Problem
I find wood magic to be too similar to other magics, without anything to really define it as themed around wood. It has a similar on-hit effect to stone and metal, it essentially creates the same blocky rubble that stone makes, and its overall clash effectiveness is unremarkable.
I want to focus on the second point, that rubble that wood magic creates on contact. With the exception of unique interactions with acid and heat-based magic, it’s the same blocky debris that adheres to physics and breaks after enough hits.
However, other magics, like sand (which will be my main point of reference), have a unique property in which they create sand piles that grow as larger sand attacks are cast. It is this mechanic that I would like to have applied to wood magic.
Mechanics
When wood magic spells explode near the ground, leafless trees will grow around the area of the explosion. These trees can, for example, consist of a cylindrical base and 3-5 branches that split off into 2 twigs. However, vetex can just as easily use an actual model of a tree instead.
The more powerful the attack, the larger the trees (tree density/the number of placed trees per a given area may also increase). Similarly, the larger the explosion, the larger the radius for trees to spawn. These trees would grow as more wood magic is used near them by the caster.
For an intuitive, in-universe explanation for why this would work, imagine it like molding wood into the shape of a tree, as if it were clay.
These trees would have the same interactions that current wood blocks have. However, they would not adhere to physics, and instead be static additions to the terrain. In other words, they can still collide with players and projectiles, but they just can’t be moved around.
Magic level can determine the maximum size of a tree, while intensity can determine the rate of growth (relative to how many wood spells are put into a tree)
Reasoning
Not only would this addition give aesthetic definition to wood magic, I believe it can also provide some practical defensive function that will help set wood apart from other magics. If a wood magic user knew how to adapt to the kind of environments that could be created by placing several of these trees, they could effectively use them for cover in fights, or for traversing terrain, such as cliffs.
Optional Additions
While I do not personally recommend it, it would make some sense for these trees to inflict bleeding if an enemy were to make contact with them, considering wood magic’s status effect.
Also, there’s the possible interaction of multiple wood users being able to contribute to the same tree. While I do not think this adds any gameplay value, a ritual involving several wood mages forfeiting their power and earthly possessions to a massive tree sounds funny enough for me to personally recommend it.
