here’s an idea: magic use affects the body– we’re already shown in-game how rift mages’ perception of time and self is altered, and it’s not that far a leap to assume other types of magic can have effects on the body. 

maybe some of it’s mental, a certain hot temper in long-time fire mages, a heightened emotional empathy in spirit healers. maybe there are physiological effects as well. a mage who casts enough lightning spells is always covered in static charge, hair never quite flat and always zapping door handles and the armor of those next to them. should they spend enough time immersed in the magic of ice and snow and they put on a little bit of weight, a new layer of fat insulating their body from the cold. if they spend too long playing with fire, their skin gets chapped, they overheat easily, and their appetite doubles, metabolism skyrocketing as they consume and expend vast amounts of energy.

necromancy has unpleasant side-effects– wounds heal a little slower, and necrotic afflictions like gangrene are extremely common without careful attention. pursuing the path of the arcane warrior makes mages shorter, for some reason. rift mages tend to encounter troubles with animals as their studies progress, especially with cats and mabari, who react to changes in smell and body language.

healers always smell a little like embrium. dealing with demons raises blisters on the tip of the right thumb. dalish keepers rarely sleep for more than three hours at a time.  force magic thickens the tibia and makes mages more susceptible to nosebleeds. shapeshifters become ambidextrous if they weren’t before.