is it okay if I have the special attacks of my characters named and described?

I think it makes it awesome.

...

/whispers/ It also makes it seem really cheesy.

294219
depending on the kind of name used (like 'mega graviton beam' is a big NO NO!) and if the character in question has to scream the name of the attack out loud every time it's used; then its not okay...seriously...who in their right mind announces the attack they are about to use out loud...

294219

You can tell about them, just not during a fight. Tell about them before (studying / training / conversation in which it is brought up) or after (preferibly once there are no known enemies around to hear).

But only really big ones are really worth naming, and sometimes not naming a attack makes it more interesting cause it is mysterious. So if that is desirable leave it vague as much as possible.

294226

This.

The only attack announcements that work are incatation type things and activation words for magical enchantments.

294226 I don't have my characters shout them out. I just use titles to describe them.

294250
I understand that named attacks functions as a shorthand in describing things, but I consider it to be kinda cheesy since sides a bit too much towards the "tell" end of the spectrum for me. You can probably get away with named attacks in games and cartoons because the animation are doing the showing of the attack for you, but I'm not sure if it translates well into prose form. I think it would be more exciting if you manually describe what's happening each time. For instance, compare:

Alice cries out in fury and unleashes The Wrath of a Thousand Suns onto Bob, obliterating him.

To:
Alice cries out in fury as her eyes began pulsing with pure energy. Her spirit reaches into the void and latches onto that thread of power. She pulls. The ground around her melts into a glass slab as she gathers the the fires of a thousand sun into a pinpoint of space in front of her. The orb thrashes around like a confined lion. Alice knows that she has but precious seconds of control before the monster in front of her turns on its master. She yells out in agony and releases her connection to the orb. It accelerates into a cone of brilliant yellow, screaming towards Bob. He turns around far too late. Before he even had time to comprehend it , the fireball rips every molecule in his body to pieces in a flash that can be seen for miles.

... Or something like that. Yeah it's a lot more work in the second one, but I think you'll find it much more satisfying to write it out.

294679