WotC WotC needs an Elon Musk

[Umbran]

Avatar does have Acid Benders. They are called Water Benders. Because Acid, much like blood and plants, contains water to be bent. Just like Fire bending contains Lightning and Magma bending.

I believe magma bending is under Earth, not fire.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Yeah, in Avatar (the good one), each of the bending disciplines (other than Air) has a specialized, rare form. Firebending has lightning benders. Waterbending has bloodbenders. Earthbending has metalbenders. Air gets what we in the magicbuilding business like to call "the Shaft."

 

[Voadam]

So what makes something "Fundamental to the world"? Most creatures don't need fire, but they do need acid.

The specific cosmological set up.

Four elements is one.

Five elements with metal and wood is another.

Four elements plus void is another.

Yin Yang.

Dry versus Moist, Hot versus Cold.

Elemental Chaos versus Astral Sea is a big cosmological divide for the 4e World Axis, a bit similar in some big ways to the Inner versus outer planes of the Great Wheel.

Okay. But just because mixed elementals exist (which I don't know why them existing is bad)

I am not saying good or bad, I am saying different cosmological import. Mixed elementals instead of themed elementals was a 4e creation that supported the Elemental Chaos aspect of 4e cosmology. Going with just the four elements for elementals, or the themed planar elementals or a periodic chart elementals supports and reinforces different cosmological setups. Not better or worse, different.

doesn't mean pure elementals don't exist. Like, the point that was made is that Fire can't be conceptually and spiritually important if it is in the elemental Chaos, but the elemental chaos isn't a slurry. It is chunks. And Fire doesn't have to have an entire plane of existence to be philosophically interesting or discussed.

No but the cosmological importance of fire is different if it is just one part of elemental nature versus a cosmological element in itself.

But the point seemed to be that since fire spells and fire philosophy exists, there must be a plane of only fire... which doesn't track. Just because someone has a philosophy doesn't mean you need an entire plane of existence embodying that philosophy.

That seems an incorrect overextension of the argument about the cosmological import to "must be" and "only."

Avatar does have Acid Benders. They are called Water Benders. Because Acid, much like blood and plants, contains water to be bent. Just like Fire bending contains Lightning and Magma bending.

But, again, you seem to be missing the point. The complaint I was responding to was that the Elemental Chaos doesn't work, because Fire has to be a pure concept, because there are fire spells and fire elementals, and it is a fundamental part of reality. My response about acid wasn't because I don't understand how to make an elemental plane of acid, but to instead point out that acid spells and creautures that utilize acid, and even philosophical theories involving acid, do not require a pure plane of acid to exist. The complaint seems to be focused on this idea that fire is somehow more special than other things in the world, and therefore it requires a pure elemental plane. But... they are just assuming the conclusion. And if you examine it, I find that the conclusion does not follow from the evidence.

In a cosmology of water as fundamental, you fit acid into the cosmological framework of water. In a modern scientific cosmological framework you fit acid into a PH balance aspect of fundamental aspects of the universe and generally do not put the four elements as the four fundamental aspects of the universe.

Elemental Chaos can be Chaos of the four elements chaotically mixing in irregular amounts or not be bound by the four elements framework at all.

Elemental Chaos can work for an Avatar cosmology, but how much narrative power the cosmology will have can vary by how it ties to the other elements or does not. A non-four elements elemental chaos can logically work with the airbender world setup, but it does not track as well as a four elements cosmology would and would have different narrative impacts the more it came in and flavored the world.

 

[Voadam]

Yeah, in Avatar (the good one), each of the bending disciplines (other than Air) has a specialized, rare form. Firebending has lightning benders. Waterbending has bloodbenders. Earthbending has metalbenders. Air gets what we in the magicbuilding business like to call "the Shaft."

That's kind of given away in the title of the "Last Airbender"

 

[Micah Sweet]

I believe magma bending is under Earth, not fire.

It is. There was an advanced earth bender in Korea who manipulated magma.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That's kind of given away in the title of the "Last Airbender"

They show off advanced air bending techniques in the sequal series.

 

[Voadam]

They show off advanced air bending techniques in the sequal series.

I watched the original series with my son and we both enjoyed it immensely. When the sequel came out though he had moved on in his interests so we watched different types of things together then.

I understand the sequel series is considered quite good too, though the people I talked with who enjoyed it felt it was not quite the amazing levels of the original.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Yeah, in Avatar (the good one), each of the bending disciplines (other than Air) has a specialized, rare form. Firebending has lightning benders. Waterbending has bloodbenders. Earthbending has metalbenders. Air gets what we in the magicbuilding business like to call "the Shaft."

It's flight. Flight is the airbending mastery.

Also Fire and Earth get two more: combustion and lava respectively.

So there's probably more master-level abilities.

 

[RealAlHazred]

It's flight. Flight is the airbending mastery.

I don't know about that. Nonbenders can fly! Some mastery that is!

 

[Micah Sweet]

I watched the original series with my son and we both enjoyed it immensely. When the sequel came out though he had moved on in his interests so we watched different types of things together then.

I understand the sequel series is considered quite good too, though the people I talked with who enjoyed it felt it was not quite the amazing levels of the original.

Yeah, it was good, and I enjoyed the worldbuilding immensely, but it is not on the same level as The Last Airbender at the end of the day. Still worth the watch.