Elemental PCs

[Rockphed]

Is it possible to have a low level PC that is an elemental, or maybe a half elemental? I ask because it would totally rock to be a fire elemental monk.

[oriong]

They're listed with no LA, means they're not meant to be used as a PC creature. Probably because the benefits of being an elemental PC are pretty far out of scale with their CR, and they're also nearly below animal intelligence unless you pick up a Large or bigger one.

[Indon]

Azers are a Dwarven race from the Elemental Plane of Fire. Yes, their unarmed attacks can deal fire damage. I think they might be in Savage Species, and I'm pretty sure they have an "As a PC" entry in one of the Monster Manuals.

[Druid]

Rules for half elementals are in Manuel of the Planes. I don't think it lists an ECL but it should be easy to assign one.

[pestilenceawaits]

There are rules for half elementals somewhere with LA adjustments I read them recently but can't remember. I know the manual of the planes has a template for them but as druid said I don't remember if it had the ecl. genasi are in the Forgotten realms handbook they are plane touched (like aasimar and tiefling) and a re a +1 LA

[Darrin]

Is it possible to have a low level PC that is an elemental, or maybe a half elemental? I ask because it would totally rock to be a fire elemental monk.

There are several elemental-themed races. The easiest to play would probably be the half-elemental Genasi, which you can either find in Planescape or Races of Faerun, I think... not sure if they were ever updated for 3.5, but I think most sources have them as a +1 LA. Race-specific feats appeared for them at least once in Dragon magazine, but I don't remember the particulars.

Then from the Planar Handbook, you've got the Air/Earth/Fire/Water Mephlings. +1 LA, small size, and an energy-based breath weapon. So, not too terribly unplayable. Check Crystalkeep for the stat adjustments.

UA has a few variant races based on elements, like Water Half-Orcs, Earth Dwarves, Fire Elves, Air Gnomes, Water Halflings, Air Goblins (immune to suffocation? huh.), Fire Hobgoblins, Earth Kobolds, and Water Orcs. Most of these are +0 LA. Check the SRD or Crystalkeep for these.

Then in the MM you've got your various mephits... +3 LA.

Also in MM you've got the Azer, or as our group likes to refer to him, the "Naked Flaming Dwarf": +4 LA. Magmin might also be interesting... +4 LA. Flaming touch + combustion + monk levels could be highly entertaining.

Savage Species has rules for playing the MM stuff or even full-on elementals, although you may want to avoid all the rules headaches there. For example, we had a spellcaster pick up an elemental via Improved Familiar, and it took us a darned long while to figure out if it was able to go into negative hit points or if Cure spells would work on it. (Elementals have bodies similar to constructs... immune to criticals, but constructs are immediately destroyed if they go below 0 HP.)

[Shisumo]

Though I'm iffy on their balance and effectiveness, there's also the option from UA of having a fire elemental bloodline.

[Mewtarthio]

Though I'm iffy on their balance and effectiveness, there's also the option from UA of having a fire elemental bloodline.

Er... how does that work? I mean biologically? That's weirder than "Aberrant Blood."

[Everyman]

My guess is that part of the essence of an Elemental Plane gets bound into one's family line. As most outsiders have no seperation between soul and body because they are literally part of their native planes, it would seem that simply bonding a fair portion of elemental essence into one's body would start the trend.

How that occurs is beyond me though...

[The_Snark]

Small elementals have 2 HD and an LA of +4, if I recall Savage Species correctly. They're not bad; most of them have positive Str modifiers and decent natural weapon damage despite Small size, plus advantages like the ability to set things on fire, fly, or move through earth/stone walls and floors. (The water elemental shouldn't be chosen unless the campaign is aquatic; Water Mastery is crippling.)

Monk doesn't work very well, though, since natural weapons and flurry of blows do not, to my knowledge, mix. And of course there's the intelligence problem.

There are half-elemental templates in either Planar Handbook or Manual of the Planes, I recall, but I didn't much care for them.

[Draco Ignifer]

Er... how does that work? I mean biologically? That's weirder than "Aberrant Blood."

