Elementals

Each elemental looks like its element made manifest. while many have said they all look humanoid generally this is only because a humanoid form allows them to interact and attack more freely then the basic form of a fire, gust of wind, pile of rocks, or water in a lake

Culture

elementals are the avatars of their elements given form by the plane itself. in the elemental planes they uphold the balance of their plane. should anyone threaten it they will unite against it and will not be shy about taking on allies. outside of such a strange circumstance the elementals are passive and solitary.

in their base elemental planes an elemental is a cordial creature it has little interest in what your doing, their personalities can vary to a certain degree but all have been described as generally boring in demeanor. while generally considered sentient they will all adhere to to the things stated thus far.

of course this all become meaningless when you move them into the prime material plane. the separation from the elemental planes has a drastic effect on their minds turning them from passive wanderers into murder-happy beasts. unable to think for themselves they destroy anything and everything they come across that isnt like their home

the only way to avoid their rampage is to magically bound them to service or to implant them into a medium the former is a temporary service that once ends returns the elemental to its plane(if done properly) or unleashes it onto you as a new enemy(if done sloppily) and the latter allows for elongated amounts of service. the mediums usually take the form of a golem but there are exceptions

when killed outside of their plane they are simply returned to their plane however should they be killed inside their plane that elemental will be gone forever. the elemental plane replaces any lost elementals over time, they do not breed.

elementals do not hold grudges against people who summon them as servants unless they are treated horribly by their summoner. some elementals even take pride in how many tasks they are able to complete while in servitude or how well they completed their tasks, some even like the beauty or variety of the prime material plane. should somone be wronged by an elemental while it was a servant they will even apologize should you meet them in their plane and explain that they could not refuse their orders. summon elemental spell will fail if you have made an enemy out of the elementals in question

Air

Air elementals are the only elementals that can fly, they are summoned most commonly by wizards that need somthing to provide air superiority. in addition they are the fastest elemental able to zip around battlefields to provide sudden focused blasts of air that feel more like large invisible fists hitting them. upon command it can also turn into a massive whirlwind and blow away any enemies in its path this has the downside of possible friendly fire but is still none the less very attractive in massive melees, against charging enemies, or even to ground flyer's. they are immune to lightning damage

Earth

Earth elementals are slow and lumbering but they pack a massive punch. they are summoned by wizards sieging a castle, leveling a village, or bringing down a giant. a single punch is all it takes for a wall to come down or for a giant to come low. in addition earth elementals can walk through earth, stone, and gravel as if it is air making it useful for exploring dungeons stealthily or even just to run simple tasks over a short but impeded distance. they are immune to piercing and slashing damage and take half damage from blunt

Fire

the volatile fire elemental is only summoned when a wizard is prepared to wreak absolute havoc on a massive enemy offensive. fire elementals specialize in aoe and spread fire with their very touch. they are the only elemental that deals elemental damage(ironically) exclusively so any enemy immune to fire will at most take 1-2 blunt damage. needless to say they are immune to fire

Water

the versatile water elementals are called by wizards in naval combat to topple or bring ships to a halt. water elementals can take advantage of water to constantly dip in and out of combat making them near impossible to hit. when not able to use hit and run tactic such as in a land battle. the elemental will instead use powerful jets of water to fire on its enemies from afar doing this however requires some way to refuel itself or it will die from running out of water. they are even more dangerous in cold weather. able to freely freeze and unfreeze water at will. making a tundra naval battle into a one-sided victory by itself. it is immune to cold