Fluffy Spells, Anyone?

[Trickster]

Have you ever had a cool flavor idea for a spell one of you're character's used or a-not-yet-exisiting-character-of-yours will use?

Welp! You've come to right place, please post your ideas!

I'll go ahead and start with my potioneer character, he drinks a crimson potion and thrust's forth his hand, which is now a red dragon's head; a ball of fire spews forth from the maw, searing the nearby goblins.

Vanilla fireball is just boring sometimes

[RedMage125]

I'm in favor of customized spell thematics.

One of my characters, Tessrel Moonshadow (Sun/High Elf Wizard) always has his spells be purple. His magic missiles, fireballs, force cage, etc...they're all purple.

Another one was my 5e artillerist artificer, Zephon Windwhisper. Almost all of his spells were flavored as magitech devices he used. Spider Climb was special attachments on his boots. Cure Wounds was a little mechanical spider that pinched a wound closed and applied healing energy. Revivify was a set of AED paddles. His arcane Firearm from his level 5 feature was incorporated into the butt stock of his rifle (DM used flintlock firearms in his setting), so he needed only flip his rifle around for spells.

[Trickster]

That's awesome man, I love when people flavor spells as technology, or just that character being skilled (Jump for example)

My spymaster character did this, and it felt like I was 007

[Dualight]

A fighter I'm currently playing has chill touch through a feat, and I consitently flavour it as them punching the target from a distance. It's not much, but it gets the job done.

[Skrum]

This is one of my favorite things to do ever. Nothing keeps the original name on my character sheets.

Wild magic barb/soul knife rogue = chef assassin
His wild magic "rages" are his culinary magic; he eats a profiterole with a random filling that grants a power.
Bolstering Magic = amuse busche, a delicacy to be eaten before big fights
Telepathy = silent kitchen. There is no need for noise in his kitchen
Psi-Bolstered Knack = big chef energy. When a good chef fails, they dust themselves off and try again. When a great chef fails... They succeed anyway

Rune knight = a young elf who was cursed to not be able to cast spells. So he found a way around it; covering himself in magical tattoos that can bypass his curse
Cloud Rune = Black Lotus, an ominous flower that blooms in moments most dire
Fire Rune = immolation, a towing pine tree that bursts into flames when used
Runic Shield = Copper Barbs. Not as good as silvery barbs. The tattoo is a three eyed elven maiden, and an eye closes when the ability is used
Action Surge = flash of haste. A dark vortex that spins wildly
Storm Rune = Eye of the Mountain. Towing above all, the mountain see everything

[Trickster]

I love these kinds of creative things, especially the Rune Knight. Tattoos are, atleast to me, an underused aspect of customization.

[Hiro Quester]

My Bard worships the goddess of festivals, fertility, spring, music and love, so I initially themed his spells with flowers. Faerie fire is a giant flower springing up an blowing a burst of glittering pollen all over everyone in the area. Enhance Ability he puts a colored flower in your lapel (or whatever); different color for each version.

But then he made a warlock pact, with a DM custom patron (his dead best friend, who had his throat cut by a recurring villain and who has granted my PC powers in exchange for a commitment to revenge). So now all the flowers are splattered with or dripping blood.

Every spell now has a theme of blood and flowers.

So my Eldritch Blast is a spray of black rose-petals, that drip a trail of blood as they streak between me and the target.

When I cast Longstrider I crush a blood-red tulip onto the soles of the target's feet. For an hour thereafter, as they step coils of thickly coagulated blood coat the soles of their feet or boots, making their steps extra springy and significantly lengthening each step.

Hypnotic Pattern hypnotizes folks with a shower of blood-splattered multicolored flower petals falling from above.

Plant Growth is a spray of blood that fertilizes the plants in the area, which grow into dense thorny rosebushes.

Slow makes those who fail their save grow a large and unwieldy tall blood-red flower from the top of their heads that throws off their balance, and distracts them by coughing blood over them on their turn (interfering with either action or bonus action).

