Water elemental

Water elementals were elemental creatures of water.

Description
These elementals typically resembled a cresting wave of water. They could easily disappear within a body of water, becoming indistinguishable from all other liquid.

Personality
These beings were not especially intelligent. However, like all elementals, they instinctively resented any creature that conjured them from their home plane and bound them into its service.

Biology
Being elementals, these creatures did not require any air, food, drink, or sleep to survive. Though they had a highly developed sense of taste.

Abilities
Due to being composed of water, these elementals could effortlessly move through spaces as small as. However, cold-based spells considerably restrained their movement.

Prior to the Time of Troubles, water elementals were only capable of straying away from their element. Following this period and prior to the Spellplague, they were only capable of moving from the body of water in which they were originally conjured. Following the events of the Second Sundering, there were no longer any limits on how far water elementals could stray from bodies of water.

Acid, as well as bludgeoning and piercing weaponry, was ineffective against water elementals. They could only be harmed by weaponry that was enchanted. Prior to the Time of Troubles, they could only be damaged by weapons with a +2 enchantment or greater.

Combat
Water elementals preferred to fight in bodies of water. They were capable of capsizing small boats and could impede the progress of larger craft. Outside of water they were slower and less effective combatants.

Water elementals would often attempt to grapple a larger creature or multiple smaller ones, restraining them within their watery body in an attempt to drown the victim(s). When not attempting this, water elementals would simply slam their bodies against opponents.

History
Water elementals were used in the Great Forge of Gauntlgrym to help contain the fire primordial Maegera.

Lucan Greenharrow used water elementals to power traps in the Waterclock Crypts of Neverwinter.

Homelands
These beings were native to the Elemental Plane of Water.

On the Prime Material plane, they were occasionally encountered in the oceans around Kara-Tur.

Summoning
Prior to the Time of Troubles, a pool of water that was at least in volume was required to summon a water elemental to the Prime Material plane, but several barrels of ale or wine would also suffice.

Following this period, more effective means for summoning water elementals were available. These included the spells conjure elemental, conjure water elemental, elemental servant, elemental summoning, the brutal extract water elemental, summon monster III, and summon monster VI.

There were also magical items that could achieve this, such as bracers of Icelandic Pearl, a bowl of commanding water elementals, elemental gems, the Elemental Scourge in Kossuth's House, and the Zakharan instrument 'Ud of the marids (but only if played by a bard or rawunin).

In terms of divine magic, the specialty priests known as waterwalkers were granted the power to summon a water elemental once per day or incredibly powerful ones once per tenday by their deity Istishia. Upon reaching a certain level, waterwalkers summoned their first water elemental in a religious ceremony called Waveriding.

Languages
Water elementals spoke Aquan, although they rarely chose to speak.

Relationships
Water elementals were favored monsters of the deities Deep Sashelas, Istishia, and Auril. Because of this, they would often act as servitors of these deities and their worshipers.

Water elementals were often summoned by krakens to defend their lairs.

Some acted as servants of the marid Kalbari al-Durrat al-Amwaj ibn Jari in her Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Dungeon #79, "The Akriloth" • Dungeon #216, "The Sun Never Rises" • Locathah Rising
 * Novels
 * The Council of Blades &bull; Archmage &bull; Night of the Hunter &bull; Tangled Webs • Gauntlgrym
 * Video games
 * Dungeon Hack &bull; Descent to Undermountain &bull; Icewind Dale &bull; Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal &bull; Neverwinter Nights series (Neverwinter Nights &bull; Neverwinter Nights 2 &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford)
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards &bull; Dragonfire (Moonshae Storms, Sea of Swords)
 * Board Games
 * The Legend of Drizzt Board Game &bull; Temple of Elemental Evil Board Game &bull; Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Boltsmelter's Book
 * Boltsmelter's Book