Hi, so I’ve been running Dragon Heist for the past couple months for 3 of my close friends. This campaign is the first time I’ve DM’d and it’s the first D&D game any of them have played in.
I generally am okay with the rule of cool and re-flavoring things to make it fun. One of my players is playing a blood hunter ghostslayer and used his radiant crimson rite for the first time last session. He decided that he wanted to flavor his radiate rite as a fog enveloping his sword. I said that was fine because its not like its actually effecting the mechanics; but its been bugging me ever since.
I usually describe how my players kill something with the type of damage they inflict mattering. So when something dies from radiant damage, I describe them dying from like holy fire that engulfs their body. I just don’t know about fog though. How does fog do radiant damage? Personally, I just think it doesn’t make any sense. Fog is water vapor not light.
Should I bring this up? Am I just overthinking it and should just make it work?
Why not just describe whet the fog does and have it “mysteriously” leave wounds like radiant damage?
Besides, radiant could be “holy fire” but it could also be like lasers, or like skin melting light beams like from Raiders, or even radiation damage. So why couldn’t a “mysterious fog-like substance” from the weapon envelope the enemy and as it dissipates it leaves behind a pattern of sickening burns as if living light had crawled across their flesh.
Why not just describe whet the fog does and have it “mysteriously” leave wounds like radiant damage?
Besides, radiant could be “holy fire” but it could also be like lasers, or like skin melting light beams like from Raiders, or even radiation damage. So why couldn’t a “mysterious fog-like substance” from the weapon envelope the enemy and as it dissipates it leaves behind a pattern of sickening burns as if living light had crawled across their flesh.
I would definitely go the “radioactive” route here. Describing the fog with a slight glow that leaves burns .
the description you saiud about radiant fog put me in mind of the eliminate spell from magic the gathering, ther pic is one of my favourites and could be a way to show its effects
How about this, the light is so blindingly bright that the God/Patron/Enchanter decided to have fog surround the weapon to help dissipate the light and shield the casual observer along with the wielder. When the wielder attacks, the fog swirls, periodically letting loose small beams that leave little streaks on the vision of the target. However, when the blade makes contact, the radiant energy begins to burn and purify whatever it contacts. This generally causes bits to flake off, particularly with crits and killing blows.
I kind of like the idea that the fog itself isn't the source of the Radiant damage, but rather it's a side-effect of the actual radiant force. Going off of the idea of comparing radiant damage to radioactive energy... it's sort of like how radioactive material doesn't actually glow, but instead is used as a source of heat that is used to create steam that turns rotors or however power is produced (I have no idea how a power plant works). So I would play it as the sword doesn't necessarily "heat up", but fills with radiant energy that burns unseen impurities in the air, converting them into a visible steam.
“ you bare down with your sword and it strikes your foe in between where his neck meets his Pauldron and your blade carves through his flesh with almost no resistance. The cloud of vapour dissipates from your blade and is almost pulled into the wound. The enemy drops to his knees, his hands discard the sword and shield he was brandishing, they fall with a clutter as his gauntlets lurch up to grab at his neck. But not at the cut from your sword, his hands reach for his throat, his mouth agape, he tries to scream but no sound can be heard. You watch as before you his features become thinner and more intense, his skin pulled tight like leather. He arches his head back, it creaks and cracks as he does and out of his mouth rushes a billowing fountain of dark red mist, which disappears into the aether as the body slumps forward to the floor, his skeletal features crumbling into dust swept away into the night, leaving nothing behind of your once proud enemy but his armour and weapons in a cluttered pile on the floor. You go to wipe his blood from your sword but it is clean and sharp as new, you turn and see tour friends still knee deep in combat ‘Who’s Next?’ you wonder as you throw yourself into battle once more”
Thanks everyone for your reply’s. I guess I was just having a creativity block on how to handle this. I really like the “radioactive” idea and maybe how the blades sheer radiant power is burning impurities in the air around the blade, hence creating something that looks like fog. I think that rite also creates light in a radius (without looking it up). Maybe “god-rays” could be piercing through the fog as well creating the light. Love it.
Thanks again, hope all of you are healthy and safe during these crazy times!
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Hi, so I’ve been running Dragon Heist for the past couple months for 3 of my close friends. This campaign is the first time I’ve DM’d and it’s the first D&D game any of them have played in.
I generally am okay with the rule of cool and re-flavoring things to make it fun. One of my players is playing a blood hunter ghostslayer and used his radiant crimson rite for the first time last session. He decided that he wanted to flavor his radiate rite as a fog enveloping his sword. I said that was fine because its not like its actually effecting the mechanics; but its been bugging me ever since.
I usually describe how my players kill something with the type of damage they inflict mattering. So when something dies from radiant damage, I describe them dying from like holy fire that engulfs their body. I just don’t know about fog though. How does fog do radiant damage? Personally, I just think it doesn’t make any sense. Fog is water vapor not light.
Should I bring this up? Am I just overthinking it and should just make it work?
Why not just describe whet the fog does and have it “mysteriously” leave wounds like radiant damage?
Besides, radiant could be “holy fire” but it could also be like lasers, or like skin melting light beams like from Raiders, or even radiation damage. So why couldn’t a “mysterious fog-like substance” from the weapon envelope the enemy and as it dissipates it leaves behind a pattern of sickening burns as if living light had crawled across their flesh.
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I would definitely go the “radioactive” route here. Describing the fog with a slight glow that leaves burns .
the description you saiud about radiant fog put me in mind of the eliminate spell from magic the gathering, ther pic is one of my favourites and could be a way to show its effects
Could radiant light energy swirl around the sword in a fog-like manner?
How about this, the light is so blindingly bright that the God/Patron/Enchanter decided to have fog surround the weapon to help dissipate the light and shield the casual observer along with the wielder. When the wielder attacks, the fog swirls, periodically letting loose small beams that leave little streaks on the vision of the target. However, when the blade makes contact, the radiant energy begins to burn and purify whatever it contacts. This generally causes bits to flake off, particularly with crits and killing blows.
I kind of like the idea that the fog itself isn't the source of the Radiant damage, but rather it's a side-effect of the actual radiant force. Going off of the idea of comparing radiant damage to radioactive energy... it's sort of like how radioactive material doesn't actually glow, but instead is used as a source of heat that is used to create steam that turns rotors or however power is produced (I have no idea how a power plant works). So I would play it as the sword doesn't necessarily "heat up", but fills with radiant energy that burns unseen impurities in the air, converting them into a visible steam.
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“ you bare down with your sword and it strikes your foe in between where his neck meets his Pauldron and your blade carves through his flesh with almost no resistance. The cloud of vapour dissipates from your blade and is almost pulled into the wound. The enemy drops to his knees, his hands discard the sword and shield he was brandishing, they fall with a clutter as his gauntlets lurch up to grab at his neck. But not at the cut from your sword, his hands reach for his throat, his mouth agape, he tries to scream but no sound can be heard. You watch as before you his features become thinner and more intense, his skin pulled tight like leather. He arches his head back, it creaks and cracks as he does and out of his mouth rushes a billowing fountain of dark red mist, which disappears into the aether as the body slumps forward to the floor, his skeletal features crumbling into dust swept away into the night, leaving nothing behind of your once proud enemy but his armour and weapons in a cluttered pile on the floor. You go to wipe his blood from your sword but it is clean and sharp as new, you turn and see tour friends still knee deep in combat ‘Who’s Next?’ you wonder as you throw yourself into battle once more”
Thanks everyone for your reply’s. I guess I was just having a creativity block on how to handle this. I really like the “radioactive” idea and maybe how the blades sheer radiant power is burning impurities in the air around the blade, hence creating something that looks like fog. I think that rite also creates light in a radius (without looking it up). Maybe “god-rays” could be piercing through the fog as well creating the light. Love it.
Thanks again, hope all of you are healthy and safe during these crazy times!