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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sadras" data-source="post: 5911778" data-attributes="member: 6688277">Interesting, I feel this is more an explorative 4E question than about 5E. In our 4E campaign it took some time, but I provided the players a little more freedom with their powers for most of the reasons posted above. Innovative spells or any creative flare in our campaign is rewarded with XP. So there is a definite incentive to make the players think out the box. For instance, a wizard who can cast a fireball, can surely summon up a flame within his hand if he wanted to - logically speaking. Further leeway is given that sometimes the spell powers take the effect of the surrounding terrain. For instance the druid in our campaign has this deadly thorn spray (forget the actual power name) - well the party was travelling through an icy-dungeon so we changed the thorns to become flying stalactites and stalacmites instead - she pulled the icy from the walls causing the shards to rain down on her victims. Of course it made tremendous noise and alerted dungeon critters further down the passageway but it was great cinematic play.Furthermore, if you worried the characters becoming too powerful and having too much freedom, you could have these changes in powers cost a surge if they are a significant change.  We even did that for the druid change shape ability, allowing her to change into a different animal than what she was accustomed to. It cost her a surge, and when character reverted back she was nausious for a few minutes thereafter (all fluff). Giving the players that freedom with powers allows you to break the 4E boxed-power-thinking. And in the end the DM always has the final say...</blockquote>

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