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I'm re-posting this suggestion from the Alpha threads (and the 'Cleric, Druid and Paladin' thread) to give all spellcasting classes (Cleric, Wizard, Druid, Paladin, Bard, Sorcerer) a *free* ability to "flavor" their spells with a "theme":
I have been thinking about giving all spellcasters a free class feature: 'Arcane/Divine/Nature's Flavour', which is essentially a modified version of the 'Spell thematics' (Metamagic Feat in FR). This Feat essentially lets you add some theme (flavour) to your arcane spells -- your version of the 'Shield' spell might manifest as green flames enveloping your body, or maybe your 'Greater Magic Weapon' makes your weapon glow golden (to give two examples). You don't really benefit from this Feat in 3E -- Spellcraft check DCs to identify your spells (e.g. when an enemy tried to counterspell them) increase by +5, but that's hardly worth spending a Feat. Well, I have to admit that I *have* taken it a couple of times just add some unique flavour to my PC's spells.
Psionics also have different types of 'manifestations' that you can freely choose -- e.g. it might be a sensory or olfactory "flavour". And Ars Magica lets you choose a "sigil" for all your spells which is always unique (and therefore acts as a 'calling card' for your spells).
I have given almost all NPCs (and many PCs, too) of *all* the spellcasting classes the ability to flavour their spells however they wanted, but unlike 'Spell Thematics', my version has no mechanical effect at all. For example, isn't it kind of cool when that evil Druid casts 'Flame Blade' and a blade of poison-green blade appears? Or when the ancient elven cleric casts 'Flame Strike', a cascade of bright, burning stars sear his foes? Or the half-fiend evil conjurer might summon his minion creatures among a burst of ethereal, heatless flames. A Magic Missile spell cast by a bard might manifest as bolts which are whistling as they soar at his enemies. And so on.
As it would be a "flavour-only" kind of ability, why couldn't all the spellcasters get this as a class ability in PF? I know that it's easy to "houserule" in, but I also know many DMs who always play "by the book", and do not allow any sort of "tweaking" or "houseruling". As this would not take up a lot of space (i.e. it does not have any mechanical effects), perhaps it could be included "officially" in the game -- as an optional rule in a sidebar, if not nothing else?
Jason, any chance for this?
So long as this is done purely for flavor and has no impact on the DCs for characters using Spellcraft to identify these spells, I am behind this idea 100%. Spell Thematics should be rolled into the existing rules for magic - they are NOT worth spending an entire Feat on.
I guess I don't see why this needs to be included as a class ability. If there's no mechanical aspect, then it's up to the player to describe it how he or she wants.
It's really the responsibilty of the DM to enable his players to have fun doing the things they want with their characters. If you're really worried about jerk DM's, you could throw in a few sentances in the magic chapter that say, "The player may choose how his or her spell appears. This grants no mechanical benefit. A spell cannot be made invisible in this way, but a player may choose to make an invisible spell visible."