Smotes, spells and freedom of component usage.

[Lerytha]

Well, the MUD is down, and I thought I would use this opportunity to ask a question about wizardry and spellcasting in general.

Now, a lot of the time, I will attempt to smote the casting of my spells, utilising components and gestures. However, this is mainly improvised, and I would ask one thing.

Does it matter if your RP about casting a certain spell changes, or if it differs to another wizard's RP?

I read once, somewhere (sorry I can't be more helpful) that a wizard often develops his own components to cast the same spell. Now, obviously code wise, this is more or less impossible, but smote-wise, are wizards able to use components in different ways?

As an example, when casting the spell of "produce flame", my wizard will sometimes clap whilst muttering, make a vague gesture, or struggle... obviously this depends on her mood/stamina/mana... is it okay to change the smote of specific spells?

I hope the question here is clear... to make sure, "How much freedom is a wizard PC allowed when smoting use of components/gestures?"

Any input would be welcome - thank you!

[Telk]

In the avatar series books there is some references to spells, using the component to scatter it on the ground and whatnot, don't know how helpful that could be but it is possible to serve as a guideline, for example, if the create fire spell required sulphur as a component, you could RP it as:
smote reaches into his spellpouch and scatters some sulphur on a small patch of ground.

smote concentrates on the sulphur and begins to chant as the sulphur bursts into a bright red flame

c 'create fire'

[Ellian]

I smote out a little rain dance when I use control weather to blot out the sun for daytime travelling ease. I've seen players with aliases set up to give a neat little smote first, explaining in better detail what they are doing, then cast the spell itself. This can be easily accomplished by splitting up the two separate commands with an "and" sign (&).

Take a look at the PHB, read a few Forgotten Realms books, and see how other wizards do theirs. Then, use those inspirations as loose guidelines for your own style and roleplay. Don't forget that just because you can produce certain effects one way, that doesn't mean that is the only way to produce those effects. If you ever pick up a copy of Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, there is a section about the search for the "universal spell component" that discusses how wizards have been developing their own versions of spells to be easier to cast and less component-costly. So, a wizard of some repute, with a good foundation of knowledge from other wizards' study and development, would probably find little shortcuts and such to optimize their casting. If they were smart and ingenuitive.

Have fun!


-El-

[Tandria]

Another fun thing to do is add some colour when you're emote-ing (not smote . . . colour won't work with smotes), and this can be done the same way you put colour in your descriptions. As with all good things, though, try not to go overboard. Colour in emotes can really help give a good visual, though, and in my opinion, can really enhance rp.