General Rules: Monsters - Water Elemental, Small

Water Elemental, Small (from the Monster Manual)
Small Elemental [Extraplanar, Water]

Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (11 hit points)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 feet, swim 90 feet
Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +6 natural); touch 11; flat-footed 16
BAB/Grapple: +1/-1
Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d6+3, bludgeoning, 20 x2)

Full Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d6=3, bludgeoning, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: Water mastery, drench, vortex
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, elemental traits
Saves: Fortitude +4, Reflex +0, Will +0
Abilities: Str 14, Int 4, Wis 11, Dex 10, Con 13, Cha 11
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +3
Feats: Power Attack
Environment: Elemental Plane of Water
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: 3 Hit Dice (Small)

A water elemental can be as ferocious and powerful as a stormy sea. A water elemental can't venture more than 180 feet from the body of water from which it was conjured. A small water elemental is about 4 feet tall and weighs about 34 pounds.

Water elementals speak Aquan, though they rarely choose to do so. When one speaks, its voice sounds like the crashing of waves on a rocky shore or the howls of an ocean gale.

Combat
A water elemental prefers to fight in a large body of water where is can disappear beneath the waves and suddenly swell up behind its opponents.

Water Mastery (Ex): A water elemental gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water. If the opponent or the elemental is touching the ground, the elemental takes a -4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. These modifiers are not included in the statistics block.

A water elemental can be a serious threat to a ship that crosses its path. An elemental can easily overturn small craft of up to 5 feet in length per Hit Die of the elemental. It can stop larger craft of up to 10 feet long per Hit Die, and even larger ships of up to 20 feet long per Hit Die can be slowed to half-speed.

Drench (Ex): The elemental's touch puts out torches, campfires, exposed lanterns, and other open flames of nonmagical origin if these are of Large size or smaller. The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as a dispel magic spell cast with a caster level equal to the elemental's Hit Dice.

Vortex (Su): The elemental can transform itself into a whirlpool once every 10 minutes and remain in that form for up to 1 round for every 2 Hit Dice it has. In this form, the elemental can move through the water or along the bottom at its swim speed.

The vortex is 5 feet wide at the base, up to 30 feet wide at the top, and up to 20 feet tall. The elemental controls the exact height, but it must be at least 10 feet.

The elemental's movement while in vortex form does not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if the elemental enters the space another creature occupies. Another creature might be caught in the vortex if it touches or enters the vortex, or if the elemental moves into or through the creature's space.

Creatures one or more size categories smaller than the elemental might take damage when caught in the whirlwind, and may be swept up by it. An affected creature must succeed on a DC 13 Reflex save when it comes into contact with the vortex or take 1d4 damage. It must also succeed on a second Reflex save or be picked up bodily and held suspended in the powerful currents, automatically taking 1d4 points of damage each round. An affected creature is allowed a Reflex save each round to escape the vortex. The creature still takes damage but can leave if the save is successful. The save DC is Strength based.

Creatures trapped in the vortex cannot move except to go where the elemental carried them or to escape the vortex. Creatures caught in the vortex can act otherwise normally, but must succeed on a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast a spell. Creatures caught in the vortex take a -4 penalty to Dexterity and a -2 penalty to attack rolls. The elemental can have only as many creatures trapped inside the vortex at one time as will fit inside the vortex's volume.

The elemental can eject carried creatures whenever it wishes, depositing them wherever the vortex happens to be. A summoned elemental always ejects trapped creatures before returning to its home plane.

If the vortex base touches the bottom, it creates a swirling cloud of debris. This cloud is entered on the elemental and has a diameter equal to half the vortex's height. The cloud obscures all vision, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment, while those farther away have total concealment. Those caught in the cloud must succeed at a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell.

An elemental in vortex form cannot make slam attacks and does not threaten the area around it.

Elemental Traits: Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning; not subject to critical hits or flanking. Elementals do not eat, sleep, or breathe. Cannot be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected except by limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection.

Skills: A water elemental has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming provided it swims in a straight line.

Small Water Elementals as Familiars
Small water elementals can serve as familiars for characters eligible to obtain familiars including arcane engineers, hexblades, mind weavers, shadowsworn, sorcerers, and wizards. To do so, the character must be be an aquan creature, have aquan-blood, or aquan heritage, take the Improved Familiar feat, and be at least a 5^th-level caster.

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