I’ve recently put together the first draft of what I’m referring to as a Spell “Accents” Chart. It helps describe what the magical effects of a spell look like, smell like, etc. Of course the term “Spell Descriptions” is already widely in use for RPGs.

You can use it in two main ways:

Create spell accents beforehand to develop descriptions for all the spells in your game world. You’ll likely want to not roll for everything. For example if a spell has a rose petals component then by default that could match the smell. These defined spell accents could apply to all spell casters or vary by spell caster.

Roll or create the spell accents on the fly. If you believe a pinch more of one ingredient or a bit less of another will change the accent, this is a good approach.

One big caveat is to make sure the accents don’t interfere with the main purpose of the spell. If the spell is something used for stealth, in most cases it shouldn’t have any visual or auditory effects. (Perhaps a faint smell may be possible.) Or if the spell causes darkness, it shouldn’t start with a burst of light.

You can also have certain spell accents assigned to particular spell casters. For example, one magic-user’s spells may always include the color blue. Or a necromancer’s spell may always have a sulfurous scent.

Of course, instead of rolling feel free to pick any or everything from the lists to suit the spell.

To use the chart, first roll a d12 for the formula column which tells which other charts to use. Then roll on the other charts as needed according to the selected formula and as the other charts direct. (“Color effect” tells when to roll for colors; the “Other” chart tells when to roll on the “Substances” chart.

Here is an example:

Roll for formula and get a 3: color effect, smell, and other.

Roll color effect and get a 9: Caster surrounded by electrical energy for an instant (roll 1 color, no game effect).

Roll for the color and get an 3: yellow.

Roll for the smell and get a 12: roll two more times: 8 (gutted fish) and 12 (roll two more times). Get a 1 and 7: crisp morning and hot spices.

Roll for the other effect and get a 4: cloud of a substance in area of effect (or within 10’r of caster if there is no area of effect) for 1 round. Roll on the substances chart and get a 5: ash.

Final result: The spell surrounds the caster with yellow electric energy for an instant, has a crisp morning but hot spice and gutted fish smell and for one round there is a light cloud of ash.

Roll Formula Color Effects Colors 1 color effect, smell, sound, other Area of effect or target fades from one color to another over one round (roll 2 colors). red 2 color effect, smell, sound Area of effect or target colored; fades over one round (roll 1 color). orange 3 color effect, smell, other Area of effect or target gains neon outline for an instant (roll 1 color). yellow 4 color effect, sound, other One color outlines (magical glow) area of effect or target for one round (roll 1 color). green 5 smell, sound, other One color strobes from caster for one round (roll 1 color, no game effect). blue 6 color effect and smell One color outlines bolt or magical ray as it travels (roll 1 color). purple 7 color effect and other Caster’s eyes change color for 1 minute (roll 1 color). white 8 color effect and sound Colored light flashes from above caster (roll 1 color). pink 9 sound and smell Caster surrounded by electrical energy for an instant (roll 1 color, no game effect). brown 10 sound and other Prismatic (many colors) spell energy fills area of effect or target for an instant. grey 11 smell and other Area of effect or target pulses between two colors (one per second) for one round (roll two colors.) black 12 color effect only Roll two more times. Keep adding one effect if this result is rolled again. white

Roll Smells Sounds Other (no game effects) Substances (Used by some “Other” results) 1 crisp morning firecrackers all in the area tingle dust 2 lavender thunderclap ground vibrates for a second water 3 rose fizzle all in area of effect (or within 10′ of caster if there is no area of effect) are sprayed with a substance) mucus 4 vanilla whistle cloud of a substance in area of effect (or within 10’r of caster if there is no area of effect) for 1 round blood 5 sulfur strong wind lights within 30′ of caster blink as energy is sucked into the spell ash 6 burnt flesh crunching area within 30′ of caster gets very cold for 1 second as energy is sucked into the spell fur or feathers 7 hot spices (chili pepper, jalapeno, etc.) buzzing all in area of effect (or within 10’r of caster if there is no area of effect) get teary eyed for one round salt 8 gutted fish haunting howl burnt mark on ground matching area of effect (or 10’r circle from caster if there is no area of effect), even if it is not a fire spell snow 9 rain demonic laughter spell’s energy takes animal-like form (snake, dragon, etc.) spices (cinnamon, pepper, etc.) 10 sweet spices (cinnamon) mystic chanting air moves about wildly (does not blow out lights or blow papers around) in area of effect (or 10’r circle from caster if there is no area of effect) fog/water vapor 11 campfire sucking vacuum spell’s energy takes a non-direct route to the target (even if target is caster or touched.) sparks 12 Roll two more times. Keep adding one effect if this is rolled again. Roll two more times. Keep adding one effect if this is rolled again. all in area of effect (or within 10′ of caster if there is no area of effect) are sprayed with a substance) and roll again. alcohol