So there are a number of ways one can turn into a fire elemental and there are a few issues that come up in this form that we have never really been able to get solid resolution too:
1- What happens when a fire elemental finds itself in water? In the description, it says that the fire elemental cannot cross normal water, but what happens if it is forced into it? Does it wink out? Does it just get pissed off? Our best guess is that it would take damage each round equivalent to being submerged in lava.
2- Similar to 1, what happens if the elemental finds itself covered in water? Our best guess is to treat it like a flask of acid.
3- Does a fire elemental put off light? It logically seems like it would (making the elemental's darkvision irrelevant). We have been treating it like a torch.
4- Can a fire elemental turn the burn ability off? If not, in elemental form a healer would set fire to everyone it tried to heal. We have simply assumed that the burn ability is constant and thus can be a liability (especially if the character is rendered unconscious while in the form of an elemental). While traveling on a wooden ship or though dense woods can also be a liability.
5- based on the height and weight that is listed for fire elementals, large and larger ones are actually lighter than air. Assuming they aren't buoyant in air, even huge ones are light enough to be thrown. Is this correct?
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So there are a number of ways one can turn into a fire elemental and there are a few issues that come up in this form that we have never really been able to get solid resolution too:
1- What happens when a fire elemental finds itself in water? In the description, it says that the fire elemental cannot cross normal water, but what happens if it is forced into it? Does it wink out? Does it just get pissed off? Our best guess is that it would take damage each round equivalent to being submerged in lava. Maybe use the lava damage rules(Contact and immersion damage)? I don't think there is any set mechanic on it
2- Similar to 1, what happens if the elemental finds itself covered in water? Our best guess is to treat it like a flask of acid. I would say it would depend on the source. A flask of water would do very little due to the extreme heat.
3- Does a fire elemental put off light? It logically seems like it would (making the elemental's darkvision irrelevant). We have been treating it like a torch. I would say they would be more like a bonfire (double torch maybe?)
4- Can a fire elemental turn the burn ability off? If not, in elemental form a healer would set fire to everyone it tried to heal. We have simply assumed that the burn ability is constant and thus can be a liability (especially if the character is rendered unconscious while in the form of an elemental). While traveling on a wooden ship or though dense woods can also be a liability. I would say no. He is a walking fireball. Don't hug them
5- based on the height and weight that is listed for fire elementals, large and larger ones are actually lighter than air. Assuming they aren't buoyant in air, even huge ones are light enough to be thrown. Is this correct? Thrown how? They can be thrown as much as a halfling could be thrown. There are no real rules about throwing creatures/PCs/NPCs. You could do a push/pull/reposition on them with a combat maneuver assuming you are immune or have a high fire resist.
I think a lot of the weirdness one finds with elementals is to keep them low CR (at least for the small ones)- so they tend to lack some of the abilities and immunities one would expect from an animated force of air, water, fire, etc.
1) Since it says it can't be in water, and to treat it like impassable terrain, I would deal with it the same way that an Earth Elemntal's glide makes it end up in an invalid space. Thrown to valid space, stunned, damage based on how far you're thrown back.
2)In most situations, probably nothing. Bucket of water really isn't going to do it apparently, nor is rain. However, getting sucked into an aqueous orb or the like would result in the effects of (1).
3) It really should cast light. Seeing as it burns things... it should at a minimum cast light like a torch.
4) I really feel the burn ability should occur on attack, touch, or when things touch it... like how an ooze's acid works. Probably doesn't work that way because of some fear that it would be overpowered then- though you would think grappling a fire elemental would result in you get burned.
5)I'd (for the sake of simplicity) say that they may be nearly lighter than air, but due to wind resistance and magical nonsense they are no harder or easier to reposition than any other creature of their size.
They are fast, but they don't fly. They still make contact with the ground, for whatever that's worth.