Signature damage types of elemental creatures

[Millstone85]

When you encounter a fire elemental or other fiery creature, you expect it to deal fire damage. This is self-explanatory.

But there is no such thing as air, water or earth damage in D&D. What, then, would you most associate with such elemental creatures?

My thougths so far:

• Air: either lightning or thunder damage, both connected to storms.
• Water: cold damage, because of the neighboring para-elemental plane of ice.
• Earth: either poison damage, from the neighboring para-elemental plane of ooze, or thunder damage, in a seismic interpretation.

[Mastikator]

Bludgeoning/Crushing for air, earth and water elementals. Fire is an energy type, air, water and earth are matter types. Hey it's not my fault the 4 element system makes zero sense.

[Millstone85]

Bludgeoning/Crushing for air, earth and water elementals. Fire is an energy type, air, water and earth are matter types. Hey it's not my fault the 4 element system makes zero sense.

I like to semi-rationalize it as the four fundamental states of matter: plasma, gas, liquid and solid.

Though with that approach, lightning damage would belong to fire, while cold damage would belong to earth. Liquefaction could be represented by acid. And for air, still thunder?

It is the para-elemental planes that are most problematic, really. But I am imagining a setting where those could easily be ignored.

[Mastikator]

I think cold belonging to earth depends on what cold is doing. Are you stabbing someone with an icicle? Piercing? Are you freezing someone with cold convection? That's just anti-fire :)

IMO it should come down to the method of attack before the classic element behind it. For example if I pick up a rock and bludgeon someone with it that is an elemental earth attack, but you don't get poisoned, you get bruised. Fire and lightning indeed both cause burns (one inside and one outside) so that is both just burn/heat damage. But air elementals? Is lightning their only method of attack? Or can they strike you with wind?

I'm wondering what purpose does this classification server?

[Millstone85]

IMO it should come down to the method of attack before the classic element behind it.

In 5e, the standard elementals match your first reaction, in that they all deal bludgeoning damage, except for the fire elemental which instead deals fire damage.

But elemental myrmidons, for example, are more sophisticated. Fire wields a scimitar, air a flail, water a trident, and earth a maul, which deal the expected slashing, bludgeoning, piercing and again bludgeoning damage. But the myrmidons can imbue their strikes with energy, respectively adding fire, lightning, cold and thunder damage.

I'm wondering what purpose does this classification server?

The elements play a big role in a setting that I am in the process of creating, and I am looking for unifying themes.

Edit: Basically, do the myrmidons' choices seem right to you?

[NorthernPhoenix]

In 5e, the standard elementals match your first reaction, in that they all deal bludgeoning damage, except for the fire elemental which instead deals fire damage.

But elemental myrmidons, for example, are more sophisticated. Fire wields a scimitar, air a flail, water a trident, and earth a maul, which deal the expected slashing, bludgeoning, piercing and again bludgeoning damage. But the myrmidons can imbue their strikes with energy, respectively adding fire, lightning, cold and thunder damage.

The elements play a big role in a setting that I am in the process of creating, and I am looking for unifying themes.

Edit: Basically, do the myrmidons' choices seem right to you?

Yes, fire, lightning, cold and thunder damage are the correct choices.

[Anonymouswizard]

Fire: fire damage
Earth: bludgeoning
Water: blugeoning, maybe cold or piercing in extreme circumstances
Air: cold or bludgeoning
Light: fire damage
Void: no damage
Wood: bludgeoning damage (an alternative reading of this element I've seen is a more general nature/air thing)
Metal: bludgeoning, or fire if using 'metal that gleams'
Ice/frost: bludgeoning and cold

I could go on, but we'd get to the silly levels of 'lumniferous ether elementals'.

[Lagtime]

But there is no such thing as air, water or earth damage in D&D. What, then, would you most associate with such elemental creatures?

I'm not a fan of "Elemental Damage" just being a dull, boring, common damage type. Elemental Damage should be unique.

So Elemental Fire damage does not "burn things like wood and paper(oh...so scary)" but is more Pure Elemetal Fire that obliterates matter from existence.

Then Elemental Air is, Pure Elemetal Air that obliterates matter from existence. (think like 1,000 mile and hour wind erosion)


Elemental Water is, Pure Elemetal Water that obliterates matter from existence. (think like 1,000 mile and hour water erosion)


Elemental Earth is, Pure Elemetal Earth that obliterates matter from existence. (think the basic structure falling apart from the inside)


So this is more when your hit by a Water Elemental is not just "a boring dull punch" or even lame "cold damage".....but it's unique Elemental damage that transmorphs your body into water.

