Elementalist
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Elementalism is, to put it simply, basically the belief that the universe is comprised of a number of elemental forces that interact in various ways. The two most iconic forms recognized today are "Western" Elementalism (Earth, Air, Water and Fire, sometimes remembering Aether/Ether/Spirit) from Greek mythology and "Eastern" Elementalism (Earth, Water, Fire, Wood, Metal) from Chinese mythology. Naturally, the idea of a spellcaster who focuses on manipulating one or more elemental properties is a very old one, particularly on /tg/ and /vg/. This creates what is known as an Elementalist.
In D&D and Pathfinder
Dungeons & Dragons has touched on elemental-focused spellcasters throughout its life. The first class to actively be called an elementalist was a Wizard Specialization introduced in the Tome of Magic splat for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Basically, you picked one element out of Earth, Air, Water or Fire; you couldn't cast spells at all if they belonged to their opposing element, suffered problems learning non-elemental spells, and got some bonuses for spells from their chosen element. They're easier to learn, they don't work so well on the elementalist, elemental summons are more obedient, etc.
In 2012, WoTC released a sourcebook for D&D 4e that was called Heroes of the Elemental Chaos. It basically was about providing options to run more elementalist versions of a bunch of other classes, but it actually included a sorcerer sub-class called the Elementalist. The subclass has a unique spell source (elemental magic), and has no daily or encounter powers; they cast a range of metamagic enhanced at-will powers using their own Elemental Escalation ability. Elementalists pick a specific element and run with it, gaining a specific set of abilities depending on whether you favour earth, fire, air, water or heart.
Considering when Heroes of Elemental Chaos was released, any similarity to any characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender is almost certainly intentional. But that's OK.
| Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Classes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player's Handbook 1 | Cleric • Fighter • Paladin • Ranger • Rogue • Warlock • Warlord • Wizard | |
| Player's Handbook 2 | Avenger • Barbarian • Bard • Druid • Invoker • Shaman • Sorcerer • Warden | |
| Player's Handbook 3 | Ardent • Battlemind • Monk • Psion • Runepriest • Seeker | |
| Heroes of X | Blackguard* • Binder* • Cavalier* • Elementalist* • Hexblade* • Hunter* • Mage* • Knight* • Protector* • Scout* • Sentinel* • Skald* • Slayer* • Sha'ir* • Thief* • Vampire* • Warpriest* • Witch* | |
| Settings Book | Artificer • Bladesinger* • Swordmage | |
| Dragon Magazine | Assassin | |
| Others | Paragon Path • Epic Destiny | |
| *·: Non-AEDU variant classes | ||
In Pathfinder, elementalists are some of the earliest wizard archetypes added to the game. Advanced Player's Guide adding all four Western Elementalist archetypes, whilst Ultimate Magic allowed Eastern Elementalists by adding Wood and Metal mage archetypes.
In Mage: The Awakening
In Mage: The Awakening, any mage can style themselves as an elementalist by using the Matter and Forces spheres. There are also several Elementalist-themed Legacies in the various splats.