Describing Teleportation (and other magic effects)

[Maquise]

How do you describe a monster magically teleporting out or in? I've always had difficulty with that. I'd prefer something more than, "they disappeared in a flash," or some such. For that matter, what are some good ways to describe certain magical effects in general? It isn't like we have FX studios at the game table.

[Silva Stormrage]

For me it depends on the character or the spell they are using. For example I recently had a character who used a cloak to teleport disappear in a puff of shadows. A water character dissolving into a pool of water and reappearing somewhere else, a demonic character dissolving into harmless flames and then reforming somewhere else.

Things like that, I do the standard, "pop" teleportation where one second they are there and the next they aren't with standard arcane teleportation.

[Amaril]

My setting fluffs teleportation as opening a path through the Void and using it to travel instantly. When someone teleports, it looks like they conjure a black hole and step through it. Another black hole then opens at their destination, and deposits the caster.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I tend to make a little gasping pu-oof! sound and explain that they simple vanish with the sound of a collapsing vacuum.

[kieza]

Well, here are a couple of inventive ways of describing plain old teleportation:

-They dissolve into a swarm of white butterflies. Moments later, another coalesces into the caster, several feet away.
-An exact duplicate of the caster appears in the distance. Seeing it, the original grimaces, then explodes in a shower of gore.

However, I have a thing for teleportation with additional effects; when writing monsters that teleport, I like to add on some riders such as:

-The monster emanates a cloud of obscuring smoke that covers several squares; by the time it dissipates, he's vanished. (Note: leaves the players guessing as to whether he turned invisible, has a mist form, or actually teleported. For extra fun, let the monster choose whenever he uses this power!)
-The monster conjures a singularity that not only allows him to step through, but draws in other nearby creatures. They emerge adjacent to the monster, possibly far away from their allies.

[Amaril]

-The monster conjures a singularity that not only allows him to step through, but draws in other nearby creatures. They emerge adjacent to the monster, possibly far away from their allies.

That's what happens with my teleportation if it goes wrong. Except with effects more like an actual black hole, including all the radiation and insane gravity.

[LeoLionxxx]

When I had a PC come into my adventure via teleportation I had a purple-ish rift open, which absorbed 2 dead goblins (bit of a conservation-of-mass sort of thing), and then spit him out. This was at the arrival side.

[elliott20]

what about fireballs? I always imagined it to be a red flaming sphere that would fly to a certain point and then you'd see detonation, almost like a cruise missile or something. But then some of my friends describe it more like just a big ball of flame engulfing stuff.

[ArcturusV]

It kind of depends on the Who more than the What. I tend to, in games I DM, take the view that Magic by itself may be elaborate to set up, but the results themselves are utilitarian. You don't want to be channeling extra magic just for "Special Effects" that are beyond the point. So if a mage is concerned about power or efficiency, they do just "POOF, I'm here".

Now vanity... Vanity is a cruel mistress. And mages often invest in "Flash" for various reasons. Theatrical sensibilities, intimidation, whatever. Also as a sign of School and Training, the idiosyncrasies of the teacher getting passed on to the student. This can also give Players a sense of in game knowledge and some continuity that exists. If they see one of them teleport in with a whirl of leaves like some bad Ninja Anime, they can go "Ah ha... I've seen that before, from that Forest Elf Wizard who tried to jump us before... maybe they are related?"

[kieza]

When I had a PC come into my adventure via teleportation I had a purple-ish rift open, which absorbed 2 dead goblins (bit of a conservation-of-mass sort of thing), and then spit him out. This was at the arrival side.

Ooooh, that reminds me of teleportation from Discworld...it has to conserve mass and energy, and the one time it showed up in the books, it involved the wizard trading places with a cannon with a lit fuse. It got put out, but they lit it again just before they sent it back, with humorous results.

[Maquise]

Technically, teleportation doesn't effect the conservation of mass, since the object reappears with the same mass within the universe.

Don't bring up other planes; that's a whole different ballpark.

[icefractal]

I like to vary the description based on where the creature got the teleportation ability from, but some that I've used:
* The creature shrinks and collapses into a single point, which then blinks out.
* There's a momentary stutter, like a missing frame in a movie. You notice that the creature is gone.
* The creature disappears, leaving a violent ripple in space itself.
* The creature suddenly stops moving and fades to gray. After a moment, part of it blows away in the wind and you realize this is a paper-thin shell of ash left behind.
* The creature sinks into the ground as if it were liquid.
* A summoning circle appears on the ground below the creature, then tentacles reach up out of it and pull the creature into a huge mouth that has just appeared. The mouth closes and it all fades out.

[The-Mage-King]

Teleportation-type effects vary for me.

Some games, it'll be simply phasing out of reality, and then phasing back in at the destination.

Others, it's a shimmering curtain forming behind you and letting you pass through.

Still others, it's shadows pooling at your feet, climbing over you and vanishing.

It really depends on the user's thematics, and the source/tone of the game.



Regardless, it all feels like being drunk. And if you don't know how that feels, ask a glass of water.