Bending Techniques Level System
Bending Techniques Level System
The Bending Techniques Level System is designed to represent the progressive mastery of bending in the world of Avatar: The Pillars of Creation. As benders develop their skills, they gain access to more complex, powerful, and controlled abilities. Each level represents a tier of proficiency, with higher levels unlocking new bending possibilities.
Level 1 - Initiate (Basic)
Techniques in this rank are more effective and require a moderate amount of control. They are usually used in combat or for practical tasks but do not consume significant stamina.
Level 2 - Adept (Moderately Powerful Techniques)
Advanced techniques require significant control, creativity, and stamina. Benders using these techniques have a strong grasp of their element and can manipulate larger quantities in more sophisticated ways.
Level 3 - Master (Highly Skilled Techniques)
Elite techniques are complex, powerful, and require a deep understanding of the element. They often involve bending large areas or manipulating the element in creative, unexpected ways.
Level 4 - Virtuoso (Master Level Techniques)
The highest-ranked techniques are near legendary in their power and require the utmost mastery. They are often used in rare, critical situations. These techniques push the boundaries of what is possible with bending.
Bending Tier Table
| Bending Level | Stamina Requirements | Damage Output |
| Initiate: D-Rank | 10 Stamina | 20 Damage / Durability |
| Adept: C-Rank | 15 Stamina | 30 Damage / Durability |
| Master: B-Rank | 20 Stamina | 40 Damage / Durability |
| Virtuoso: A-Rank | 30 Stamina | 60 Damage / Durability |
Template for all Bending Techniques (Including Custom Techniques):
- Technique Name:
- Element & Style: (Specify the bending element, e.g., Fire, earth, Water, and the specific style or sub-style of bending, e.g., Lava Bending, Metalbending, Healing, etc.)
- Category: (Offensive, Defensive, Utility, Support, or Environmental Control)
- Level: (Initiate = D, Adept = C, Master = B, Virtuoso = A: Determines the complexity and required skill level of the bender.)
- Range: (Close, Mid, Long-range, Environmental - Depending on the technique's impact and use in combat or non-combat situations.)
- Stamina Cost: (10 to 40 - A representation of stamina, reflecting the ebb and flow of bending)
- Environmental Affinity: (None, Favorable, Unfavorable - Describes whether the technique is enhanced by specific environmental conditions, e.g., waterbending techniques being stronger near large bodies of water or during a full moon.)
- Effect Duration: (Instant, Sustained (X turns), Passive - How long the technique's effect lasts or if it has a lingering passive effect.)
- Damage: (20 to 80)
- Description: A brief description of the technique and its effects.
The Art of Bending (How-to Guide)
Bending is a very physically attuned Action for a player's bio, and it should go without saying almost immediately that each player will be required to describe that well enough when using their abilities (except for the rare cases where movement isn’t required). With this in mind we will break down each moment of a single Bending usage. The first phase is Preparation, where the player will begin gathering the required Stamina for the technique before even beginning to move. Next comes Molding where the player must move their body in specific manners tied to the Bending Style and element being utilized, in this stage the element in question has not been ‘released’ into the World yet and can be imagined as being carried through the user’s body up until the third phase: Release, where the technique in its entirety is released whether from the surrounding environment or the user themselves. Each Bending action then requires three distinct prerequisite actions to be considered performed: The expenditure of Stamina (Prep), the movement of this energy throughout the body and/or environment (Mold), and then the element actually appearing with physical presence and effects (Release). Though each phase is distinct, they flow into one another flawlessly, and can rarely be interrupted due to the speed and nature of Bending.
Consider a novice Earth Bender, about to perform a standard Rock Pillar attack. It can be described as (with the barest details required):
“Ken gathers chi in his mid-section as he raises a leg high into the air. As he stomps down onto the ground with this leg he transfers the chi from his body, through his leg, and into the ground, Bending a sizable pillar of earth out of the ground to jab his opponent.”
The above example can be considered a single technique performed and it becomes the other player’s directive to respond to the Released technique. In case you’re wondering how one would respond to such a move, let’s use Ken’s rival, Ryu–er, I mean Grok (again, barest detail):
“Grok feels the earth shake before a pillar pokes out of the ground at him. He quickly gathers chi into his arms as he pushes his palms downward at the rising pillar. A strong gust of wind grows from his arms and pushes down onto the Rock Pillar, grinding it into dust before it could reach and harm him.”
Here we see the defender, Grok, has to describe properly just how he uses his techniques to defend. Instead of saying something like, “I release a gust from my body” it would not be enough, as the pillar is (roughly) well defined and requires an equally defined response to be considered legitimate. In this case, Grok would make sure to point his Airbending response down at the pillar which is coming from the ground beneath him.