Picture a magic system where all of the elemental forces have access to not only attack spells, but healing and shielding spells as well. What do more unusual forms of healing and shielding look and feel like?
Fire-based healing and shielding?
Water-based healing and shielding?
Electricity-based healing and shielding?
Cold-based healing and shielding?
Air-based healing and shielding?
Earth-based healing and shielding?
Plant-based healing and shielding?
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I figure shielding can usually just be a shield made of the element. Rock wall for earth, swirling wind vortex for air, electromagnetic barrier for electricity, etc. Healing requires you get more esoteric, though. I'm thinking something like:
>Fire
Fire as life energy, animating power. Infuses the target with more energy, cures fatigue and accelerates natural healing.
>Water
Water cleanses and flows. Removes contaminants and reroutes the body's resources to focus on specific problems better.
>Electricity
Similar to fire, infuses the target with an animating spark of power. More potent for fast work, not good at slow and gentle procedures.
>Cold
Cold preserves. Not very good at outright healing, but great at preventing things from getting worse. Can also soothe minor ailments like a cold compress.
>Air
Similar to water, works with ideas of purity and removing obstacles. Alleviates strain on the body and lets it do a better job of its own healing.
>Earth
Similar to cold, earth is an element of stability and is great at holding someone together. Better at letting them heal while under the effects of a spell, the magic equivalent of casts are probably earth spells.
>Plant
Plant is probably the most literal and least esoteric element at healing. It just makes plant-derived medicinal compounds on demand.
Cold-based healing can be simple preservation, but it can also tap into the symbolism of a cool, refreshing drink.
That would be more of a Water association in my opinion. Unfortunately, that would mean that we would need another option for Ice.
I see fire as more 'Cleanse the impurities of the flesh!' type shit, where it works really, really well against curses, diseases and poisons but not so much for just straight up physical trauma.
I would say that electricity is more for fast and dirty band-aid fixes that keep somebody up and fighting for a bit longer but they'll pay the cost for it after the fact.
Got some ideas
> fire: phoenix rebirth. Immolation shield that immediately melts most things that touch it.
> water: picrel. Whirlpool shield, catches and spins projectiles and weaponry.
> electricity: *beep* *beep* *beep* Clear! /defibrillator sound*. Static shield, enemies can get a hit in but they’re sent flying
> cold: Icepacks on wounds isn’t even magic, but you could probably do something with cryogenic surgery.
> Air: regulate a patient’s breathing, unlocking their healing chakra or whatever.
>water: picrel
Where?
Frick, already deleted it. It was Gali from the Mask of Light movie, healing Tahu with a ball of water.
Another Bionicle fan I see. I wish they had done more shit like that with elemental powers, you know?
Sure i'll try
>Fire-based healing and shielding?
H: Sterilization and blood regulatory healing. Fast scabbing or cauterization.
S: Heat shimmer style obfuscation. A shield based on target becoming very difficult to target directly.
>Water-based healing and shielding?
H: Super sweating essentially. Osmosis and reverse osmosis where water enters the body then exits the body carrying pathogens/diseases.
S: Near perfect temperature regulation. The area within the shield would resist high/low temperature attacks. So a fire attack would burn off the outer layer, where as an ice attack would just encase the outer edge.
>Electricity-based healing and shielding?
H: Frankensteins monster. Is necromancy healing? Anyway, flesh animation.
S: Electromagnetism. So anything magnetic would be deflected or act like it got stuck upon striking depending on the flavour chosen by user.
>Cold-based healing and shielding?
H: Kind of a time stop style effect. Could call it preservation, but the way it heals would be just vastly slowing down damage being dealt (IE instead of taking 10 pts of damage in a strike, you would take 2 pts of damage every round for 5 rounds).
S: Almost like kevlar. Dozens of layers of sheets of ice that shatter but dissipate energy accordingly.
>Air-based healing and shielding?
H: Stimulants from inhalation, so increased reflexes, better focus, pain killers, etc.
S: Creates an area of perfect vacuum in sort of a donut like shape around the user, meaning most types of energy wouldn't be able to cross, but most projectiles would fly right through. Basically how a thermos works but held in place with air.
>Earth-based healing and shielding?
H: Recalcification or other such mineral replacement. Instantly set bones, repair teeth, and maybe interact with cartilage, but that might be a stretch.
S: Explosive retaliation? Just to be different, its rocks under extra pressure that explode outwards from where it is struck?
