Editing Elementalist (section)

==In D&D==
[[Dungeons & Dragons]] has touched on [[elementalism]] multiple times throughout its life, although no Elementalist ever really caught on. Perhaps partially this might be due to the fact that D&D has experiemented with both arcane and divine elementalists.

===Divine Elementalists===
The idea of elemental priests dates back to at least [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition, when the [[Cleric Domain|Spheres]] mechanic debuted in the 2e [[Player's Handbook]] for [[cleric]] PCs. Here, one of the Spheres of Influence that a god might offer was the Elemental sphere, which was further subdivided into Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Aside from giving the cleric unique spells, there was no real mechanical benefit to playing an elemental cleric by default; it took the [[Dark Sun]] setting to introduce some real mechanical might to this idea.

In 3rd edition, Spheres morphed into the [[Cleric Domain]] system, and clerics could once again take the Air, Earth, Fire or Water domain from the start. Each of these domains granted the cleric some unique spells, as well as the ability to Turn [[elemental]]s of the opposing element and Rebuke elementals of the same element. Not exactly a major milestone.

After 3rd edition, the cleric lost its major association with elemental magic. In 4th edition, the [[druid]] was largely associated with elemental magic, and that primarily through its damaging spells. And in 5th edition, currently, none of the elemental domains have resurfaced so far; the closest is the Light domain, which combines elements of the old-school Fire and Sun domains.

====Athasian Priests====
[[Dark Sun]] wanted to stand out from the crowd of other D&D settings, and one of the ways it did this was by removing gods from the setting entirely. There are implied to have been gods in the lost Green Age, as Athas is still home to ''raaigs'' - the ghosts of ancient [[cleric]]s and [[paladin]]s of faiths now lost to modern Athasians - but the Sorcerer-Kings stamped out all religions other than those venerating themselves or the elements.

In AD&D, all elemental clerics were restricted to choosing the appropriate Elemental sub-sphere. Their rules remained remarkably consistent, staying the same throughout the original campaign boxed set, the revised campaign boxed set, and the Athasian priest [[splatbook]] "Earth, Air, Fire and Water". Athasian elemental clerics do not gain followers by levelling up, but they do gain these special powers:
* From 5th level, once per day, a cleric can "ignore their element" for rounds equal to their level. This lets water and earth clerics move through that material as if it weren't there, lets air clerics ignore the effects of strong wings, and makes them immune to damage directly caused by their elements - fire clerics can't be burned, earth clerics ignore hits from stone weapons, etc.
* From 7th level, a cleric can summon elemental matter of their element 1/day, summoning 1 cubic foot of material per level over 6th. 

They also benefited from the fact that Dark Sun introduced a generic clerical "Conjure Elemental" spell as a 5th level spell, whereas vanilla D&D clerics only had access to the higher level and more specific "Conjuer Earth Elemental" and "Conjure Fire Elemental" spells.

''Earth, Air, Fire and Water'' expanded the elemental cleric by presenting the existence of Paraelemental Clerics (which on Athas are regarded as Rain, Sun, Silt and Magma, rather than Ice, Ooze, Magma and Smoke) and allowing elemental clerics to gain access to their connected Paraelemental and Quasielemental Spheres if they achieved levels over 20th - they gained a new Paraelemental Sphere at levels 21 and 25, and a new Quasielemental Sphere at levels 23 and 27. The high-level elemental cleric's Ignore Element and Gate Elemental Matter abilities function for accessed para/quasi-elements as well.

It also expanded the powers of the standard elemental cleric. Whilst their basic abilities remain as described above, at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, elemental clerics can choose a number of minor powers unique to their elemental sphere. It also presents the optional 5th level class power of "Sacrifice"; this takes the otherwise Earth Cleric exclusive ability to spend hit points to feed a defiler's spell in lieu of it actually draining the life from the land itself, and makes it something that all elemental clerics can potentially do if the DM permits.

Cleric/[[Psion]]icists can instead choose to transform into [[elemental]]s after hitting level 20, in a wimpier analogue to the [[Athasian Dragon]] and [[Avangion]] transformations.

