Chinese Elements

[Dger91]

I have a player who wants to play a martial artist channeler (al la the Akashic Bro from M:tA).  I am trying out ideas for Chinese themed elements like Ancient Mai.
I am  basically knowledgeable about that paradigm but as it is much more conceptual it kinda hard putting it into more practical terms.  I would be open to input on how the RAW elemental associations would redistribute into the Chinese.
I really liked the idea that each element empowered/drained/and cut another.  I wanted to play around with that. 
If there is another thread that already covers this then sorry.  There was only so far back I was willing to go

[GryMor]

The wikipedia article is pretty good:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing

The relationships are mostly a matter of declerations.

[Ghsdkgb]

Have you read Jim's Codex Alera? I'd just treat the guy like a Furycrafter, hacking away abilities that don't make sense with this system and working in the ones that do.

[Sanctaphrax]

Elements are mostly cosmetic. They all have the same mechanical effects, except for Spirit which is special for some reason.

So creating a new elemental paradigm is mostly about describing your spells differently.

Elemental rock-paper-scissors is probably best handled through Declarations.

[UmbraLux]

I have a player who wants to play a martial artist channeler (al la the Akashic Bro from M:tA).  I am trying out ideas for Chinese themed elements like Ancient Mai.
I am  basically knowledgeable about that paradigm but as it is much more conceptual it kinda hard putting it into more practical terms.  I would be open to input on how the RAW elemental associations would redistribute into the Chinese.

Mechanically, any element can do any type of evocation spell - attack, block, maneuver, and counterspell.  They cover all your mechanical options.  Differences appear in how easy a maneuver may or may not be, in the declarations available to both sides, and in compels. 

I really liked the idea that each element empowered/drained/and cut another.  I wanted to play around with that. 

Unless you want to write your own mechanics, this is best covered via declarations and compels.  Declaring "Wood is a Weak Defense against Fire" gives that fire attack a +2 boost while declaring "Metal is Impervious to Fire" would give the defense a +2 boost.  Compeling a fire shield to be useless against water might also be used...and if the compel is bought off, the shield has been constructed in such a way it vents steam away from the target.

Figure out the effects your group wants and work on potential declaration ideas ahead of time.  Also, decide what general success level a given type of declaration might need.  Both will save you time during play.