PhoenixPhyre
2017-10-27, 07:55 AM
I like to imagine how someone who could perceive the spirit/aura of the characters would view them (not just with sight, but with sound, etc) while they did their special things (rage, spell casting, channel divinity, etc).
Here's my head-canon--
Barbarians
Barbarians are physical creatures more than anything. When they rage, they draw up energy from inside of them and hulk out a little bit.
Fury: Fury barbarians, in addition to hulking out when they rage, exude a sense of anger mixed with glee. Their eyes light up, their motion speeds up, and they start to almost blur as they move. The aura of menace radiates from them.
Totem: These barbarians take on the aspect of their totem. An Eagle barbarian's arms appear feathered, almost like wings. A bear barbarian grows fuzzy. A wolf barbarian's eyes glow gold and his voice sounds like a howling wolf.
Bards
The operative word here for me is rhythm. Musical, lyrical, motion, whatever. When a bard is casting a spell or using her Bardic Inspiration, there's a rhythm to the motions, to the words. This isn't necessarily harmonious, but there's an unheard drumbeat.
Clerics
Clerics call down divine intercession. The exact thematics depend on the domain, but in all of them, I imagine a pulse of aura going outward (upward, downward, depending on the domain/god) and an answering pulse, a second aura that encompases them for a moment as the spell/Channel takes effect. A knowledge cleric might show an second aura of a book, or of a pen writing words, a nature cleric might be encased in a spectral tree or animal shape for an instant, light clerics glow like the sun. But all of them are borrowing that aura from somewhere else. It's distinct from their own aura.
Druids
Druids also get power through the intercession of other things, but in a very different way. Druids' auras, if examined closely, have other spirits woven into them, hitching a ride. When they cast a spell, one of these spirits flies out and performs the spell effect, and then returns. When they wildshape, they call out to a greater animal spirit to envelop them. This spirit replaces their body with its own, suffering the damage incurred and mediating between the druid and the new shape; the druid's is visible (to those that can see, like with witch sight) beneath the beast's shell.
Fighters
Pure fighters (non-eldritch knights) are some of the more physically oriented characters. They don't show aura effects--their aura is bound tightly to their bodies. Someone with eyes to see will perceive the flesh knitting together unnaturally fast (second wind), the fighter's form blurring with unnatural speed (action surge), etc. Eldritch knights show similar aura effects to wizards when castings spells, but can leech off of that to aid their speed (war magic).
Monks
Monks are fully in tune with their bodies and spirits. Their auras are flexible and dextrous and can reach beyond their bodies. The dominant word here is discipline. Every portion of their aura is ordered and they don't show the effects of strong emotion in their aura like others do. When they spend ki, it shows as the relevant part of their aura hardens or concentrates with energy.
Paladins
If monks are discipline, I imagine paladins as conviction. They're so sure of their cause that reality bends to their will. When they cast spells, smite, etc. their aura forms a visible shell around them, glowing with a pure color. Their aura extends outward (past level 6), granting friends a share of the same conviction.
Devotion: I imagine devotion as pure gold.
Ancients: I imagine ancients as emerald green.
Vengeance: I imagine vengeance as ruby red.
Rangers
Rangers, like druids, deal with spirits. Unlike druids, they make more permanent contracts and bind them to their own aura. Beastmaster rangers bind a beast spirit to the body of a natural beast, sharing a strong connection--like a tie--between them.
Sorcerers
Sorcerers have the most active auras, even at rest. They flare like solar prominences and roil like a boiling pot. Wild magic sorcerers are even more chaotic, while draconic ones have a dominant color. Casting with subtle metamagic involves hiding the new casting behind the constant chaos of their normal aura.
Warlocks
Warlocks have a strange-looking aura when they're active. It looks somewhat rube goldberg in a fashion--pieces grafted on that look different (based on patron). GOO might have tentacles or strange angles, fey might have ??, fiends might have flames (?).
Wizards
Writing. Words. Symbols. Everywhere. As they motion, they leave (spiritually) visible traces behind their fingers/wand, writing in the air. Symbols flare to life as they speak the verbal components. I've always pictured this as the anime-style visible instant runes.
