Wandering Monsters: Binding Elementals

I am already not a very big fan of elementals in Next, because last I heard for some reason the air elemental has eyes—two at that—and a mouth, and earth and fire elementals have humanoid shapes. Now I guess they change their names and shape when they are bound into service, as if there is some kind of bondage protection program.

Why? Why does summoning an air elemental keep it as an air elemental, but when you tell it to do something it becomes an invisible stalker? Why are not all air elementals normally invisible, except when moving and attacking? That actually sounds like a really cool. Characters would want to ready actions to attack it when it moves or attacks, and while they
could use dust and debris to make it easier to spot, it could use it to
make ranged and area-effect attacks.

Give us a base elemental template, with elemental traits and some general shapes that we can use. Basically let us build our own elementals based on our needs. This would also make it easier to add new elemental traits and shapes later on, so that we do not end up with a bunch of stat blocks for the basic elementals in one monster manual, then a bunch more in another one: all you need to do is just add a block of traits and let us figure it out. Also, make it possible to just summon and bind whatever elementals we want. Bonus points if it is more interesting and engaging than a suite of specific summoning spells.

Equally confusing is the elemental myrmidon. So, someone summons an elemental spirit and…binds it into plate armor? Okay. Again, why? Why does it have to be plate armor? Why does it have to be armor at all? I thought golems were fueled by elemental spirits. This just sounds like they wanted to make sure that we still had use for our archon minis. Admirable, except that it is not particularly compelling, nor does it make sense.

I envision archons as the primordial’s first attempt at creating life. They are rough, vaguely human-like. They would not necessarily be wearing armor or wield weapons. In this case genasi would be the improved version. I could see them as cursed genasi, or even incredibly old genasi. Maybe elementals got trapped on the material world for centuries and are simply trying to emulate life. If you want them to be soldiers, why not just make them similar to Eberron’s warforged, just with an elemental theme?

Wandering Monsters: Other Elementals

The first look at elementals pertained to generic elementals and genies. I said way back then that I disliked how some of the elementals had a combination of two eyes, a mouth, and/or a humanoid shape. Genies were equally confusing, if for different reasons: apparently they can all fly, create objects, and are “cunning merchants”.

Who knew?

Anyway this week we take a look at just a pair of elemental-ish critters, the salamander and xorn (the Sea of Ash gets an honorable mention).

Taken from the article salamanders are both cruel and nasty elemental creatures that look like muscular humanoids stacked on top of a snake. Their entire body is covered in wisps of flame that “rise from their skin like spines”, and they wield spears that conduct the heat from their bodies, probably making them deal fire damage, or bonus fire damage. Basically a sufficiently monstrous monster that players can kill and rob without the slightest twinge of guilt.

Just like baby kobolds!

They are good smiths, hate azers, and are sometimes enslaved by efreeti (which is a love-hate relationship). Though I am generally not a fan of races being universally good at something, the latter two bits of flavor I guess could be handy for adventure hooks, but given that azers are probably just as bad I am not sure who I would side with in a fight between them, and I really cannot see anyone being sympathetic to freeing a bunch of salamander slaves.

The most interesting thing in the article about them is that wizards will sometimes summon one in order to force it to craft a metal object. I can see this being a necessary step in making some fire-based magic items, so hopefully we get something more in depth, instead of a boring, instantaneous summoning spell. Shadowrun has rules for conjuring and binding spirits, so just do something like that. It is a lot more interesting than an infallible, highly specific spell.

Of course they are utterly immune to fire, as well as for some reason resistant to non-magical weapons (though strangely, genies lack this resistance). Bleh.

If salamanders come from the Sea of Ash, I would envision them being made from igneous rock or charcoal. Maybe something like a combination of rock and lava, having them solidify in an area that is “too cold”. Instead of wisps of smoke that look like spines, I would have just be something like obsidian blades. They would not be evil by default, because there is no reason for them to be evil by default. Chaotic works out fine, as it fits the destructive fire-theme.

I make it a point of mentioning it every time I see them, I am not a fan of complete immunity and with how resistances work in Next. I would give them a high, granular fire resistance and remove the weapon resistance. As they get older their fire resistance would increase, and they could also start gaining weapon resistance.

Xorns are strange-looking critters that I inexplicably have three minis for. They spend their time “swimming” through the Plane of Earth, eating metal and gems. They can elect to leave tunnels when they burrow, which are somehow used by other creatures as living places even though they are only Medium-sized. I like how the article describes the Plane of Earth as “mountainous”, as it means that it may not just be an endless expanse of dirt.

Pictured: Nothing of interest.

