I was creating a Dwarven Fighter/Mage character when I came up with this conundrum. To be specific, the character I have in mind iwill be going Rune Knight/School of Transmution. The idea behind this character is that she is so proficient in runes that she can draw them out (and the runes are visible in th eopen air) to cast her spells .Now, the question I want to ask is, would you allow a character like this to write these runes tin order to replace the Verbal component of a spell?
I would allow it if it also made noise while she was doing it, and that noise was integral to the process. The issue is, casting a spell silently is powerful, and being able to cast while silenced would be even more powerful. So there would have to be a sound component, somehow. Now I’d 100% let the runes be the somatic component. That’s cool and I like the flavor and it’s not giving you the subtle spell metamagic for free.
Im with Xalthu on this one. Maybe make the runes say the rune name as you write it in the air... just something. Cause otherwise your trying to do something that unless your a sorcerer isn't possible.
Like I think its a cool idea don't get me wrong. But in my games it would still make noise to mimic the verbal part of the spell.
Other question of note for this and food for though does this mean you cant case spells with verbal only if you hands are tied up?
I've got a dwarven Rogue Arcane Trickster char who uses runemagic like this, tracing the runes into the air is the somatic component, uttering them is the verbal component and completes the spell. Eliminating the verbal component in this case without using metamagic would be an unfair advantage over all other casters. After all, it's just flavor.
Okay, what I got from this is I still need to name the runes as I draw them to give them power. I can work with that. (and yes, this would probably mean that most spells will have both the Verbal and Somatic component, or none of the two, but that's a fun challenge if it comes up). Thanks for the quick responses!
That's one of the challenges of flavoring your spellcasting with too much unique flair... at the end of the day, the VSM components of spells are more of a gameplay function than anything else. I've heard that come up a lot more with artificers, who are encouraged more explicitly to flavor their spells as being the result of inventions. Even if, for example, you flavor casting Firebolt as just firing a special gun, despite it just being a gun somehow it doesn't work in areas of silence or if an enemy puts a gag on you or something. If you flavor casting Haste as injecting some adrenaline into your ally... well, you still have to concentrate on it.
Regarding Artificers, the idea is that they're blending personal magic with some kind of tech/science. Still doesn't really make the idea that they need V components for their workings make that much more sense in practice, but in theory they're not so much using tech as a substitute for magic as a supplement.
As others have said, drawing runes in the air is exactly what a somatic component is. So lean into that, and say the verbal component is just saying the name of the rune.
Verbal components are important because they make the spell noticable. If you want the spell to not be noticable, you need to find an in-game way to do it, like the Subtle Spell metamagic. Giving you that benefit for free is not fair to the people who went by RAW and spent a resource/feature to achieve it.
Giving you that benefit for free is not fair to the people who went by RAW and spent a resource/feature to achieve it.
It's also not fair to the people who picked other options assuming they couldn't flavor-text their way into casting verbal spells silently. For illustrative purposes, consider: would you still pick a sneaky Rogue if you could instead pick a Trickery Cleric and still be able to pop Mirror Image, Disguise Self, Detect Magic, or Dispel Magic without revealing your hidden state? I mean, you might, but it certainly gets more complicated to decide, at the very least.
It's not just an affront to Sorcerer players and Metamagic Adept players. It's an affront to everyone who didn't get to factor this potent house rule into their character generation.
Okay, what I got from this is I still need to name the runes as I draw them to give them power. I can work with that. (and yes, this would probably mean that most spells will have both the Verbal and Somatic component, or none of the two, but that's a fun challenge if it comes up). Thanks for the quick responses!
Or when you utter the verbal component the runes appear as a manifestation of your powers in a semi glowing font in front of/around you.
It's fluff cos it is a cool idea, as a DM I would simply say draw glowing runes in the air (or a chalk/slate board) for the description of what is happening, but have the standard VSM rules for game play under the covers. That will mean your runes needn't actually glow and give away your position (as they are actually V components), yet also are not actually silent (as they are V)
Your character could have tiny runes tattooed on their lips that glow when you utter the runic names for your V components, thereby removing the somantic part of drawing them physically.
That's one of the challenges of flavoring your spellcasting with too much unique flair... at the end of the day, the VSM components of spells are more of a gameplay function than anything else. I've heard that come up a lot more with artificers, who are encouraged more explicitly to flavor their spells as being the result of inventions. Even if, for example, you flavor casting Firebolt as just firing a special gun, despite it just being a gun somehow it doesn't work in areas of silence or if an enemy puts a gag on you or something. If you flavor casting Haste as injecting some adrenaline into your ally... well, you still have to concentrate on it.
