Children of the Night: Elementals

[alhoon]

I like your ideas but I don't think it has to be limited to the four types of blood elementals. For example, water elementals include Water Weirds. A Blood Weird would be cool too.

[KingCorn]

I like your ideas but I don't think it has to be limited to the four types of blood elementals. For example, water elementals include Water Weirds. A Blood Weird would be cool too.

Its just one blood elemental, its just an adventure based on blood types.
If you meant dread elementals, I do have a few other ideas that could make a full thirteen, such as
--Unliving Lightening: By product of creating flesh golems with lightening. Reanimates corpses
--Ashen Man: Gehenna native who has become an embodiment of ash and famine. Believes it to be a holy blessing
--An elemental lich. Cause, hey, they are a thing.
--Elementals based on those hallowed elemental planes from the latest QtR

[alhoon]

You are right, I meant dread elementals not just blood elementals.
What I meant is that as we have dread elementals, we could have things liked dread Xorn or Dread Weirds or Dread Slyph etc etc.

I could also see... dread genasi being created by combining (with magic) tainted elemental matter with humanoid stock in an act of blasphemous vanity and disruption of the natural order. Evil druids need to do their thing too, don't they?

The one I disagree with is the elemental lich cause Liches are waaay too powerful and Ravenloft already has many IMO

[KingCorn]

The one I disagree with is the elemental lich cause Liches are waaay too powerful and Ravenloft already has many IMO

We'll leave that one for CotN: Lich (should the cafe ever get to it)

I might add stuff life a water weird or a druid later, but first I want to finish the main four. I went with the four main elementals/dread elementals cause I figured the classics should get top billing.

[The Lesser Evil]

Right. I'll keep with the fog having higher than usual intelligence due to it observing humans. I'm admit idly split on what to have them do, cause I originally based them on the Stephen King story "Strawberry Spring" where the narrator is implied to be a serial killer who goes mad in the evening fog. I liked the idea of mists intentionally driving people to madness but am split whether to go the "makes serial killers" route or "makes riots" route. Cause the casues large scale havoc thing feels to close to Boreas from CotN: Demons. What do you think?

I tend to concur with you on the serial killer route. The Fouling Fog seems to be sneaky elementals, and causing a widespread havoc might mean they would have to be seen by multiple people out in the open unless they infused the water supply with some of their essence or if they did it indirectly (through corrupted mortal agents rabble rousing, etc.)

Actually, you could probably do both the serial killer and the widespread riots thing by using the former to cause enough panic about the murders to descend into mass hysteria and then rioting as the gendarme are unable to keep up with the serial killers. One or more suspects are taken into custody, but the murders keep occurring due to the elementals influencing multiple people or even merely copycat murders. In response, the gendarme starting trying to suppress the riots, which sparks more resistance. Sort of a theme of escalation, where the social zeitgeist could be metaphorically mimic a natural disaster such as a tornado, that is quickly touching down and destroying a lot in a small amount of time. Or the escalation could be more slow burn over time, confusion and doubt coming together to obscure the metaphorical path to truth just as mists come together to obscure a physical path.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

I could also see... dread genasi being created by combining (with magic) tainted elemental matter with humanoid stock in an act of blasphemous vanity and disruption of the natural order.

Dread genasi appear in QtR 7, on page 63. The article presents them as racial options and gives associated feats. It does not present any specific genasi NPCs in the world, however, so there is still an opportunity to fill a gap.

[KingCorn]

Dread genasi appear in QtR 7, on page 63. The article presents them as racial options and gives associated feats. It does not present any specific genasi NPCs in the world, however, so there is still an opportunity to fill a gap.

The thing about that is they only cover the 4 dread elements. With The Ashen Man, he's basically an ash genasi, which I'm not sure there's rules for.

[alhoon]

Since we're talking NPCs the rules don't have to be 100% followed.

[KingCorn]

Since we're talking NPCs the rules don't have to be 100% followed.

Alright. I've no practice in writing stats/homebrew (I'm more of story man) but I've got time to work on that.

So, ideas I have so far:
--Fouling Fog (again, still not sure on the name, just feels abit weird): Trio of Mist Elementals who make serial killers and enjoy causing havoc. Have an adventure in Chateaufaux (thanks LesserEvil for the suggestion)
--Gift of Belenus: A fire elemental summoned by a fey that is worshipped by a village in Tepest as a miracle of Belenus. Inquisition wants to use it for witch burnings and will turn it into a pyre elemental
--Specimen 26: Blood Elemental thats been captured in Lamordia to be used in foul blood experiments, will be used to help a mad scientist imprint his mind on people who have his blood in them
--The Mound: A huge Grave Elemental the size of a hill. A necromancer ends up waking it up, sending it on a rampage.
--The Ashen Man: A G'henna native that has become an Ash Genasi. Thinks it a blessing of his god, he now spreads famine and ruin everywhere. (Customize, fix up)
--Unliving Lightening: The byproduct of powering a flesh golem with lightening. Raises undead, but damages them over time by burning through them too quickly. (I imagine it acid green in color). Not sure on an adventure yet.
--Some sort of druid who is riling up the elements against civilization (probably from Forlorn)

