What would a dead body look like after it's been hit with these spells?

[BlueWitch]

Just for some "Description" references when DM'ing xD

How would a dead body look (assuming they were alive when they were hit) with the following spells:


(Also, assume these were Maximized, Intensified, and/or Empowered)

1.) Scorching Ray
2.) Magic Missile
3.) Hellfire Ray
4.) Stormbolts
5.) Stombolts (Elemental Changed to Acid via Feat)
6.) Destruction
7.) Wall of Blades (lel)
8.) Disintegrate (Ehh...this one already gives details on aftermath. Just a lump of dust. Any other descriptions?)
9.) Holy Smite
10.) Cosmic Ray

Bonus Question:
What the hell even is a Cosmic Ray? The description doesn't list it as a Fire Type energy. Is it just radiation?

[Tzardok]

Well, let's see:

Just for some "Description" references when DM'ing xD

How would a dead body look (assuming they were alive when they were hit) with the following spells:


(Also, assume these were Maximized, Intensified, and/or Empowered)

1.) Scorching Ray
I would assume that a Scorching Ray spell would leave behind one or more burned out holes in the body, depending on the number of rays.


2.) Magic Missile
Magic Missiles are made of magical Force, which I imagine mostly as solid. So someone being hit killed by Magic missiles would look kind of battered, but more regular than from fists, or resembling being hit by bullets, except without the heat, the soot and the bullet shards. Maybe something in between.


3.) Hellfire Ray
It's hellfire. If the end result isn't a soot covered skeleton, partly melted and distorted, then you aren't doing it right.


4.) Stormbolts
How does a corpse that was hit by lightning look like? Burned and convulsed I would think.


5.) Stombolts (Elemental Changed to Acid via Feat)
Acid burns on the side of the body that was hit.



6.) Destruction
The description of Destruction states that nothing (besides equipment and possessions) remains of the victim. So... a pile of clothes.



7.) Wall of Blades (lel)
What does "lel" mean? Anyway The corpse would have slashing wounds all over. Or be cut to ribbons. That works too.


9.) Holy Smite
Hmm... Death by holy energy is truly difficult to envision. It could simply be burns (like in Holy burns Evil (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HolyBurnsEvil)), it could simply be partial disintegration (which would look less gruesome then the burns) or the victim is simply dead with no obvious cause of death.


10.) Cosmic Ray

Bonus Question:
What the hell even is a Cosmic Ray? The description doesn't list it as a Fire Type energy. Is it just radiation?
The description of Cosmic Ray makes it sound like some kind of radioactivity, so look up victims of acute radiation poisoning and add, maybe, a few burns.

[BlueWitch]

Well, let's see:

I would assume that a Scorching Ray spell would leave behind one or more burned out holes in the body, depending on the number of rays.


Magic Missiles are made of magical Force, which I imagine mostly as solid. So someone being hit killed by Magic missiles would look kind of battered, but more regular than from fists, or resembling being hit by bullets, except without the heat, the soot and the bullet shards. Maybe something in between.


It's hellfire. If the end result isn't a soot covered skeleton, partly melted and distorted, then you aren't doing it right.


How does a corpse that was hit by lightning look like? Burned and convulsed I would think.


Acid burns on the side of the body that was hit.


The description of Destruction states that nothing (besides equipment and possessions) remains of the victim. So... a pile of clothes.


What does "lel" mean? Anyway The corpse would have slashing wounds all over. Or be cut to ribbons. That works too.


Hmm... Death by holy energy is truly difficult to envision. It could simply be burns (like in Holy burns Evil (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HolyBurnsEvil)), it could simply be partial disintegration (which would look less gruesome then the burns) or the victim is simply dead with no obvious cause of death.


The description of Cosmic Ray makes it sound like some kind of radioactivity, so look up victims of acute radiation poisoning and add, maybe, a few burns.

I like these descriptions!
Thanks for posting!

[Telonius]

For Holy Smite, I'd think it might depend on the deity granting the spell. Like, Corellon might have a massive arrow-wound. Its other-aligned relatives (Unholy Blight, Order's Wrath, Chaos Hammer) would have similar stuff: Gruumsh, big hole where an eye used to be. Vecna, no apparent cause of death but the mouth is sealed shut. St. Cuthbert, Mark of Justice shaped like his Holy Symbol burned onto the forehead.

[Lapak]

I've always seen divine energy as attacking the body via the spirit, so kind of an inmolation-from-the-inside effect: soul energy lighting up from the core, flaring out as light where it can escape the body. In a dead victim I'd imagine you'd end up with a body that looked relatively unharmed except at the orifices where the energy escapes, so you'd see evidence of damage around the eye sockets, mouth, etc similar to scorch marks even though it isn't heat as such that caused it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Just for some "Description" references when DM'ing xD

How would a dead body look (assuming they were alive when they were hit) with the following spells:


(Also, assume these were Maximized, Intensified, and/or Empowered)

Creative descriptions? Let's see what we can do.


1.) Scorching Ray

Either a charcoal lined crater over a spot that's supposed to have a vital organ or just a good, old-fashioned charred body.


2.) Magic Missile

Several -remarkably- clean entry wounds with cavitation suggesting there -should- be exit wounds but there aren't.


3.) Hellfire Ray

Assuming that's hellfire as devised and proliferated by Mephistopholes, a lot like scorching ray but the severe heat will have vaporized a chunk of the flesh where it hit so either bigger crater or less flesh remaining on the burnt corpse.


4.) Stormbolts

This one confuses me. That's a reserve feat not a spell. Anyway, typical lightning strike victim. Charred flesh around the impact point and burned out vein/nerve patterns along the surface of the skin.


5.) Stombolts (Elemental Changed to Acid via Feat)

... Okay. Goopy oozing ichor leaking out of many/severe wounds that resemble burns.


6.) Destruction

What body?


7.) Wall of Blades (lel)

Imagine your butcher's display. Now imagine it's been tipped over and someone scattered a mess of wet halloween gore decorations and a torn up costume on the results.


8.) Disintegrate (Ehh...this one already gives details on aftermath. Just a lump of dust. Any other descriptions?)

Nothing beyond the spell description really. As you noted, it's pretty well described already.


9.) Holy Smite

Depends on the god. Most good deities leave a fairly intact corpse as the magic just ravages the mind/spirit/life force of the creature directly.


10.) Cosmic Ray

As ray of fire.


Bonus Question:
What the hell even is a Cosmic Ray? The description doesn't list it as a Fire Type energy. Is it just radiation?

At the risk of a few dead catgirls, it looks like it's alpha particle radiation.