can tell you're the source." Same standard for D&D, reallly; reskinning doesn't change the nature of V,S,M.

I dont feel its quite as nailed down in 4e (or that it needs to be see the post from The Pbartender about how you can describe how a stealth skill attempt is described with your arcane power), and hero had something called Variable Limitations, which for many groups for magic was a standard (you always needed a set of limits there details were shiftable).

 

[billd91]

When it comes to re-imagining stuff in D&D, there's two issues for me. DM stuff in the Monster Manual and DMG are pretty easily mutable as long as I've got the time to do it (which isn't always).

But stuff in the Player's Handbook is far more of a pain in the ass to re-imagine because every time I do it I'm working up stream against the conception laid in the brains of all of my players (or at least the ones who peruse the manual). This is one reason I prefer simple, basically mechanistic descriptive names for things with relatively little fluff. Then, there's not so much to have to deprogram before the new re-image sinks in.