Level Up (A5E) Element-Bending as a Combat Tradition

[Corinnguard]

In Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra, we got to see the Benders of the Four Nations performing what appear to be stances and maneuvers whenever they bended their respective element. So could Element-Bending be a Combat Tradition in A5e?

I think the answer could be a yes because all four types of bending seen in the two series had their roots in the Chinese martial arts.

From Wikipedia: The gestures used by the "bender" characters are derived from Chinese martial arts, for which the creators employed Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a consultant. Each fighting style is unique to the "benders" who use them or characters who are aligned to a certain element. For example, practitioners of "waterbending" use movements influenced by T'ai chi and focused on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization. Hung Gar was the inspiration for practitioners of "earthbending", and was chosen for its firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes as a representation of the solidity of earth. Northern Shaolin, which uses strong arm and leg movements, was chosen to represent "firebending". Ba Gua, which uses dynamic circular movements and quick directional changes, was used for "airbending"

Thoughts?

 

[xiphumor]

So, the answer is yes, that could clearly be done, and should be done, and there are some good folks on this forum already taking a crack at it.

However, to really get at the the ATLA fantasy, what I think we really want are elemental Adept focus features that can be used simultaneously with combat maneuvers.

 

[RangerWickett]

Are we talking Fighter combat maneuvers that magically shoot fire or control water, etc? Or just the nonmagical martial arts stuff?

 

[Corinnguard]

Are we talking Fighter combat maneuvers that magically shoot fire or control water, etc? Or just the nonmagical martial arts stuff?

The combat maneuvers in A5e are geared toward all of the martial classes (Adepts, Berserkers, Heralds, Marshalls, Rangers, Rogues and Fighters). As for what I would like to see is something along the lines of the Arcane Knight and Eldritch Blackguard combat traditions. Both of these combat traditions try to combine maneuvers with spell-like effects.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The combat maneuvers in A5e are geared toward all of the martial classes (Adepts, Berserkers, Heralds, Marshalls, Rangers, Rogues and Fighters). As for what I would like to see is something along the lines of the Arcane Knight and Eldritch Blackguard combat traditions. Both of these combat traditions try to combine maneuvers with spell-like effects.

I would say they both succeed in doing that. I love the idea of bender combat traditions, because it allows for multiple levels of proficiency and talent, allowing two water benders, for example, to vary by the maneuvers they chose. Add to that subclass abilities by element for the elemental adept, and you've really got a lot of options to make bender unique.

 

[Corinnguard]

I would say they both succeed in doing that. I love the idea of bender combat traditions, because it allows for multiple levels of proficiency and talent, allowing two water benders, for example, to vary by the maneuvers they chose. Add to that subclass abilities by element for the elemental adept, and you've really got a lot of options to make bender unique.

I think it could be more than that. In Avatar and the Legend of Korra, we have Benders who bend things like Metal, Magma, Sand and Plant. Sandbenders, for instance, make use of water bending techniques to bend sand.

I could also see certain A5e heritages favoring a particular elemental-bending tradition. Or being the creators of a particular elemental combat tradition.

Lots of possibilities.

 

[Steampunkette]

glances at an open google doc for Martial Artistry's Combat Traditions

Seems like a good idea. Someone should probably do it. >.>