What would you like to see in an Elemental Magic guide?

[PenguinKing]

I tried that sort of thing once. You can check out the results here, if you care - what I'm looking for in an elemental sourebook is that, but bettter thought-out and less crappy.

(If you see anything you feel like stealing, don't sweat it - I have no aspirations of authorship, so just credit me and swipe away. )

- Sir Bob.

 

[Loric]

Take a look at the 2e Rolemaster Elemental Companion for a little more inspiration, it encompases something like 22 seperate elements including such things as time, void, aether, gravity, plasma, vacid, spirit, nexus, etc. Each is given a brief desription and list of properties. The book also includes a large selection of elemental materials, interractions between the elements, as well as some other interesting ideas. Its worth taking a look at for ideas.

Loric

 

[Carnifex]

*quick bump*

 

[Carnifex]

Okay, I've been organising my notes and ideas and have made more progress. I've settled on giving guidelines for the following elemental set-ups:

'Classic 4' - Earth, Air, Fire, Water

'Energies' - In this version, the elements are seen as the five powerful and destructive forces innate to the world, rather than the building blocks of creation - Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic, Acid

'Oriental' - Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, Wood

I've alos included a paragraph about the paraelements as well.

 

[Nightfall]

Mm not bad Chris. I hope it works out for you.

 

[Seule]

Your main problem is that the key feat you pretty much have to use is Energy Substitution, and that's in non-open source books. Once they get into the SRD, if ever, you're fine, but until then, you'll have to work around.

--Seule

 

[Carnifex]

Nope, fortunately the feat Energy Substitution is completely unnecessary, and even perhaps a little undesireable because, as an earlier poster mentioned, you end up with just different versions of the same spell for all the elements, rather than them being more distinct in terms of what spells they have.

 

[Loric]

So really what you need to do is define the effects that each element excells at, in order to make each unique if you want to avoid the ice ball, water ball, fire ball scenario. There is going to be some overlap amongst the elements, as different elements could generate the same base effect for different reasons, but each should have areas in which it is either unique or outclasses the other elements. Is that kind of what you are heading towards?

Loric

 

[Carnifex]

Loric: Thing is, without energy substitution a factor in it anyway, there's no problem with an (insert element here)-ball scenario here. I'll still be giving the elements defining characteristics through the crunchy bits, but the whole idea of the different elements would be a bit pointless if all they were was different coloured magical blasts. So yes, what you've described is part of it, but it is a rather basic part which sort of goes without saying, as it were.

 

[Nightfall]

Not to mention not ALL elemental magic involves altering the existing compontents of a spell. Course it WOULD be interesting to see a spell that made a kind of icy teleporting field.