Table of Contents
Air
Air is an Elemental path of magic. Among the four Elements, it governs the intangible gases. Its three queens govern clouds, storms, and lightning.
Of the four Elements, Air is fairly easy to Evoke; easier than it is to Alter, at least. In Thaumaturgic tradition, the path is sanguine, resembling a more-positive sort of activity. In the Way of Five Elements, it is filled with determination.
Air received significant changes in Dominions 6, with Glamour receiving all of its command over the unreal. Regardless, Air is the least understood of the four Elements in the Early Ages, and it remains that way for the other two. The great Air Mages of olden times go from conquerors in the Early Ages to isolationists in the Middle Ages, and few of them sire worthy successors. By the Late Ages, average capability with Air declines beneath even that of Blood, though there are signs of grand discoveries beyond the game's scope.
Air Spells
Air has a fair number of tools. There are several summoning spells, but most of the options deal with battlefield movement, the weather, Missile Combat, and/or direct damage.
Shock is the element-of-choice for Air's damaging spells. This is an Armor-Negating element, typically with either a limited range or a limited "area-of-effect" compared to spells of other elements. There are also "wind" spells that deal damage, albeit against full Protection.
The four Elements have a variety of checks and balances against each other, even against themselves. For Air, the biggest counter for its Precision spells are other Air spells, such as Air Shield, Mist, and Storm. For the damage-reducing spells, magical projectiles (such as those from Fire and Water) ignore or disable them. For the damaging spells, Earth provides Shock Resistance, along with standard Protection that helps against the "wind" spells.
Pure Air
| Skill Level | Early Research (0-3) | Middle Research (4-6) | Late Research (7-9) |
|---|---|---|---|
 1 (a dabbler) | Personal Air Shield Self-Overcharging Melee Shock Damage Limited Stunning Gusts Personal Floating Personal Shock Resistance Personal Precision Boosting Personal Swiftness Combat Hawks Path-Boosting in Storms Personal Flying Fatigue Sniping Lesser Air Elementals Limited Range-Boosting | ||
| 2 (average) | Personal Mistform Lesser Long-Ranged Shocking Lesser Close-Ranged Shocking Hawk Invasions Lesser Air Shield Stunning Gusts Combat "Magic Missile" Lesser Flying Lesser Shock Resistance Gem-Mailing Item-Mailing | Wyverns Storm Drakes Gryphons Magic Wind Attacks Lesser Mistform Magic Phase Movement Lesser Floating Greater Precision-Boosting Site-Searching Lesser Chain Lightning Greater Range-Boosting Greater Shock Resistance | |
| 3 ("mastery") | Battlefield Precision-Reducing "Magic Missile" Assassinations | Province-Terrorizing Storms Greater Long-Ranged Shocking Dragon-Folk Greater Air Elementals Lightning Spirit-Hawks Massive Eagles Army Precision-Boosting | Chain Lightning |
| 4 ("god-like") | Obvious Patrol-Boosting Death Gem Harvesting Battlefield Storms Coastal Income-Boosting Supreme Range-Boosting | Air Elemental Spam Supreme Air Shield Greater Mistform Ranged Army-Shocking Greater Flying Supreme Shock Resistance |
|
| 5 | Commander-Pulling Worldwide Storms Battlefield Lightning Strikes Domes of Air Utilized Good Moods | Earth-Dispelling Worldwide Dark Clouds Air Queens Supreme Mistform Supreme Flying Hectic Gem Generators |
|
| 6 | Supreme Chain Lightning |
Air Crosspaths
These are the crosspath effects with Air as the primary path.
- Air/Fire: Nothing with Air as the primary path, unforutnately.
- Air/Earth: Watchers, Patrolling statues that throw lightning bolts at foes.
- Air/Astral: Tornadoes that drain Magic and Elemental Gems from the world.
- Air/Death: Corpse Constructs, Flesh Golems based on Frankenstein's Monster.
- Air/Nature: Amphipteres, winged snakes.
- Air/Glamour: Nothing with Air as the primary path, unfortunately.
Indirect Magic
An Air Mage with 3 has 5 points of Shock Resistance, due to a better attunement with Air and its chosen weapon. One with 4 or higher has 10 points of Shock Resistance, instead.
Other than 10 points of Magic Leadership per level, that's it. The Magic Leadership isn't immensely significant for Air Mages, but someone has to have it to prevent the almighty Air Elementals from routing.
Path Boosting
Air has nine items that boost it. Three are Artifacts. Only two of the non-Artifacts are fairly straightforward to craft, and these both come at Construction Level 5; these are the Winged Helmet (4) and the Horn of Storms (5).
Air has an Air-boosting spell, Summon Storm Power, but it only works after Storm or Blizzard has been cast. Air Mages can (and will) cast it even if a Storm/Blizzard isn't up yet.