An Alternate Character Interpretation of Elementals

Elementals! They’re one of the iconic monsters of D&D, common summons for PC and NPC mage alike, and one of the easiest creatures to slot into a setting or encounter. They are also, from a lore perspective, simple. Perhaps too simple. They have a bit more than half a page of text dedicated to them in the Monster Manual, most of which is dedicated to describing their combat tactics and the rest to describing how they have “no society and culture, and little sense of being”. Now, there’s nothing wrong with laconic, but if you wish to play these creatures with any character at all, you need more than that. Additionally, they require the existence of an Elemental Plane, which some creators many not want. I intend to solve these problems with five different possible alternate character interpretations that you can use in your campaign!

Genius Loci
The knight rounded the corner and raised his sword to strike the hulking figure that was waiting there. It bounced off the figure—an enormous behemoth of cobblestone and mud. As it raised a massive fist in retribution, the knight sincerely wished the city council had paid for that urban restoration project.

These elementals are derived from local spirits—the spirits present at a crossroads, a pond, a charcoal pit, or a hillock. Their appearance should vary based on the location they derive from, so an earth elemental summoned in a city will look like brick or cobblestone, one summoned in a field will look like sod covered in grass, one summoned in a mine may look like animate ore, and one summoned in a desert would look like walking sand. They will behave differently based on the location as well—a region that is sanctified (like a druid’s grove) may spontaneously animate benevolent elementals, while a blighted region would produce corrupted elementals.

Combat behavior should vary—some elementals may willingly join if its summoners are one with the land. In this case, they will not attack their summoner if released from conjuration, instead they may fight on or (more likely) return to their peaceful slumber. If enraged, they will prefer targeting ‘defilers of the land’, like undead or evil mages. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even give special abilities to these special elementals. This can range from casting certain spells (like a Cure Wounds from a benevolent elemental) to modifying stats (like cold resistance for elementals from an arctic tundra).

This interpretation fits well with an animist worldview, where everything has a spirit, and can be tweaked slightly to interpret them as ‘minor gods’, like the river nymphs of Greek mythology. In this case, the Circle of the Moon druid’s ability to transform into elementals would take on a whole new meaning, beyond that of a mere power up, and the wrath of an unwillingly summoned elemental could extend beyond a CR 5 foe. You may want to increase their Intelligence and Charisma scores if this is the case.

Magical Hunter-Killer Machines
The elementals swarmed over the fortress like flies over a corpse. Many swarmed the forge, still lit to forge the artifact of last resistance. Most devoured the stone and metal, armoring themselves with the weapons wielded to slay them. Some harvested the air itself—the last unpolluted winds for a thousand miles. One, however, feasted upon the artifact itself, created to prevent their summoning in the first place. As it was transformed, it could feel the effects of its enemies upon the timescape. As it activated its newfound power, its singular thought remained the same singular though that had coursed through its mind since its creation—SURVIVE.

These elementals are magical super-weapons—beings that devour magic to reproduce and destroy everything they encounter. You can give it a sci-fi spin by making the actual essence of the elementals a microscopic cloud of arcane machines that interact with the elemental forces around them. You can give it a post-apocalyptic spin by having the ‘summoning’ of the elementals be reconstituting the long-since dispersed creatures. Whatever their exact interpretation, these elementals would be seen by societies as a severe threat with the potential to wipe out whole civilizations, so their summoning would be regarded with the level of severity usually applied to fiends and undead.

The combat behavior of these elementals is the place you have the best chance of selling them as a threat. They should act utterly relentless in their pursuit of their target (if controlled) or defense and reproduction (if uncontrolled). They will wipe out whole villages if given half a chance and will swarm targets with the most powerful magic items, shattering them and doubling their numbers if given half a chance. This version has a strong potential for horror, and could conceivably make an Elder Elemental the main villain of a particular campaign!

Psychometric Echoes
The druid touched the rock as the pyromancer approached, searching for a memory. “Do you intend to douse me with stones?” The pyromancer asked, mockingly. The druid’s hands swept over a familiar helix shape, and the memory of a primordial sea flooded into her mind. “Yes.” The druid replied, her form turning to water as her spirit called upon a dead ocean to aid in her battle.

These elementals are echoes of an ancient past (or far future, potentially). They should be described as appearing somewhat ghostly, and that their appearance suggests a depth that is not possible (like being able to see an entire ancient ocean through the transparent form of a 10 ft by 10 water elemental. Behaviorally, they will tend to act in an arbitrary manner when uncontrolled. An earth elemental, for example, will walk towards old mountains and attempt to pile them with stones to ‘restore’ them, while a water elemental may attempt to re-flood an old lake or ocean. They won’t be deliberately hostile, but their behaviors will not be convenient for life that’s still alive!

Energy Beings
“You wish me to do what?” The living flame asked. “Fight my enemies!” The mage answered amid the hurling of spells. “Are you sure you didn’t get the wrong person?” The flame asked. “You’re a fire elemental! What else would I ask of you?” The mage retorted. “Well, back home I’m a secretary. I assumed you wanted me to get you a cup of coffee.” The flame responded.

These elementals are, for lack of a better word, people. Their Intelligence and Charisma scores should be increased to 10 to indicate this. Their behavior will also default to non-violence, unless they feel particularly put out by their summoner. They may be totally unwilling summons from an alternate elemental world, or they may be drawn by the power summoners use to conjure them in the first place, acting as a sort of ‘free food’ bribe to encourage their arrival and participation. This version has the greatest comedy potential, I think, as the mental image of summoning a random office worker into the middle of a magical shootout amuses me. This may require more work from a GM than a default elemental but has the potential to turn a generic summon into a memorable interaction!

“Ecology of the Elemental”
Well, it’s kind of cheating to say ‘five’ and only supply four, but I think Fortuan has a perfectly acceptable alternate interpretation in their ‘Ecology of the’ post on Elementals. It doesn’t go into combat tactics, but it seems that these elementals would have superior mental stats to their Monster Manual versions and would be unlikely to fight outside of self defense or for some enigmatic reason that only they understand. Indeed, they may be valuable sources of lore!

(Originally published here on August 23, 2018)