8 power sources. so what are the other 4?

[Klaus]

My guess?

Martial
Arcane
Divine
Psionic
Primal
Shadow
Artifice
+ 1

 

[Sir Brennen]

Except Arcane magic already is (think about the story and bent of the eladrin...i think W&M had something about the connection as well).

Martial = The World
Arcane = Feywild
Divine = Astral Sea

Psionic = Far Realm
Shadow = Shadowfell
Primal = Elemental Chaos


of course then we're at 6 and out of planes. And this falls into the 'unnecessary symmetry' that I am pleased as punch that they've done away with.

Does it fall into "unnecessary" symmetry, tho? It makes sense that power sources come from somewhere, and those places are the planes. Otherwise, you have these fonts of mystical energy that aren't tied to the cosmology, but are just labels for game mechanics.

This is what I came up with for the thread this was originally brought up in:

Martial: The World (Physical)
Arcane: Feywild
Divine: Astral Sea

Psionic: The World (Mental)
Shadow: Shadowfell
Primal: Elemental Chaos

For the remaining two, my guess is:

Art: The World (Spiritual)
Chaos: Far Realm

Power Sources drawing from The World are those which mortal beings only have to look inside themselves to channel, whether it's a focus on Mind, Body or Spirit. The power source of Art could be utilized by Bards and Artificers. Chaos could be the basis of a Transmuter spellcasting class, or ones dealing with nightmares and abberrations.

Before anyone says anything, yes, I realize my candidates are probably wrong, especially since we've already been told the Bard is an Arcane Leader, and since abberrations have always been historically Psionic heavy, this makes the Far Realm a likely candidate for that power source.

Still, it seems pretty clear to me that the planes are places that can be tapped as sources of power, so having a power source tied to each does not seem to me to qualify as an unnecessary symmetry which the designers have commented on. Whatever the Final Two are, I bet they're still tied to *something*.

 

[tsadkiel]

For my tastes, four is enough - I'm having trouble thinking of any potential classes that couldn't be explained by Arcane, Divine, Martial, and Psionic. But since we're getting eight, my guesses are the Big Three + Psionic, Primal, Shadow, Artifice, and Your Mom.

 

[NaturalZero]

From an interview at D&D XP we know the tentative plan for PHB2 was Primal, Psionic, and more Arcane and Divine, so the trend of 3 new power sources per book probably won't continue.

If their goal is to make psionic as core as everything else, putting it in the same book as the druid and barbarian would help quite a bit.

 

[deathdonut]

Shadow and Artifice seem like natural choices.

Primal might be less associated with elements and more associated with nature and spirits.

Think: Barbarian, Druid, Shaman, Witchdoctor

This would leave as options:

Elemental - even though it conflicts a bit with Arcane.
Temporal - may be limited in scope.
Infernal - even though it steps on the shoes of Divine.

I'm not exactly sold on Ki as a power source.

 

[Bugaboo]

Additional power sources, confirmed:

No. 5: Mayonnaise
No. 6: Shame
No. 7: Fingernail Clippings
No. 8: Ennui

 

[keterys]

I think Elemental would fit just fine. I think people try to lump _too many_ things into Arcane.

You could also do some kinda Planar bit of some kind, cause it seems odd to have, say, Githyanki knights drawing on 'Divine' as a power source.

 

[neoweasel]

I think Elemental would fit just fine. I think people try to lump _too many_ things into Arcane.

I imagine that this comes from the fact that that's where pretty much anything that wasn't divine, physical or psionic went. It's a hard habit to kick.

 

[Belorin]

The more I think about it the more I like truename, it's as different as divine is from arcane, you research the language of the primordials is my guess, learning the names they used to create and/or destroy things in the world. With these names you could heal an ally, create a boulder or pit in front of an enemy to immobilize them or even effect their actions. As you gain levels you are able to comprehend more of this primordial language and affect a larger degree of the world.

Bel

 

[deathdonut]

Not bad. I've always been a fan of runic power types. Would fit nicely with the true-name style magic.