D&D 5E What do intelligent, fire elementals want?

[Sezarious]

His ultimate desire is to somehow reach the material plane. From there, only during a solar eclipse can he be transported to the sun, which is in fact a moving fortress, steered by a good elemental, who makes the sun go around the world consistently. If he reaches the sun and defeats the good elemental, he will stop the fortress in it's place, creating eternal daytime below, then flood the surface with his armies and rule the material plane mwahahhaha!!!!!

If he succeeds, people will have to flee below the surface to the underdark or to locations of eternal twilight. The surface above the sun will become a hot desert.

 

[PnPgamer]

I would say that it wants to make babies. A fire elemental requires a fair bit of room to move and lots of stuff to consume. It does not necessarily do this just for laughs or food, it needs to do it to reproduce. When it consumes enough, gets to a certain size, it sort of split like a starfish and some of the smaller fires that it started take on a life of their own. Those fires need to be fed and in time, they need to gorge and reproduce too.

The elemental plane of fire is kind of crowded, as you would expect given this reproduction method. There is not really anything left to consume and they can't make more babies. Imagine what it does to a society when they all become sterile. Suddenly it becomes the most important thing around to many of the people. They are a dying race that need this world to continue. A biological clock ticking can make people pretty crazy and scary in RL, imagine what it does to an elder fire elemental.

I always thought that elementals were ageless. Meaning that even if no more comes, there is no real dying of old age involved.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I always thought that elementals were ageless. Meaning that even if no more comes, there is no real dying of old age involved.

You have to admit that if any kind of elemental were to be vulnerable to old age, it ought to be fire elementals. It's very thematic.

 

[ExploderWizard]

What does he want? Hmmm.......


...What did you do to that little girl?

I burned her.

What do you do to old ladies Fszzzt?

Burn them

And what about the world Fszzzt? What would you like to do with the whole world?

Burn it all

 

[delericho]

One of two things:

- Either things that burn in an interesting way (presumably meaning a fuel with an unusual chemical composition), or...

- Things that don't burn at all. After all, these are pretty much the only way a society of fire creatures could accumulate treasure.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

One of two things:

- Either things that burn in an interesting way (presumably meaning a fuel with an unusual chemical composition), or...

- Things that don't burn at all. After all, these are pretty much the only way a society of fire creatures could accumulate treasure.

Building on the second thing: I imagine fire elementals would go to rather substantial lengths to obtain things like "alchemist's fire" and the like--that is, stuff which can burn even things which normally don't burn. Because such a thing would be one of the only ways to threaten the treasures of another fire elemental. The only things worth keeping, after all, are either the perishable (which will be guarded), or that which they think cannot be destroyed...which will not be guarded nearly so well. Destroying a rival's prized possessions, or threatening to do so, could be a substantial way to increase one's social standing.

 

[Fralex]

What if you do a Prometheus thing? He has taken a powerful secret and wants the rest of the world to have it. Or maybe reverse the story, and make the material plane have something powerful that he needs to steal and share with the elemental plane to start a revolution. Alternatively, he wants to take back the secret of fire from mortals, to bring the power of fire back to its stone-age reverence as a thing of mystery and divinity.

 

[Unwise]

You have to admit that if any kind of elemental were to be vulnerable to old age, it ought to be fire elementals. It's very thematic.

That's not what I had in mind when I called them a dying race, but I do like it. I think that a fire elemental that is not growing is shrinking. I don't think that they can maintain a status quo indefinetly. They either consume and grow, or fade and wither.

What I had meant to say is that they are withering out because the plane of fire is just running out of fuel over time. It is not an immediate problem, but it is like severe global warming in reverse. The elders all remember a time when fires were brighter and flames were hotter. Given that all fuel is being used, it means that on their home plane one cannot grow stronger except at the expense of another elemental. It is a zero sum game, they steal each others fuel constantly. There is no room to nurture young ones, or even the resources to gorge yourself and grow a youngling.

So old fuddy-duddies and young self-obsessed fire elementals ignore the problem, but those with a long view can see that something has to change if they are to prosper and not just slowly wither away.

<P.S. Just had another thought: Where do non-intelligent elementals come from? Maybe the new elementals born in the realm of fire are all so inbred from being fed on the same fuel source for so long that they are being born without proper spirits. That would be horrible for the parent. If the elementals want their next generation to grow up sentient like them, then they need to get them some proper fuel sources and room to grow>

 

[Unwise]

What if you do a Prometheus thing? He has taken a powerful secret and wants the rest of the world to have it. Or maybe reverse the story, and make the material plane have something powerful that he needs to steal and share with the elemental plane to start a revolution. Alternatively, he wants to take back the secret of fire from mortals, to bring the power of fire back to its stone-age reverence as a thing of mystery and divinity.

I like it. What if the elemental was Prometheus himself, having returned to the material plane, expecting to be worshipped as a god. He comes back expecting parades in his honour for being the savior of mortal-kind, but finds that he is forgotten about and barely a myth now. He has been changed from his years in the realm of fire, he paid a terrible price for stealing the secrets of fire, he is more elemental than man now. A human that is constantly on fire, but never consumed, to quote him "after a millennium, the pain simply becomes an environment". I like the imagery.

Is he taking the secret of fire back from humanity because?:
1) He has only been released on condition that he does this
2) They were ingrates who refused to honour his meglomania and sacrifice
3) He wants to rule the world and now only those with his blessing will have the gift of fire
4) He wants to plunge the world into an everlasting winter, because he knows the elemental prince of fire is coming and he thinks it is the only way to save the world

This works best in a Warhammer style magic system where you have the different Winds of Magic. He could be gaining control of the Wind of Fire. If he succeeds, nobody else can call on elemental flame. No fireballs for anybody. That could be a cool quirk for a game, half way through the adventure, every mage in the world loses the ability to do fire magic. What does this mean for religions like Pelor? Does Prometheus claiming dominion over all fire wither the reach of the sun god? While Pelor is at his weakest, who will make a move on him?

<P.S. Oooh, just had a cool idea (if I say so myself). What if you go with the Prometheus thing, but he turns up and wants to give everybody in the world the secret of fire. Imagine a world where everybody can make a warlock style pact with him channel power from him. Every farmer and labourer can cast Burning Hands, Fireball, Scorching Ray etc. Often not with great control. It seems like an amazing gift, but imagine what that does the the political structures, armies and faiths. Everybody knows its a bad idea, but if your neighboring kingdom has 1000+ guys who can fireball you to death, you better get in on that act yourself. Eventually, the whole world will burn, is that what he wanted all along?>

 

[aramis erak]

Any intelligent elemental wants the same things that any sane intelligent being wants: to be well fed, to be happy, to be safe, to not be bored.

It's what constitutes well fed and happy that are at the center of the issue.

An elemental eats combustibles.

Being happy is more variable. For some, adulation of it's own kind. For others, friends and family. For others, for its enemies' widows to be trembling in terror at its approach.