IMO, it could be made in a way more unique way.
First of all, let’s consider the description:
Let’s say, we classify “objects” in three categories: NPC/Player, Rubble and Projectile.
Now let’s say that “controlling an object’s status in time” isn’t restricted to one category, rather: Rewind, Stop, Fast-forward, and Skip.
And finally, let’s classify spell types by: Blast, Explosion, Beam and Self.
What do you get? One hell of a customizable utility magic.
I’d think, there’s primordials that are (probably) purely centered around raw power like Apocalypse Bringer, or some (probably) centered around certain combat themes, like Death, Life, Art of Sacrifice, etc. But what if there was a magic purely centered about positional and tactical advantage?
Depending on what “time” effect you choose and what you hit, it may provide different effects. Hitting targets can be done through the three attack types, while the “Self” variation would make it able to be applied onto yourself.
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Say, you’re using a spell with the “Rewind” effect. If you hit a player or NPC, their spot where they got hit would be marked, and after five seconds, they could quickly trace back to the marked spot, as well as restoring their health back to what the value was when they got hit, meaning that if they healed, they’ll take damage, if they took damage, they’ll heal. If you hit rubble, the rubble would go backwards and settle back in its undestroyed place. If you hit a projectile, it would go back on its course, and if it were to be something like, say, a fireball, it would explode on whoever got caught in its backwards trajectory, or explode at the point where it was originally casted upon releasing the time constraint. Using it on self would yield the same effect as when it hits a player or NPC, but without marking the location you used it on for others, and only yielding a sound cue.
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Now, imagine you’re using the “Stop” type. Hitting a player/NPC would inhibit all of their movement and actions for a brief moment, enough to get a single attack off, or reposition yourself, never enough to land something like a whole 20 blast barrage. Hitting rubble with it would stop the rubble in place if it’s midair, or make it stay still on the ground, along with making it unable to be altered by other magic interactions. Hitting a projectile will, well, stop it midair. It’ll resume its path once the timer runs out, but if it’s something like a fireball, anybody who touches it while it’s stopped would cause it to explode. Using it on self may seem impactical, but the thing is, that if you get hit YOURSELF, and only YOURSELF while you used the Stop type on self, you would accumulate “knockback” and reduce all damage taken during that period by a large amount, after which you’d be launched according to how much knockback you’ve accumulated. Think of it like BotW Stasis.
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If you were using the “Fast-forward” type, hitting anything will speed up its movement. If it’s a player, their movement and abilities will be considerably faster, however, harder to control. If it’s rubble, it’ll move faster through the air if it were to be airborne (If rubble impact damage were to be added, this would increase damage taken from the rubble by a large amount). If it’s a projectile, it’ll speed up the projectile. Pretty simple, right? If used on yourself, you’ll gain a speed boost to your movement and abilities akin to the effect caused on others, but not nearly as dramatic and without the “hard to control” drawback.
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If you were using the “Skip” type, hitting a player will make them teleport some distance in the same direction they were currently moving without phasing through terrain, or if they were using a skill, make them fire the skill instantly at max charge. If you hit rubble, the rubble would instantly land. If you hit a projectile, the projectile will teleport forward towards its normal path’s direction, and if it were to find terrain, explode. If you were to use it on yourself, you’d teleport towards your mouse cursor instantly, or you could use it while casting a spell to make it cast instantly.
A few clarifications: skills and moves like the Explosion spell type can only be affected by AoI if the user is hit. Beams count as projectiles.
AoI does not deal any damage on its own, it instead relies completely on your other means of outputting damage.
In terms of hitting opponents, anyone hit by blast/beams/explosions produced by this magic will be affected.
You could choose any combination of spell shape and time effect out of the given options.
The magic would be visually shown as pure white and very light green particles, with a colour akin to this:
