Base spell for an Elemental Creature "armor"

[Katilot]

I want to create a spell that would allow me to use an elemental creature (medium size or bigger, big enough to hold me) and "take place into it", control it, use it as an armor and cast spells from the inside.

I don't need the spell to summon the creature, I want to "drive" an already present and/or summoned creature by getting inside it, control it by speaking to it (yes my character DO speak Auran, Aquan, Ignan, and Terran) and use it as some sort of armor. All of it while being able to cast spells from the inside

My question is. Is there any spell(s?) that you could think of which I could use as a basis to work from to create my own spell?

Thanks!

[Kayden Prynn]

Depends how much control you want directly from the spell, rather than having it as more of a partnership. Fire and Water Elementals are fairly easy if you're just looking to share their space, cast Resist Energy (Fire) and Waterbreathing, respectively. Arguably you could do the same with an Air Elemental without any spells. If you're looking to control them magically, either Charm or Dominate Monster would likely be the next thing to add. So, if we use Resist Energy and Waterbreathing as a baseline:

Wear Elemental
2nd level spell (2nd level Waterbreathing/Resist Energy, +1 for versatility, -1 for not summoning the elemental.)

Wear Elemental, Forced
4th level spell
Will vs Charmed.

or

8th or 9th level spell
Will vs Dominated

[SangoProduction]

I'm 100% certain that there's a 'saddle' for a gelatinous cube that is basically a protective bubble within the cube that lets you direct it by scent, in 3.5. Just adapt that to an elemental.

Maybe add in an elemental resistance effect for fire elementals. Also a Necklace of Adaptation to solve the breathing problem...and whatever small adjustment it'd take to actually drive a fully sentient (if alien) creature. Maybe a Mindrape effect would do. Chain of Eyes will also let you see from the elemental's point of view, which is probably helpful if you're driving something opaque.

[Prime32]

The Elemental Scion of Zilargo PrC (Magic of Eberron) gets this ability at lv7. You can't cast spells while inside it, but it gains the benefit of any "temporary effects" (buff spells, rage, etc.) you had before you merged.

[Goaty14]

I'm 100% certain that there's a 'saddle' for a gelatinous cube that is basically a protective bubble within the cube that lets you direct it by scent, in 3.5. Just adapt that to an elemental.

Arms and Equipment Guide (3.0) has such a saddle. It basically encases the person in a bubble of force, in which the user vibrates the force to mimic the cube sensing prey.

Probably won't adapt unless you had a really big elemental.

[SangoProduction]

Arms and Equipment Guide (3.0) has such a saddle. It basically encases the person in a bubble of force, in which the user vibrates the force to mimic the cube sensing prey.

Probably won't adapt unless you had a really big elemental.

That's precisely the one I was thinking of. Thanks. Even from the same book I was thinking of but was too afraid to make such a claim. A large or huge elemental probably has plenty of room for such a saddle. Especially if you craft it specifically for an elemental instead of a cube.

[RoboEmperor]

Magic Jar?

[Uncle Pine]

Gain access to When Two Become One (OA, 3rd-level Shugenja spell), possibly persisted.
Temporarily turn your pet elemental into a horse.
Cast persisted WTBO, then dispel/dismiss whatever you used to turn your elemental into a horse.

[Katilot]

Magic Jar?

Someone from my party though about this one, but there's a problem with elemental creatures since they are described as "Unlike most other living creatures, an elemental does not have a dual nature - it's soul and body form one unit." (Monster Manual - p.308).

Therefore, we cannot send their soul to the jar since we can't detach it from their body.

[Karl Aegis]

Astral Construct power plus Skin of the Construct feat (Complete Psionic page 57)

[SangoProduction]

Oh. Here's one. And it's actually just one spell.

Spheres of Power. Take Conjuration sphere. This can be done with the Basic Magical Training SoP feat.

This lets you get a companion with a base form of either Ooze or Orb (depending on the (lack of) shape you want from your armor)...or just make it a bipedal for simplicity's sake. It gets 1 form talent for free. Take Mount for this free form. Now, it's generally accepted that being 'mounted' on a creature implies that you are on the creature, but as mentioned previously, Gelatinous Oozes can have internal saddles.

Take the Mindless and Puppet companion archetypes. This makes it tougher, and removes the who issue of someone else controlling it, as well as making it free to summon, unless otherwise augmented.

Hell, if you don't care about Evasion, and those other piddly bonus abilities, you can have it act like power armor with integrated combat functionality with the Martial Companion archetype. This lets you select Combat Talents, such as...well...there are a lot of them.

----

To finish this off, you might wanna be aware that Basic Magical Training only gives you 1 caster level, which means your 'elemental armor' will only ever have 10 HP (plus con mod) without further investment. You can take Advanced Magical Training to gain 1/2 of your non-casting levels as caster levels. Arguably, this also grants you an equal number of talents, which you can then spend on form talents, further enhancing your armor.

If you use 2 form talents on Undead Companion type form, then it gains the immunities you'd typically expect from an elemental, though now it can be targeted by things that can only target undead, which is awkward. Ask your GM to have it so it says 'Elemental' whenever it says 'Undead'.

[RoboEmperor]

Someone from my party though about this one, but there's a problem with elemental creatures since they are described as "Unlike most other living creatures, an elemental does not have a dual nature - it's soul and body form one unit." (Monster Manual - p.308).

Therefore, we cannot send their soul to the jar since we can't detach it from their body.

Dual nature means nothing. There was a thread about it a while ago.


Outside the Abyss: If a demon is killed on another plane, its body eventually returns to the Abyss—unless trapped through magical means, such as a dimensional anchor spell. (See the Demonic Death Throes sidebar for more details on how demon bodies sometimes disappear.) No matter what happens to the demon’s body, if it is killed outside the Abyss, its “essence” falls back into the raw chaos of the Abyss, where it is then be reformed as a new demon.

Outsiders are identical to elementals in that their soul and body are one, they are not dual natured, yet here we have an official 3.5 source saying a demon's "essence" and "body" are separate and dual natured.

So not being dual natured just means your body is made up of soul stuff and your "soul" is your essence.