Uvexar
2019-04-01, 09:37 PM
The Elemental Warrior is a prestige class appearing in the Planar Handbook. Entering it grants the warrior a measure of elemental power, themed to water, earth, fire, or air. But the choice is permanent, and each one has its own bonuses and properties that make it hard to choose.
I wrote this for myself, to help me come up with the option I liked best. But feel free to use it for your own characters.
Becoming an Elemental Warrior
The EW requires, as prerequisites:
A BAB of +7 or higher.
Five or more ranks in Knowledge(the planes).
A visit to at least one of the Elemental Planes sometime in the past.
The BAB restricts entries into this PrC to those of 7th level or greater. The fighter seems the most obvious choice for a base class here. Unfortunately, Knowledge(the planes) is not a class skill for that class. Funnily enough, at level 1, a Planar Fighter (from the Planar Fighter substitution levels found in the Planar Handbook) gains Knowledge(the planes) as a class skill! Imagine that.
Entering the Elemental Plane of your choice is a prerequisite that can only be filled by the DM or (if beginning at higher levels of play) the character's backstory.
(Side note, you do lose a bit of BAB progression in this PrC, so keep that in mind if you need the two extra points.)
Wielding the Elements
At level one of this PrC, you attune yourself to one of the four elements: water, earth, fire, or air. You gain the language associated with the element you chose, and also resistance 10 to cold, acid, fire, and electricity respectively. But once you choose this element, you cannot go back. This is where the analysis bit comes in.
To briefly describe the rest of the traits:
At level 2 an EW can manifest certain elemental traits for 1 minute around themselves. Air grants 20% miss chance to enemy ranged attacks, earth grants +3 to natural armor, fire makes non-reach melee attackers take 1d6 fire damage (why it can't be something more creative I'll never know) and water gains DR 3/piercing. This ability can be used class level/day, which means you could potentially break it out in every encounter.
At level 3 an EW can, under the same duration and use restrictions as the L2 ability, coat a melee weapon they carry in their element, making it deal +2d6 damage of that element on a hit. Other elemental damage effects the weapon may have are suppressed for the duration. This is most useful because it allows an EW to make consistent use of an elemental modifier on any weapon they may come across. This is great for games where you may not always be able to slap flaming on a weapon with a bit of gold and XP. If you have someone in your party with Craft Magic Arms and Armor, however, this becomes less useful.
At level 4 an EW can a) use plane shift once per day to the Elemental Plane corresponding to their element, and b) gains a movement option. Air, Water, and Earth's options are obvious (fly, swim, burrow) but Fire simply gains a +10 land speed bonus that stacks with all others. Air and Fire's movement options cannot be performed in medium or heavy armor/load. Flight is typically very useful for a warrior, but restricting medium and heavy armor usage on both this and Fire's movement boost really irks me. Swim and burrow are very situational at best, for most campaigns.
At level 5, two things happen. First, the EW's weapon enhancement ability changes into an x burst ability, allowing it to deal more damage on a crit. Second, the EW can perform a melee touch attack once per day that deals 10d6 of various damages (mostly bludgeoning) and allows a Fort save against a secondary effect. For Air, this is prone; for Earth, this is being pushed 10 feet; for Fire, this is being set on fire for 1d4 rounds (which I assume deals 1d6 damage each round); for Water, this is becoming nauseated for 1 round.
The Dilemma
Each elemental path offers its own benefits, but also its own losses, those being the other elemental bonuses.
Resistances: Fire is a common element to encounter, so having it can't hurt. Cold is also common, though less so. Lightning is even less common, and acid the least common. But if you fight a lot of lightning or acid wielders (in themed campaigns, for example) I'd say grab them. Otherwise, if you're going by resistances, Water or Fire is best.
Manifestation: Air gives you miss chance, which is always fantastic. Earth's +3 bonus to natural AC is just too small to justify only having it for 5 minutes at most. Fire's damage to melee attackers is very basic, but if you fight many enemies that lack fire resistance (and/or have low HP) it can be quite useful. Water's DR 3/piercing is a solid damage decrease, but there are many weapons that deal piercing damage, and a 3-point reduction in that gelugon's spear hit likely isn't going to help matters. For manifestations, I'd pick Air, but Fire and Water both seem useful situationally.
Elemental Weapon: Lots of things resist fire, cold, and lightning, but of the three lightning is resisted the least and is quite cool to boot. (I always imagine spreading the lightning across my blade like Golden Pine Resin from Dark Souls.) Acid is incredibly rare to resist and has the bonus of also dealing extra damage to trolls, if you fight them. Based on elemental bonuses, Air or Earth are best.
Elemental Movement: All these options are bad. Either you get a flight or land speed that requires you to remove your best armor (which makes me question why you're taking this PrC in the first place), or you gain a situational at best burrow or swim speed (and the ability to breathe underwater). In themed campaigns, go for the one that fits you best; for the rest, Earth or Water are superior simply because they don't require you to take off your plate, and of the two I'd pick Water.
Elemental Strike: Melee touch attacks are easy enough for a warrior, meaning you can deal a solid 10d6 damage every day for the most part. This damage is bludgeoning for Air and Earth, fire for Fire and (surprisingly) untyped for Water. Granted, the Water one requires the creature have moisture to draw from its body (so no mummies), but is otherwise incredibly potent. Of the alternative abilities, unless you fight on cliffs a lot, Air and Water are the best, since both deal effects that take time to recover from and harm the victim in the meantime. I'd pick Water for the untyped damage.
What to Pick?
In the end, it comes down to campaign needs, personal preference, and flavor. For my villains, I'll always pick Air or Fire, since the elemental weapon is going to be useful against the party. For characters, Water seems the most useful overall, but arguments could be made for Air or Earth. Fire, as always, is Fire.
