My logic for not doing a special mechanic for bending has a few points:
- Bending is ultimately not that different than any of the many characters who can control a specific element like Pyro or Hydro-Man. Additionally, specific benders have specific strengths and fighting styles, so while all firebenders can do certain firebending moves, we can portray the most iconic moves for each character.
- New symbols and mechanics for a small subset of C3G would be a bit much, IMO.
- I also typically like avoiding extra hardware when possible. There is certainly room for a more expansive system for bending, but I think a simplified version fits better into C3G right now. I see it like how Batman I and Batman II coexist.
- I also have no current plans for future Avatar designs right now. So I’m viewing this design more in a bubble, but allowing for expansion later by whomever.
I currently have the Avatar State lasting once per game (baked within the special attack), but we could bump that to once per round if that portrays the theme better. It’d just be quite a lot more powerful.