I find myself in a position where I may actually (first time in three decades of DMing!) have to 'run' such an elemental creature in a campaign.
After reading the description of the Water Weird in the Monstrous Compendium it seems to be that the only (???) way to actually KILL the damned thing is to have a priest cast Purify Water on the creature.
Is this accurate? If not, what other ways would slay a Water Weird?
Basically yes. Neat little critter, eh? Characters should walk away, and come back with purify water spell. Or, put the water weird down, do whatever it is they need to do in the area, and get the heck outta there before it reforms. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
WOW, that is one tough little beast! Perhaps the toughest of ALL the elementals, for even the others can be slain (or banished upon destruction to their relative Planes of existence). It may take magical items of +2 and greater enchantment (and spells) to hurt them, but at least they can be destroyed!
So...not so with the relatively 'weaker' water weird, eh? I wonder what explanation could account for their unnaturally high resilience. After all, after being 'destroyed' they reform two rounds later! They don't 'die,' but instead reform and attack anew.
And, barring a single clerical spell (and how many clerics know that it would even work, even if they possessed such a spell), they cannot, it seems, be destroyed.
I wouldn't necessarily call it resilience, but being bound to the area it continuously reforms there. Elementals can be "killed", but that really means just banishing their spirits back to their home plane. This is a different kind of binding.
You may also choose to rule that to reform a water weird must have water. Removing the water, such as by a destroy water spell, keeps the water weird from reforming. It might still be tied to the area though, merely awaiting a time when water is put back into the area from which it can reform (in which case a dry fountain could make for a neat little trap, if the scenario is arranged properly), or it could simply be banished back to the Elemental Plane of Water. Your choice. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
Last edited by Cebrion on Wed May 22, 2013 4:25 am; edited 1 time in total
Cebrion, good thoughts. I figured that something very potent like a Disintegrate spell would also work, and freezing the water solid would at least temporarily 'lock' the water weird in place (stasis) until it completely melted.
Cebrion and Lanthorn: Those are some good ideas. I didn't remember the Water Weird being such a difficult-to-destroy monster. I'm going to have to look into using it myself.
Apparently, there is no Pathfinder version of the Water Weird. The 3.5e version is presented in Dragon magazine #347, but I haven't checked it out to see what it's powers are.
SX, no joke! This is the first time I've been put into a position where I may have to DM a water weird.
The only other beast I've 'recently' perused that is equally difficult to slay is the 1e and 2e version of the rakshasa (perhaps for another thread)! Check it out.
Yes, Rakshasas are pretty nasty. For a much weaker critter that is still pretty nasty, and that mid- to upper-tier villains could have, check out the Yeth Hound in the Monstrous Compendium- Greyhawk Adventures Appendix. Fun little pups they are. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
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Characters should walk away, and come back with purify water spell. Or, put the water weird down, do whatever it is they need to do in the area, and get the heck outta there before it reforms.
