D&D General other possible elements?

[Mind of tempest]

In terms of thematics:

Void = space-time, demiplane, teleportation, chronomancy, Haste, Slow, Time Stop, empty space, outer space

Ether = ethereal plane, border ether, fey ether, shadow ether, force, force damage, gravity, telekinesis, Fly, force construct, Wall of Force, Unseen Servant, Magic Missile, Shield, Mage Armor, quintessence, magical energy, solid illusion, conjuration, dunomancy

those do not feel all that different to me, you go it in less dnd as I somehow grasp mythic more than I logically should.

 

[Yaarel]

those do not feel all that different to me, you go it in less dnd as I somehow grasp mythic more than I logically should.

Fair enough. A black hole would be both ether (gravitational force) and void (space-time distortion). And the Big Bang is the reverse of a black hole.

In a D&D context, merging the two aspects simplifies what the "fifth element" is. But it also implies that the Ethereal Plane is the immaterial fabric of space-time of the Material Plane.

That the Ethereal Plane is the fabric of space-time and fundamental forces, explains the temporal distortions that happen in the Fey and Shadow aspects of the ether.

 

[Yaarel]

So the binaries are:
Fire : Water
Earth : Wind
Wood : Metal
Void : ...

In this case, the eighth element might be "Soul".

In the Astral Plane, the Soul is consciousness. In the Ethereal Plane, the Soul is telekinetic and magical influence. In the Material Plane, the soul is the ki, the bodily aura of lifeforce. But it is all the same Soul even tho it interacts differently at different levels of being.

 

[Baron Opal II]

The elements I've developed are:

Fire
Radiance
Air
Mist
Water
Clay
Earth
Magma

In Babylonian lore, their five elements are Sky plus the classical four. Sky is the celestial sphere, stars, light, &c.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The elements I've developed are:

Fire
Radiance
Air
Mist
Water
Clay
Earth
Magma

In Babylonian lore, their five elements are Sky plus the classical four. Sky is the celestial sphere, stars, light, &c.

as we have discussed sky is either, void or akashic the celestial space.

I am looking for an equal something strange and not a fusion

 

[Yaarel]

@Mind of tempest

Does it need to be eight? What about six? If Metal merges into Earth, the following six seem decently comprehensive.

Fire : Water
Earth : Air
Void : Wood

 

[EzekielRaiden]

as we have discussed sky is either, void or akashic the celestial space.

I am looking for an equal something strange and not a fusion

Then you're probably going to come up empty.

You want something strange, that isn't a fusion, but isn't so alien that it feels out of place. You're gonna have a real real hard time achieving that. Anything new and strange enough to not be something that's got thousands of years of history is going to be something that doesn't feel right. Humanity has had thousands of years to develop systems like this. If there were a deeply thematic, resonant, befitting element that could be slotted in the way you want, somebody would have come up with it by now. Probably several somebodies, and others would have incorporated it into their systematized elemental structures for fiction or gaming or whatever.

Maybe it's possible there's an idea floating out there that no human has ever stumbled over before, that would be a great new element equal and opposite to quintessence or void or whatever. But if nobody's found it and written it down in the past three millennia...you're not gonna find it on a forum thread in three weeks.

 

[CreamCloud0]

So the binaries are:
Fire : Water
Earth : Wind
Wood : Metal
Void : ...

some sort of light or radiant element feels like it would pair naturally with void? a psychic or psionic element also seems strangely apropos to me as void's counterpart.

 

[Yaarel]

some sort of light or radiant element feels like it would pair naturally with void? a psychic or psionic element also seems strangely apropos to me as void's counterpart.

I agree the "psychic or psionic" element is solid counterpart to void. I mentioned "Soul", and view psionic (and primal) as "soul magic", as opposed to the "weave magic" of arcane and divine.


Because I mainly equate "Fire" with the "plasma" state of matter of the sun, which is the "heavenly fire" sotospeak, I view "Fire" as including Light and Radiant.

 

[Baron Opal II]

as we have discussed sky is either, void or akashic the celestial space.

I am looking for an equal something strange and not a fusion

Well, I also have (And their inspirations):

Identity (Nuclear Force)
Entropy (Decay Force)
Awareness (EM Force)
Sympathy (Gravitic Force)
Solidity (Alchemical Salt)
Energy (Alchemical Sulfur)
Information (Alchemical Mercury)