Thank you for reading. I hope this was helpful!
I wrote this for myself, to help me come up with the option I liked best. But feel free to use it for your own characters.
Becoming an Elemental Warrior
The EW requires, as prerequisites:
A BAB of +7 or higher.
Five or more ranks in Knowledge(the planes).
A visit to at least one of the Elemental Planes sometime in the past.
The BAB restricts entries into this PrC to those of 7th level or greater. The fighter seems the most obvious choice for a base class here. Unfortunately, Knowledge(the planes) is not a class skill for that class. Funnily enough, at level 1, a Planar Fighter (from the Planar Fighter substitution levels found in the Planar Handbook) gains Knowledge(the planes) as a class skill! Imagine that.
Entering the Elemental Plane of your choice is a prerequisite that can only be filled by the DM or (if beginning at higher levels of play) the character's backstory.
(Side note, you do lose a bit of BAB progression in this PrC, so keep that in mind if you need the two extra points.)
Wielding the Elements
At level one of this PrC, you attune yourself to one of the four elements: water, earth, fire, or air. You gain the language associated with the element you chose, and also resistance 10 to cold, acid, fire, and electricity respectively. But once you choose this element, you cannot go back. This is where the analysis bit comes in.
To briefly describe the rest of the traits:
At level 2 an EW can manifest certain elemental traits for 1 minute around themselves. Air grants 20% miss chance to enemy ranged attacks, earth grants +3 to natural armor, fire makes non-reach melee attackers take 1d6 fire damage (why it can't be something more creative I'll never know) and water gains DR 3/piercing. This ability can be used class level/day, which means you could potentially break it out in every encounter.
At level 3 an EW can, under the same duration and use restrictions as the L2 ability, coat a melee weapon they carry in their element, making it deal +2d6 damage of that element on a hit. Other elemental damage effects the weapon may have are suppressed for the duration. This is most useful because it allows an EW to make consistent use of an elemental modifier on any weapon they may come across. This is great for games where you may not always be able to slap flaming on a weapon with a bit of gold and XP. If you have someone in your party with Craft Magic Arms and Armor, however, this becomes less useful.
At level 4 an EW can a) use plane shift once per day to the Elemental Plane corresponding to their element, and b) gains a movement option. Air, Water, and Earth's options are obvious (fly, swim, burrow) but Fire simply gains a +10 land speed bonus that stacks with all others. Air and Fire's movement options cannot be performed in medium or heavy armor/load. Flight is typically very useful for a warrior, but restricting medium and heavy armor usage on both this and Fire's movement boost really irks me. Swim and burrow are very situational at best, for most campaigns.
At level 5, two things happen. First, the EW's weapon enhancement ability changes into an x burst ability, allowing it to deal more damage on a crit. Second, the EW can perform a melee touch attack once per day that deals 10d6 of various damages (mostly bludgeoning) and allows a Fort save against a secondary effect. For Air, this is prone; for Earth, this is being pushed 10 feet; for Fire, this is being set on fire for 1d4 rounds (which I assume deals 1d6 damage each round); for Water, this is becoming nauseated for 1 round.
The Dilemma
Each elemental path offers its own benefits, but also its own losses, those being the other elemental bonuses.
Resistances: Fire is a common element to encounter, so having it can't hurt. Cold is also common, though less so. Lightning is even less common, and acid the least common. But if you fight a lot of lightning or acid wielders (in themed campaigns, for example) I'd say grab them. Otherwise, if you're going by resistances, Water or Fire is best.
Manifestation: Air gives you miss chance, which is always fantastic. Earth's +3 bonus to natural AC is just too small to justify only having it for 5 minutes at most. Fire's damage to melee attackers is very basic, but if you fight many enemies that lack fire resistance (and/or have low HP) it can be quite useful. Water's DR 3/piercing is a solid damage decrease, but there are many weapons that deal piercing damage, and a 3-point reduction in that gelugon's spear hit likely isn't going to help matters. For manifestations, I'd pick Air, but Fire and Water both seem useful situationally.
Elemental Weapon: Lots of things resist fire, cold, and lightning, but of the three lightning is resisted the least and is quite cool to boot. (I always imagine spreading the lightning across my blade like Golden Pine Resin from Dark Souls.) Acid is incredibly rare to resist and has the bonus of also dealing extra damage to trolls, if you fight them. Based on elemental bonuses, Air or Earth are best.
Elemental Movement: All these options are bad. Either you get a flight or land speed that requires you to remove your best armor (which makes me question why you're taking this PrC in the first place), or you gain a situational at best burrow or swim speed (and the ability to breathe underwater). In themed campaigns, go for the one that fits you best; for the rest, Earth or Water are superior simply because they don't require you to take off your plate, and of the two I'd pick Water.
Elemental Strike: Melee touch attacks are easy enough for a warrior, meaning you can deal a solid 10d6 damage every day for the most part. This damage is bludgeoning for Air and Earth, fire for Fire and (surprisingly) untyped for Water. Granted, the Water one requires the creature have moisture to draw from its body (so no mummies), but is otherwise incredibly potent. Of the alternative abilities, unless you fight on cliffs a lot, Air and Water are the best, since both deal effects that take time to recover from and harm the victim in the meantime. I'd pick Water for the untyped damage.
What to Pick?
In the end, it comes down to campaign needs, personal preference, and flavor. For my villains, I'll always pick Air or Fire, since the elemental weapon is going to be useful against the party. For characters, Water seems the most useful overall, but arguments could be made for Air or Earth. Fire, as always, is Fire.
Thank you for reading. I hope this was helpful!