Here's a question from one of my players (an Oracle). Having no previous experience with this spell (first I hear of it, lol), I'm asking the community for some help on answering him...
"According to the spell elemental body, I need to know which aspects of a fire elemental I take, it'll be really important for me in a few levels;
I know I get all the physical aspects, like fire immunity, burn ability and size, but what about skills, feats, stats, base attack and saves?
Do I keep my own hit points?
Can I still cast spells?"
And that's pretty much it...
Thanks gang.
Ultradan
I know I get all the physical aspects, like fire immunity, burn ability and size, but what about skills, feats, stats, base attack and saves?
Kept. Some of your skills might be unusable, due to the situation, though. (Swim, anyone?)
Do I keep my own hit points?
Yes. Note that your Constitution score might change, though, which will change your hit points.
Can I still cast spells?"
Does not compute. Your equipment melds into your form, effectively depriving you of any components or foci. While elementals can speak, the jury is still out whether or not they can gesture well enough to employ somatic components of a spell.
If you have Eschew Materials or just have a friend hold your component pouch till after you transform (god the polymorph rules are stupid), you can cast. Elementals can speak and have or can assume ahumanoid-shaped form. For fire elemental specifically, you'd need some fire resistance on the pouch to keep it on your person, though. :)
I have no idea on hit points, if they're unchanged or the con score boost changes them. In 3E, they remained the same, PF has no notes one way or the other, so I guess they would increase until the spell ends.
Also, iirc fire elemental body never actually gives you beyond fire res 20, even at Elemental Body IV. Which is pretty silly, but whatever.
You keep your own feats, skill ranks (modified by your new ability scores, though), BAB, and base saves.
Look up the spell it spells put what you gain you may have to look back at the lower level versions of the spell as each one grants the lower version and new stuff. As for spell casting as far as casting it's up to the GM a druid needs a feat to cast in wild shape so normally no but elementals can speak so any verbal only spells would work so just ask nicely. Hp goes up and down with temp con changes that is how it works it's spelled out very clearly look at anything that changes con, belts, rage, etc.
Perhaps you should look into the Polymorph subschool rules. They answer nearly all your questions and then some.
Yep. Basically, whatever the spell says, plus the form's natural attacks (if any).
Kept. Some of your skills might be unusable, due to the situation, though. (Swim, anyone?)
Actually you can swim just as normal while under the effect of the spell, because you are not really a Fire Elemental, which cannot touch water. You are emulating the Fire Elemental form and abilities and not becoming a true elemental.
The spell doesn't even gain the Fire descriptor so you can freely cast it while underwater (or ativate the spell-like ability in the case of the Oracle).
Generally you add, not subtract abilities unless the spell specifically otherwise says so.
...But a true fire elemental might (an hypothesis) not enter in water because it is an elemental (and it has the subtype) and elementals are entirely made of their element (in this case fire) that would extinguish underwater. The spell doesn't give the caster a creature subtype.
I may be wrong, this is purely my point of view I admit...