Feeding a Water Elemental

[Sorenant]

I just noticed Water Elementals are the only type of Elementals that doesn't have the "Doesn't Eat or Drink" trait. It's like this both in Magic and DF9 so I doubt it's an errata, but then why is that? Is there some particular reason to why Water Elementals needs to eat and drink?

Edit: It's not as odd as the above, but I've also felt weird that Water Elementals comes with Chameleon while Air Elementals doesn't, and Slippery feels partially redundant with Diffuse (MA115 says Diffuse makes you immune to grapples).

[Anthony]

Despite being copied, it's likely still an errata, though the incorrect ones are arguably the other elementals; I would argue that:

• air elementals should not eat, but should breathe.
• earth elementals should neither eat nor breathe.
• fire elementals should both eat and breathe (though their food is flammable materials), but should not drink. I'm not impressed by the Oxygen Combustion limitation on doesn't breathe; all it gives you is immunity to choking and strangulation (moot for diffuse creatures) and inhaled toxins (moot with immunity to metabolic hazards).
• water elementals should drink.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Despite being copied, it's likely still an errata, though the incorrect ones are arguably the other elementals; I would argue that:

• air elementals should not eat, but should breathe.
• earth elementals should neither eat nor breathe.
• fire elementals should both eat and breathe (though their food is flammable materials), but should not drink. I'm not impressed by the Oxygen Combustion limitation on doesn't breathe; all it gives you is immunity to choking and strangulation (moot for diffuse creatures) and inhaled toxins (moot with immunity to metabolic hazards).
• water elementals should drink.

I never thought about the topic, but that all makes sense; I like it!

Earth elementals get away a bit easy here. I agree with no eat/drink/breathe, but I could see them having a contact with the earth as a "sustenance" need (such that an elemental caged, or floating in space, etc. for a long period would "starve" from lack of that contact). Just a passing thought.

[Dalillama]

That sounds more like a minor Dependency, probably quirk-level due to the constant availability of ground anyplace you find an Earth Elemental and the considerable difficulty involved in getting one loose from the ground to start with.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

That sounds more like a minor Dependency, probably quirk-level due to the constant availability of ground anyplace you find an Earth Elemental and the considerable difficulty involved in getting one loose from the ground to start with.

Yeah, a minor or trivial Dependency may be the right way to do it. (Alternately, a GM could rule that earth elementals do require food – the food just happens to be rocks and minerals.)

[scc]

I'd defiantly say this errata stuff, as otherwise Fire Elementals wouldn't be able to move away from their fuel sources, and what would a Water Elemental eat anyway?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by scc

I'd defiantly say this errata stuff, as otherwise Fire Elementals wouldn't be able to move away from their fuel sources, and what would a Water Elemental eat anyway?

It implies fire elementals need fuel as often as humans need food, which hardly prevents them from moving quite a substantial distance from their fuel sources.

[CarrionPeacock]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Despite being copied, it's likely still an errata, though the incorrect ones are arguably the other elementals; I would argue that:

• air elementals should not eat, but should breathe.
• earth elementals should neither eat nor breathe.
• fire elementals should both eat and breathe (though their food is flammable materials), but should not drink. I'm not impressed by the Oxygen Combustion limitation on doesn't breathe; all it gives you is immunity to choking and strangulation (moot for diffuse creatures) and inhaled toxins (moot with immunity to metabolic hazards).
• water elementals should drink.

As magical beings from elemental planes, wouldn't Dependency to Mana make more sense?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by tbone

I never thought about the topic, but that all makes sense; I like it!

Earth elementals get away a bit easy here. I agree with no eat/drink/breathe, but I could see them having a contact with the earth as a "sustenance" need (such that an elemental caged, or floating in space, etc. for a long period would "starve" from lack of that contact). Just a passing thought.

Needing to eat dirt/stone/etc would be appropriate for an earth elemental. That stuff is pretty abundant and low price, however, so maybe Doesn't Eat or Drink with a -10% Limitation.

I've got a mostly-complete "Concerning Consumption" Overhaul, I may clean that up and post it (main thing it's lacking are foraging rules). Under that, earth elementals would probably have really low-cost food requirements. Water elementals might have fairly high-cost water requirements, if the water they consume needs to be particularly pure.

You could increase the cost of foodstuffs by requiring elementals to consume Essential materials (Essential Fuel for fire elementals).

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

That sounds more like a minor Dependency, probably quirk-level due to the constant availability of ground anyplace you find an Earth Elemental and the considerable difficulty involved in getting one loose from the ground to start with.

If it is natural stone or bare earth, staying in urban areas means staying aware of where the parks and green spaces are.