Flavorful Spellcasting Ideas

[Breakstone]

So the campaign I'm running is about to end, and I'm going to actually be playing a character in the next one, which will be run by another player.

I've chosen a wizard.

Personally, I don't find the whole "special effects energies swirling around the caster's hands firing a hadoken" spellcasting visual. So I was thinking of some interesting visuals for casting spells.

A few I've come up with:

Burning Hands: When the wizard was preparing spells, he painted a number of magic symbols onto a piece of parchment, sprinkled a number of strange herbs and ground minerals, and folded it all up. During combat, he unfolds the piece and blows it at his attackers- releasing a sheet of fire!

Unseen Servant: When the wizard prepares his spells, he cuts a simple human shape out of cloth, and paints a symbol upon it in special inks. During combat, he burns the cloth man, releasing the Unseen Servant within. Could also work with Phantasmal Killer.

How about you? Any original, unique ways of visualizing spells you've come up with?

 

[Ace]

So the campaign I'm running is about to end, and I'm going to actually be playing a character in the next one, which will be run by another player.

I've chosen a wizard.

Personally, I don't find the whole "special effects energies swirling around the caster's hands firing a hadoken" spellcasting visual. So I was thinking of some interesting visuals for casting spells.

A few I've come up with:

Burning Hands: When the wizard was preparing spells, he painted a number of magic symbols onto a piece of parchment, sprinkled a number of strange herbs and ground minerals, and folded it all up. During combat, he unfolds the piece and blows it at his attackers- releasing a sheet of fire!

Unseen Servant: When the wizard prepares his spells, he cuts a simple human shape out of cloth, and paints a symbol upon it in special inks. During combat, he burns the cloth man, releasing the Unseen Servant within. Could also work with Phantasmal Killer.

How about you? Any original, unique ways of visualizing spells you've come up with?

This was actaully a magic item but it would make a good FX for magic too

The old Dust Devil spell-- the component was a cone made of sand paper that was spun and it formed the devil

I used that in a a game once and the players loved it

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

You getting those effects from Chinese Ghost Story by any chance? If not, maybe you should watch the first one... A similar "runic" approach in which nearly all spells result from your character manipulating runes of power could be interesting.

 

[Piratecat]

I've seen people cast the equivalent of magic missile before by using a voodoo doll; stab the doll, and the person takes damage with no save. Very creepy.

 

[s/LaSH]

I've always been partial to the Eastern method of scroll casting: slap a scroll onto the air in front of you, like a wall, and generate magic effects from/through that. When done, scroll rolls up and shoots back into your sleeve. Why? Because it looks cool. Other neat effects include holding up a component (gem or small ball that can be held between thumb and forefinger) and blowing through it to release an effect (heck of a way to cast lightning bolt), making extravagant gestures with six arms (it's magic), and... I do like that voodoo variant of magic missile. That's very cool.