Comment too long, frick plants
Why not ablative armor or explosive reactive armor for fire?
Trying to use ideas that wouldn't be obvious answers. Which is really tough for some of them. Like plant healing is just straight up potions as the easy answer. So a less obvious healing magic for plant magic would be maybe.... I dunno, a good berry that satisfies all food/drink requirements for the day.
What about Life and Death as “elements”, how would shields of those work? Life’s healing is obvious, but do you have any ideas for Death beyond stealing health from others?
Too obvious and universal as elements. Life also overlaps with plant/nature too much.
What about Death then? Besides summoning zombies to take the blow for you I mean.
Preserving elemental identity feels like the most important thing to focus on
>Fire
Destruction, barely contained. Maybe a retaliating shield that doesn't block, only damages attackers. Cauterizing feels like the obvious answer, maybe causes future healing to be worse.
>Water
Gentle stream, crashing river, mutability. Water blocks large caliber bullets really well, but smaller calibers penetrate it alright, maybe a water shield wouldn't work against weaker attacks. Water already feels healy, so mysterious glowing water should do fine for healing. Maybe have the whole element focus on healing
>Air
Unattached, fickle. Feels like "the RNG element" to me. Maybe a strong but unreliable shield, and a heal like the Occultist from Darkest Dungeon (largest heals in the game, but might instead heal for 0 and cause bleed instead)
>Lightning
Strength of the gods, rare. There's a lot of directions to go with lightning, but making lightning magic costly/rare might make it distinct. An overwhelming shield of magnetic repelling, and resurrection of the dead... If you can handle the costs (be they bodily harm, or whatever resource the system uses)
>Plant
Growth, change. I'd imagine a plant shield would be easily broken, but reliably keeps on fixing itself. Regeneration feels right at home for a healing mechanic, and change could be used as a drawback if one is needed. Maybe the roots holding your wound together will start sucking out blood to grow the plant if left as they are?
>Ice
Lack of things, resistance to change. An ice shield feels obvious, if you want to mix it up you could have a mechanic that slows down movement by draining kinetic energy. Cold in healing is used to delay effects, or to prevent things from getting worse, so maybe no healing at all, just temporary HP
>Earth
Ol' reliable. If every option in a setting is unique and wacky, it becomes hard to wrap your head around it. Use earth to ground the setting, basic strong shields, basic slow heals.
How important is elemental identity?
As a general rule, all things in a work should serve some kind of purpose. What's the purpose of having multiple elements if they all feel the same?
Not him, but fair enough. What about a bit of overlap though, how much do you feel is too much?
A bit of overlap is a necessity, and is absolutely not the end of the world. Only if two elements either mechanically are, or subjectively feel, like they should be the same element do you have a problem imo.
Alright, so do you have any examples we can base things on? That did it well of course.
>Genshin Impact RPG
I'd be cautiously interested.
What about Psionics as an “Element”, how would you handle shields and healing of that besides maybe healing the mind for the latter? What about Light, Darkness, Order, Chaos, and other similar “Elements”?
>Psionics
Mind over matter. Convince the body that there is no injury and reality must bow to the fact of your will.
Depending on how esoteric and odd psionics is in setting, could go into the territory of 'undoing' or rewinding injuries.
Shields fall under the usual telekinetic force effects, or perception-filters that mean you're never where the attack was aimed to begin with.
>Death
Get high-conceptual and kill the injury or attack.
The wound is a mark of entropy and death itself upon the temple of your body, excise it and cast it out, and all that remains is unbroken and pure flesh.
The disease cannot harm you, for you have slain it, that spear cannot pierce you, for you have made it as dust.
In the end, it comes down to a choice about if EVERY element can do EVERYTHING and how much you want to bend the idea of the their concept and representation to do so. Very setting and system dependent, and that's not even getting into other arrangements of elements like the Eastern Metal being distinct from Earth, Yin and Yang, the Hermetic wet/dry/cold/hot being universal states, or systems that have the Moon and Sun as distinct elements of their own with a matching 'black' version of every element.
An amusing thought exercise, but in a void without a game or story? Pointless and worthy of little more than what I've already given, and certainly not worth the week or two of bumping this thread is going to get.
>Get high-conceptual and kill the injury or attack.
Doesn’t some Type-Moon property do some shit like that? Garden of Sinners, right?
>Convince the body that there is no injury and reality must bow to the fact of your will.
Here’s an idea, what if you can’t use it on yourself? After all, lying to someone else is easier than tricking yourself like that.
