I've been using this idea for a story I've been working on for a while now, but now I think about it, it might work well in an RP as well. An Elemental RPG might be fun, no? Here's the general outline of my idea:
The Earth was not created by God, nor was it made over billions of years as many believe. It was a short, violent process, initiated by the four original elements. Earth, water, air, and fire. Fire and air, and earth and water were the compatible elements - fire and water, and air and earth were not. Water sought to put out the flame, and earth refused to mold to the air's whims. Earth feared the fire would destroy everything and leave nothing unburned. There was balance, and yet there was not. Then, two more elements rose from the clashes between the four - darkness and light. The raw elements were too powerful for their own good - the six would have destroyed one another, and all would have been lost to chaos.
The Elementals - six different types of tribes of magic-wielders - were born from the warring elements. The originals were known as the Raw Powers. Their magic was pure, and they had abilities the Elementals of today can't even begin to dream of. They looked to the forces of nature, which they called Mother Earth, Brother Wind, Sister Moon, and Father Sun, to see if their creations would survive or not, and didn't step in to intervene if it seemed things were grim. After Man evolved, one of the Elementals fell in love with a Man girl. One day they were caught while meeting, and they had to flee. But they came back, with a daughter. She was the first half-blood. Half magical, half not, she was still more powerful than any of the Elementals that exist now. And so the magic of the Elementals began to seep into the human population.
The RP begins in the year 2200. Humans have destroyed their own societies through constant war, forcing them to revert to a primal way of life; hunting, gathering, farming, building their own shelters and making their own clothes to survive. The ones humans call Elementals now barely hold a fraction of the power of their ancestors. The reason for that is because the blood, and the magic, has become so mixed with non-magical blood, that the magic has been steadily spreading and decreasing every generation. Some places are nothing but magical, and these places are where the more powerful Elementals are attempting to build their power back up to the level it once was at; in others there is only the rare spark that generates fear among the humans, and causes the new Elemental to flee from the way they're treated there.
Elementals are identified by special markings on their skin, specifically on their faces around the left eye. The markings are tribal in design, and their color and shape varies depending on the magic type the Elemental is born with. Deep red stands for fire. Deep blue for water. Blue-green stands for air, and dark green stands for earth. Black and white stand for dark and light respectively. The markings are faint at birth and only start to become apparent when the Elemental is in their mid- to late-teens. How dark (water, darkness, earth, fire) or bright (air, light) the color is is an indication of how powerful the Elemental is. When they're just learning to use their Elements, they look like ordinary humans with faint markings on their eyes. But as they get older and more experienced, more intricate designs appear on their arms and legs, and their irises and pupils gradually fade out to be replaced with the color that stands for their element.
The respective markings can be seen
here.
Each type of Elemental has a unique ability. It is difficult but not impossible for them to learn a little of the other elements as well, as long as the elements are compatible.
Earth Elementals: can mold the earth to their whims. They can grow young plants and add nutrients to the soil to keep their gardens healthy, and they can likewise kill plants by choking the nutrients out of the earth. They can shift rock as well, but this takes quite a bit of effort and concentration. If they so wish, they can learn a little of manipulating water as well, but often shrink away from those who use fire magic, having an instinctive fear of it.
Fire Elementals: can create fire and do with it whatever they wish; bend it into intricate shapes to tell a story, use it to heat a home, clear a field, or simply to burn things. They can learn a little air magic if they so wish, but are vulnerable to water magic.
Water Elementals: can manipulate water as they like, be it by using it to douse a fire, squeezing it out of the earth, moving it into a glass, or freezing or melting it. They've been known to make beautiful ice sculptures. Water Elementals can learn some earth magic, but have a disadvantage against Air Elementals, as air has some ability to push hard enough against water that the water is forced to bend to its will.
Air Elementals: can manipulate the air as they want. They can use it to fan a flame, warm or cool the air in their homes, and often they're able to control the weather to a certain degree. While they can learn some fire magic, they are vulnerable to earth magic as their ability to control air does little against it.
Darkness Elementals: can manipulate the darkness around them to create shapes, which can be used to tell a story or terrify an enemy. They can also drag an enemy into the shadows, where their opponents are virtually helpless and at their mercy. They can learn some light magic, but not much, as they are also vulnerable to it.
Light Elementals: these are the only Elementals able to heal wounds. This is an ability much envied and sought after by humans and other Elemental types alike, and the skill is highly valued among magic-wielders of this type; the better a Light Elemental is at healing, the more respected they are. They are able to create small spheres of light for practical use, or make a blinding flash to stun and temporarily blind enemies. They can learn a little darkness magic, but not much, as they are also vulnerable to it.
Then there are the humans. Humans have very little technology even though it's the year 2200, as stated before. Their homes and almost all technology has been destroyed by constant wars and bombings which made their previous homes in cities and towns uninhabitable. They split into a few main categories; hunters, farmers, gatherers, seamstresses and builders. Hunters, obviously, are in charge of hunting the local fauna. Farmers grow their own produce and trade some of it for other things such as clothing, herbs, and meat. Gatherers go into the wilds in search of precious herbs that can be used to flavor food, help wounds heal or cure illness, as most medicines have also been destroyed. Builders are the ones who build homes and make sure they are secure enough to live in. And seamstresses are the ones who make the clothing. Children are in no short supply, and most teens begin working at the jobs they like or excel in as soon as they hit their mid-teens.
So what do you think?
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross
"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown