Why does just about every RPG, video game...

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "darkness/shadow powers" as a schizophrenic mix of "death powers," "cold powers," and "telekinesis," except with tentacles of darkness?

What can you do with "darkness/shadow powers" that actually feels distinctly like "darkness/shadow," instead of just "and now I grapple you with my shadow tendrils, totally not just telekinesis" or "behold as my blade of void and darkness cuts into your soul, really not just necromancy or anything"?

Please no D&D-style Shadow Evocation/Shadow Conjuration either. That is just illusion with no actual darkness/shadow theme.

Are genuine "darkness/shadow" powers really limited to making things dark and blinding people?

All that a shadow really is is an absence or lowered level of light. If you don't want to reskin powers then yeah, you're pretty much stuck with making things dark and maybe teleporting through shadows.

What about, instead of conjuring up "generic darkness energy," there could be a theme about interacting with people's shadows?

Pinning people's shadows, harming people through their shadows, literal shadow boxing, etc.

If the darkness in your lore isn't some sort of evil, then yeah, you're pretty much limited to illusion magic and shit.

gravity and anti-matter?

Sounds like animancy or voodoo.

A shadow is another way of interacting with a person's soul thus leading to some unique abilities as it where.

You cast a bright light on someone so your shadow and their is cast on a wall. You then proceed to "talk" to their shadow by asking it questions that it may or may not answer but it's still bound by the fact that it's that person shadow.

Certain curses and metaphysical afflictions can be seen and removed through one's shadow with the help of special tools such as a special lens that can see the nature of a person's shadow cast againt a wall and then manipulating your own shadow to draw it out and get rid of it.

You have to becareful when animating shadows because your shadow has a mind of it's own and given the slightest chance may try to rebel against you or even switch places jakell and hyde style.

Perhaps touch upon the other themes of darkness. Things wreathed in shadow are as if in slumber, in stasis. Maybe their minds wander in a separate realm. Maybe their minds don't wander at all, for the things unilluminated simply do not exist. The dark makes you feel nothing, think nothing, be nothing, and though for some that is a terrifying prospect, for others it is comforting. It is bizarre form of enlightenment.

I use darkness as a representation of gravity and dark matter, not necessarily dark but unable to be observed so...technically telekinesis. Although I agree it is silly to conflate darkness with ice and necromancy and evil, I can't imagine what you expect darkness to be.

Darkness is just contrast to light but because of that I seek to use the very opposite of repulsion and radiating light energy and instead have it be pulling and contracting invisible matter.

your shadow can grab and move things by manipulating their shadow
your shadow can drag a person around by dragging around their shadow
fall backwards into your own shadow for a pocket dimension
grab and pull people into your shadow
steal someones shadow to become them
stealing someones shadow is like stealing someones soul, instead of acting lifeless and depressed they become ecstatic and over energetic, super hyperactive and unable to sleep, causing them to go mad and die of a heart attack

Since shadows are just the absence of light due to obstructions, how about magic that erects barriers that block out particular things? That way you're creating shadow-equivalents for things other than light. So if it blocked light, it'd cast an actual shadow, if it blocked fire you could use it as cover against fire attacks, blocking healing creates obstacles for healing spells.

Different types of light will cause different effects on one's shadow as the shadow is a reflection of your mind.

For instance, if you shadow is exposed due to moonlight and you animate it your shadow will become more frantic and say things you wouldn't normally do while different colored lights may expose certain emotional responses from it.

As your shadow can be made to be hostile to it's owner a popular form of execution is to flood an inclosed room with red light and watch as the shadow attempts to kill it's owner

So like Shikamaru or Gekko Moria?

Yes.

There's nothing schizo about that mixture, stop being a snowflake and roll with it.

Darkness being the absence of light, my fantasy setting had it be basically the absence of any given energy. You could freeze water by making the thermal energy in it stop working. You can stop blades by cancelling out their kinetic energy. That kind of thing.

>cold
>death
>unrelated
>unrelated to the absence of light

I mean, this bizarre nonsequitor aside, you're gonna need to get pretty abstract to give the absence of light any powers other than, well, the absence of light.

The easiest one is fear. Humans are, fundamentally, diurnal, so darkness conjures up a lot of fear for us pretty naturally.

Maybe for brainlets.

Want to know how I know you’ve never been away from a large metropolitan area?

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "light powers" a schizophrenic mix of "Life powers", "heat powers", and "Holy powers," except with random blinding?

What can you do with "Light powers" that actualy feels distinctly like "light," instead of just "and now I fire a light beam at you, totally not a fire attack" or "Behold as my blade of power and light cuts into your demonic soul, really not just holy or anything"?

Please no D&D-style Light Evocation/Light Conjuration either. That is jsut illusion with no actual light theme.

Are genuine "Light" powers really limited to making things bright and blinding people?

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "Psychic powers" a schizophrenic mix of "Enchantment powers", "Illusion powers", and "Energy powers," except with random blinding?

What can you do with "Psychic powers" that actually feels distinctly like "Psychic," instead of just "and now I fire a mind beam at you, totally not a energy attack" or "Behold as my blade of intelligence and willpower cuts into your soul, really not just Energy or anything"?

Please no D&D-style Psychic Evocation/Psychic Conjuration either. That is just illusion with no actual light theme.

Are genuine "Psychic" powers really limited to making things known and mind reading people?

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "Electric powers" a schizophrenic mix of "Paralyze powers", "Light powers", and "Fire powers," except with random blinding?

What can you do with "Electric powers" that actually feels distinctly like "Electric ," instead of just "and now I fire a electric beam at you, totally not a fire attack" or "Behold as my blade of electrons and heat cuts into your body, really not just fire or anything"?

Please no D&D-style Electric Evocation/Electric Conjuration either. That is just illusion with no actual Electric theme.

Are genuine "Electric" powers really limited to making things electrified and executing people?

>Lucifer
>hating on the light
It’s like poetry.
Also, blinding is the shit. The only always-useful move in DBZ is Solar Flare. 100% success rate.

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "plant/growth powers" as a schizophrenic mix of "healing powers," "summon powers," and "telekinesis," except with tentacles of plant?

What can you do with "plant/growth powers" that actually feels distinctly like " "plant/growth powers," instead of just "and now I grapple you with my plant tendrils, totally not just telekinesis" or "behold as my blade of ivy and tree cuts into your body, really not just hitting someone with a sword or anything"?

Please no D&D-style Plant Evocation/Plant Conjuration either. That is just illusion with no actual plant/growth theme.

Are genuine "plant/growth powers" powers really limited to making things poisoned and binding people?

Since YOU haven't produced something else.
Get going OP. I don't mean that negative at all, everybody can produce fiction.

Why does just about every RPG, video game, and fantasy series treat "fire/heat powers" as a schizophrenic mix of "energy powers," "anti-cold powers," and "disintegration," except with tentacles of fire?

What can you do with "fire/heat powers" that actually feels distinctly like "fire/heat," instead of just "and now I engulf you with my fire ball, totally not just energy" or "behold as my blade of flame and heat cuts into your body, really not just hitting them with a fuckign sword or anything"?

Please no D&D-style fire Evocation/fire Conjuration either. That is just illusion with no actual fire/heat theme.

Are genuine "fire/heat" powers really limited to making things on fire and blowing up people?