Air elemantal [Archive] - Wizards Community

Air elemantal [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
shadowflamedancer
03-14-04, 12:50 PM this may seem kindof silly, but once i was dming for a party that had a half air elemental in it. They were under whater, and the half air elemental actually suggested slitting his charechter's wrists and breathing the air out of them! i said no, but it aroused my curiousity. could you do that with a full blooded air elemental? could an air elemental even go underwater?
Ogre4Hire
03-14-04, 01:25 PM This is clearly a case of Rule Zero.

Personally, I'd say, no you can't breath an elemental (they're actually solid, physical creatures. Yes, you can take one underwater, but it's really going to hate you for it and will be royally mad when it gets out.
ieattrollsforbreakfast
03-15-04, 04:14 PM I dont see why an air elemental couldnt go underwater, but you would definately not be able to breathe them. As Ogre4Hire said, they are actually solid.
Krelios
03-15-04, 04:28 PM Personally, I'd say, no you can't breath an elemental (they're actually solid, physical creatures. No, true elementals (not half-elementals) are composed entirely of the element that they represent. Air elementals are literally air, just as earth elementals are literally earth. They behave as ghosts except that unlike ghosts they do not reside partially on the ethereal plane and so they do not suffer the miss chance associated with incorporeality. There's nothing to say that they are solid, and the SRD/MM says specifically...Elementals are incarnations of the elements that compose existence. ...in the section describing elementals.

Furthermore, the individual elementals are described as...
Their rapid speed makes air elementals useful on vast battlefields or in extended aerial combat. When summoned to the Material Plane, an earth elemental consists of whatever types of dirt, stones, precious metals, and gems it was conjured from. A fire elemental cannot enter water or any other nonflammable liquid. A body of water is an impassible barrier unless the fire elemental can step or jump over it. A water elemental can’t venture more than 180 feet from the body of water from which it was conjured...A water elemental prefers to fight in a large body of water where it can disappear beneath the waves and suddenly swell up behind its opponents. Since it specifically prohibits fire elementals from entering water, and air elementals have no such prohibition (in fact, most of the gases that make up air are already in water) they are free to enter it.

As to whether a half-elemental can do something like slit his wrists and let the PCs "breathe" him--well, if he's full of air instead of blood that's a whole different issue.
The_Fan
03-15-04, 05:59 PM If air elementals behaved like ghosts, then you couldn't cage one, it wouldn't be constrained by tight spaces, and it could walk through walls or squeeze through a keyhole. However, whenver a creature can do that (such as an earth elemental, in fact), it is specifically mentioned as being able to.

Air elementals are made of air, yes, but they are solidified air. They can be flanked so they have a distinguished front and back, they are just as constrained by tight spaces as any other creature, and a door is a barrier unless it blows it down or rips it off the hinges with a whirlwind attack.
Ogre4Hire
03-15-04, 06:20 PM Agreed. If they behaved like that, their description would include something mentioning that they were under a continuous Gasious Form effect.
Aurotuli
03-16-04, 08:19 AM Somewhere, I cannot recall where, I read of an air elemental type creature that had a suffocation attack, whereby it would actually cause part of itself to be 'breathed' into the creature and then would simply not allow that part to be breathed out. Sounds like a similar circumstance to me.
Ogre4Hire
03-16-04, 11:35 AM That sounds like the Belker, which, while it is an elemental with the Air subtype, is not the same.
ieattrollsforbreakfast
03-16-04, 11:48 AM IIRC smoke paraelementals have a similar ability.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
shadowflamedancer 03-14-04, 12:50 PM	this may seem kindof silly, but once i was dming for a party that had a half air elemental in it. They were under whater, and the half air elemental actually suggested slitting his charechter's wrists and breathing the air out of them! i said no, but it aroused my curiousity. could you do that with a full blooded air elemental? could an air elemental even go underwater?
Ogre4Hire 03-14-04, 01:25 PM	This is clearly a case of Rule Zero. Personally, I'd say, no you can't breath an elemental (they're actually solid, physical creatures. Yes, you can take one underwater, but it's really going to hate you for it and will be royally mad when it gets out.
ieattrollsforbreakfast 03-15-04, 04:14 PM	I dont see why an air elemental couldnt go underwater, but you would definately not be able to breathe them. As Ogre4Hire said, they are actually solid.
Krelios 03-15-04, 04:28 PM	Personally, I'd say, no you can't breath an elemental (they're actually solid, physical creatures. No, true elementals (not half-elementals) are composed entirely of the element that they represent. Air elementals are literally air, just as earth elementals are literally earth. They behave as ghosts except that unlike ghosts they do not reside partially on the ethereal plane and so they do not suffer the miss chance associated with incorporeality. There's nothing to say that they are solid, and the SRD/MM says specifically...Elementals are incarnations of the elements that compose existence. ...in the section describing elementals. Furthermore, the individual elementals are described as... Their rapid speed makes air elementals useful on vast battlefields or in extended aerial combat. When summoned to the Material Plane, an earth elemental consists of whatever types of dirt, stones, precious metals, and gems it was conjured from. A fire elemental cannot enter water or any other nonflammable liquid. A body of water is an impassible barrier unless the fire elemental can step or jump over it. A water elemental can’t venture more than 180 feet from the body of water from which it was conjured...A water elemental prefers to fight in a large body of water where it can disappear beneath the waves and suddenly swell up behind its opponents. Since it specifically prohibits fire elementals from entering water, and air elementals have no such prohibition (in fact, most of the gases that make up air are already in water) they are free to enter it. As to whether a half-elemental can do something like slit his wrists and let the PCs "breathe" him--well, if he's full of air instead of blood that's a whole different issue.
The_Fan 03-15-04, 05:59 PM	If air elementals behaved like ghosts, then you couldn't cage one, it wouldn't be constrained by tight spaces, and it could walk through walls or squeeze through a keyhole. However, whenver a creature can do that (such as an earth elemental, in fact), it is specifically mentioned as being able to. Air elementals are made of air, yes, but they are solidified air. They can be flanked so they have a distinguished front and back, they are just as constrained by tight spaces as any other creature, and a door is a barrier unless it blows it down or rips it off the hinges with a whirlwind attack.
Ogre4Hire 03-15-04, 06:20 PM	Agreed. If they behaved like that, their description would include something mentioning that they were under a continuous Gasious Form effect.
Aurotuli 03-16-04, 08:19 AM	Somewhere, I cannot recall where, I read of an air elemental type creature that had a suffocation attack, whereby it would actually cause part of itself to be 'breathed' into the creature and then would simply not allow that part to be breathed out. Sounds like a similar circumstance to me.
Ogre4Hire 03-16-04, 11:35 AM	That sounds like the Belker, which, while it is an elemental with the Air subtype, is not the same.
ieattrollsforbreakfast 03-16-04, 11:48 AM	IIRC smoke paraelementals have a similar ability.