Smoke (Element)

**Smoke** is an Elemental combination, created by combining the Elements of Fire and Wind. Unusually; Smoke primarily shuns the raw power aspects of both constituent elements to instead take on a much more balanced approach to elemental use and combat, incorporating more supportive options than either of its parents.

## Description

Smoke manipulation is regarded by many as being little more than a base function or side-effect of the use of fire, simply because one of Fire's few defensive strategies is to retreat into vision-obscuring smokescreens in order to reposition or retreat. However, those who employ Smoke as an elemental hybrid power often emphasize the power of that supplementary power.

Breaking the mold of pyrokinetics as being hot-headed and aggressive, Smoke-wielders employ their element tactically with a focus on the obvious factor of reducing hostile vision range. However, unlike aerokinetics, many Smoke wielders do not emphasize speed as a must, instead maximizing power of attacking from multiple directions at once without warning. Typically, Smoke forms as a thick haze of soot and carbon, moving rapidly in a plume from the wielder to cover a wide area, always encircling the kapnokinetic and their allies if possible. Once a smoke shroud is in place, it will gradually expand with minimum effort for the fighter.

While highly visible at a distance, those within the smoke are often completely visually impaired, with vision impossible in even thermal or night vision filters due to the thick layers of soot. Many combat-oriented Smoke techniques rely upon the target being encircled before manipulating the smoke cloud as easily as they would the wind itself, forming small air bullets that strike hammerblows with their load of char in a manner simulating physical strikes from every direction. Others utilize the heat and ability to restrict oxygen flow to immobilize enemies without ever making an aggressive movement. Tactically, this ability can also be used to remotely start fires, creating not only new smoke sources but sources of external fire to enhance their own abilities. Furthermore, it is also effective for marking where a hostile is already before retreating; allowing for allied bombardment and focused fire, or for the more insidious purpose of releasing poisonous gases into the smoke itself.

However, as threatening as Smoke can be, it has rather major flaws. At its core, Smoke is still a gaseous power that relies moreso upon the heat and charred particles created by Fire than the actual flames themselves; making the combat uses of Smoke ineffective against a smart Wind manipulator. Indeed, aerokinetics can nullify the smoke itself by blowing it elsewhere. Similarly, while the heat and vision loss can be debilitating, most elements that have an effectiveness against Fire can counteract this in a variety of ways, be it clearing the air by summoning rain or hail, or creating earthen walls to keep the smoke away. The key strength of Smoke is in its utility; rather than direct combat power.

### Notable Interactions with Other Elements

**Blue** = no contest (victor)

**Green** = typically strong match-up

**Yellow** = typically even match-up

**Red** = typically poor match-up

**Purple** = no contest (loser)

**All scenarios assume that the involved combatants are 'normal' (I.E not deities or unusual cases in general)**