Beyond Basics- The Art of Casting
Being a caster is more than going to events and collecting
spells. As with combat there are skills to learn, strategies to be
effective, and a responsibility to follow the rules. This is a series of
articles by the Magi of the Realms, designed to encourage the effective,
creative, and thoughtful use of magic in the Realms.
So you need to write a verbal…
Whether this has you quivering
with anticipation ready to wax poetic or shuddering in terror contemplating the
question of, “is 'one, two, three, four,…' acceptable?” there are pointers that
can help.
The first thing to do is to stop for a moment and
think. Think about what spell the verbal is for and how and when you’ll
need to use it. Think about who you are, where you get your magic from,
and what is appropriate for you. Consider your capacity for remembering
and what mnemonic tips might help.
Spells requiring verbals can be divided into categories:
those that need to be cast quickly vs. those that you have more time to cast;
and those that impact others vs. those that don’t.
Obviously speed is of the essence when casting a spell that
needs to be cast quickly. Try to pick words that have few syllables vs.
those with many. “Cast” is quicker to say then “enchant,” “Spell” is
quicker to say then “incantation,” etc. Don’t underestimate flow though,
at times picking a word that is a little longer but flows better might be a
better choice. Rhyming can help make a verbal easier to memorize
too. For example a line from one of my verbals is, “beaten, broken,
battle sore, you’ll need more help to win this war”, it has two words with two
syllables but the combination of the alliteration and rhyme makes it easy to
remember (note I could have said “you will” vs. "you’ll" and snuck in
an extra word, but I knew I’d slur there so I accounted for it by writing it as
one word).
Once you have a good solid verbal, practice it OVER and OVER
again until you can cast without having to think about the words.
Remember to cast legally; you need to enunciate. Test out verbals you are
considering. Notice if you naturally slur the words you are using.
If so, you probably need to change them. In the heat of combat you are
even more likely to slur.
If the person you are casting on needs to take action based
on your spell, you want to be sure to include what the spell does in a clear
manner in the verbal. You could alter a combat raise verbal, but
you’ll find if you say “get up now” vs. “rise and fight,” you’ll frequently
have to respond to the question “was that a Raise?” Also remember that you need
to speak loudly and clearly enough for your target to hear and
understand you.
Verbals for spells that don’t have to be cast quickly
provide an opportunity to use your vocabulary words. That said, all
verbals should be memorized, you never know when you might need to cast them at
night.
While speed and efficiency are an important part of casting,
don’t compromise your role playing integrity. Your verbal should suit
you. Zula’s old Raise Dead verbal, “Lifeless there on the blood soaked
ground. Where are the gods you pray to now? They can’t help you.
It’s not their right. It’s I who bid you rise and fight,” is a good
verbal. Almost all of the words are single syllable. It has a great
flow, there is a rhyme and clearly states what it does. Despite all of those
positives, if you happen to be a priest who gets their powers from
the Gods, it isn’t the verbal for you.
Imitation is a sincere form of flattery, and you can adopt
someone else’s verbal if you like it and it fits you (it is polite to get their
permission first). While the opportunity to be creative is
lost, characters that worship the same Gods or that have other connections
using the same verbal can add to the continuity of the game. Some people
will even require you to use their verbals if they teach you a spell.
Done well, verbals are an art that reflect who you
are. With thought and creativity you can make a verbal that lives on in
the game through generations like Makela’s Protection from Undead verbal (also
notably cast by Bright), “Roots run deep, leaves fly high, no undead dare come
nigh” or Nighthawk’s former Raise Dead verbal, “Get off the ground that holds
you now. You’re not worth it stupid cow, the pain of life is what you need. I
hope to God that you don’t Breed.”
While there is a lot to think about when striving to write
an epic verbal, don’t stress too much. Remember, it is ok to change your
verbals between events. It doesn’t require unlearning and relearning your
spell. So if you run into problems memorizing or quickly casting a spell,
or you as a character change and a verbal no longer fits your character, you
can update it.
