Hamming it up [Archive] - Wizards Community

Hamming it up [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Edymnion
07-25-03, 01:13 AM I have a sorceress, she specializes in storms and lightning and that sort of thing, but is also a follower of Selūne, a rather serene goddess. As such, I play her as being rather calm most of the time, and redifining "Tempest in a Teacup" the rest of the time (she's also kinda short).

When she gets mad, she casts Prestidigitation without realizing she's doing it. Her eyes start to spark and crackle with little electrical forks, her hair starts getting blown around like she was in a fairly strong wind, and her voice tends to take on a slight echo. It has no in game mechanical effect (other than sometimes a +1 to Intimidate checks while all this is going on), but I feel it helps to draw the line between the wizard that studies to cast magic, and the sorcerer who just... does it naturally.

Part of her background was she was the daughter of calligraphers, and was taining to join the family business (I even put points in Calligraphy :P ). As such, when she's bored, she likes to use Pres to start writing glowing lines of elven calligraphy in the air for practice.

So, this thread is a bit more geared towards spellcasters who are using magic to "ham it up", but anybody is welcome to give their habits with their fighters and rogues. Just the little things that don't have any real in game effect, but help define your character anyway.
hiryuu
07-25-03, 07:08 AM My sorceress floats. Nothing much really, just an inch off the ground. Doesn't help her avoid anything in particular, but it looks neat. Also, she's never hit by rain. She usually wears this big, poofy, really expensive dress she had custom made with lots of pretty fringes and metal dangly bits.

She's also got a pumped-up metabolism, what with all that magic running through her veins and nervous system, so she eats. And eats. And eats. Not just food, but magic, too (I suppose that does have a game effect - the party's learned not to leave charged items around her, or even just sitting out in the open where she can find them).
Basaxerxes the First
07-25-03, 11:59 AM I played a wizard in a campaign now on hiatus who was an enchantress. For a switch from the archtypal enchantress, I played her as mean, spiteful, cowardly, bitter, humourless, and generally unattractive in every way. Her specialities were making fake potions (prestidigitation is a wonderful spell) for unsuspecting patrons and casting Tasha's Hideous Laughter from behind cover. She lived in a garrett(sp?)with her owl familiar and was generally a blast to play.
Zoticus
07-27-03, 05:39 AM I have a monk/wizard who casts a spell called "Steelcapped Thunder" on himself before battle. It adds sonic damage on a successful kick and a big image of a "thor's hammer" smashes his foe as the kick lands. The hammer doesn't do any damage, but can scare the snot out of his foes.
MrNiceGuy
07-28-03, 09:41 AM My bard usually greets people with "Cato, old friend!" or "Mayor Bramlin, my best of friends!" the second time he encounters them. The character's attitudes in this are inspired by Londo Molari, except that my character has a higher charisma and took the Trustworthy feat...

Paul
Trydan
07-29-03, 04:13 AM You can also use dancing lights and ghost sound to "let the sparks fly". This is what I use for my fighter/sorcerer who also specialises in electrical magic (yes, he also wears metal armour, and some interesting house rules handle those arcane spell failure cases - often to amusing effect.

These two spells can be used along with prestidigitation to good effect. You could even use dancing lights to give a new meaning to calligraphic art of "illumination".

