New Elemental Cosmology

[Kethrian]

   I started out looking up the quasi-elements for D&D, in order to make the quasi-genasi templates, but came to realize thing had been changed about repeatedly throughout the editions.  So I finally decided to instead break out the elemental list I had been working on in my spare time as the mood struck me.  This does mean that elementals, and genasi templates, should be made for a crap-ton of new things, but I think this list might actually be useful to lots of people, if they care to use it.

   Some background logic for formation choices:  The quasi-elements which use both positive & negative energy are supposed to be representative of what is left when the third element is removed (the "death" of the element).  Para- and quasi-elements with positive energy are typically "energetic" or "beneficial" in design, while ones with negative energy are typically "harmful" or "stagnant".

   I'm still not sure about Moon being a quasi-element, but it's on there for now.  If someone can think of something more appropriate, with a good reason for it, I will swap it out.  Possibly for other elements as well, but I'm pretty happy with the placing of the rest.


New Elemental Cosmology

6 Elements
 - Air
 - Earth
 - Fire
 - Water
 - Positive Energy
 - Negative Energy

15 Para-Elements

- Dust	(Air & Earth)
- Sound	(Air & Fire)
- Mist	(Air & Water)
- Wind	(Air & Positive)
- Gas	(Air & Negative) - toxic gases, specifically (ex: green dragon breath weapon)
- Magma	(Earth & Fire)
- Muck	(Earth & Water) - also called ooze
- Metal	(Earth & Positive)
- Rock	(Earth & Negative)
- Steam	(Fire & Water)
- Light	(Fire & Positive) - also called radiance
- Dark	(Fire & Negative)
- Rain	(Water & Positive)
- Ice	(Water & Negative)
- Death	(Positive & Negative)

20 Quasi-Elements
- Meteor	(Air, Earth, & Fire)
- Moon	(Air, Earth, & Water)
- Force	(Air, Earth, & Positive)
- Rot	(Air, Earth, & Negative)
- Cloud	(Air, Fire, & Water) - typically thunderclouds
- Lightning	(Air, Fire, & Positive)
- Smoke	(Air, Fire, & Negative)
- Storm	(Air, Water, & Positive) - also called tempest
- Poison	(Air, Water, & Negative)
- Vacuum	(Air, Positive, & Negative)
- Oil	(Earth, Fire, & Water)
- Gem	(Earth, Fire, & Positive)
- Obsidian	(Earth, Fire, & Negative) - includes glass
- Wood	(Earth, Water, & Positive) - can include other plants
- Tar	(Earth, Water, & Negative)
- Ether	(Earth, Positive, & Negative)
- Alcohol	(Fire, Water, & Positive)
- Acid	(Fire, Water, & Negative)
- Ash	(Fire, Positive, & Negative)
- Salt	(Water, Positive, & Negative)

[RobbyPants]

It's an interesting idea. What are you planning on using it for? Just the templates, or is it going to play a larger role? Could these all be [tags] for spells and effects?

Personally, I'm not fond of several of the quasi elements on the list. What exactly are they supposed to be (apart from combinations of three elements)? I might have done a few of the para elements differently, but that list is relatively solid, in my opinion.

[Kethrian]

I was eventually planning to turn it into the cosmology of the inner planes.  The elements are supposed to be the building blocks of all creation in D&D, except for magic, which was a major driving factor in my choices.  And yes, I was hoping to turn many things common in D&D, like energy types, into actual elements, hence why Force and Sound are on the list.  As for the quasi-elements, I felt that several of them should be on the list (Wood, Force, Poison, etc), but were too numerous to all fit in the para-elements.  Many other quasi-elements were thought up as space-fillers because I could not figure out something better to take that location, and ended up on there to flesh out the table (Meteor, Moon, Cloud).  Also, I tried to pay homage to the older editions, and included all of the previous para- and quasi-elements from those, though some ended up in new placements (not that they hadn't already been re-arranged a few times).

Using them for tags is a good idea, especially since many already exist as such.  Plus, extra clerical domains could easily be fashioned around them.

[RobbyPants]

Makes sense. Also, if you have a good way to call out various creature types (other than just typed templates), you could create a generic Protection spell, where it would function like Protection from Evil, but against the specified type. Then, you wouldn't need to create a specific spell for each.