Energy Substitution Acid Description

[Vorput]

My wizard recently chose the feat energy substitution [acid] from complete arcane- and I love it, fits the character's personality and outlook on life well.

Anyway, I'm having trouble with describing the effects of what an exploding ball of acid looks/feels/sounds like. It's easy for me to picture a fireball, but how would the creative geniuses on ENworld describe what a Fireball [Acid] is like?

Also lightning bolt, and scorchng ray.... I mean I can generally describe it as a Line of Acid, or sphere... and I realize to some extent acid is going to be different from fire/electricity... but I'd still like to be able to give it, and picture, the individual effect as I cast the spell.

I think that makes sense... essentially I could use some help with descriptions as per say what the spell compendium does with spells.

Thanks!

Vorp

 

[Joshua Randall]

Y'know that scene in the movie Robocop where the tank of toxic chemical waste bursts open and a guy gets melted by it? That's how I imagine the effects of an acid-substituted spell would look.

Or if you prefer a more classic movie reference, how 'bout Phantom of the Opera? He gets his face partially melted by acid.

 

[Herzog]

since 'fire ball' actually fills the target area, I wouldn't describe it as an 'acid sphere'. more likely, it will be like 'acidic mist' or something:

a greenish vapour fills the area. There where it touches people or objects, it quickly condenses into a sticky green substance, which immediately eats through wood, leather and exposed flesh. Exposed metal starts to give off whisps of smoke, and begins to tarnish....

lightning bolt continues, even when it hits someone. A line of acid would be stopped, at least partially. It will probably become something almost 'alive' to keep the properties of the lightning bolt:

From out of nowhere a stream of green liquid jumps straight to one of the enemies. It smashes it dead in the chest, but instead of ricochetting off the creature, it seems to 'pour' around it and continues on in a straight line. Only when it hits a wall does it change direction. Strangely enough, when you examine the wall after the combat, itshows no signs of contact with the liquid. The same can not be said about the creatures it engulfed on its murdorous path across the room....

Hope you can do something with this!

Herzog

 

[Vorput]

Or if you prefer a more classic movie reference, how 'bout Phantom of the Opera? He gets his face partially melted by acid.

My character had been making it a point to acid splash the faces of any enemies we ever left alive... permanently disfiguring them.

Hope you can do something with this!

Very cool, thanks!

 

[Voadam]

Fireball would be more like a wave of acid crashing outward in my view.

Lightning bolt would be a stream of acid shooting out of your outstreched hand.

Scorching ray would be short streams as if shooting from a super soaker water gun with short blasts, only using an orange dripping liquid that burns on contact.

 

[RangerWickett]

What's really fun is an acid substituted sleet storm. No real difference, but icky.

Chain Acid Lightning? Or for real fun, Acid Shout. Icky.

 

[frankthedm]

When you start allowing feats to change the energy descriptors of spells, you either have to decide that the spell will work differently or that the effect will look silly. I believe the energy substitution feat specifies other effects of the spell are not changed, so that means they will look silly or need to be described more carefully.

An acid substituted lightning bolt can be described as

A beam of acidic liquid streams through all those in a line.
or
A line of brilliant green energy corrodes everything in it’s path.​

 

[Storyteller01]

FIreball could be described similarly to phospherous genades, minus the extended duration.

 

[starwed]

As someone else mentioned, an [acid] spell needn't involve some sort of liquid. Corrosive gas is more logical for any spell which involves actual flames.

 

[Doc-coD]

I used to have a sorcerer that used "Spell Thematics: Crystals" together with "Energy Substitution: Acid". In essence, I used crystal spheres for fireballs and stalagtites of crystals which exploded upon impact for a few spells. Generally, try to see what else feels "acidic". You could also use glass/crystal as a phiole, containing the acid. Or gooey projectiles that splash on your targets. For stuff that chains and arcs around, I would find something of a semi-intelligent splash of acid, searching new targets after initial hit, diminishing as some of it is used to damage the enemy, the remains already seeking out new stuff to hit. There are many forms to present acid and, for that matter, every liquid. And, hey, it's magic after all, so go wild .