Discussion Main / ElementNumberFive

I have a work-in-progress story where there are a lot of Elemental Powers, one of which is called "aether". It's pretty much treated as this trope, and it's essentially something between Soul Power, I See Dead People, summoning the dead, animating inanimate objects, Mind Control, Telekinesis...and well, I've pretty much nicknamed it "the element of creepy. Bonus Points for one prominent character with this power being a little girl.

But...okay, there's a lot of elements that can basically be Element No. 5. Like...time for example. I dunno, maybe there's a bit of a subversion just due to how many "number fives" there are.

An old favorite of mine, to be sure. I've always adored the "five-element" system in my own RPG campaigns. I tend to (LOOSELY!) tie magic in with science, relating to the phases of matter (Earth=Solid, Water=Liquid, Air=Gas, Fire=Plasma) and then integrate #5 as causality itself, representing the principals that govern the other four elements. I love it when my players explore the Arcane Sciences... I try to reward them for actually using some variation of the scientific method. I know it can only go so far, what with being a fantasy setting and all, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling deep down.