Earth elemental myrmidon

Earth elemental myrmidons, otherwise known as earth myrmidons or earth archons, were a variety of elemental myrmidon, beings created by conjuring and bonding elementals &mdash; in this case, of elemental earth &mdash; into ritually created suits of armor to act as servile weapons of war.

Description
Earth myrmidons were beings composed entirely of elemental earth, with bodies that were roughly human in size and shape.

Like all elemental myrmidons, they wore thick armor, typically of a plate variety. These not only protected them against attacks, but contained their form and was integral to their being. After some time they were capable of removing this armor and replacing it with something else, but many never saw any need to do so. Their armor was all that would remain of them when killed.

Personality
Even among the militarily minded myrmidons, earth myrmidons stood out as being excellent strategists. They preferred to conquests at a slow and steady pace, bunkering down and fortifying positions.

Abilities
Earth myrmidons were immune to the effects of diseases and poisons, as they were composed wholly of elemental essence. Also, like other elemental beings, they had no need for sleep.

All varieties of earth myrmidon were capable of creating tremors in the earth, an innate ability they heavily utilized in combat. Seismic strikers had the unique ability to manifest stone javelins that they hurled at their enemies. And ground ragers gave off an aura that liquified the earth around their enemies to impede their movements.

Combat
The standard variety of earth myrmidon, rumblers, typically fought with either mighty warhammers or mauls made of stone. Those known as ground ragers fought with no weapons, while seismic strikers fought with a heavy shield, a war pick, and their stone javelins. Regardless of what weapon they used, it was considered magical and could cause seismic shockwaves.

History
In late 15 century DR, earth myrmidons could be found inhabiting Mount Hotenow.

During the Elemental Evil crisis, earth myrmidons and their variants were utilized by members of one of the four elemental cults responsible for the crisis, the Cult of the Black Earth.

Varieties

 * Ground Rager: The term used for a variety of earth myrmidon that, while seemingly weaker than rumblers, possessed a much wider array of seismic abilities. They were often drawn to regions of geologic activity, such as fault zones or volcanoes, and they wore chainmail instead of the standard plate.
 * Rumblers: The term used for the basic variety of earth myrmidon, who formed the foundation of many elemental armies.
 * Seismic Strikers: One of the more powerful varieties of earth myrmidons. They often served as shock troops within elemental armies, crushing enemies that were too slow in fleeing.

Society
Like any elemental myrmidons, when left to their own devices these beings would form societies that had the same structure, one that was roughly militaristic. They were rigidly disciplined and had hierarchies based on rank, with rank determining every aspect of life in their stronghold. These ranks did not have proper titles, as earth myrmidons simply knew where they and others ranked. They did not challenge authority or compete against one another for rank, each being satisfied with their station and feeling they best serve in that position.

Outside of combat, earth myrmidons spent much of their time trying to hone their knowledge of strategy and tactics, engaging in tactical exercises, or sparring. Constantly training for the next conflict, which satisfied their innate desire to make war.

Creation
Some said that constructing an elemental archon required a special foundry, with a special forge built in a significant concentration of elemental energy, and a summoning crucible that served as the transformation space. These forges rarely appeared like a common forge, being unrecognizable contraptions of arcane and elemental magic.

A working foundry could produce them as often as the ritual could be performed and for as long as the foundry's resources were maintained. The forge's power determine what kind of myrmidon was created. A forge with ebbing power could only generate the most basic of earth myrmidons, while those at high flow could produce other varieties, such as ground ragers and seismic strikers.

Relationships
Many were known to serve Ogrémoch, the evil archomental of elemental earth. Beyond this, seismic strikers sometimes acted as guards for stone giants.

Among their fellow myrmidons, earth myrmidons worked better with ice archons than fire ones, due to having similar approaches to warfare.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Board Games
 * Dungeon Command (Heart of Cormyr)
 * Dungeon Command (Heart of Cormyr)