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<blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 6095992">I'm not saying they need to explicitly duplicate MTG cards, only that there is an important distinction between &quot;prose&quot; and &quot;textbook&quot;.&nbsp; I don't want the specific details of how a fireball flies off your fingertips, the fact that it does is clear enough.&nbsp; The fireball flies off your fingertips.&nbsp; That's some pretty specific imagery right there.&nbsp; It doesn't jump off your fingers, or drip off your fingers, it flies.&nbsp; It implies speed, trajectory, even a hint of life.&nbsp; I mean, if we could get something in one or two sentences per item that are explicit and evocative, I think we'll be doing well.&nbsp; Fireball:S,M,(whatever the letter is for wiggling your fingers)&quot;You draw mana into a superheated ball that flies from your fingers and explodes upon impact, damaging everything within it's fiery blast.&quot;It's short, it's sweet, and it's to the point.&nbsp; I'm certain it could use a little work, but the idea is that we can say a lot while writing a little, I think this is something that MTG flavor text writers have had to learn the hard way from the limited space on the cards.&nbsp; Say a lot while writing a little.&nbsp; I don't believe that D&amp;D has ever succeeded at this.&nbsp; Either saying little and writing little, leading to drab or plain uninformative flavor; or saying very little by writing too much, creating drab, uninformative walls of text that the reader has to slog through to pull anything useful out of, and rarely anything interesting or evocative.Shortly: WOTC flavor needs to do more with less.&nbsp; That's the lesson I want them to learn from MTG flavor.&nbsp; Write a lot if necessary but make it USEFUL.&nbsp; Write a little if it's not needed.&nbsp; We don't need buckets of prose that add nothing just to make them seem more prosey.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sunseeker, post: 6095992"] I'm not saying they need to explicitly duplicate MTG cards, only that there is an important distinction between "prose" and "textbook". I don't want the specific details of how a fireball flies off your fingertips, the fact that it does is clear enough. The fireball flies off your fingertips. That's some pretty specific imagery right there. It doesn't [I]jump[/I] off your fingers, or [I]drip[/I] off your fingers, it [B]flies[/B]. It implies speed, trajectory, even a hint of life. I mean, if we could get something in one or two sentences per item that are explicit and evocative, I think we'll be doing well. Fireball: S,M,(whatever the letter is for wiggling your fingers) "You draw mana into a superheated ball that flies from your fingers and explodes upon impact, damaging everything within it's fiery blast." It's short, it's sweet, and it's to the point. I'm certain it could use a little work, but the idea is that we can say a lot while writing a little, I think this is something that MTG flavor text writers have had to learn the hard way from the limited space on the cards. Say a lot while writing a little. I don't believe that D&D has [I]ever[/I] succeeded at this. Either saying little and writing little, leading to drab or plain uninformative flavor; or saying very little by writing too much, creating drab, uninformative walls of text that the reader has to slog through to pull anything useful out of, and rarely anything interesting or evocative. Shortly: WOTC flavor needs to do more with less. That's the lesson I want them to learn from MTG flavor. Write a lot if necessary but make it USEFUL. Write a little if it's not needed. We don't need buckets of prose that add nothing just to make them seem more prosey. [/QUOTE]

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