Cool/Interesting Descriptions of 4E Powers

[Gothmog]

I've noticed in numerous threads here on ENWorld people complaining about not being able to visualize what the 4E powers would look like, or how they might take effect. Personally, I love that the designers left this up in the air, because it allows the players and DM to describe what their characters are doing, and how they are doing it. Now I let my players describe what they are trying to do and the power they are using, THEN make the attack roll. I've found its lead to much more fun and interesting combats, as players get creative with with powers and doing interesting actions. Here are a few examples from my campaign:

Dazing Strike- the rogue kicked a log from the campfire into an onrushing gnoll's face, then as the gnoll staggered back, slashed it across the thigh with her shortsword.

Split the Sky- the cleric worships the Raven Queen, so it seemed odd to have a power that does thunder damage, but he came up with a cool way to explain it. The cleric player said that as he incanted the prayer, faint wispy outlines and screams of the dead encased his weapon, and when he struck the opponent, the spirits leapt on it, moving through his body, and chilling it to the bone, which drove the target back and made it collapse on the ground.

Healing Strike- same cleric as above. Hitting someone with a weapon to heal yourself or someone else sounds weird, but he had his cleric intone a short prayer "Give me strength from the life of mine enemy", and a faint glowing aura spread up his arm after he struck, which he could either then use for himself, or send the lifeforce of his enemy to a nearby allly.

Warlord's Favor- the warlord player explained the bonus to hit as his character striking his enemy a telling blow, then calling to the others "Strike below his shield arm on the left side- his armor is weakest there!"

Steel Monsoon- same warlord as above. He explained it as striking a flurry of blows with his axe as he screamed out loud disparaging remarks concerning the cultist's heritage and their fate should they be found lacking in the eyes of their god. He explained the other cultists momentarily shifted their attention to him, allowing his allies to shift to a more advantageous position.

Bastion of Defense- again, the warlord. He explained this power as smashing the boss gnoll's shield with his axe (they had been having a hell of a time hitting the gnoll), and crying out "Now, while his guard is down, strike and remember what these beasts did to our friends!" Basically, he explains temporary hit points as an adrenaline surge.

Those are some of the more interesting ones we've had so far, but every one of my players has gotten into it and seems to really be enjoying tweaking the visual effects of their powers. The warlord and rogue in particular enjoy using different descriptions each time they use their powers, to keep things fresh and interesting. I'm sure some of you guy have had similar experiences or thought about this as well, so please share!

 

[mjukglass]

Yup. All fluff is up for grabs when we play. Races, classes, powers and descriptions .. just about anything that somebody want to flavor and make interesting. We use the crunch, the rest we make our own and suitable to the stated creative agenda.

 

[med stud]

Same as mjukglass, really. We've never really liked the fluff from a RPG, instead using our own. We tend to be short on descriptions though, much like the Viking sagas.

 

[Forty2Fame]

When I read the eyebite skill for Fey warlocks I immediately saw in my mind the Half-elf turn her fury on an oncoming goblin and leer menacingly. The goblin's eyes erupted in shifting lights and as it reeled in pain the warlock faded away from existance in a blur.

 

[Klaus]

Very cool!

 

[TimeOut]

Our Warlock has house-fluffed his Elditch Blast into "a small skeleton whelpling bursts forth from the dragon skull on the top of my staff and flies screeching towards the enemy".

 

[Forty2Fame]

I think Eldrich Blast has to be home-fluffed for both star and fey pacts. The shadowy bolts work fine for infernal but star has to be smothing like a lance of light from the Astral Sea, and fey I imagine as an angry nature spirit leaping out of the feywild to torture the enemy.

 

[med stud]

I imagine all fey powers as bad acid trips . The fey eldritch bolt would be like a malign rainbow, smelling like channel nr 4 mixed with gasoline, bringing nausea and pain while tearing your flesh.

I view the star pact powers as cold, loneliness, vast spaces and dead lights. I view the eldritch blast as putting tissue to stasis while freezing, wrenching it from surrounding tissue.

 

[lutecius]

I've noticed in numerous threads here on ENWorld people complaining about not being able to visualize what the 4E powers would look like, or how they might take effect.

My problem is more explaining why they take effect than how
In most cases i don't see the connection between a succesful hit and results like healing allies or teleport.
I don't care for lengthy power descriptions, i just want them to make sense.

As for visualisation i'm not sure it should be too open. Now that all classes use similar mechanics, fluff is one of the last things that make two classes with the same role really different.

Conversely I don't think the same action/description should refer to completely different mechanics.
Of course if a player or dm doesn't like a particular power's description they should change it. But for the sake of consistency, the general effects of a power should be determined in advance, not on the spot.

I guess it's all a matter of taste.

 

[Wormwood]

Our half-elf paladin chose Eldritch Blast as his cross-class encounter power.

He describes it as hurling his shield, Captain America-style.

Rock on.