[Index]
Entities of energy or matter, elementals are literal manifestations of a particular force, substance, or concept.
Elementals manifest as instances of a specific kind of energy, material, or phenomenon. But like dust devils, elementals come into existence briefly called by a spell or a particularly extreme environment before they fade.
Tumultuous and changeable, an elemental's shape often varies between individuals, including those of the same type, as shown on the Elemental Shape and Activity table. Even when they appear in a particular shape, most elementals can reform themselves at need, allowing them to flow, drip, slide, or otherwise squeeze through cracks and around barriers that would stymie most physical beings.
Elementals possess basic sapience and limited speech, but not all possess a continuity of existence.
If an elemental is magically compelled rather than convinced to act for a summoner, there's a 10% chance that the elemental immediately breaks the binding and attacks whoever commanded them.
When the elemental appears, what shape does the energy, material, or phenomenon take, and what kind of surface activity do they display? Additional options, beyond those suggested by each specific elemental description, follow.
| d20 | Shape | d20 | Surface Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thin layer that adheres to a wall or ceiling | 1 | Creeps about like molasses |
| 2 | Many-armed humanoid | 2 | Disperses and returns to shape over and over |
| 3 | Spherical with winding grooves | 3 | Spinning, changing direction of spin constantly |
| 4 | Pyramidal shape balanced on point | 4 | Like ripples across a pool |
| 5 | Many-legged centipede-like body | 5 | Surface swirls as if with eddies |
| 6 | Brontosaur-like body with humanoid head | 6 | Turbulent, like river rapids |
| 7 | A collection of motes hanging in the air | 7 | Swirling, vortical movement |
| 8 | Monolith-like pillar, floating | 8 | Like waves across the sea |
| 9 | Torus (donut), floating | 9 | Vibrating |
| 10 | Dozens of wings, hovering | 10 | Steams as if superheated |
| 11 | Jellyfish-like shape, swims through air | 11 | Pulses like a heartbeat |
| 12 | Toad-like shape with hollows for eyes | 12 | Weeping, like rain |
| 13 | Thunderhead-like cloud, floating | 13 | Boiling and roiling |
| 14 | Glyph that represents element | 14 | Frozen |
| 15 | Dragonfly-like shape, flitting | 15 | Bubbles constantly erupting from within |
| 16 | Eye-watering tesseract (4-dimensional cube) | 16 | Shimmering |
| 17 | Coiling, snake-like shape | 17 | Cycles between reflective and dull |
| 18 | Many-pointed star, hovering | 18 | Dimpling and bulging at turns |
| 19 | Machine-like shape with wheels | 19 | Flows and slumps like melting wax |
| 20 | Ovid (egg), floating | 20 | Laminar, orderly, parallel layers of flow |