Need 6 more for a full thirteen (or I could just go with a simple 4)

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

Fouling Fog (again, still not sure on the name, just feels abit weird)

I thought up a few possible replacement names:

• The Brothers Brume (brume being another word for mist)
• The Accreters of the Dread (after Eaters of the Dead)
• The Expirations of Frenzy (using expiration in the sense of exhalation, as though the mist elementals were evil breaths)

I would also suggest Whom Fogs Destroy (after Whom Gods Destroy), but that is more of a name for the elementals' victims.

[The Lesser Evil]

So, ideas I have so far:
--Fouling Fog (again, still not sure on the name, just feels abit weird): Trio of Mist Elementals who make serial killers and enjoy causing havoc. Have an adventure in Chateaufaux (thanks LesserEvil for the suggestion)
--Gift of Belenus: A fire elemental summoned by a fey that is worshipped by a village in Tepest as a miracle of Belenus. Inquisition wants to use it for witch burnings and will turn it into a pyre elemental
--Specimen 26: Blood Elemental thats been captured in Lamordia to be used in foul blood experiments, will be used to help a mad scientist imprint his mind on people who have his blood in them
--The Mound: A huge Grave Elemental the size of a hill. A necromancer ends up waking it up, sending it on a rampage.
--The Ashen Man: A G'henna native that has become an Ash Genasi. Thinks it a blessing of his god, he now spreads famine and ruin everywhere. (Customize, fix up)
--Unliving Lightening: The byproduct of powering a flesh golem with lightening. Raises undead, but damages them over time by burning through them too quickly. (I imagine it acid green in color). Not sure on an adventure yet.
--Some sort of druid who is riling up the elements against civilization (probably from Forlorn)

Need 6 more for a full thirteen (or I could just go with a simple 4)

If you're wanting to do more, the netbook article "Elemental Corruption" from the Kargatane Book of Shadows (at kargatane.com) has ideas/stats for dread equivalents to various elemental kin: myst sylph (sylph), mist servant (invisible servant), crypt gnome (pech), graveling (sandling), heat stalker (salamander), pyre worm (fireworm), bloody Mary (nereid), and scarlet stream (water weird). These creatures are statted for 2nd edition, but you could always look at their 3e uncorrupted equivalents and then make minor adjustments as needed.

Here's some other ideas you may or may not wish to include:
*belker
*galeb duhr (for an elemental with a folkloric-seeming/nature connection)
*garbage elemental (Book of Shadows)
*grues (chaggrin, the harginn, the ildriss, and the varrdig, 2e stats in Planescape Monstrous Compendium and 3e stats in Complete Arcane, nice in that they're already evil)
*hearth fiend (detailed in most Ravenloft monster books, although possibly to be avoided considering the similarity to the Fouling Fog)
*mephits
*mist weird (Van Richten's Guide to the Mists, note this is a Ravenlot equivalent of the 3e oracle-style mist weird, not the snake like entity)
*necromental (undead elemental, Libris Mortis)
*shadow elemental (Tome of Magic 3.5)
*shipbane (the FoS Nocturnal Seas Gazetteer)
*smoke elemental (The Awakening)

[Joël of the FoS]

I'm tossing around an idea to make a small Children of the Night based on the dread elementals.

When I first read this, I have to admit I wasn't inspired at all. But I really like what you did with this idea. Your monsters ideas are interesting.

All this could be the work of a summoner/demon/whatever, creating havoc here and there for a specific purpose (these are steps to a greater summoning, the PCs have to stop it).

Joël

[KingCorn]

I'm tossing around an idea to make a small Children of the Night based on the dread elementals.

When I first read this, I have to admit I wasn't inspired at all. But I really like what you did with this idea. Your monsters ideas are interesting.

All this could be the work of a summoner/demon/whatever, creating havoc here and there for a specific purpose (these are steps to a greater summoning, the PCs have to stop it).

Joël

Thanks Joel!
As for summoner, I could tie them all into the druid character for the guide as a part of the recurrance section.

Also, I just got a new idea thats just right for Hazlan: An Orglash. In Forgotten realms, these elementals of ice and snow where found in the homeland of the Rashemarr and were a natural defense against Thay invaders. In the land of mists, this Orglash will be a tool of vengance against the tyrant red wizards, but this tool of vengance will soon prove impossible to control.