Some of these aren't well developed, and I'm interested in hearing how you picture that scene.
Here's my head-canon--
Barbarians
Barbarians are physical creatures more than anything. When they rage, they draw up energy from inside of them and hulk out a little bit.
Fury: Fury barbarians, in addition to hulking out when they rage, exude a sense of anger mixed with glee. Their eyes light up, their motion speeds up, and they start to almost blur as they move. The aura of menace radiates from them.
Totem: These barbarians take on the aspect of their totem. An Eagle barbarian's arms appear feathered, almost like wings. A bear barbarian grows fuzzy. A wolf barbarian's eyes glow gold and his voice sounds like a howling wolf.
Bards
The operative word here for me is rhythm. Musical, lyrical, motion, whatever. When a bard is casting a spell or using her Bardic Inspiration, there's a rhythm to the motions, to the words. This isn't necessarily harmonious, but there's an unheard drumbeat.
Clerics
Clerics call down divine intercession. The exact thematics depend on the domain, but in all of them, I imagine a pulse of aura going outward (upward, downward, depending on the domain/god) and an answering pulse, a second aura that encompases them for a moment as the spell/Channel takes effect. A knowledge cleric might show an second aura of a book, or of a pen writing words, a nature cleric might be encased in a spectral tree or animal shape for an instant, light clerics glow like the sun. But all of them are borrowing that aura from somewhere else. It's distinct from their own aura.
Druids
Druids also get power through the intercession of other things, but in a very different way. Druids' auras, if examined closely, have other spirits woven into them, hitching a ride. When they cast a spell, one of these spirits flies out and performs the spell effect, and then returns. When they wildshape, they call out to a greater animal spirit to envelop them. This spirit replaces their body with its own, suffering the damage incurred and mediating between the druid and the new shape; the druid's is visible (to those that can see, like with witch sight) beneath the beast's shell.
Fighters
Pure fighters (non-eldritch knights) are some of the more physically oriented characters. They don't show aura effects--their aura is bound tightly to their bodies. Someone with eyes to see will perceive the flesh knitting together unnaturally fast (second wind), the fighter's form blurring with unnatural speed (action surge), etc. Eldritch knights show similar aura effects to wizards when castings spells, but can leech off of that to aid their speed (war magic).
Monks
Monks are fully in tune with their bodies and spirits. Their auras are flexible and dextrous and can reach beyond their bodies. The dominant word here is discipline. Every portion of their aura is ordered and they don't show the effects of strong emotion in their aura like others do. When they spend ki, it shows as the relevant part of their aura hardens or concentrates with energy.
Paladins
If monks are discipline, I imagine paladins as conviction. They're so sure of their cause that reality bends to their will. When they cast spells, smite, etc. their aura forms a visible shell around them, glowing with a pure color. Their aura extends outward (past level 6), granting friends a share of the same conviction.
Devotion: I imagine devotion as pure gold.
Ancients: I imagine ancients as emerald green.
Vengeance: I imagine vengeance as ruby red.
Rangers
Rangers, like druids, deal with spirits. Unlike druids, they make more permanent contracts and bind them to their own aura. Beastmaster rangers bind a beast spirit to the body of a natural beast, sharing a strong connection--like a tie--between them.
Sorcerers
Sorcerers have the most active auras, even at rest. They flare like solar prominences and roil like a boiling pot. Wild magic sorcerers are even more chaotic, while draconic ones have a dominant color. Casting with subtle metamagic involves hiding the new casting behind the constant chaos of their normal aura.
Warlocks
Warlocks have a strange-looking aura when they're active. It looks somewhat rube goldberg in a fashion--pieces grafted on that look different (based on patron). GOO might have tentacles or strange angles, fey might have ??, fiends might have flames (?).
Wizards
Writing. Words. Symbols. Everywhere. As they motion, they leave (spiritually) visible traces behind their fingers/wand, writing in the air. Symbols flare to life as they speak the verbal components. I've always pictured this as the anime-style visible instant runes.
Some of these aren't well developed, and I'm interested in hearing how you picture that scene.