So you’ve got your pointy hat and staff. Maybe you’ve got
some magical tattoos. Or perhaps you have a cauldron and familiar. But really
how do you cast your spells? How does you magic manifest in the world around
you? Many people just want to blow things up and say I cast fireball, and
that’s ok, but this article is for those who want to put a little more magic in
their magic.
I’ll admit I am not a fan of playing magic users in
Pathfinder or D&D. It's not like I don’t like magic however, one of my
favorite games is Mage the Ascension. And one of the things I loved about Mage
was the idea that all magic users forced their will upon the world in different
ways. And there’s no reason why this can’t translate over to Pathfinder.
Does the Shaonti fire blooded sorcerer cast his fireball the
same way as the Magnimarian Evoker? What method does the Tian Wizard use and
how is it different from the Egyptian Influence Osirian wizard? Does a cleric
of Asmodeus’ casting appear the same as the cleric of Shelyn?
One of the best loved NPC I had was in a 3.5 homebrew I ran.
Lucius “Lucky” Littlefoot, yes I’m one of those weirdos who likes alliteration.
Lucky was a beguiler and the worlds luckiest Halfling. The thing is he never
cast his spells in such a way that any of the PCs knew he was a spell caster.
When they were locked in a cell he pulled out a set of picks
and mumbled to himself in a language they didn’t understand. They thought he picked
the lock but what he really did was cast knock. They were all curious as to why
he’d take time to talk to the cricket he kept in a cage, they didn’t notice at
first the orcs falling asleep on the battlefield. The multicolored sand he
threw at the enemies, color spray.
But really it was the description of how he cast his spells
that made the character. I didn’t just say he casts knock, he casts sleep, he casts color spray. I described the actions and let the PC
figure it out.
One of the other players in my Rise of the Runelords
campaign I’m in is a cartomancer witch. He doesn’t just cast spells and be
done with it. When he wants to cast light he describes his character drawing an
appropriate card from the harrow and the light emanating from the card. He
gives the magic a distinct flavor dealing with how his character projects his
will upon the world.
People constantly ask about how you can get your players
immersed in the game more. And one of the best things to do is to make you
world seem more dynamic. Having magic be more than just I cast scorching ray is
one way to do just that. Magic should be alive (unless you’re a necromancer) as
it effects the world around it.
How does your caster will his magic to work? What is his or her style and tools of the trade?
How does your caster will his magic to work? What is his or her style and tools of the trade?
