Toying with Magic

[Asura Levi]

Hi there, how are you guys doing?
I'm fine, , thanks for asking.

I was review some rather old notes I have and end up playing again with a different system of magic.

This 'new' system, is divided into 3 and 2 elements, which can be combined. Okay, let's name it.
The first 3 are made of Air, Water and Earth, the last 2 of Heat and Cold

One could manipulate any of the Three by itself, same goes for the Two. But they can be combined in the following:
Metal > Earth and Heat
Plants > Earth, Water and Heat (if to grow) or Cold (if to decay, <- not really sure if this make sense)
Ice > Water and Cold
Mist > Air and Cold
Rain > Water, Air and Heat
Snow > Water, Air and Cold (yes, these two is on the lines of 'making rain/snow', weather manipulation. Might be too simplistic though.)
Dust (or loose sand) > Earth, Air and Heat
Fire > Air and Heat

This is what I came with so far.
Dunno how to include lightning here.

I know that could is a bit far-fetched, as cold is merely the absence of heat. The idea is that cold and heat are part of a single Energy element, but the magicians would be more adept to one side or another.

The big question: how does it look like? Any tweaks/adjustments that can be made?

 

[wordwalker]

Interesting. I'm always up for combined element systems, and I agree about unifying heat and cold-- call it being able to manipulate the one force in two different ways, or maybe just the difference between adding and subtracting its energy to a spell.

My thoughts:

Since lightning comes from static electricity, you might say it's Earth+Heat-- or more likely Earth+Air+Heat, or just Air+Heat. Any of those would give it an interesting relationship to Fire, and I always think the two should be related. (In fantasy I think the fact that they're separate energies means less than how that both are primarily weapons and that primeval fires were caused mostly by lightning.)

Using Air+Heat would mean moving Fire, say to Earth+Heat-- which I think makes sense. Air doesn't burn, only things made of Earth do. (And if heat is its own force, pure heated air doesn't need to be a combination, you just throw raw Heat at anything you want to warm.)

And using Earth+Heat for fire, or for lightning in the first place, means it can't be Metal any more, and I like that too. (Metal's just purified Earth; the only differences between shaping it and regular random earth might be if it needed more power if it's stronger, or maybe it's easier because it's simpler and more ductile, or takes more control because it isn't as full of natural patterns and spirits. But believe me, I cheered in Avatar when Toph "invented" metal-bending just by realizing earth-benders hadn't paid enough attention to their minerals.) Or "metal" magic could be an Earth spell that mages often prefer to cast as Earth+Heat anyway, since metal doesn't catch fire but adding heat does make it more malleable. Or I suppose metal might be Earth+Water+Heat, to represent how it bends and melts cleanly like a liquid, unlike stiff old rock or crumbling loam.

 

[Devor]

I'm glad you're doing fine.

So, my first thought, looking at your system, is that it looks like you have a list of Metal and Wood and so on, and are forcing it to work. If it were me, I would start with a chart, and see which working combinations this actually gives you. You have a finite range of combinations - all of which would be tried in your setting - but you're only looking at a handful of them in your post, and some of them only half work.

Air + Cold = Mist
Air + Heat = Radiation maybe?

Water + Cold = Ice
Water + Heat = Steam

Earth + Cold = Stone
Earth + Heat = Embers

That's only about half the full list, but to me it's starting to look a little more coherent. It feels more natural to think about how the results would change as you add or remove new elements.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lightning storms happen when a hot front meets a cold front; therefore,

Air + Heat + Cold = Lightning

or technically,

(Heat + Air) + (Cold + Air) = Lightning

 

[K.S. Crooks]

As you state in reality cold doesn't exist. There is only heat or the absence of it. you could make adding or removing heat the power and a person can be able to do one part but not the other. Mist and fog is water that hangs in the air. Technically the water condenses around a particle (salt, pollen, gain of sand). Air and Cold could make Frost since the air would release its moisture onto the ground and it would freeze. Having lightning would also be interesting as its own power, I would treat is the same as Heat because it isn't a physical entity like Air, Earth or Water. If you don't want Lightning to be a separate force then you can have Earth and Air create it. Basically a dust cloud crate a static charge when the sand particle rub together. Earth and Fire= Lava, Earth and Cold=Tremor. Hope this helps.

 

[Asura Levi]

You are kind of absolutely right Devor. I'm rather forcing some stuff yes, but the thing is, after coming with the 3 and 2 elements, metal and plant were the first that came to mind, later I start to think about other combinations.

The basics for this system is, in a world, you have land, and water, and air above it. Then you have warm and cold places. Everything else is a combination.

My intention of putting metal as earth and heat is because metal itself wouldn't be malleable, you need head to bend it, sort of.
As for Fire being air and heat, it is more like just manipulation as you pointed out wordwalker
Wood will stay, probably, but it needs to be harder, after all, wood is a living organism, different of anything else. Animals are far more complex to be affected, but simpler tissues is an option (you know, for healing magic).
EDIT: By wood I mean plants in general.

I like your idea Legendary Sidekick, cold + air and heat + air for lightning, which would make almost impossible for a single person to do it as you tend to one side of the spectrum. It might be possible, in a crippling overspecialization way.
Your ideas/way of thinking is rather cool as well Devor.

The more I look at it, the more complex and confusing it becomes, which is not a bad thing.
Thank you all for the feedback.