How to use disposable minions?

[Miranius]

The Prestige Class Elemental Archon (Faiths and Pantheons, P 190) gives the player 3 Mephits (small creatures with elemental subtype) which, if destroyed, can be replaced without cost after one day.

Sadly they don´t have the HP or abilities to be a threat by themselves in higher levels, and don´t have the ranks in UMD by RAW to use wands and such.
Now i´m thinking, having enough time to prepare, buff or alter them could make them versatile and effective in some ways anyway.

What would you do with, or to, such self-replenishing minions to make them useful and effective in play? Do your worst, oh´playground :D

[Blackhawk748]

Make them Acid Mephits and have them dive bomb things with Ditherbombs. "Suicide" Bomber Mephits AWAY!!!!

[black-jack]

You could give them the final strike feat from Savage Species. Although you may want to be a good distance from them when they die.

[Miranius]

While the description of the prestige class says that depending on your level they gain hit die, i do not know how (or even if) their gaining feats/skill points is handled. Any ideas or established answers on that one?

[Necroticplague]

Sacrifice rules from BOVD.
Use there souls to power things (also BOVD).
Use them to fuel various 'drain from others to benefit yourself' (drain life, vampiric touch, strength of my enemies).
Emergency rations (normally for disposable minions, though I question the edibility of most mephits).
Trapfinder (regardless of skill ranks, just have them set off the trap).
Material for undead creation (hey, want to know whats better than a few disposable minions? Infinite disposable minions!)
Targets for Necrotic Cyst and related spells.

[ZamielVanWeber]

If they gain enough hit dice they gain a feat. Your minions I would say you get to choose. They also get skill points (a hefty amount as outsiders) so you can spend them on cross class ranks of UMD if you wish.

[Flickerdart]

Just because you know that they're weak and useless doesn't mean your enemies do. Use illusions to disguise them as threatening warriors, and laugh as your enemies try to plan around your bodyguards.

[Erik Vale]

The Prestige Class Elemental Archon (Faiths and Pantheons, P 190) gives the player 3 Mephits (small creatures with elemental subtype) which, if destroyed, can be replaced without cost after one day.

Sadly they don´t have the HP or abilities to be a threat by themselves in higher levels, and don´t have the ranks in UMD by RAW to use wands and such.
Now i´m thinking, having enough time to prepare, buff or alter them could make them versatile and effective in some ways anyway.

What would you do with, or to, such self-replenishing minions to make them useful and effective in play? Do your worst, oh´playground :D

Do my worst?

Polymorph any Object.
Same Kingdom [Outsider of same subtypes], Same Class [Sure], Related [Elemental Outsider].
Now, permanantly polymorph them into something useful. [An example given is shrew to manticore, so mephit to a really large of type elemental should work.]
If your DM rules that they aren't the same Class, then just turn it into something with equal or lower intelligence to maintain permanent status. You may wish to give them gauntlets enchanted with spellblade, keyed to various dispels and as always, various methods of banishment. That way they aren't one spell away from becoming useless.

[Miranius]

How liberal do you/your DM`s handle those "gained HD" by creatures like by the mephits here? Only racial HD, or are templates with LA also allowed as long as they are not inherited templates?

What spell effects asides from polymorphing would be cretively useful with the minions? Any grafts/symbionts/other stuff that you have used before? Specific tactics that you can use?

[Erik Vale]

Given their single diget HD, I'd stick just to ones that make them really hard to detect, and increase their senses, to make them good scouts.

Things to look for include Misdirection [So your invis doesn't show up to detect magic], Mind Blank [Prevent Mindsight], Darkstalker Feat [Ignore most special senses, replace one of their feats with it], permanent invisibility.

In fact, those three would cause the mephits to only be detectable by Lifesight and sound [I think], so after that just movement boosters, sense boosters and move silently boosters.

If you can make them incorporeal, only Lifesight and effects that auto-detect would spot them, and I'm not sure about Lifesight.

[Coidzor]

Are all mephits legal? Because having a bunch of Mirror Mephits you can use as disposable Simulacrum generators/generals could be useful somehow.

[yellowrocket]

Invisible suicide bombers.
Trap triggers.
Food for a large monster to get bigger. Then leave it hungry and let it loose on your enemies hungry and angry.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Are all mephits legal? Because having a bunch of Mirror Mephits you can use as disposable Simulacrum generators/generals could be useful somehow.

It depends on the element picked, but the full list of legal ones is Air, Dust, Ice, Earth, Salt, Fire, Magma, Steam, Ooze, and Water.

[Miranius]

I just found the spell benign transposition (SpC).
One idea would be to keep the mephits in a secure posistion, cast the spell (and share it with familiars) to teleport out of danger.

Any other utility-spells (ab-) usable with this?

[Coidzor]

Hm. Outsiders can be Mineral Warriors, IIRC, so the spell Mineralize Warrior from Underdark may offer some additional possibilities, though nothing in particular is coming up other than giving them a fairly decent source of DR.

But the DR is likely not very relevant against actual threats.

[Erik Vale]

That, and it removes their flight, which is a bad idea.

[Miranius]

What templates asides from Mineral Warrior would you try and put on them, and how?