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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 8592324" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Yes changing the description of things only works if it's not used to bypass rules.&nbsp; A DM could allow a lightning-themed Wizard to have a &quot;Shock Sphere&quot;- a Fireball that deals Lightning damage, but it is still basically a fireball.&nbsp; Or the classic &quot;my son, the Fire Archon&quot;, where a developer in a home game let his son play a &quot;monster&quot; that was actually just a Rogue, save that their attacks did fire damage.&nbsp; Oh did I perform a quick escape?&nbsp; Instead you vanish in a puff of smoke.I played a game with a barroom brawler whose &quot;sword&quot; was a broken beer bottle and whose &quot;shield&quot; was a broken bar stool.&nbsp; It didn't cause any waves.I also once played in a desert themed campaign where everyone was a human- you could still play other races, but now instead of being an Elf you were a &quot;thin, agile human&quot;, instead of being a Halfling you were a child hero, that sort of thing.&nbsp; It still created a few oddities like, why did being thin and agile let me see in the dark, but overall, it didn't impact the game much.Now if someone says, like payn pointed out, I have a dagger that does greatsword damage, that starts to step on game balance, and the DM had better watch out.&nbsp; Or allowing a &quot;thunderball&quot; instead of a Fireball- then you have to ask yourself how often resistance/immunity/vulnerability to thunder comes up, and if that's something you are willing to accept.I don't actually engage in changing the descriptions of things myself often as a player- I'm usually happy to work my creativity around what the books say.&nbsp; But as a DM, I don't mind it at all, if it helps my players out.&nbsp; A thematic spellcaster who focuses on one element is something you see a lot in fiction, but the game doesn't really support this.&nbsp; Most of the best damage spells are fire- sometimes there's a good reason for this, sometimes not.A radiant Flame Blade sounds cool as heck, but you have to ask yourself if that's going to cause problems down the road.&nbsp; A</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 8592324, member: 6877472"] Yes changing the description of things only works if it's not used to bypass rules. A DM could allow a lightning-themed Wizard to have a "Shock Sphere"- a Fireball that deals Lightning damage, but it is still basically a fireball. Or the classic "my son, the Fire Archon", where a developer in a home game let his son play a "monster" that was actually just a Rogue, save that their attacks did fire damage. Oh did I perform a quick escape? Instead you vanish in a puff of smoke. I played a game with a barroom brawler whose "sword" was a broken beer bottle and whose "shield" was a broken bar stool. It didn't cause any waves. I also once played in a desert themed campaign where everyone was a human- you could still play other races, but now instead of being an Elf you were a "thin, agile human", instead of being a Halfling you were a child hero, that sort of thing. It still created a few oddities like, why did being thin and agile let me see in the dark, but overall, it didn't impact the game much. Now if someone says, like payn pointed out, I have a dagger that does greatsword damage, that starts to step on game balance, and the DM had better watch out. Or allowing a "thunderball" instead of a Fireball- then you have to ask yourself how often resistance/immunity/vulnerability to thunder comes up, and if that's something you are willing to accept. I don't actually engage in changing the descriptions of things myself often as a player- I'm usually happy to work my creativity around what the books say. But as a DM, I don't mind it at all, if it helps my players out. A thematic spellcaster who focuses on one element is something you see a lot in fiction, but the game doesn't really support this. Most of the best damage spells are fire- sometimes there's a good reason for this, sometimes not. A radiant Flame Blade sounds cool as heck, but you have to ask yourself if that's going to cause problems down the road. A [/QUOTE]

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