>I know that the rule is that magic is always showy, but it seems to me that
>there must be exceptions to this. Take, for example, a spell called "Hide in
>Shadows." That simply wouldn't be of much use if the character had a magic
>lightshow going on about him while he used this ability. How about an
>ability like "Lie Convincingly"? If somebody is saying something, and while
>they do, a lightshow is going off, won't that make the person hearing the
>lie very suspicious?
>
>So do these things actually have lightshows associated with them, or not, do
>you think? If they do, how do you explain it not having a reasonable effect?
>Does the person being lied to forget the light show, or is it part of the
>magic that they ignore it? Is the lightshow for a person trying to remain
>hidden only visible to the person using the ability?
>
>How do people work through this issue?
I take "showy" to mean there are visual effects, not that the user lights up like a christmas tree.
So the "Hide in Shadows" spell makes what shadows there are darker and or bigger. "Lie Convincingly" is trickier but I think it would give the character a politian's face - the one where they exude the confidence that they are right and you must be stupid or malicious to challenge what they are saying. So abilities like bloody-minded and cynical would be a suitable counter.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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