Here's my explanation: The Herald of Thunder strongly implies that it doesn't inflict shock because of it's other attributes, namely that it gets bonuses when hitting enemies that are shocked. It fulfills the trope in, well, it's exact words, but it doesn't really fit the spirit of it because having it inflict chill and freeze doesn't grant any bonuses to it or subvert the balance of the spell.
Is the "exact words" example really an example?
Here's my explanation: The Herald of Thunder strongly implies that it doesn't inflict shock because of it's other attributes, namely that it gets bonuses when hitting enemies that are shocked. It fulfills the trope in, well, it's exact words, but it doesn't really fit the spirit of it because having it inflict chill and freeze doesn't grant any bonuses to it or subvert the balance of the spell.
Thoughts?