Elemental Correspondances(bit of a ramble, just looking to discuss the concepts)

Natural 20 Press's (and now E.N. Publishing's) The Elements of Magic contained a complicated elemental sphere that contained a total of 20 elements.

First, you have Nature and Force, two opposed forces that permeate the elemental sphere, like a twisting yin-yang in the form of a sphere.

Next, the sphere itself is split into two hemispheres. The north hemisphere is Life, and the south hemisphere is Death, representing Positive and Negative energy. Around the equator you have the base elements in a ring - Air, Fire, Earth, Water, then back to Air again.

Between those elements you have paraelementals. Air - Lightning - Fire - Lava - Earth - Ooze - Water - Ice - Air.

Then, on the northern hemisphere you have 4 positive energy versions of the classical elements. Positive Air is Sound. Positive Earth is Crystal. Positive Fire is Light. Positive Water is Steam.

On the southern hemisphere you have 4 negative energy versions of the classical elements. Air becomes Void. Earth becomes Metal. Fire becomes Shadow. Water becomes Acid.

So you end up with Acid, Air, Crystal, Death, Earth, Fire, Force, Ice, Lava, Life, Light, Lightning, Metal, Nature, Ooze, Shadow, Sound, Steam, Void, and Water.

Are their rules for which spells correspond to which? and for playing a spellcaster who focuses on one?

Well, the Elements of Magic spell system is pretty flexible. You take a verb like "Abjure," "Infuse," or "Summon," and then an appropriate element, and finally the spell level you want to cast it at. And then you have your spell.

The basics of the spell will be the same regardless of what element you pick, but a few specifics will vary. Evoke Fire is a classic example, which can handle burning hands or fireball, and fire spells can potentially set things on fire, while sonic spells can deafen, etc. Each elemental type has a few associated side effects. So basically we just had to balance a few core, flavorless spells, and then give you the options of how you want to spice them up. Of course, the first time out, we got a few of the balance issues a little off, which is why we're trying to put out a comprehensive FAQ based on reader responses and a lot more playtesting than we could have afforded to hire people for. It's a good thing gamers like to play with new toys, and then help us know how we could make the toys more fun.

Some of the more complex spells require you to know several different elemental types. For instance, to polymorph one object into another substance, you'd need two appropriate elements. It ends up being pretty detailed, too much for me to cover adequately just here. But if you take a look at the book, and ignore a few of the problems, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with dozens of ways to play with the elemental system.

Ohh so its like a whole new magic system not just a new way of handling elements.