Playing a paraelemental cleric is more or less identical to playing an elemental cleric. They have the same Ignore Element and Gate Elemental Matter abilities, only theirs only apply to their specific paraelement - sun, rain, silt or magma. At levels 21 and 25, they gain access to a "parent" elemental sphere; Magma clerics gain access to Earth and Fire, for example, and so can use their innate abilities to ignore and conjure those materials. The big difference is lore-wise. In short, elemental clerics, and paraelemental clerics of Rain, are all about fighting [[defiler]]s and battling to restore Athas - but paraelemental clerics of sun, silt and magma actually ''benefit'' from Athas' ongoing destruction by defiling magic, and so are usually evil. This despite the fact that a sun cleric was actually one of the heroes in the [[Prism Pentad]], but hey, it is a pulpy desert-themed post-apocalyptic world.

Unlike elemental clerics, who can take different minor powers as they age, all paraelemental clerics have a defined and expanded list of major powers beyond the Ignore Element and Gate Elemental Matter abilities. These abilities are as follows:
* '''Silt Clerics''' can walk on silt at will from 9th level, and control 1 cubic foot of silt per level for rounds equal to the cleric's level from 11th level.
* '''Sun Clerics''' gain immunity to solar dangers (they don't sunburn, can't be blinded, halve their water requirements, suffer no ill effects from sun exposure, and are immune to the spell Blistering Rays) at 3rd level, and at 4th level gain a +2 bonus to saves against spells involving sun, heat or flame, but a -2 penalty to saves vs. spells or conditions revolving around ice, cold or snow.
* '''Magma Clerics''' gain a +2 bonus to saves vs. heat, fire and magma spells, alongside a -2 penalty to saves vs. water and ice spells, at 1st level. At 8th level, they can evaporate 10 gallons of water per level through an act of will 1/day, but it takes 1 hour per 10 gallons targeted for the evaporation to take place.
* '''Rain Clerics''' become completely immune to storm hazards at 3rd level; they can't be struck by lightning, their health remains unaffected by the rain, and the wind doesn't bother them, though magical storms and lightning bolt spells still bother them - they do have a +2 to saves vs. rain or water-based attacks. However, when in direct sunlight, they suffer a -2 penalty to all saving throws. At 8th level, they can cast Call Lightning 1/day.

In 3rd edition, elemental clerics are simply ordinary clerics who took the appropriate elemental domain.

4th Edition would have Elemental Priest return as a Character Theme, giving the option for some extra powers each level and all focused on summoning the spirits of Athas' ravaged lands. These spirits were all separate than the spirits that the [[Shaman]] could summon, and even gave it access to its own unique [[Paragon Path]]s in the Rainbringer and Smoking Crown Initiate. Similar to this is the Primal Guardian theme from the same book, which focused on more of a defensive angle by channeling the elements into their weapons. These would be more akin to the [[Warden]] by nature of their daily attacks transforming them into elemental spirits of their own right.

===Arcane Elementalists===
The first time an arcane elementalist appeared was during the days of [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Here, in the Elementalist first appeared as a [[Specialist Wizard]] in the "Tome of Magic" splatbook, alongside its more famous sibling, the [[Wild Mage]].

This AD&D specialist functioned much like its kin. The four [[element]]s of AD&D - Earth, Fire, Water and Air - were each treated as a distinctive sub-schools within an Elementalist school. As such, the first thing you did was pick which sub-school you specialized in; spells classified as belonging to the "rival" sub-school (Earth/Air, Water/Fire) were your prohibited spells, but otherwise you could learn any arcane spell. That said, you paid for this versatility with greater difficulties learning spells outside of your school; whilst you had a +25% chance to learn sub-school spells and a +15% chance to learn spells from the "adjacent" sub-schools, you suffered a -25% chance when trying to learn a spell that wasn't a member of the elemental school.

Other bonuses you gained from this specialization consisted of:
* +2 bonus to saving throws against elemental spells from your sub-school.
* Enemies take a -2 penalty to saving throws against elemental spells you cast that belong to your sub-school.
* You gain 1 bonus spell memorization slot per level, although these bonus spell-slots must be filled with elemental spells from your sub-school.
* Once per day, when casting a spell from your elemental sub-school, you can overcharge it, casting it with a level boost of +1d4.
* When creating spells, if the spell is from your elemental sub-school, treat its level as being 1 level lower to determine the difficulty of its creation (for example, a Water Elementalist trying to create an ice or water version of Fireball finds it only as hard as trying to invent a new 2nd level spell, rather than its actual 3rd level status).
* At 15th level, you don't need to concentrate in order to maintain control over summoned elementals from your sub-school.
* At 20th level, you no longer need to fear summoned elementals from your sub-school turning on you when you conjure them.

This [[kits|specialization]] was later reprinted in "Domains of Dread", the first attempt at making a proper campaign setting out of [[Ravenloft]]. Here, they picked up one new unique bonus: if an elementalist provokes a [[Powers Check]] by casting a spell from their sub-school, then that check's percentage is halved (rounding down) - however, the same mechanics that allow them to use their elemental magic to shield themselves from the gaze of the [[Dark Powers]] makes them especially vulnerable to attracting their attention through other forms of magic, meaning all other spells cast by an elementalist that provoke a Dark Powers Check ''increase'' that check's percentage by half (rounding up). This means that a fire elementalist who casts a spell to perform a deed that would normally provoke a 14% Dark Powers check drops it to a 7% check if they use a fire spell and raises it to a 21% check if they use any other kind of spell.

Perhaps not the most impressive class, but certainly better designed than the crock of steaming shit that was the [[Arcanist]].

Alternative takes on the Elementalist would appear in the [[Al-Qadim]] setting for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], in the form of two new [[kits]] (technically variant specialist wizards): the Elemental Mage, and the [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]].

The ''Elemental Mage'' was the Zakharan equivalent of the Tome of Magic Elementalist - yes, this was kind of stupid, and they even admitted the idea had been done before in the Tome of Magic. Elemental Mages gained the following bonuses, at the cost of being completely unable to '''any''' spell that wasn't either a Universal spell or part of their chosen elemental proficiency:
* +40% chance to learn spells belonging to your chosen elemental.
* +2 bonus to all saving throws against attacks using your chosen element.
* -2 damage per damage die against attacks using your chosen element.
* +2 to all proficiency and ability checks involving your chosen element.
* +1 damage per damage die with attacks you make that involve your chosen element.

The ''Zakharan Sorcerer'' is a variant Elemental Mage that trades potency for versatility. Their only special advantage is a +20% chance to learn elemental spells - however, they can learn spells from ''two'' elements, instead of just one.

To add to their flavor, Zakharan elementalists referred to the four elements as Sand (Earth), Wind (Air), Sea (Water) and Flame (Fire). Also, for flavor reasons, the only native [[wizard]]s in Zakhara were elementalists and [[sha'ir]], with other kinds of wizard being designated as "Ajamis"; these bastards are regarded with social fear and distrust, and can't learn new spells whilst in Zakhara, as all native magic is based on genie teachings that outsiders can't grok, although they always have the option to convert to one of the native wizard kits.

The next official D&D Elementalist appeared in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] 4th edition, in the sourcebook "Heroes of the [[Elemental Chaos]]". Whilst this sourcebook provided new elemental-themed powers for many classes, as well as elementalism character themes, it also featured the Elementalist: an Essentials [[Variant Class]] for the [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]]. Running on Essentials'... unique approach to 4e classes, the 4e Elementalist had a unique spell source (elemental magic), and also has no daily or encounter powers; they cast a range of metamagic enhanced at-will powers using their own Elemental Escalation ability. Elementalists pick a specific element and run with it, gaining a specific set of abilities depending on whether you favour earth, fire, air, water or heart.

Considering when Heroes of Elemental Chaos was released, any similarity to any characters in [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]] is almost certainly intentional.

However, another [[elementalism]] class had preceded the elementalist proper. In the pages of [[Dragon Magazine]] came the Pyromancy school for the [[Mage]] (itself a variant class of the wizard), a form of elementalist focused entirely on killing things with fire. Like all Mage schools, being a Pyromancer translated as a set of three class features gained at levels 1, 5 and 10, with the option to "dabble" in that school by gaining its first two features at levels 4 and 8.
* Pyromancy Apprentice: You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with arcane fire attacks. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level. Additionally, your attacks ignore fire resistance.
* Pyromancy Expert: You gain a +2 bonus to Bluff checks and Intimidate checks.
* Pyromancy Master: When you use an area or close arcane fire attack power that is not already a zone, the area of the attack becomes a zone that lasts until the end of your next turn. Creatures that end their turns within the zone take fire damage equal to your Constitution modifier.

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