School of Elemental Water

The elemental wizard is a new variety of specialist mage beginning to appear throughout the lands. These wizards scorn the "accepted" theories of magical classification (the rigid school structure) in favor of a holistic, natural understanding of magic. The result is elementalism.

Spells of the school of elemental water involve water in some form or another, including spells of ice and cold, since these are linked to the element of water. Water Breathing, Ice Storm, and Part Water are all included in the school of elemental water.

Elementalists are wizards who specialize in spells dealing with one of the four elements - air, earth, fire, or water. Elementalists ignore the “normal” structure of the philosophical school. Instead, all spells are designated as either elemental spells or non-elemental spells.

Elementalists can be used to portray magicians of unusual cultures or origin. After all, the standard philosophical arrangement of schools implies a scholarly, Western approach to magic, but not every culture or nation may have the same beliefs or practices regarding sorcery. Many elementalists are much closer to nature, or more attuned to their surroundings, than philosophical specialists.

Fire | Air — opposes — Earth | Water

Acquired Powers

An elementalist gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against spells of his particular specialty (fire for fire mages, etc.) and inflicts a –2 penalty to his opponents’ saves when casting spells of his specialty.

Elementalists gain a +25% bonus to learn spells of their specialty, and a +15% bonus for other elemental spells that don’t actually oppose their specialty. For example, a fire mage has a +25% bonus to learn fire spells, and a +15% bonus to learn air and earth spells; he can’t learn water spells at all. Elementalists suffer a –25% penalty to learn all other nonelemental spells. Last but not least, elementalists research spells of their specialty as if the spells were one level lower than their actual level.

Note that elementalists do not automatically add a spell to their spell book when they gain a level, as other specialists do. However, an elemental specialist has the ability to cast one memorized spell of his specialty per day as if he were 1d4 levels higher. This affects range, duration, area of effect, and damage. When an elementalist reaches 11th level, he does not need to concentrate to control an elemental of his specialty that was summoned through conjure elemental. At 14th level, there is no chance for a summoned elemental to turn on the elementalist. Elementalists enjoy most of the standard benefits and restrictions of specialist wizards, but there are some minor differences. They gain the benefit of memorizing an extra spell of each level, as long as it is taken from their preferred element.

At 20th level, there is no chance of a summoned elemental turning upon an elementalist if the creature is of the wizard's specialty element.

Spell Analysis

Wizards of water tend to have fewer damaging spells, but have access to better travel and support powers.

Spell List