Best of all is that there would be few, if any defenses or heals for this. This makes the effect unique and scary.

[Psyren]

The PF Kineticist thoroughly answers this question via its simple and composite blasts for each element and various element combinations. I would use that as a starting point.

[Enixon]

Ogre Battle and a few other games have made me associate poison/acid with Earth as it's go to non-physical damage type.

Though I admit doesn't make all that much sense when I actually think about it, if anything poison gas should probably be air, and acid.. water maybe?

That's probably why I'm fond of lumping plants in with "Earth" since there's plenty of poisonous plants out there.

[Kyutaru]

If you are not satisfied with air, water, and earth not having their own damage types then just give them their own damage types. Damage types and the associated resistance are merely to reflect how one would defend against or become immune to a particular type of attack. You can totally have "air damage" that attacks enemies with living gas or seizes the very oxygen from their lungs. You can have "water damage" that drains their fluids or drowns them in liquid. You can have "earth damage" that works like Gaara's sand in Naruto, getting into every nook and cranny physically as a solid. Fire damage would therefore just be the plasma variety and based around intense heat. All four attack in different ways and could have their own resistances and immunities.

But if you're asking about D&D in particular then the existing ones are the most closely associated subtypes. Air gets lightning because of weather spells being Air-based, Water gets cold because getting wet lowers body temperature and association with frozen water being ice, and Earth gets thunder because rocks fall and make loud noises and shockwaves. Honestly feels like more of a metal-Thor thing but they use Mauls so it's close to a hammer. A magical earth-infused hammer that detonates the ground with every strike into a seismic echo wave.

I do like Avatar's conventions though of associating fire and lightning together. Air is frequently associated with cold due to the Arctic winds. Earth is associated with poison in many games. Water is frequently paired with piercing presumably due to ice (and its ability to wreck mountains). You can even pair elements together in synergy, like Air + Water = electricity, Water + Fire = steam, Earth + Water = toxic, etc. The sky's the limit and it's purely subjective.

Heck even the holy trinity of Fire beats Grass which beats Water which beats Fire can be altered in games. I've even seen it reversed, with Heat beating Cold, Cold freezing Ground, and Ground beating Heat. Digimon even moved earth into a separate cycle with wind and plants, leaving fire and water alone with ice. Point is elements don't really have any convention to them and it varies wildly from game to game so come up with whatever you want and it's basically right as long as you can half explain it.

[Millstone85]

Yes, fire, lightning, cold and thunder damage are the correct choices.

The PF Kineticist thoroughly answers this question via its simple and composite blasts for each element and various element combinations. I would use that as a starting point.

But if you're asking about D&D in particular then the existing ones are the most closely associated subtypes. Air gets lightning because of weather spells being Air-based, Water gets cold because getting wet lowers body temperature and association with frozen water being ice, and Earth gets thunder because rocks fall and make loud noises and shockwaves.

Alright, that's enough support for me to stick to the myrmidon way. The ground will shake, the flows will drain heat, and the sky will Zeus.

[Eldan]

For what it's worth, in 3.5, it was acid for earth, ice for water and lightning for air. Which I never really liked, but that's what it pretty officially was.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

You could make it a choice. I mean, what is earth damage? Is it a chunck of ground just jumping up and being hurled at you? Or it the very ground beneath your feet starting to bubble with life and producing poison? Maybe it could be both, depending on what the creature chooses to do with their earth powers. Air could be a choice between lightning and thunder/sonic/bludgeoning/force/we have too many categories where shockwaves fit, water could be cold or see the dilemma for air but add piercing and slashing because of sharp water jets, fire could be fire or maybe lightning or even something evil associated because hellfire and such. A choice between two or even three damage types wouldn't be that weird for elemental creatures.

Alternatively, write your own element-like forces of nature to fit each damage type. Something like earth=bludgeoning, water=cold, electric=lightning, fire=fire, metal=piercing, wood/plant=poison, beast=slashing etc...

[Psyren]

Linked the wrong page earlier - Kineticist Talents has the various blasts by element.

[Millstone85]

One thing for sure is that water favoring tridents, and earth favoring hammers, is the only extent to which I want to associate the elements with bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.

Or it the very ground beneath your feet starting to bubble with life and producing poison?

On reflection, I will leave such things to the fey. They are, in a sense, the "wood" element.