Counterspell: a small white flower appears in my hand and I point it at the caster. A gout of blood pulses out from the fingertips and lips of the caster, as they attempt to cast their spell, draining the magical energy they are trying to generate. This blood pulses towards the flower in my hand, turning it blood red.

Dispel Magic: A blood-red rose appears in my hand. As I point it at the target a large gout of blood spurts from the rose towards the target, draining it of color. The blood absorbs magical energy from magical effects on the target that crystalizes the blood drops into tiny red blood-crystal hailstones, which tinkle melodiously as they scatter to the ground.

[Corlindale]

Let me begin by asking if you are a mind-reader? Because I was thinking of starting this exact thread the other day.

I currently play a Reborn Shadow Sorcerer, so I've tried to refluff everything as something to do with shadows and darkness. Also some undead-flavour occasionally because of his zombie-like nature.

Misty Step and Vortex Warp were simple, they are now Shadow Step and Shadow Warp and have Nightcrawler-like visuals in my mind. I describe Shadow Warp as the target suddenly falling into its own shadow and disappearing, before stumbling out of a shadow at the destination point half a second later.

Chill Touch was a pretty easy conversion into Shadow Tendrils. Booming Blade was trickier, but I called it Shadowbound Strike and fluffed the effect as shadowy chains enveloping the character, exploding if they are touched. Still doesn't quite fit with thunder damage, but close enough (and it's nice to have something non-necrotic in the arsenal).

A lot of spells also fit the theme well without needing refluffs: Darkness, Invisibility, Blindness, Minor Illusion, etc...

Spells I'm thinking of getting later on include Wings of Darkness (->Fly), Shadow Blast (->Spray of Cards, the blindness rider effect makes it particularly well-suited), Invoke the Shadowfell (->Rime's Binding Ice described as a short-lived portal to the Shadowfell letting through a stream of freezing air), Clairvoyance (->Shadow Senses, extending my senses through nearby shadows).

[Trickster]

Well, I've been accused of being a mind reader before but I don't believe I am so

The blood and flowers is incredibly creative, it kinda feels like that one guy that uses the cards in HxH.

Shadow themes are a classic, If you're ever gonna grab summon spells, then I have an inkling summon shadow spawn would fit. Or you could refluff summon celestial to be like a soldier of a god of darkness or sum

These are great ideas

[MarkVIIIMarc]

To the point of cognative dissonance denial out of a desire to be better than her mother, my current character thinks she is a Cleric but is really a Bard.

Our DM seems to forget this mid session. It is great.

"She channels the power of her diety and you hear the melody of a religious chant in your head, make a wisdom saving throw or take 3D6 psychic damage and flee"

[RedMage125]

To the point of cognative dissonance denial out of a desire to be better than her mother, my current character thinks she is a Cleric but is really a Bard.

Our DM seems to forget this mid session. It is great.

"She channels the power of her diety and you hear the melody of a religious chant in your head, make a wisdom saving throw or take 3D6 psychic damage and flee"

I'm a big fan of class mechanics used with the fluff of a different archetype.

To wit: in 3.5e, I had a Dread Necromancer who not only thought, but was a priest of Wee Jas. His religious duties were limited to burial rites and such. His society also had members of the priesthood (including my character) in positions of judicial/punitive authority as well (there's more details in the link). But to his society, he is a priest.

Also, in my world, I allow for some mutable details on fluff and crunch. Some Oath of the Ancients Paladins are part of druidic society. To the world, they are "druids" (and PCs who go this route get Druidic as a bonus language). Those who blend martial prowess with arcane talent are called "swordmages" in my world. But 3 different graduates from the same academy might be a Swords/Valor Bard, an Eldritch Knight Fighter, and a Bladesinger Wizard. Their different classes reflect the different talents and specialties of those individuals. I also don't tie Rogue archetypes to what they're named for. A rogue with the Assassin subclass might have been a scout for the military. One with the Thief subclass may be a hired killer. One with the Scout subclass might be part of the organization called The Rangers of Mensyannah, and the world would call her a "ranger". Some Monks (especially Way of the Drunken Master, and many Kensei) have no connection to monasteries at all, and are simply considered warriors.