Like salamanders they sometimes get enslaved by dao, who make them build things. Maybe we should add slavery to the list of genie traits? At any rate it is interesting that they can mold stone like clay. Gives them something to do besides eat. It would be nice to see this ability as inherent, instead of just “x/day—stone shape“. Not allying themselves with Ogremoch, yet being able to be coerced into service is also nice, as it allows you to include them as a kind of misunderstood monster.

Strangely they are immune to fire and cold, and resistant to lightning and slashing damage. Not sure why, except that this is what they had in 3rd Edition, maybe even 2nd Edition. Unlike 3rd Edition they are kind of vulnerable to a slew of very specific spells like stone to flesh, rock to mud, and passwall. Why can they only can be somewhat affected by spells that affect rocks, but are still fully affected by spells that affect living things?

I also wonder if other earth-themed creatures will share any of these vulnerabilities, or if they will just be arbitrarily assigned when a writer remembers them.

Like the crystal skull’s magnetism.

Wandering Monsters: Elementals & Genies

Next stop, the elemental plane(s). Personally I prefer the Elemental Chaos–it just makes for a better adventure site without a bunch of necessary protective magic–but I can live with cosmological ambiguity.

Elementals
First off, I like the idea of short-term summonings requiring constant concentration to keep the elemental in line. Makes me think of how 4th Edition maintained the action economy by preventing you from summoning a small army of creatures, thereby allowing you to control your own party. This could also make for an interesting turn of events where the party disrupts the bad guy’s concentration, causing his former minion to turn on him (though, this could also apply to the good guys).

Hopefully the mention of a “lasting binding spell” means that we will get rituals where you can summon elementals (and other things), and force them into prolonged servitude. In this case I am more in favor of allowing it to act independently, though ultimately it will depend on how frequently it can be used and how long it lasts.

I guess needing a magical weapon to hurt them normally is okay. I can better understand it for air and fire ones. I would prefer them to go 3rd Edition’s route, with the weakest ones vulnerable to anything and the larger/older ones being gradually more resilient.

I am not a fan of the air and earth elementals’ look (and to a lesser degree, the fire elemental). Why does the air elemental have eyes and a mouth? Does it need to eat? How come it is the only elemental with eyes (and two, at that)? Why does the earth elemental need to walk on legs and have two arms? Why does the fire elemental have a vaguely humanoid shape?

This is the same problem I had with angels. Elementals do not need a humanoid shape, and barring a compelling story reason, probably should not have one. Even if you do not count genies it sounds like we will still have “elemental” archons, which are also elemental-humanoids. Do we really need sometimes-humanoidish elementals, too?

I would have the base set of elementals have largely undefined shapes. For humanoid and animals, those could have been made by the primordials (or whatever elemental lords you go with) as a way to emulate what the gods made (or, again, whoever made mortals and the like). If you go with mirror planes like the Feywild, then many those are elemental echoes of the natural world/Prime Material plane.

Genies
I think that genies should have to cross between the planes at set focal points. Past editions made mention of elemental vortices–areas where the planar barrier or whatnot between the Prime Material and various elemental planes was thin–which makes more sense than simply popping in and out wherever/whenever they please. I think it also makes for better stories if, for example, they have to find a specific place to meet a genie, or if one is helping them escape from its native plane. (or maybe they are trying to escape to its native plane).

The bit about being summoned and bound into service makes me think of The Dying Earth…I think. I know the genie in the lamp is a common trope, but I thought there was mention of wizards using bound genies in order to get around their otherwise severely limited magic. So, anyway, that sounds cool so long as characters have the option of doing that at some point (including all the inherent risks).

As for genie specifics a lot of their magic I can get behind, but some of it confuses me. All genies can fly? Even the dao (earth genies) and marid (water genies)? Why can djinni create objects–even metal ones, albeit temporarily–from nothing, but none of the rest can? I am similarly confused about the whole genie society. They are all apparently “cunning merchants”, which makes me think of elementally-themed Ferengi, but also raises the question of where they get their money and goods to stock up all their bazaars.

This is the kind of stuff that I would love to see elaboration on, if not in their Monster Manual entry, then at the least in a sourcebook. Some kind of origin story that might explain their sometimes universal access to magic and wishes would be nice.

Lesser Genies
I think that jann should have a bit of everything when it comes to magical powers. Creating food and water I can kind of get behind as something linked to earth and water, and turning invisible works for air, but changing size and going ethereal? The mention of gen is nice. I never got a chance to play Al-Qadim, but I liked the sha’ir from Heroes of the Elemental Chaos. If nothing else I felt that the story aspects of it provided an interesting way to learn magic.

It is also nice to see genasi get a shout out, though I prefer something more in the direction of 4th Edition. Perhaps without the crystalline hair, especially if they are based on genies that have hair.

This works, though I could stand for more overt.