Updating the
Ash Quasi-Elemental Working Draft.
The original critter lists 1d6+(HD-dependent bonus) for the attack damage, but I'm not certain if that's cold or bludgeoning damage. Taking the lead from the fire elemental, I'd probably have it do a bit of normal damage and a bit of cold. Start at 1d4/1d4 like the fire elemental?
The Ash Quasi has "If the ash quasielemental actually touches a sod in combat, its
heat drain inflicts 1d6 points of damage plus 1 additional point per Hit Die of the elemental creature (6, 9, or 12)", which means it's the same draining effect as its Aura or Blast.
A direct translation would be it's a cold damage touch attack.
An AD&D Fire Elementals' writeup specifies their attacks still damage "fire creature" (but at -1 damage per die) while burning inflammable targets.
Hmm...
I don't much like the idea of giving it a cold damage only attack, because it'd mean they would be unable to harm a coldproofed opponent.
A slam attack with an energy rider would seem the best solution to that, like the Fire Elemental.
However, I also thought we'd agreed to give it a touch attack. I suppose we could give it a fire-elemental damage scaled touch attack, or maybe even both?
e.g. something like:
Large Ash Quasi-Elemental #1: 2 slams +8 melee (2d6+5 plus 2d6 cold)
Large Ash Quasi-Elemental #2: 2 touches +8 touch (4d6 cold)
Large Ash Quasi-Elemental #3: 2 slams +8 melee (2d6+5 plus 2d6 cold) and touches +8 touch (4d6 cold)
Hmm, I don't like the way that does more damage than a 3E Fire Elemental - the original averaged about the same (9.5 to 15.5 for 6 HD to 12 HD Ashes vs 13.5 for an AD&D Fire Elemental). I think we should reduce the slam damage, either the Bludgeoning or the Cold component or both.
The Ash Quasi's greater strength also adds significantly to the damage, especially at the smaller sizes. If we use the fire elemental's damage dice we'd have:
Small: Fire (1d4 plus 1d4 fire) vs Ash (1d4+3 plus 1d4 cold) = 5 vs 8.
Medium: Fire (1d6+1 plus 1d6 fire) vs Ash (1d6+4 plus 1d6 cold) = 8 vs 11.
I think we'd better reduce the Ash Quasi's Strength by 2 to diminish this damage difference.
Playing around with the numbers, I think we'd by OK if we cut one of the damages down a "half step" (e.g. 2d6 to 1d10) and lower the Strength by 2.
That'd give us:
| Size of Elemental | Fire Elemental
| Ash
Quasi-Elemental | Fire vs Ash |
| Small | 1d4 plus 1d4 fire | 1d3+1 plus 1d4 cold | 5 vs 5.5 |
| Medium | 1d6+1 plus 1d6 fire | 1d4+3 plus 1d6 cold | 8 vs 9 |
| Large | 2d6+2 plus 2d6 fire | 1d10+4 plus 2d6 cold | 16 vs 16.5 |
| Huge | 2d8+4 plus 2d8 fire | 2d6+6 plus 2d8 cold | 22 vs 22 |
| Greater | 2d8+5 plus 2d8 fire | 2d6+7 plus 2d8 cold | 23 vs 23 |
| Elder | 2d8+6 plus 2d8 fire | 2d6+8 plus 2d8 cold | 24 vs 24 |
| Monolith | 6d6+11/19–20 plus 4d6 fire | 4d8+13/19–20 plus 4d6 cold | 32 vs 31 |