If you're not creative enough to come up with that on your own this hobby isn't for you. Go back to Ganker.
It becomes half conceptual and you tie it in with existing expressions of the 'element' in questions
>Fire
Heals with the soothing heat of a good workout and warm drink on a cold day, shields by burning away the attach before it hits you or explosively deflecting it.
>Water
That full-body sense of weightlessness, healing by granting life and renewing blood, guiding the body in its own repair. Shields with physical barriers of current that push attacks away or to the side, or drag them down like the tide.
>Electricity
Healing is energy and that wired too-awake perfect balance of caffeine and adrenaline, sparks trailing along the wound to pull it closed and visibly transmute from energy to flesh as the power is spent. Shields are flickering things of meeting attacks with equal force to cancel them out or burn them away similar to fire. Could get into the hardlight area depending on other expressions within the system and theme.
>Cold
Inverse of fire, but the similar soothing cold of a chill drink on a hot day, the blessed numbness pulling pain away and locking things in place until you have the time to deal with them. Physical shields blocking things or encasing them before hardening for the crushing strength of growing ice to break the attack in place.
>Air
The sense of healing air is the same feeling of relief at finally being able to drag in a breath of crisp cool air after suffocating, a sudden rush of invigoration and life. Shields are gusts of wind pressing attacks away, or more thematically moving the target out of the line of fire to avoid it entirely. Can also usually get into the 'cutting wind' sort of thing.
>Earth
Earth endures, the stones are the bones of the planet and they lend that solidity when it heals. Cracks filling with dust to solidify, blood crystalizing to close a wound and so on. Shields would be the bedrock or perfectly deflecting crystal facets holding strong against attacks.
>Plants, cause OP image
See Poison Ivy of DC.
>soothing heat of a good workout
Tell me how you've never exercised again.
Yeah, I know anon. They’re obviously unfamiliar with how the aftermath of a real workout actually feels. I mean horrible. Runner’s high is a myth. What would you suggest instead?
Nice way to out yourself.
>Fire-based healing and shielding?
Fire burns away infection, cauterizes wounds and "heats" the metabolism into self healing. Overall kind of messy and risky. Shielding is mostly about burning the incoming projectile before it impacts, has trouble with non-physical things, although more powerful fire can overpower them.
>Water-based healing and shielding?
Controls the flow of blood in the body, adds fluid, promotes the creation of more blood and other fluids. Slower but can heal almost anything or anyone given time. Not that good in an emergency, and requires skill and constant attention. Shields are versatile, simple water turning away attacks, water droplets cool energetic projectiles.
>Electricity-based healing and shielding?
Literal "Shock Therapy." Stimulates the heart, muscles and brain. Not good for cuts and scrapes, but can bring someone back from the brink in a pinch. Shields require precision attacks against the projectile, which requires a lot of skill, but can arc back on the attacker.
>Cold-based healing and shielding?
Preservation. If everything else fails a body can be kept cold until a better healer is found. Otherwise cold can kill infection just as well as fire. But trying to close wounds with cold will often damage the body. Ice shields are some of the strongest and quickest to erect.
>Air-based healing and shielding?
Breathing life into the body. A bit esoteric and not as effective as others in an emergency, but long term healing by air can create a robust body that doesn't need healing in the first place. Air based shields like others turn away physical projectiles with gusts. Can reach farther and protect others easier.
>Earth-based healing and shielding?
Healing minerals and muds. A magical Earth poultice can promote healing. Procurement of rare minerals is the flick of a wrist. Earth shields are nigh impenetrable, but slightly slower than Cold.
>Plant-based healing and shielding?
Roots can wind throughout the body. Vines can shield
>Roots can wind throughout the body.
That sounds like something out of a horror movie. Maybe something like aloe would be better.
I was short on characters.
As well as easy access to all the herbs known to medicine, in an extreme emergency, fine roots can wind their way throughout the body, targeting sites of infection or injury. Rendering Plant based magic the best for healing without much competition. Vines and trees can shield, but they are necessarily slower and with many openings.
Fine roots can be smaller than most eyes can see, its obviously a bit invasive but also more targeted than the others. I often think of plant magic, when its available, as being the best for healing, so I justified it. I tried having each being better and worse than each other, or useful in some circumstances but not others.
Okay, that’s a lot less horrifying. Do you have any more to say on the other elements?
Frick off bumpgay
Why not water magic as the best at healing? The human body IS about 2/3 water, after all.