One of the reasons it comes up a lot for artificers is that every artificer spell that doesn't have a material component gains the property and therefore requires a focus to cast. Fortunately, any of your infusions can be used as one.
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I was creating a Dwarven Fighter/Mage character when I came up with this conundrum. To be specific, the character I have in mind iwill be going Rune Knight/School of Transmution. The idea behind this character is that she is so proficient in runes that she can draw them out (and the runes are visible in th eopen air) to cast her spells .Now, the question I want to ask is, would you allow a character like this to write these runes tin order to replace the Verbal component of a spell?
I would allow it if it also made noise while she was doing it, and that noise was integral to the process.
The issue is, casting a spell silently is powerful, and being able to cast while silenced would be even more powerful.
So there would have to be a sound component, somehow.
Now I’d 100% let the runes be the somatic component. That’s cool and I like the flavor and it’s not giving you the subtle spell metamagic for free.
Im with Xalthu on this one. Maybe make the runes say the rune name as you write it in the air... just something. Cause otherwise your trying to do something that unless your a sorcerer isn't possible.
Like I think its a cool idea don't get me wrong. But in my games it would still make noise to mimic the verbal part of the spell.
Other question of note for this and food for though does this mean you cant case spells with verbal only if you hands are tied up?
I've got a dwarven Rogue Arcane Trickster char who uses runemagic like this, tracing the runes into the air is the somatic component, uttering them is the verbal component and completes the spell. Eliminating the verbal component in this case without using metamagic would be an unfair advantage over all other casters. After all, it's just flavor.
Everyone knows when you etch runes into the air, it makes a loud scraping sound, similar to cutting stone.
Sadly I didn't say this cause my brain just thinks of nails on a chalk board noise for that and I didn't want to think that :P
Why not have it replace the somatic component instead of the verbal? Seems like it'd make way more sense that way imo
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Okay, what I got from this is I still need to name the runes as I draw them to give them power. I can work with that. (and yes, this would probably mean that most spells will have both the Verbal and Somatic component, or none of the two, but that's a fun challenge if it comes up). Thanks for the quick responses!
That's one of the challenges of flavoring your spellcasting with too much unique flair... at the end of the day, the VSM components of spells are more of a gameplay function than anything else. I've heard that come up a lot more with artificers, who are encouraged more explicitly to flavor their spells as being the result of inventions. Even if, for example, you flavor casting Firebolt as just firing a special gun, despite it just being a gun somehow it doesn't work in areas of silence or if an enemy puts a gag on you or something. If you flavor casting Haste as injecting some adrenaline into your ally... well, you still have to concentrate on it.
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Regarding Artificers, the idea is that they're blending personal magic with some kind of tech/science. Still doesn't really make the idea that they need V components for their workings make that much more sense in practice, but in theory they're not so much using tech as a substitute for magic as a supplement.
As others have said, drawing runes in the air is exactly what a somatic component is. So lean into that, and say the verbal component is just saying the name of the rune.
Verbal components are important because they make the spell noticable. If you want the spell to not be noticable, you need to find an in-game way to do it, like the Subtle Spell metamagic. Giving you that benefit for free is not fair to the people who went by RAW and spent a resource/feature to achieve it.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
It's also not fair to the people who picked other options assuming they couldn't flavor-text their way into casting verbal spells silently. For illustrative purposes, consider: would you still pick a sneaky Rogue if you could instead pick a Trickery Cleric and still be able to pop Mirror Image, Disguise Self, Detect Magic, or Dispel Magic without revealing your hidden state? I mean, you might, but it certainly gets more complicated to decide, at the very least.
It's not just an affront to Sorcerer players and Metamagic Adept players. It's an affront to everyone who didn't get to factor this potent house rule into their character generation.
Or when you utter the verbal component the runes appear as a manifestation of your powers in a semi glowing font in front of/around you.
It's fluff cos it is a cool idea, as a DM I would simply say draw glowing runes in the air (or a chalk/slate board) for the description of what is happening, but have the standard VSM rules for game play under the covers. That will mean your runes needn't actually glow and give away your position (as they are actually V components), yet also are not actually silent (as they are V)
Your character could have tiny runes tattooed on their lips that glow when you utter the runic names for your V components, thereby removing the somantic part of drawing them physically.
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One of the reasons it comes up a lot for artificers is that every artificer spell that doesn't have a material component gains the property and therefore requires a focus to cast. Fortunately, any of your infusions can be used as one.