I was thinking of creating an RPG where each character is relatively high powered, and has dominion over a certain element. However, I do not mean elements such as Fire, Earth, Water, Light, Dark, Sound, etc. I mean Periodic Table of Elements, such as Hydrogen, Boron, Xenon, Einsteinium, Europium, Potassium, Zinc, and so on and so forth. Has this idea been done before?

Hi there,

First off, do you have a real name we can call you by?

Secondly, this sounds very much like the 1970's/80's British TV series 'Sapphire & Steel'. Are you familiar with that? It might not be the direction you want to go in, but it could also be a source of ideas on how the elemental concept has been used in other fictional endeavours.

In game terms, I've certainly seen convention games run on the 'Sapphire & Steel' premise here in Edinburgh, but I'm not familiar with specific games that deal in that area.

Cheers
Malcolm

Not sure about games, but there is an anime 'Seikon no Qwaser' where individuals control one element. Be warned though it is filled with boobies and lactating battle nuns. You might not want those in your game, but I won't judge.

Tanner is the name.

I was thinking of making the powers fall along the lines of the sections of the Table of Elements. Like, on Character Creation, you choose Alkaline Metals or Noble Gases or Transition Metals etc. That way there is an upgrade "string". How the "powers" will fit in this, I don't know. Maybe the player will describe what he wants to do with the power, and the GM will assign a cost. Then you can have maybe 3 powers per element. Then if you have elements that can combine to do compounds, you can use that as a power.

Hi Tanner,

It seems a little bit like inventing the solution before any problem exists. As in your inventing powers before there's any actual situation that calls for or needs powers?

Will the eventual problem be there essentially just to give the players of the game a reason to flourish the powers and display/apply them? It shouldn't sound an odd question, you've said nothing about any game world problems - it makes me think you really just want experimentation and perhaps genre adherance/faithfulness with powers as the main thing of play?

Well, like I said, it's just a base idea. The world will be different no doubt. How exactly, I am not sure yet.

Have you ever seen One Piece? It's an anime set in a pirate-age (its got some funky techno things, but is more renaissance-ish), and in the world there's Devil Fruits which the main character happened to "stumble on" that give special powers. Ranging from becoming a rubberman to causing earthquakes and controling gravity. I suppose we've seen some Periodic Table elements, but they do focus on animal and elements.

I suggest you take a look. It's very funny I promise you a good laugh for 450 episodes, good morales by Eichiro Oda and his team and you'll see what I'm talking about.