I also want a Shadow Elemental (of course) but the problem is I have just to broad a place to put one in the Mists. I could make one thats tied to the FoS, or tie it to the Shadow Dragon Ebb, or just have it occur naturally in the mists. Maybe rather than a normal shadow elemental it could be a normal man is creating them with his dark thoughts like Pacali and his pickled punks, or some sort of Shadow Nest that just keeps spawning Shadow Elementals. What do you guys suggest?

[The Lesser Evil]

Also, I just got a new idea thats just right for Hazlan: An Orglash. In Forgotten realms, these elementals of ice and snow where found in the homeland of the Rashemarr and were a natural defense against Thay invaders. In the land of mists, this Orglash will be a tool of vengance against the tyrant red wizards, but this tool of vengance will soon prove impossible to control.

Of course there are scant few red wizards in Ravenloft, but the Orglash's nature would lend itself to Hazlan, with the Rashemi rebellion against the Mulan and Hazlik, as the main Red Wizard in Ravenloft. Of course, the orglash could switch sides at some point if it discovers Hazlik's plan of transplanar genocide of the Mulan, which would include the Red Wizards.

The Orglash could also wind up in Valachan and meet Urik von Kharkov, whom also has a hatred for Red Wizards.

I also want a Shadow Elemental (of course) but the problem is I have just to broad a place to put one in the Mists. I could make one thats tied to the FoS, or tie it to the Shadow Dragon Ebb, or just have it occur naturally in the mists. Maybe rather than a normal shadow elemental it could be a normal man is creating them with his dark thoughts like Pacali and his pickled punks, or some sort of Shadow Nest that just keeps spawning Shadow Elementals. What do you guys suggest?

I've always wanted to play with/deconstruct the vagaries of the summon monster spells in conjunction with the various shadow illusion spells, at least in 3.5/PF. Like the summon monster spells are a little vague on if you can summon the same particular individual monster(s) every time or if you summon a different one. And Shadow Conjuration/Greater shadow Conjuration produces quasi-real creatures. Although such illusionary creatures only have a fraction of the capability of their real counterparts, they do have the special abilities, etc. And there are various ways to boost how effective the shadow conjuration is, not to mention the Demiplane of Dread's bonuses to shadow spells.

Anyway, the reason I mention all of this is I wonder, if you use the shadow spells to duplicate a summon monster spell, what happens if you interact and have conversations with the illusionary shadow creature? Can it know that it is illusionary? If you conjure the same creature over and over, can it begin to develop an existential angst? How would it begin to deal with such a crisis?

Anyway, where I'm going with this is, a really lonely or demented illusionist, or just an unoriginal spellcaster trying to get around the summoning restrictions, might "conjure" up an illusionary monster of some kind enough that it begins to develop an awareness of its own. What if the spellcaster began giving the shadow more and more leeway in instructions? What would it try to do to extend its existence and achieve some form of self-determination? Could it, through the weird whims of the Dark Powers, devour other creatures/entities of shadow, like a simulacrum or even an undead shadow? Perhaps if it got enough power it could turn into a full shadow elemental.

Of course, being a shadow elemental might not necessarily be enough for the former illusion, because, although solid, it's still just a shadow, a skewed reflection of a more "real" thing. Thus, the shadow elemental might be trapped in a state of jealous existential angst against "real" creatures. Such a set-up interposes the shadow as a metaphor with the shadow as a physical entity.

[KingCorn]

I'll look up more on the interactions of shadows in Ravenloft. I definitly want the FoS to at least be part of the recurrance for the Shadow Elemental, and I want it to have some form of disguise self or polymorph just cause it would look good in art.

I'm kinda wondering whether I should maybe make the Mound a sort of Grave Monolith, cause I really want it to be just that huge and old. I suppose I could just beef up the Elder Grave Elemental and up the size. It would basically be the same

Also, just got a new idea: The Wandering Oasis. An evil water elemental in Har-Akir or Sebua that was inadvertantly created when a member of a lost caravan survived in the desert by using the spell Extract Water Elemental, drawing the life from his commrades in order to create a source of water. The Elemental formed an Oasis, but with it was cursed. Any who drink from the pool find themselves increasingly thirsty, as the water from their body is extracted and forming a water elemental which is compleled to return to the oasis, increasing its size.
--I known something this evil seems like it should just become a blood elemental, but it didn't fit thematically, we already had a mosquito infest oasis in the dm's guide for 3e, and the oasis just does this by the nature of the spell that made it and the twisted whims of the dark powers.
-- The Oasis is barely sentient, more of just a cursed pool than really a monster. I figure it only really does anything if something actually threatens it. The main elemental is the ones it creates by extracting the liquids of all who drink from its waters