Fire archomental

[Casimir Liber]

Ok have toned down its fists to 19 (4d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 35 (10d6) fire damage.

 

[Cleon]

Ok have toned down its fists to 19 (4d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 35 (10d6) fire damage.

So that's an average of 54 per fist.

The bolt presumably should do similar damage, maybe 27 (6d8) fire plus 27 (6d8) force?

 

[Casimir Liber]

Ok all incorporated - only quibble I have really is that its fire aura now does more fire damage than its firefist and musing whether this seems a bit counterintuitive

 

[Cleon]

Ok all incorporated - only quibble I have really is that its fire aura now does more fire damage than its firefist and musing whether this seems a bit counterintuitive

Damn it, I forgot about the Fire Aura.

That'd add 70 fire damage to the DPR, since it's a 10d6 AoE, which'll increase the CR considerable.

How about we change the Smoke Cloud so it doesn't do damage but causes some other effect (blindness and choking perhaps?) and use the 2d10 damage for the Fire Form? Then the DPR portion of the Challenge Rating will remain the same.

Also, as you said it'd seem odd if the Aura's fire damage exceeds that of its flaming fist. A regular Fire Elemental's Fire Form does 1d10 damage after all, which is considerably less than the 2d6+3 fire of its Touch attack.

Furthermore, it seems weird to give it both Fire Aura AND Fire Form, since there's so much overlap in their effect.

Hmm… the Fire Aura is basically the "radiant heat" portion of Fire Form, so how about we use a new Special Trait for the "conductive heat" portion (i.e. the elemental doing fire damage to creatures that touch it) and combine that with its fluidic flame body?

Something like this:

Fire Aura. At the start of the fire archoelemental's turn, any creature or flammable object within 30 feet of the archoelemental takes 11 (2d10) fire damage and catches fire; until someone takes an action to douse the fire, an ignited target take 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of the archoelemental's turns. Dousing a burning creature will douse any burning objects worn or carried by that creature.

Fire Body. The fire archoelemental can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. A creature that touches the archoelemental or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 11 (2d10) fire damage. Nonmagical weapons that hit the fire archoelemental are destroyed by fire immediately after dealing damage to it.

Legendary Actions

Smoke Cloud (Costs 2 Actions). The fire archoelemental exhales a [40?]-foot-radius sphere of smoke and embers centered on a point within [40?] feet of itself. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for [1 minute?] or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it. When the cloud appears, any creature in it must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or violently cough and choke for 1 round, gaining disadvantage on ability checks. A creature must also make this saving throw when it enters the cloud's area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. All standard elementals (air, earth, fire, water) are immune to this choking, as are creatures that do not need to breathe such as undead.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Ok - changed to these 3 items - made cloud large - 60 ft radius, up to 40 ft distance. People are moving around alot in and out of range so figured is gigantic.

Now the descrption (?)

"Archomentals are primordial elemental beings of great size and power. Some (such as the Elemental Princes of Evil) are named and worshipped, while others are nameless and unknown outside the elemental planes.



A fire archomental resembles a gargantuan (50-foot-tall) humanoid or multi-limbed beast made of flame, with smoldering black pits for eyes. Its colour varies from deep orange and red base with blazing yellow highlights to golden-yellow with searing yellow-white flames depending on its fireower. Wherever it moves, it sets its surroundings ablaze, turning the world to ash, smoke, and cinders. As the archomental’s Firepower increases, it visibly appears to produce more flames from its body, becoming a searing yellow to white-hot."

 

[Cleon]

Ok - changed to these 3 items - made cloud large - 60 ft radius, up to 40 ft distance. People are moving around alot in and out of range so figured is gigantic.

Yes, I dithered about making it 60 foot radius instead of 40 ft., like a 3rd-level slot fog cloud.

Also wondered about adding the "The cloud moves 10 feet directly away from you in a direction that you choose at the start of each of your turns" of the incendiary cloud spell just to make it a bit less static.

Or maybe have it cost a legendary action to move?

Oh, and I'm thinking we should limit it to one cloud at a time so the battlefield isn't covered with the things.

Like so:

Smoke Cloud (Costs 2 Actions) #2. The fire archoelemental exhales a 60-foot-radius sphere of smoke and embers centered on a point within 40 feet of itself. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for 1 minute or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it; the cloud moves 10 feet away from the archoelemental in a direction it chooses at the start of each of its turns. When the cloud appears, any creature in it must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or violently cough and choke for 1 round, gaining disadvantage on ability checks. A creature must also make this saving throw when it enters the cloud's area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. All standard elementals (air, earth, fire, water) are immune to this choking, as are creatures that do not need to breathe such as undead.​

​

A fire archoelemental can only maintain one smoke cloud at a time; it can disperse its smoke cloud as a free action.​

​

Smoke Cloud (Costs 1 Action to exhale or move; 2 Actions for both) #3. The fire archoelemental exhales a 60-foot-radius sphere of smoke and embers centered on a point within 20 feet of itself. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for 1 minute or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it; ; the archoelemental can move its cloud up to 20 feet in any direction at the cost of 1 legendary action (it may exhale and move the cloud as a single action for 2 legendary actions). When the cloud appears, any creature in it must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or violently cough and choke for 1 round, gaining disadvantage on ability checks. A creature must also make this saving throw when it enters the cloud's area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. All standard elementals (air, earth, fire, water) are immune to this choking, as are creatures that do not need to breathe such as undead.​

​

A fire archoelemental can only maintain one smoke cloud at a time; it can disperse its smoke cloud as a free action.​

Not 100% sure which of the above I prefer. Which do you like better?

 

[Casimir Liber]

I think #2 - the 3rd option becomes complex and means it can't create an elemental. Wizards can move sustained AoE spells without using actions.

Also - what else doesn't breathe..plants? aberrations?

 

[Cleon]

I think #2 - the 3rd option becomes complex and means it can't create an elemental. Wizards can move sustained AoE spells without using actions.

As you like.

Also - what else doesn't breathe..plants? aberrations?

Constructs that aren't powered by internal combustion.

Plants DO breathe, but they inhale carbon dioxide rather than the oxygen used by non-anaerobic animal respiration. If a plant's pores are blocked by transparent varnish it will die, although being a plant that'd take quite a time to kill it since their metabolism is so slow.

Presumably most plant monsters have animal-level metabolic rates as they can move fast enough to attack PCs, so I don't see why some wouldn't choke.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Ok have gone with #2....description?

 

[Cleon]

Ok have gone with #2....description?

Not feeling that inspired at the moment. Maybe I'll come up with something later.

Better post an Enworld Version here now we've more-or-less settled on the mechanical aspect, but that can wait too.