The elemental savant from Complete Arcane

[drnuncheon]

Simplest solution: ditch the element/energy correspondences entirely (except for fire) and have elemental damage, as in Arcana Unearthed. You'll have to do some work figuring out which creatures should have Elemental Resistance instead of (or as well as) Energy Resistance, but it gets rid of the wacky issues.

 

[Starman]

Well, if you can rationalize a fluid-based earth elemental, then I don't think you'll have much problem with the elemental savant as presented.

Personally, I like my fantasy magic to start from a base of science and then break the rules from there (not the other way around).

I try not to treat "fantasy" as an excuse for all things fantastical.

If that works for you, great. I, personally, find that worrying too much about science and accurate physics in my fantasy game is too much of a headache.

Starman (and I like science)

 

[Sonofapreacherman]

Starman (and I like science)

Well that's why! You play dungeons and dragons to "get away" from science. Whereas I clearly don't have enough science in my life.

 

[Cheiromancer]

You could associate each element with two energies. Cold with water (because of ice and snow) and of course most acids are liquid; fire is obviously fire, and electricity, in the form of lightning, is similar to fire, but manifested in air. Lightning and thunder are neighbors, so electricity is close to sonic. Sonic is air when it vibrates, and force is air when it remains immobile. The arc from water to fire I call the "energy rainbow," which excludes earth energies.

The two energies of water should cancel the two energies of fire, and since fire/cold are opposites, that means that electricity/acid are opposites. I make the two energies of air opposite to each other, though, not opposite to the earth energies; vibrating air is opposite to still air.

The "earth energies" are negative and positive energy. The negative energy is on the dark side of the rainbow (cold and acid) while the positive energy is on the bright side (fire and electricity). Death and decay is associated with the earth, but so is growth and rebirth.

In the following crude diagram, each energy on the left is paired with an opposite form of energy on the right.

...................................AIR..........................
..................................................................
......W....................force - sonic.....................F
......A...........................................................I
......T................acid................electricity........R
......E............... cold...................fire..............E
......R...........................................................
..........................negative - positive................
.............................energy...energy..................
....................................................................
..................................EARTH..........................

 

[Ao the Overkitty]

As players for our campaign, we actually sat down and rewrote what effects were attached to what element. Of course, it was messed up already, with our having two extra elements (life & death). After a debate and a vote we came up with the following:

Element - Effect

Fire - Fire
Water - Acid
Earth - Force
Air - Sonic
Life - Electricity
Death - Cold

It made sense to us, at least.

Elementals have stayed the same, but we've also got Life & Death Elementals in the mix now. Haven't met any Life Elementals, but Death Elementals are nasty (since they deal negative levels and have a death aura).

 

[Psion]

I think the element/energy correspondance is bent, but except for 10th level, the class is more about energy than elements.

Rename it the energy savants, and pick energy instead of elements, and be done with it.

(Better yet, pick up FFG's school of evocation and use one of the much better written specialized energy specialists.)