#mephits

This starts the mephits.

Well, when I was working on these. I was working from one from a reference picture, with something that looked like this. Though, apparently fire isn't actually an option.

In me and my friends' D&D games we don't use the elemental planes. Or any of the other planar systems. We never use them anyways, and they're not all that interesting. Instead elementals are found throughout the world, often invisible and incorporeal. They take shape via the elements their spirits are attracted to in natural events, but the power of a mage can force them into a single shape.

One of the reasons for the changes in elementals is the whole four elements thing. None of my friends are particularly interested in it, because the Air, Earth, Fire, and Water tetrad doesn't actually cover a lot of things in real life. Fire is rare, a byproduct of other elements, and Earth takes up nearly everything. Plus, there's elements that don't quite fit with the tetrad. Like the Chwinga! Chwinga are not elementals of anything specific, but rather a type of spirit found in the remote, quiet regions of the world. Curious as children and wise as the earth itself they are the spirits of untouched lands, ignorant to the interference of humanoids. They lived in rocks and springs, stepping into them like a human would their house. As such, they don't fit into the element tetrad at all. There's an ambiguity to them that does not lend itself to the machinations of alchemists.

Far more simple are geonids. They're little dudes that live in rocks! All that's visible are their long limbs and glowing eyes. Classifying them as elementals is odd, as they actually eat organic matter (small animals and lichen). Yet, for all people have tried, none have seen what lies beneath their shells, and this is perhaps their true nature. Ordinarily they hide from mortals, looking just like inanimate rocks. When out and about they collect beautiful treasures: usually gemstones and metals. Again curious, as elementals generally have no need for treasure. Perhaps we're not looking at an earth elemental alone, but a fusion of creatures? The shell is a minor spirit of stones and within resides a fairy or miniature goblinoid. One provides protection while the other mobility.

I stand by what I said about Mephits all those years ago. They're boring. D&D already has imps, homunculi, quasit, and gremlins. Making them small winged imps with mischievous personalities seems a little redundant. Our alternative was making them tiny elementals able to be summoned via a 1st level spell, requiring a single gold piece and the materials necessary to give them a body. They're pikmin, basically. Most elementals are dumb and their small size makes them even more so, so they'll follow any order given to them. And, because they're elementals, when they die they simply lose their bodies and return to being spirits. Of them, only the steam and smoke mephits retain their ability to fly. Steam can pass through tiny spaces and smoke are able to fight little enemies by seeping smoke into the lungs of enemies. The others cannot fly, but dust mephits have tremendous leaping abilities. Being made of dust also makes them incredibly quiet and very hard to track. However, they're fragile af. Magma and Ice elementals function well in hot or cold environments, but bad in average and opposite temperatures. Finally, mud mephits are the "base" variety, having no special abilities but being super easy to make. They can even stick around for a while, but may be overtaken by plants or fungi.

My dust Mephit. Actually a bit harder than you'd expect. When you don't have the perfect dust brown. Not my favorite, but I still like him. The can hang

The mephit, I spent the most time on. Honestly, I kept going back and forth on whether I liked it. Though people seem to like it, so it lives on.

The Magma Mephit

The Steam Mephit. Second to last. Truthfully, I'm not sure I use the correct model for this one, but they weren't exactly labeled. Though in hindsight, it's making a lot more sense why fire never made sense.