Wizard or Sorcerer Spells as an Extension of Personality

[Hennet]

Re: That's great, but...

I got lucky with the two new players in my campaign!!!!

What does that have to do with magic? Do they know about each other? Won't this cause weird situations in the group?

It can have a lot to do with magic. Fly, Endurance, Invisibility and many other magics can spice up a sexual encounter if you use your imagination. I've heard of guys using Enlarge but I've never felt the need.

As for weird situations, well, it works for the Iconics. Sure, jealousies may flare up from time to time, but we have pretty short memories. So good luck with your mage menage a trois. Hmm, maybe I should see if Mialee and Devis are available...

 

[Falcon]

Oh crud, I didn't realize what I had done...

It was all consensual. But seriously, I simply meant I was happy that two creative players had joined my campaign.

Sheesh

 

[Falcon]

To bring the thread back on, ahem, topic..

Why not consider such spells as "Fireball "as a template for the expression of energy belonging to the sorcerer in question? Granted, there are spells like "Lightning Bolt" which are, in terms of energy, a different aspect of "Fireball."

I guess what I am moving towards is a sort of personality-based template for sorcerers, bards, and the like. It seems like it could be really fun to base a character, such as previously mentioned rapscallion-sorcerer, on personality and campaign context.

Maybe a thread stating creative descriptions and uses of spells would be fruitful.

 

[Wolvorine]

It's a great concept - sh'loads of fun too

We had a thread going about this very idea on Monte Cook's boards sometime last year. Glad to see lots of other people are having the same idea.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Check out the revised Spell Thematics feat in the Magic of Faerun errata now available at the Wizards of the Coast webpage! Now you can gain some advantages for choosing a spell theme.

 

[nopantsyet]

I don't think spell thematics should be a feat. I allow my players to customize their spells if they wish. It adds a nice flavor and helps shape a character.

One character is a Chultan shaman/witch doctor type of sorcerer-in-exile who believes his powers are an indication that he is a god. So he has customized spells to correspond with the totems and fetishes he uses in casting them.

For example, Summon Swarm is "Beetle Dance." His revised swarm type table has different types of beetles (flying, crawling, etc.).

The flavor it lends to his character really adds to the game in a positive way. It doesn't change the mechanics, but really makes it seem like his powers are his own.

 

[mmadsen]

I have always been irritated by the load and shoot system of D&D magic (my interpretation), until someone joined a campaign I play in with a character totally developed around fire, because of being burnt as a kid. I believe he is an invoker, etc., but what is cool is that all his spells have to do with fire and speed, and he is a very tempremental character (worse than my short-tempered and irreverant swordsman).

I like the notion of spells fitting a theme too (if not necessarily a Freudian one), but the D&D rules work against that (if only slightly). There's no benefit to choosing related spells (besides specializing on one school), and there's a clear cost (an opportunity cost) to taking spells that overlap. A sorcerer, in particular, is tempted to take just one invisibility spell, for instance, even though a "natural" caster who can turn invisible should naturally learn Improved Invisibility, etc.

 

[Plane Sailing]

My current Sorcerer (actually a Paladin 2/Sorc 4 - a surprisingly career bad choice) is developing a fairly suboptimal theme...

He used to be a slave of the evil Hansa Federation, and managed to escape to the New World, where he found first one calling (as a Paladin/liberator) and then a second (as a sorcerer).

His spells are largely being chosen along a "freedom/release" kind of theme. His first 2nd level spell is "Shatter" because he can use it to break chains and doors

Cheers

 

[Simon Magalis]

When I was playing Zook Murnig (Gnome-at-Large) in a friend's campaign, he was a sorceror/rogue. I picked spells that revealed his love of bright lights. However, he was deemed ineffective by a few of the other players and things got sort of uncomfortable at the gaming table and I was forced to have Zook seek employment elsewhere. Though the DM did have him show back up as an NPC and royally screw our whole party over, so that was funny.

 

[Noumenon]

Apologies for bumping this old thread about spells reflecting your personality.

My very first wizard character's first big spell was Color Spray. He knocked out so many hobgoblins the first time he used it that I rethemed the entire character around color. Changed his name to Chroma, had his Glitterdust come down as red, green, and blue glitter, learned Hypnotic Pattern and Rainbow Pattern. His familiar was a chameleon named Skittles. There was a four-color rainbow spiraling around his robe in colored braid, and the magic seemed to follow that path up his arm before leaving his hand. In some ways it felt like I was building a theme deck for Magic: the Gathering.

Eventually I took a level of Rogue and enchanted a dagger that cast Flare (in red, green, or blue) on anyone I stabbed with it. The character would never have been content to sneak attack people with Improved Invisibility otherwise. I could also flare from the dagger for a +5 to my bluff checks for feinting in combat. Blind them with color, make them taste the rainbow. Very themey.

If we start playing again, maybe I can get the character up to the point where he could wear Robe of Scintillating Colors and cast Prismatic Spray. Whoever designed all these spells probably never knew how much I was going to love playing with them.