Why would you summon elementals?

[Caliban]

Check the description again. No such ability is mentioned. They don't even have a Burrow speed.

Yeah, that's what mislead me. I didn't have the MM available when I stated that earlier, and I checked the SRD, which for some reason omits this ability of theirs.

It really should be mentioned in their stat block, in the speed section, the way Fly, Swim, and Burrow speeds are.

 

[hammymchamham]

Why would you summon an elemental? Because you want to become an elemental savant and use it to make peacful contact with an outsider from the plane of your chosen element

 

[Staffan]

Why would you summon an elemental? Because you want to become an elemental savant and use it to make peacful contact with an outsider from the plane of your chosen element

Elementals aren't outsiders, they're elementals. You'd need to summon a genie or something like that to qualify for the Elemental Savant class.

 

[hammymchamham]

Elementals aren't outsiders, they're elementals. You'd need to summon a genie or something like that to qualify for the Elemental Savant class.

Is there an errata for this that I missed? My Tomb and Blood clearly says on page 57

Special: The elemental savant must have made prior peacful contact with an elemental OR with an outsider having an elemental subtype.(Air, Earth, Fire or Water)

No one said Elementals are outsiders. But it would work for this prereq.

 

[Golandrinel]

I expect you might summon one if you had to retrieve something from ...

A deep ocean ... very high up in the air ..... inside an inferno ... deep within the earth .... and you don't have the means to do it yourself.

Elementals are for life (or the spell duration) not just for combat!

 

[Lord Zardoz]

Re: Re: Its all about the secondary abilities..

Being Neutral isn't enough, the summoned creature needs to an alignment opposed to what the Protection From spell wards against. Since all elementals on the summoning lists are True Neutral, they are blocked by all of the Protection From spells.

Oh?

Umm....

Opps?

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Pielorinho]

If you need to burn down a forest, what faster way than to summon a bunch of Fire Elementals?

Hey, hey, hey! I'm playing a druid here -- no burning-down-a-forest!

But thanks a lot, guys, for the feedback. I thought earth elementals couldn't travel through earth; their ability to do so makes them more useful. I may summon one or two next session, see what happens.

Daniel

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

It's too bad using Planar Ally on elementals is so weak... elementals have so many Hit Dice.

 

[christm]

For the cost of the spell slot for the minor elementals you can get some very useful services in a more Role Playing heavy campain..

A small fire elemental summoned into your oven can ensure you don't burn your meals, and might earn you some extra cash as a cook in a high dollar inn. (Circumstance bonus to cooking skill checks)

A small earth elemental can scout for gems or mineral deposits underground without having to dig up half the mountain side looking for a good vein, and could earn you some extra cash from the local group of dwarves. (Better than a Locate Object to search for generic things like "Uncut Gems" or "gold", and it can possibly scout out the easiest way to dig up the treasures.)

A small earth elemental can also be valuable in searching for pit traps in a corridor or along a path as it can travel under the ground and find holes that might be covered with illusions or obscured from the top. (A little better than a detect traps spell in that the elemental can detect the pits, and set them off for you with relative safety.)

A small air elemental makes a cheap and effective vapor hood for the amature alchemist. Or can aid in getting rid of spells with vaporous effects like stinking cloud that can be dispursed by a gust of wind.

And my favorite use for minor elementals is...

Using a small water elemental to create a magical "Whirlpool" bath. Nothing soothes the aching bones after an adventure better than relaxing in a hot whirlpool bath.

CAM

 

[Shard O'Glase]

And if you use planar ally it might work, though I think the planar poweres might get irritated with some mage calling their lackies up for trivial purposes like a whirlpool bath.

Now if you use SM you can't do most of that because the duration is neutered.