Elemental Hierarchy

A unified taxonomy of elemental forces structured according to the three methods of higher-dimensional interaction recognized within SystemRPG cosmology: Primal, Arcane, and Divine.
Each represents a distinct mode of interfacing with the fundamental energies of existence.

I. Primal Elements

Source: The living world — instinct, nature, and raw existence.
Nature: Tangible, experiential, evolutionary.
Scope: Forces that exist because the world must live, move, and transform.

Domains:

• Material — earth, stone, water, fire, air, metal, wood.

• Energetic — lightning, magnetism, sound, gravity.

• Vital — life, blood, spirit, beast, plant, toxin.

II. Arcane Elements

Source: The mind and meaning — perception, will, and understanding.
Nature: Symbolic, transformative, conceptual.
Scope: Forces that exist because consciousness interprets and shapes reality.

Domains:

• Mental — charm, illusion, psionic.

• Conceptual — luck, fate, order, chaos, entropy, time, space, nature.

• Alchemical — transmutation, catalyst, antimony, paradox.

• Metaphysical — law, balance, good, evil.

III. Divine Elements

Source: Higher resonance — belief, myth, and archetype.
Nature: Transcendent, narrative, self-referential.
Scope: Forces that exist because meaning itself attains divinity and acts upon the world.

Domains:

• Mythic — angelic, demonic, dragonic, phoenix, undeath.

• Celestial — solar, lunar, radiant, astral, cosmic.

• Infernal — hellfire, corruption, despair, blight.

• Cosmic — creation, logos, primordial, dream, destiny.

Footnote: Extrareal Substrates

• Aether — the higher-dimensional generative substrate beyond reality; the source of all mana and the fountainhead of creation.

• Nether — the inverted, entropic substrate beneath reality; consumes and unravels meaning to reclaim essence into uncreation.

Both exist outside the elemental hierarchy. They generate and dissolve all elemental phenomena but are not elements themselves. Only beings of System Administrator tier or equivalent comprehend or manipulate them directly.

Unified Elemental Hierarchy for SystemRPG

I. Material Elements

Definition: Tangible, physical building blocks of existence; interact with physics and matter.
Subcategories:

• Basic / Classical

  • Earth / Stone

  • Air / Wind

  • Water / Ice

  • Fire

• Derivative / Extended

  • Metal

  • Wood / Plant

  • Toxic / Poison

  • Cold (subset of Air/Ice)

  • Gravity

  • Magnetic

II. Energetic Elements

Definition: Forces, fields, and interactions that govern energy, motion, and influence.
Subcategories:

• Natural Forces

  • Lightning

  • Sound / Song / Vibration (Acibas)

  • Radiation / Radiance

  • Darkness / Shadow

• Cosmic Forces

  • Starfire

  • Voidlight

  • Netherflame

  • Solar

  • Lunar

• Conceptual Forces of Physics

  • Aether

  • Nether

  • Over / Under / Other (dimensional variants)

III. Vital Elements

Definition: Energies tied to life, soul, spirit, and essence of beings.
Subcategories:

• Biological / Animistic

  • Life / Death

  • Wild / Heart

  • Primal / Beast

  • Plant (shared with Material)

• Spiritual / Esoteric

  • Soul

  • Astral / Dream

  • Celestial

  • Infernal

  • Primordial (proto-life / raw creation)

IV. Mental / Conceptual Elements

Definition: Forces rooted in perception, thought, consciousness, and information.
Subcategories:

• Cognitive / Psychic

  • Psionic

  • Illusion / Imagination

  • Temporal / Divination

  • Luck / Karma

  • Knowledge / Arcane / Enigma

• Narrative / Semantic

  • Logos / Word / Language / Name / Story

  • Dream (bridges to Vital)

  • Memory (implied)

• Alchemical / Transformative

  • Catalyst / Transmutation

  • Antimony / Paradox (philosophical alchemy; duality anchor)

V. Metaphysical Elements

Definition: Abstract, governing principles that shape reality itself.
Subcategories:

• Law and Chaos

  • Order / Chaos

  • Balance

  • Entropy / Creation (as generative and degenerative duality)

• Existential Constants

  • Fate

  • Death (overlaps with Vital)

  • Dream / Reality Boundary

  • Space / Void (linked to Aether family)

VI. Mythic / Archetypal Elements

Definition: Living embodiments and narrative extremes of elemental forces.
Subcategories:

• Primal Beings / Totemic

  • Dragon

  • Phoenix

  • Nature / Plant / Beast

  • Ocean / Storm / Sky

  • Stone / Mountain

• Divine / Infernal

  • Angelic / Celestial

  • Demonic / Infernal

  • Undeath (between Vital & Mythic)

VII. Alchemical / Exotic Elements

Definition: Matter–spirit crossover materials; symbolic or transmutative in nature.
Subcategories:

• Metals & Salts

  • Mercury

  • Antimony

  • Copper

  • Iron

  • Tin

  • Lead

  • Silver

  • Gold

  • Platinum

  • Sulfur

  • Salt

  • Crystal

  • Blood

• Hybridized Concepts

  • Paradox (dual-state matter/idea)

  • Catalyst (bridge between realms)

VIII. Cosmic / Absolute Elements

Definition: Ultimate or transcendent forces defining the upper threshold of reality’s hierarchy.
Subcategories:

• Structural Constants

  • Aether (fundamental substrate)

  • Nether (inversion / anti-substrate)

  • Over / Under (meta-directional domains)

• Mythic Extremes

  • Creation / Entropy (dual axis of existence)

  • Logos (the Word; self-referential creation force)

  • Primordial (pre-ontological source)

IX. Suggested Organizational Schema (for System Integration)

Elemental Forces:

1. Earth / Stone
2. Plant / Wood
3. Air / Cold
4. Toxic / Poison
5. Water / Ice
6. Illusion / Imagination
7. Fire
8. Metal
9. Lightning
10. Gravity
11. Temporal / Divination
12. Magnetic
13. Soul
14. Radiance / Darkness
15. Void / Space
16. Entropy / Creation
17. Wild / Heart
18. Luck / Karma
19. Chaos / Order
20. Life / Death
21. Astral / Dream
22. Antimony / Paradox
23. Catalyst / Transmutation
24. Arcane / Enigma / Knowledge
25. Acibas - Audio (Sound and Song) / Vibration
26. Primal / Beast
27. Celestial
28. Infernal
29. Primordial
30. Psionic
31. Logos / Word / Language / Name / Story
32. Aether / Nether / Other / Over / Under