The trick with "hamming-it-up" spells, is that you must keep remembering to cast them. We had a situation in our group recently, where the druid had lots of "hamming spells", but they were never used, and so the effect was pretty much lost.
Barrid
07-29-03, 05:30 AM I had a chain-smoking Gnome once. He had his whole right side of his body tattooed with thick black strips, kinda like tiger stripes. He also was pierced many, many, many times. And wore beads in his goatee. He liked to cast Prestidigitation to light his cigars. He would make a flame thrower appear out of his finger, or snap his fingers and have the cigar blaze up. Any way you can think of lighting a cigar, he did it. I had all my 0-level spell slots filled with Pres. and Ghost Sound...and I had a TON of slots. He'd use GS to hurry people along when he got bored. The party would be lingering in a place and he'd chase them out with sounds of pursuit or of new critters to slay. The hammiest moment came when he was taunting a Giant because he felt supremely confident that the Giant couldn't harm him...In truth, the only way he could get hurt was by a crit. Dm rolls a Crit with a thrown boulder. :( I got nailed down from full health (with high Con) down to like 2 HP from the boulder and getting smashed up agains the wall. As he lay in a crumpled heap, he slowly put a broken cigar in his mouth, cast his spell and lay there for the rest of the combat. His wolverine familiar raged and hamstrung the Giant only to have it fall on top of it when it died. Talk about bad luck. We were both out of comission for the rest of the day.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Edymnion 07-25-03, 01:13 AM	I have a sorceress, she specializes in storms and lightning and that sort of thing, but is also a follower of Selūne, a rather serene goddess. As such, I play her as being rather calm most of the time, and redifining "Tempest in a Teacup" the rest of the time (she's also kinda short). When she gets mad, she casts Prestidigitation without realizing she's doing it. Her eyes start to spark and crackle with little electrical forks, her hair starts getting blown around like she was in a fairly strong wind, and her voice tends to take on a slight echo. It has no in game mechanical effect (other than sometimes a +1 to Intimidate checks while all this is going on), but I feel it helps to draw the line between the wizard that studies to cast magic, and the sorcerer who just... does it naturally. Part of her background was she was the daughter of calligraphers, and was taining to join the family business (I even put points in Calligraphy :P ). As such, when she's bored, she likes to use Pres to start writing glowing lines of elven calligraphy in the air for practice. So, this thread is a bit more geared towards spellcasters who are using magic to "ham it up", but anybody is welcome to give their habits with their fighters and rogues. Just the little things that don't have any real in game effect, but help define your character anyway.
hiryuu 07-25-03, 07:08 AM	My sorceress floats. Nothing much really, just an inch off the ground. Doesn't help her avoid anything in particular, but it looks neat. Also, she's never hit by rain. She usually wears this big, poofy, really expensive dress she had custom made with lots of pretty fringes and metal dangly bits. She's also got a pumped-up metabolism, what with all that magic running through her veins and nervous system, so she eats. And eats. And eats. Not just food, but magic, too (I suppose that does have a game effect - the party's learned not to leave charged items around her, or even just sitting out in the open where she can find them).
Basaxerxes the First 07-25-03, 11:59 AM	I played a wizard in a campaign now on hiatus who was an enchantress. For a switch from the archtypal enchantress, I played her as mean, spiteful, cowardly, bitter, humourless, and generally unattractive in every way. Her specialities were making fake potions (prestidigitation is a wonderful spell) for unsuspecting patrons and casting Tasha's Hideous Laughter from behind cover. She lived in a garrett(sp?)with her owl familiar and was generally a blast to play.
Zoticus 07-27-03, 05:39 AM	I have a monk/wizard who casts a spell called "Steelcapped Thunder" on himself before battle. It adds sonic damage on a successful kick and a big image of a "thor's hammer" smashes his foe as the kick lands. The hammer doesn't do any damage, but can scare the snot out of his foes.
MrNiceGuy 07-28-03, 09:41 AM	My bard usually greets people with "Cato, old friend!" or "Mayor Bramlin, my best of friends!" the second time he encounters them. The character's attitudes in this are inspired by Londo Molari, except that my character has a higher charisma and took the Trustworthy feat... Paul
Trydan 07-29-03, 04:13 AM	You can also use dancing lights and ghost sound to "let the sparks fly". This is what I use for my fighter/sorcerer who also specialises in electrical magic (yes, he also wears metal armour, and some interesting house rules handle those arcane spell failure cases - often to amusing effect. These two spells can be used along with prestidigitation to good effect. You could even use dancing lights to give a new meaning to calligraphic art of "illumination". The trick with "hamming-it-up" spells, is that you must keep remembering to cast them. We had a situation in our group recently, where the druid had lots of "hamming spells", but they were never used, and so the effect was pretty much lost.
Barrid 07-29-03, 05:30 AM	I had a chain-smoking Gnome once. He had his whole right side of his body tattooed with thick black strips, kinda like tiger stripes. He also was pierced many, many, many times. And wore beads in his goatee. He liked to cast Prestidigitation to light his cigars. He would make a flame thrower appear out of his finger, or snap his fingers and have the cigar blaze up. Any way you can think of lighting a cigar, he did it. I had all my 0-level spell slots filled with Pres. and Ghost Sound...and I had a TON of slots. He'd use GS to hurry people along when he got bored. The party would be lingering in a place and he'd chase them out with sounds of pursuit or of new critters to slay. The hammiest moment came when he was taunting a Giant because he felt supremely confident that the Giant couldn't harm him...In truth, the only way he could get hurt was by a crit. Dm rolls a Crit with a thrown boulder. :( I got nailed down from full health (with high Con) down to like 2 HP from the boulder and getting smashed up agains the wall. As he lay in a crumpled heap, he slowly put a broken cigar in his mouth, cast his spell and lay there for the rest of the combat. His wolverine familiar raged and hamstrung the Giant only to have it fall on top of it when it died. Talk about bad luck. We were both out of comission for the rest of the day.