What is the most obvious clue that your party is dealing with a powerful magic user?
>>48151168
It's not using flashy shit to impress anyone - they don't need to
>after yawning and saying "good night", they reach upwards, grasp the sun, and crush it
A big beard
>>48151168
Sheer lack of fucks to give. The witch who puts on makeup and her sexiest outfit to meet the adventurers isn't the powerhouse, the one who does it with her hair curlers still in while visibly hungover is the one who's in charge.
>>48151168
They're all dead.
Or in a more casual setting, the serenity that can only be achieved by children or those with the ability to bend the world to match their dreams they way children believe they can.
They wreck the whole party while scratching their arse, then pull out their character sheet.
Oh wait, that's just a sign that the party are dealing with a wizard, druid or cleric.
All great wizards wear a monocle.
>>48151168
Honestly IMO depending on the setting a powerful magic user leaves no clues, especially if they're the BBEG.
All the posts in this thread go too far. "Powerful" does not have to mean Lady of Pain tier wankery.
I like to be more subtle. Doo-dads in the foyer that look quaint at first glance but upon further investigation are snowglobes with trapped enemies and statues that turn their heads as you move. You meet her, and the wind blows strangely for no reason, indoors. The hair seems to move slower than it ought, gently floating down at each step. Her pupils, when she gets excited, dilate freakishly wide.
The GM says "Your party is dealing with a powerful magic user."
>>48151168
The party finds out that the person they are talking too is the party wizard's archmage of a mother.
>>48151487
>snowglobes with trapped enemies
I like.
>>48151487
What part of "most obvious" includes subtlety?
>>48152005
It certainly is more subtle than crushing the Sun and instagibbing the entire party.
If they're elementally aligned, having the appropriate element react to their emotions is a good start.
>As you confront the madman on his pyromania, his eyes dart around the room in a panicked frenzy. You notice the candles begin to burn with a fervor more fitting for a bonfire.
Well I mean, Detect Magic is a pretty clear cut answer...
>>48151168
The use of powerful magic.
>>48152416
Yes. But OP asked for the most obvious.
when the magic-user in question appears spewing lightning and fire in every direction yelling "you are no match for my powerful magics!". followed by the casting of extremely destructive spells to make an example of either a grunt, the scenery, the nearest PC, etc.
if you had extremely powerful magic, and knew it, you would let the whole world know. you show them exactly what you can do, since you are confident that there is no way they will match up to you.
Big hat or some other headgear. In some cases freaky hair is acceptable.
>>48151256
>Not pulling the sun out of the sky and putting it into a coat pocket
>Then fumbling in the dark for a moment before finding the moon in the wrong pocket
>stay the night in a seemingly harmless girls castle
>Half orc fighter insulted her at dinner
>wake up next morning to find the fighter has turned into a qt princess
They've incorporated dazzling illusions or freestanding elemental constructs into their wardrobe as mere fashion statements.
A mage exploded half a city block to give a side character a stern talking to and a magical ring.
The fact that when we pissed him off, the GM told us to roll up Mouse Guard characters.
>>48151168
The male Darkness elemental servant wearing a french maid's outfit was a pretty clear sign...
So was the gigantic ethereal penis illusion (complete with the words "Summoners ain't shit") covering his tower
>>48151168
depends on the race.
humans: lots of magic boosting tattoos. many of them symbols of the human god of magic, others markings of milestones or mementos of past victory's and friends. often fairly buff as they believe I training the body as well as the mind. tend to look more like Vikings then wizards and are the weakest of the races magically.
orcs: lot of different foods hanging off their belt, wearing a hat with 5 stars n it and often some from of mutation like grey skin or large eyes.
elves: they smile while casting magic, you don't like them when their smiling.
beastkin: varies but the common factor tends to be their eyes flash like a strobe light. their also tend to be followed around by some of the handmade gene-soldiers.
>>48151168
The air around them feels thick to the point where it's stifling and almost hard to breathe. Every time the characters move they feel as though sparks of static will begin to jump across their skin. Light seems to flicker around the edges of their sight. They can feel an unbearable sense of foreboding and every muscle is involuntarily tensed in anticipation.
>>48153322
>Size of hat is directly proportional to magical ability.
>non magical people not allowed to wear hats.
>>48155730
>The night sky is theorised/mythologised to be the underside of the great brim of the most powerful wizard of all time.
They verbally state "Fool, you dare meddle in my affairs? I am the most powerful magic user the world has ever seen! Taste the power of my lightning blast!"
bitchin' abs
If we're talking about Dungeons & Dragons, and "so powerful you absolutely must not face this character", then have them use Time Stop.
Flickering from one place to another without the slightest hint of movement is freaking intimidating.
