How to create a world with people doing the same daily activities as ours but having also supernatural powers based on the four classical elements?

[Miaristan]

Hi,

I'm here because since I had the idea of creating a fictional world based in a planet similar to Earth with the inhabitants being technically humans but with the ability to master one of the four classical elements (fire, earth, wind, and water).

I would also intend to allow the inhabitants to master only one of the four elements to sort them according to their natural element and it would be based on a mixture of personality types (Ennegram, Myers-Briggs, etc.) and real-world cultural influences.

The thing is if they were attributed supernatural powers based on one of the four elements, how would it affect or alter the types of daily activities and technologies that would exist in this world?

So, thanks, and have a good day!

 

[pmmg]

Well...the world and the people would be so different, as to make this pretty much whatever you want.

If I had water powers, for instance, would I go about watering my plants the same way?

If I had fire powers, would there be signs on public events saying 'no fire powers allowed'?'


I dont think they would make much difference to Enneagrams and personality tests. Introverts would still be introverts. Just capabilities would be different.

 

[Incanus]

If you haven't already, the first thing to do would be to establish how powerful the elemental magic is, and how common or uncommon.

Are the people with a fire ability able to create vast columns of flame and burn down cities? Or are they only capable of making a small candle-sized flame at the ends of their fingertips? Somewhere in between?

After that, spend some time speculating what kinds of things would be different in society, the government(s), the military, etc. What precautions are in effect? What laws might come about? How are people's jobs different?

Play around with the idea for a while. You can always modify it as needed as you draft your story.

 

[Finchbearer]

I can’t imagine people going to work in office jobs if they can wield fire for example…so you’d have to change quite a lot. Would there be some people without magical power? Would some countries make people work for the state in order to control warfare or natural disasters? What would be the plot of the story itself and why would the elemental magic be important to it?

 

[Ban]

I can’t imagine people going to work in office jobs if they can wield fire for example…so you’d have to change quite a lot. Would there be some people without magical power? Would some countries make people work for the state in order to control warfare or natural disasters? What would be the plot of the story itself and why would the elemental magic be important to it?

Why not? If everyone can use these powers, you specifically wouldn't have an advantage using them. And pyromancy doesn't diminish the need for accountants, data analysts or any other office job. No amount of campfires lit will take care of bookkeeping.

To compare it to our world, as humans we have the great capacity to throw things with speed and accuracy, but that doesn't mean lobbing javelins keeps the trains running.

 

[Ban]

The most important change to my mind is that pre-modern construction, land management, agriculture, (maritime) transportation and manufacturing work would be a whole lot more efficient. This increase in productivity may be so great that industrialization as we know it wouldn't happen, simply because it would take too long for the benefits to outweight the costs. Why bother figuring out alternatives to what human labour can do naturally in this setting? Aside from this, I see no reason why people would behave differently. States remain states, towns remain towns and both still desire taxes. Whether you can move around your bathwater with your mind doesn't change the need for a bath, and even if you can light your teapot with your fingertips, the end goal is still drinking tea.

 

[Dror1984]

Consequences. Think about what consequences would those special abilities or powers have in a regular world. Since when are this powers around? Why is the world still "like ours" ??

 

[Finchbearer]

Why not? If everyone can use these powers, you specifically wouldn't have an advantage using them. And pyromancy doesn't diminish the need for accountants, data analysts or any other office job. No amount of campfires lit will take care of bookkeeping.

To compare it to our world, as humans we have the great capacity to throw things with speed and accuracy, but that doesn't mean lobbing javelins keeps the trains running.

Maybe pyromancy would be good for getting rid of confidential waste.

 

[Ban]

Beats buying a shredder.

 

[Finchbearer]

But then I do question if it isn’t just as easy to get a box of matches. I’m going on my own tangent here and that probably isn’t a good thing.

 

[pmmg]

You mean we could just burn it all down? Hmmmm...

 

[ThinkerX]

If magic is that common, then is it magic?

 

[Incanus]

If magic is that common, then is it magic?

I'd say yes. I think it is about the effect, and not how common or rare it is.

 

[JBCrowson]

Would you have people with different levels of magical ability - like we have for pretty much every other thing we can do? Would this lead to a class system where the most magically able are in a higher class? Do the different elements compete with each other? Does an aptitude for one element imply a susceptibility to its opposite?

I imagine societies would develop rules around the use and abuse of magic. Law enforcement would need top level magi to enable them to enforce those rules and catch the rule breakers.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think the most important thing missing from your description is how strong these powers are and what using them costs and so on. If all you can do with using fire is create a small flame large enough to light a candle, and doing so would cost you a year of your life, then it would change very little. If on the other hand, you can conjure immense fireballs out of thin air, and it takes you no more effort than a simple walk in the park, then it would change pretty much everything.

 

[Diana Silver]

Would magical power over fire and water, in daily life, be so different from owning an electric kettle and having central heating? (And firearms I suppose.) Day to day life might just look incredibly similar to our own life since we mastered the power of electricity...

 

[ThinkerX]

Would magical power over fire and water, in daily life, be so different from owning an electric kettle and having central heating? (And firearms I suppose.) Day to day life might just look incredibly similar to our own life since we mastered the power of electricity...

This is the point I made earlier - if magic is abundant and reliable enough for everyday tasks, then is it 'magic' - or merely an alternative power?

 

[Incanus]

This is the point I made earlier - if magic is abundant and reliable enough for everyday tasks, then is it 'magic' - or merely an alternative power?

I'd still say yes. If the effect is magical, then magic made it happen.

Isn't magic, by definition, an alternative power already?

 

[ThinkerX]

I'd still say yes. If the effect is magical, then magic made it happen.

Isn't magic, by definition, an alternative power already?

Magic is supernatural. Wondrous.

 

[Incanus]

Magic is supernatural. Wondrous.

It most certainly is.