Thanks.  We're having a good time working on it and interacting with you guys.

This week I've been working on the new outline for a re-done manual for v1.1 since it's such a significant departure.

Even -I- would agree that its heading in the right direction, with the caveat of separating attack and defense as well as adding damage types.  Fire spells should not harm fire elementals any more than swords against chainmail.  I understand that attack and defense will be separated, but have heard nothing on the second.

Same here, that is why i bought it despite it state month ago. So far I trust Stardock.

@ Winter

Yes.  I'd say that it makes more sense for a 'master channeler' to have the wherewithall to use an element other than fire when attacking a creature made of the stuff.

I think Wintersong means 'fighting fire with fire' here. It reminds me of an anecdote I once heard.

Ah hemm. Long ago, an athiest went up to a man of religion and said, "If your God is so great, tell me how He can punish Satan by damning him to burn in Hell, if Satan himself is a creature of fire?" The man of religion looked sternly at the athiest for a moment and didn't speak. He then bent over and picked up a hard caked clump of earth, and slammed it into the face of the athiest, causing his nose to break and bleed profusely.

Incensed, the athiest had his case brought before a judge. The judge asked the religious man, "Why did you respond to this man's question with such a violent action?". The religious man finally broke his silence and said to the judge, "This man wanted to know how a being of a particular element could be harmed by the same element. Are we not all of the Earth, and formed as the clay is molded?" The judge took a moment to register, and then a knowing look was evident in his eyes. The case was dismissed.

I embellished a little, but the meaning is understood I think. But yeah, I agree with Wintersong.

Continuing the metaphor, I imagine if you hit a person with the same quantity of fire as there was earth in the hard caked clump of earth, they would have a fair bit more than a broken nose.

To use DnD terms, damage Resistance would adequately represent a master enchanter being able to harm a fire elemental with fire. You need to do more than a certain amount to even harm them, and even then that would be lessened. After all, sure a master enchanter would be able to manipulate the fire in such a way to hurt them, but that same master enchanter dousing them with freezing water would be far more effective.

I'm looking at it a little differently. Perhaps fighting fire with fire is not the best way to put it. Let's take Magneto as an example. His special domain of all things metal allows him to turn metal upon itself, and he plays with it as a child does a toy. So, a channeler with masterful expertise in fire should be able to manipulate fire in such a way as to turn it upon itself, or weaken it, or even extinguish it by order of command. You might say such a channeler possesses the hidden secrets of fire.

From a game perspective, I think this would be a very interesting path to take and it would be quite fun to try out specialisation in different elements.