The Elemental Tetrahedron: a Magic System

[Pagerunner he/him]

So, this is an idea I've been tossing around in my head for years, and I finally got all the math worked out to the point I feel comfortable putting it out somewhere. (Yes, you heard me right. There's math in this bad boy.) The concept started off as a way to quantify different Elemental Powers in BIONICLE, and quickly spiraled out of control and recently sucked in some color theory to help bind the whole thing together. Since I'm not active on any BIONICLE fansites anymore, I figured I'd might as well post it here, since some of you all appreciate complicated rules-based magic systems. It's in a Google Doc, so here it is:

The Elemental Tetrahedron: Twenty-Five Elements Explained and Codified

I'm still toying around with some minor images in the doc, but it shouldn't make a difference in understanding it.

Assuming you read the whole thing (now's your chance...), I figured I'd try to fit this into the Cosmere somehow. So, this is Harmony's magic system if he ever Invests in Nalthis. There's a balance between all the Elements; Primary Elements being of Preservation, Anti-Elements being of Ruin, and the other seventeen Elements all due to the balance between the Elemental Sources. Color is the focus on Nalthis; to use an Element, you must match its color. Right now, I'm thinking Initiation would involve bleaching your skin and dyeing it to match that color to give you powers, although I might be open to a hereditary ability that lets you consume flowers of a particular color and burn them like metals on Scadrial. (That actually might make a nice parallel... Elemancy? Colormancy? Allocolorelemancy?)

Anywho, I still consider this to be a Work in Progress, especially with naming many of these Elements. So, feel free to pitch in suggestions.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Pagerunner

[Oversleep]

I love it. I mean, it's

• Bionicle inspired
• a lot of magic stuff
• math, lots of math. And geometry.

What's there not to love?

Isn't Balance striding a little into Time territory? I mean, sensing the repercussions et cetera is similar to future-sight.

[Spoolofwhool]

This is really cool. A very nicely thought out base system. It would be interesting to see if this could be developed further, like actually applying it to a story setting. How would people interface with the system, and how would it affect the world. 

If there are any more updates, I would love to see them.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Spoolofwhool

[Kynedath]

Ahhhh! The math and the magic! It's Perfect! Thank you so much for showing me this pinnacle of creation!