85% of the half-whatevers make no sense. Half-orcs, ogres, and the like only make sense until you stop and think that, if we find them so hideous and disgusting in appearance, they'd probably find us just as repulsive. Even if they have hideous lusts too terrible to contemplate, they'd probably be more likely to sate them on the livestock... at least the swine would have cute faces. Half-giants are too ridiculous, one way or the other, to contemplate. Half-illithid was, at least at one point, happily protested by an "Illithids have no bits!" scrollbar, yet they exist. Half-vampires are strange enough, considering that the negative energy latent within them should easily kill off any sex cells still within their bodies, but then they made even them seem plausible by introducing things like half-ghouls. Might as well not even ask for logic to it.

[AtomicKitKat]

Half-Undead can generally occur if a pregnant parent is slain/spawned. Subsequently, one could probably wind up "Deathtouched", several generations down.

Half-Elementals are trickier. I could see one making it with a Weird, or some of the various humanoid ones. Hard to figure out how that works with the full-fledged elementals though. Especially the Air and Fire ones. O_o

[Mewtarthio]

Half-orcs, ogres, and the like only make sense until you stop and think that, if we find them so hideous and disgusting in appearance, they'd probably find us just as repulsive. Even if they have hideous lusts too terrible to contemplate, they'd probably be more likely to sate them on the livestock... at least the swine would have cute faces.

You'd be surprised at all the weird fetishes out there. Plus, given that so many Half-X's are Half-Human, I'd say that humans in DnD aren't too picky about their partners.

• Is it roughly human-shaped?
• If not, does it have roughly human-esque reproductive organs?
• If not, does it look at all attractive?
• If not, is it reasonable to assume that you'll survive the process?
• If not, well, why the heck not?

Half-giants are too ridiculous, one way or the other, to contemplate.

Most giants are only Large in size.

Half-illithid was, at least at one point, happily protested by an "Illithids have no bits!" scrollbar, yet they exist.

Aren't Half-Illithids caused by the implantation of Illithid larvae into the base creature (not so much a bastard child of and Illithid and something else as a twisted Illtidized version of the creature)?

Half-vampires are strange enough, considering that the negative energy latent within them should easily kill off any sex cells still within their bodies, but then they made even them seem plausible by introducing things like half-ghouls. Might as well not even ask for logic to it.

Technically, the negative energy should have killed them, too. If vampires can be fueled by negative energy and continue living as undead, then why can't they have undead sex cells? Furthermore, all vampires were humanoids at some point, so it's not all that much of a stretch to presume they are attracted to humanoids (that is, if we presume they are capable of attraction in the first place). Half-Vampires actually make more sense than Half-Elves, really (at least Human Vampires and Living Humans are biologically the same species).

Also, I think Half-Ghouls are the result of a pregnant woman becoming a Ghoul but her child eventually surviving, and Half-Ghosts require divine intervention or somesuch.

---

Now, Half-Elementals, on the other hand, I can't wrap my mind around. Does anyone know how this works?

[axraelshelm]

don't forget people d and d is a multiverse with polymorth in meaning anything can make love to anything aslong as they have the right caster levels or magic item.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

You could try the Giant's Half-Elemental Infiltrator: http://www.giantitp.com/articles/Bvf...yIGOX5zdC.html

As for a pure elemental... maybe when your party includes a dragon, Tarrasque, and Pun-Pun. And a lvl-20 wizard.

[The_Snark]

Yeah, Half-illithids are well-explained; they're the result of illithid implantation of non-standard subjects. Not the result of standard reproduction.

Half-vampires make some sense too; after all, they're not always even differentiable from humanoids. The usual suspects (fiends, dragons, and celestials) are either humanoid-shaped or capable of polymorphing.

Half-elementals? Not really sure about that one. Maybe efreets or djinni...? But I suspect there are separate templates for those. I second the various elemental Wierds as the culprits, though; those are at least shaped like humanoids.

[GolemsVoice]

As far as I know, most half things that can not be explained via some biology are made magically by a wizard wondering "What if I....". There is more magic than just the one described in the spel lists, so I believe wizards and stuff can just use raw arcane power to fuse together what should not have been together (think of half golems) I can imagine a wizard binding fiery essence into a human, who furthermore lives with a "heart on fire". The rest is biology.
Maybe you could try to create something entirely new, like said experiment. Although it is difficult not to make it too strong/weak, it would be a way.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

Wait, wait. A druid wildshaped into an elemental, and THEN...

[axraelshelm]

Wait, wait. A druid wildshaped into an elemental, and THEN...

yeah it's that easy, great balls of fire!!!