Ki and Elemental - Whatever

[Irda Ranger]

I'm not crazy about Elemental, mainly because so many other classes have Elemental themed or keyed powers. Fireburst comes to mind. I like Wizards that can do Fireball, but I also like that they can do other stuff. Elementalit seems too narrow. But whatever, I'm sure WotC will find a way to make it work. Maybe we'll get our Desert Wind school back.

Ki is just dumb though. It's Martial-with-Asian-People. The fact that the Kensei is a Fighter PP just makes my point. I guess Ki is WotC's excuse for giving Monks clearly super-physical abilities, like the ability to make "Look at Me, I'm Flying" long-distance jumps.

I bet there are number of people who are disappointed that Far Realms/Abberation didn't make the list. I guess the Star-Pact Warlock is the closest we're going to get to that.

 

[Rechan]

I've seen a couple references to "animus" on these boards but what exactly does that have to do with dungeons & dragons? I don't recall seeing references to an animus in any past edition (please correct me if I'm wrong).

It's in D&D, it's an explanation of undead, basically. It's really discussed in Worlds and Monsters.

Animus: basically what a shadow/wraith/etc is; an incorporeal drive that gets the body moving. Zombies and Skellies lack an animus, but you give it one to get the body movin'. It's separate from a Soul.

 

[Rechan]

I told people that Ki was coming. I knew it. I got a whole lot of guff about how it's unnecessary and dumb and such, but I knew that's how WotC was going to be handle it, dumb or not.

I don't think Elemental is redundant with Primal.

Primal is, more than likely, associated with the Feywild and Nature. Animals, plants, etc. It's the inner animal (barbarian rage), and so on. It'll also have things like Totems.

Elemental: Purely raw power of the elements. Summoning earth quakes, gouts of steam, etc. As a poster said in another thread, I really hope that the Elemental abilities are more about sustaining and creating zones instead of just 'bang boom'. It's 1) A niche the wizard doesn't have, and 2) something thematically appropriate.

 

[Rechan]

Even if you want to make an oriental/kung-fu power source it still doesnt make sense.

It makes sense because that's what the Wuxia fans want. And it makes sense to not tie it to Psionics because that will likely anger 1) a lot of wuxia fans and 2) a lot of psionics fans. "You got your Crouching Tiger in my Mindbender!" and suchlike.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I view Primal as some has said dealing with nature, inner animal, natural spirits that kind of thing. So you be doing things like communing with nature, summoning totemic spirits, letting loose your inner animal-side in various forms; rage or wild shape.

Elemental I view as something you draw forth from the Elemental Chaos. You become a funnel for all this elemental forces to come through into the World. It causes the ground to shake, fire to burst alight on clothing, etc.

Ki, since it is dealing with the "soul", I think will be a mix of Wuxia and more 4e D&Dism. So will see a combination of; leaping from tree to tree, fighting with bare hands, etc. But also see things like meditating to reinforce your animus to empower you more (could be things like the animus makes your hands as hard as steel), striking out with your animus (so it actually slightly leaves your body), etc.

 

[MindWanderer]

Also, remember that "elemental' doesn't mean the 4 classical elements anymore. "Elemental" is thematically linked to the Elemental Chaos, which includes lightning, ice, and I don't know what else--potentially any of the paraelemental/quasielemental stuff from previous editions. That's a lot of options.

I'm seeing Street Fighter characters as Elemental defenders. Shouryureppa!

 

[Aria Silverhands]

The four elements are still in play, but only one of the four elements is harmful on contact, so you can't build that much around them all.

You'll probably be getting thunder damage from earth, water, AND wind powers, for instance.

Rocks are pretty damn painful upon contact... when hurled at your head at high velocity.

 

[Terramotus]

Ki is soul :/
Elemental is what I thought primal or even arcane was.

The others are all good:
Arcane - training in magic (comes from the feywild)
Divine - training in the divine powers (comes from the astral)
Martial - training in the body
Psionic - training in the mind
Primal - training in wild (comes from elemental chaos)
Shadow - training in magic (comes from the shadowfell)

Interesting opposites:
Martial - Psionic
Arcane - Shadow

Elemental and Ki seem way too redundant.

Actually I like the concept of elemental as a power source more than primal. Berserkers can be martial and druids can be elemental.

Is this from somewhere on the website, or a summary of something from the core rulebooks?

 

[Brian999]

Hmmm. Let's put it another way.

Martial = Batman. Pure physical training, no supernatural powers.

Ki = Any Street Fighter character. Physical training with supernatural martial arts powers.

Psionic = Professor X. Ultimate mental power, no physical ability to speak of.

I think the three power sources are distinct enough that they can support very different kinds of characters.

 

[Harr]

Ki = Dragonball, obviously. Which I guess people are embarrased to mention or something? Lol.

Lots of people love DB, I don't see any reason why WotC should feel ashamed for going after them. As the old saying goes, noone's forcing you to include it in your games.

Psionics to me is more about some Star Trek thing, while Martial is just being good with weapons and physical discipline, soldier-style.