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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 1945350" data-attributes="member: 1465">Absolutely I have done this before and encouraged my players to do exactly the same. You should indeed consider when the changes are in the effect and not just the visualization.1) Cosmetic changes.I give near-absolute freedom about this. I never cared AT ALL about Spell Thematics, as long as the changes are purely cosmetic, they should be free for everyone. The only limitations I would try to keep are:- to choose a theme and stick to it (i mean don't allow to change it later); it doesn't have to be the same theme for ALL your spells, but a caster with an identifyable style still has more chances to become memorable than one with no style at all; if you allow it to be changed at every cast, it may happen that someone tries to use any spell as illusions or to raise a wide range of reactions from bystanders- avoid extreme effects on both ends of the range: Magic Missiles in the shape of Great Wyrm Red Dragons charging the target aren't fine, because they are obviously overachieving effects they aren't supposed to; effects reduced to the point of not being visible at all (for spells which are supposed to be visible) aren't fine either since they can become too useful2) Effective changes.Definitely keep it simple. Changing from one energy type to another is absolutely fine, it is actually the perfect example. Check for some spells' side effects (combustion, freezing of water, melting some material) which you may want to substitute with something that makes more sense.You can also change from an energy type to a non-energy damage, in which case it is more complicated because energy resistances don't work like damage reduction. Energy resistance is very common and very high, and some are outright immune to one or more energies.A Fireball which deals slashing damage would bypass all energy resistances, so you should try to apply a different sort of resistance: first option would be DR, but how? You may consider the damage magic and slashing. In that case creatures with DR X/magic (lots) or DR X/slashing (few) will be fully affected, while the ones with DR X/Evil for example would get the "discount".It is a difficult topic however: DR is never as high as ER, and it is not straightforward.Not to mention that changing from Fire to Force has even more to consider...</blockquote>

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