Elemental Power Source

[Camelot]

What would be a good way to go about making elemental classes?

Would classes as Aeromancer, Pyromancer, etc. be justified for entire classes? Or should the classes be separated depending on how they use the elements (defender, leader, etc.)? Something else?

 

[Zaran]

I would almost say to just replace the Arcane keyword with Air, Earth, Fire or Water. And then allow the elemenalist to change the energy of any powers to the power source they are using. Almost any spell can be be refluffed in this way, you just have come up with a reason why. This would be alot easier than coming up with whole new classes and powers.

 

[renau1g]

They already released the pyromancer:

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page

 

[ggroy]

Are they still officially doing elemental power sources for player characters?

If they're still doing them, hopefully it will be more than just a minimal refluffing of previous classes and powers.

 

[Taed]

The Warden build options can certainly get you most of the way there for martial elemental classes. Earth Warden is already what you'd probably want. There are already some powers that would be useful for the other elements (such as Gale for air). So, come up with some new build options, add and modify some powers, and I think you're on your way.

My current character is a Warforged Storm Warden which is mostly lightning/thunder powers and items. It has delusions of being a storm elemental.

 

[Mapache]

I'd say that between the two of them, Arcane and Primal have already covered all the obvious flavor ground of an elemental power source, hitting both the "control the elements" and "call upon elemental spirits" tropes. In order for an Elemental power source to not feel like a rehash, it'll need to have a distinctive mechanical difference, like Psionics with Power Points and Augmentable At-Will Powers. Given that it's looking quite likely that Shadow will not be fleshed out into a full set of classes, but rather treated as a mix-in that provides new options to existing classes, I'm currently quite doubtful that they're even attempting to create a set of Elemental classes, though maybe we'll eventually see a set of Elemental-flavored builds for existing classes.

 

[The Human Target]

Yeah, I think the ground is already fairly heavily covered by other classes already.

But had things worked out differently, Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series has a great elemental magic system I would have liked to have seen them "borrow" from.

 

[AngryMojo]

The more I think about the elemental power source, the more I want classes broken up by element.

Earth=defender
Water=leader
Fire=striker
Air=controller

Just break it up like Codex Alera does, and go to town. I never confused their furycrafting with D&D style arcane magic.

 

[Jhaelen]

The more I think about the elemental power source, the more I want classes broken up by element.

Earth=defender
Water=leader
Fire=striker
Air=controller

Actually, considering how the Elemental Chaos in 4e is a wild mixture of all elements, I'd expect the power source to be likewise. Pure elements are the exception, not the rule. I was actually surprised pure elementals finally turned up in MM3.

Anyway, at this point I doubt we'll see classes using the elemental power source. If they're doing anything with the power source at all, I suspect it will be to create hybrid source builds for existing classes.

 

[Zaran]

The more I think about the elemental power source, the more I want classes broken up by element.

Earth=defender
Water=leader
Fire=striker
Air=controller

Just break it up like Codex Alera does, and go to town. I never confused their furycrafting with D&D style arcane magic.

You would still have to color the classes a bit since alot of controller powers are not Air based. Nothing wrong with turning the fireball into a lightning-ball though.

If I were to do something like "The Last Airbender" I would allow each element to have all 4 roles even if some of them were Martial like Fire having warlords . One thing I would try to shy away from is Vulnerabilities and Resistances because of element. That way would lead to madness when trying to balance things.