[Hiro Quester]

The blood and flowers is incredibly creative, it kinda feels like that one guy that uses the cards in HxH.

Thanks! I'm not familiar with that by the "HxH" abbreviation. What is this? I'm intrigued.

Edit: I guess you mean Hunter x Hunter. Perhaps Hisoka Morow?

[Sindal]

Here's some

In a 3.5 game of mine befor, I played a cleric. The problem is that the god of healing is missing or gone so all conventiakl healing magic just doesn't work.

My dudes diety is the god of creation (cratting). And the character himself was a herbalist. I framed all of my spells as the divine ability to instantly craft a potion that mimicked the effect of the spells, fired from a censor or crating an aroma.

-

My divine soul sorcerorr casts through enchantments and glyphs . Each of his spells have their own specific symbol that appears before taking effect,

Supportive buffs like bless, haste or aid would appear first as they're written glyph before they enchant the target.

Offensives spells tend to take thr shape of a weapon such as a sword or arrow or axes and he will frame thrm as if he's throwing them. Something like a fireball might be a a flaming sword crashing down from a glyph and exploding. Lighting bolt would be frames as a thrown spear that . Magic missld might condor tiny daggers springing from a glyph or a crossbow that fires the bolts.

(He's a soeceorr bur was raised by an academy for adventuring. It's made his fighting style very disciplined. He fights sith a shield and everything, even his shock grasps are framed more like unarmed kicks or punches.)

[Mastikator]

A character I created but has not played (yet) is Holly the owlmazing, a owlin moon druid. Her spells are owl themed, for example Goodberry is renamed into Goodegg. She lays 10 fully cooked owl eggs ready for consumption. In retrospect I don't know what I was thinking and I'm glad I never got to play her.

[Ionathus]

I played an Artificer in an anachronistic setting (and really, aren't all Artificers anachronistic when we stop lying to ourselves?) -- sort of an "all times and places" kind of otherworld, so you could have modern day stuff.

My guy was a 1950s greaser mechanic who had repaired planes in "the war" and all of his spells and infusions were Fallout-esque mad science.

"Lucky I was wearing my asbestos shirt!" (Absorb Elements)
"I flick a switch and a secret parachute bursts out of the secret compartment I sewed into Sherry's backpack" (Feather Fall)
"Yikes, gaping chest wound? Try these pills -- you'll be feeling right as rain in no time! We call them 'amphetamines.'" (Cure Wounds)
"Ever heard of microwaves? They're the way of the future!" (Heat Metal)
"Jetpack." (Fly)
"Is there anything amphetamines can't do?" (Haste)
"They're called 'defibrillators' and they used to require an open chest cavity. You're welcome." (Revivify)
"This stuff's not even on the market yet: an old war buddy of mine works at Rocket Chemical Company." (Freedom of Movement and/or Grease)
"Is there anything amphetamines can't do?" (Greater Restoration)

[togapika]

Sniffler

He was built as a small Lizardfolk Vengeance Paladin

In actuality, his mother was a Were-Shark, and he was basically what you got if you crossed a shark and a toddler. He used a harpoon as his weapon and a big seashell as his shield. All of his spells were mostly plants he picked off the bottom of the ocean or strange drinks he had made himself, sure they tasted gross or odd, but they made you feel better or powered up somehow.
How he joined the party?
Well he ended up in the treasure horde of the party Warlock's dragon patron, where he proceeded to annoy the dragon to no end (as toddlers are wont to do) and at his first opportunity, the dragon chose to give his servant "a great reward for their service, also no backsies" and placed the pirate treasure chest Sniffler used as his bed in front of them

[Monster Manuel]

I had Summon Fey in a Theros setting once, with some theater/drama themes going on, so I re-fluffed the appearance of the Fey spirits to align with the classical Comedy/Drama masks symbol. The Mirthful fey appeared as a robed figure wearing the laughing mask, the Wrathful fey had the sad mask, and the Shadowy fey was all in black like stage crew (which is anachronistic I know, but it amused me, so I went with it).