It came up.
Assuming whirlwind? I would rule no, the "winds" required to inflict that damage and move most medium+ creatures would easily be enough to pull air from your lungs. Add in the debris floating around if you did inhale which would cause issues. And end it with RAW, it doesn't state it does. And air elementals while consisting of "air" in some form or another doesn't necessarily mean usable/breathable "air."
Was it a cool situation like underwater or something? If so, I say why not. They don't have to be in whirlwind form, and they could be made of usable air.
A related question would be: can you drink a water elemental? Build a fort out of earth elementals (ooooh...that would be cool).
Was it a cool situation like underwater or something? If so, I say why not. They don't have to be in whirlwind form, and they could be made of usable air.
A related question would be: can you drink a water elemental? Build a fort out of earth elementals (ooooh...that would be cool).
If this weren't the Rules Forum I wouldn't bother pointing out that people looking for answers on this particular forum are interested more in the "Is it legal by the rules?" Versus the "Rule of Cool" making it possible.
I don't think the rules cover it, so the rules are that it is up to the dm.
I would allow it under The Rule of Awesome, it is good creative playing by the player...
Not all "air" is breathable.
...and not all air is unbreathable.
Generally, I would agree that you're not going to be able to breathe an air elemental, especially if it doesn't want you to. However, if the air elemental is your friend, I would consider allowing it (if it's cool and not overly cheesy). But, that's my decision. If your judgment as a DM is to not allow it then so be it.
In the end this does not seem to be covered by the rules, so a decision by the DM (and perhaps the whole table) is in order.
I'm still curious if a benevolent water elemental could quench your thirst by allowing you to drink from it?
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If you imagine a Water Elemental as a creature, then that creature still has a set amount of mass.
If you try to drink a Water Elemental you're drinking its mass. It cannot create more mass to make up for the mass that's been taken away, so by drinking it, you would be damaging it, using its life force to sustain your own.
The same can be said for an Air Elemental.
If you breathe in an Air Elemental, providing it's made of Oxygen, you're still taking away its life force because that Oxygen will be turned into Carbon Dioxide which is an entirely separate gaseous form.
The entity would be damaged and eventually die because of how you're using it.
Now, if for whatever reason an Elemental decides to do this because it is willing to die for the PC, I may allow it in my games, but using Science as a base for working this fairly smart situation out, it just wouldn't work without killing the Elemental.
Plus, if I were a Water Elemental, I wouldn't want somebody to consume me, where I'd have all of my matter messed around with, for the host to take all of the good bits his body needs out of me and then pee the rest of me out.
WHO WANTS THAT?!
;)
Clever suggestion, but unless you want to murder your Elementals, it'd be a no in practically any situation.
If you imagine a Water Elemental as a creature, then that creature still has a set amount of mass.
If you try to drink a Water Elemental you're drinking its mass. It cannot create more mass to make up for the mass that's been taken away, so by drinking it, you would be damaging it, using its life force to sustain your own.
The same can be said for an Air Elemental.
If you breathe in an Air Elemental, providing it's made of Oxygen, you're still taking away its life force because that Oxygen will be turned into Carbon Dioxide which is an entirely separate gaseous form.
The entity would be damaged and eventually die because of how you're using it.
Now, if for whatever reason an Elemental decides to do this because it is willing to die for the PC, I may allow it in my games, but using Science as a base for working this fairly smart situation out, it just wouldn't work without killing the Elemental.
Plus, if I were a Water Elemental, I wouldn't want somebody to consume me, where I'd have all of my matter messed around with, for the host to take all of the good bits his body needs out of me and then pee the rest of me out.
WHO WANTS THAT?!
;)
Clever suggestion, but unless you want to murder your Elementals, it'd be a no in practically any situation.
Well we appear to be in agreement then: you can breathe an air elemental.
I tend to agree about the water elemental; you can drink one, but, unless that water elemental has a ready source of water around, you could drink it to death. :) (Makes me wonder about an encounter with a tiny elemental...hmmmm.)
However, I don't agree that an air elemental needs to be composed of one type of gas. Oxygen or carbon dioxide, it's all air in the end.
As for what they would think, it's unclear. They are primal manifestations of the elementary, and very unscientific, building blocks of nature. What they think is probably completely alien to what mere mortals can comprehend. Then again, perhaps they're just regular Joe's with a work-a-day life in world of modern magic.
Actually, an elemental has a strictly limited body that is contained and separate from the surrounding environment (Gotta stay pure otherwise it's not an elemental anymore). Otherwise you could summon a Small Water Elemental into an ocean and have it take over the world. (Likewise, an Air Elemental would automatically take over the sky.)
I'd go with the interpretation that breathing an air elemental is the equivalent of taking a bite out of it. :P
I don't know about purity. earth elementals are composed of lots of stuff: dirt, stone and gems; and I'm sure they could even have metal in there. Also, there are a number of mixed elementals from the borders between the planes.
Anyway, we could debate the characteristics of fictional monsters and never really accomplish anything except to overly constrain the creative space of this game. In the end the people playing the game, in the absence of rules, are going to have to make a judgement about how they want their game be, and for the original poster that includes whether or not you can breathe an air elemental.
I think when he said "pure" he was saying the creature was only made of its own parts and did not lose or gain parts(for lack of a better term) from the surrounding area. That is now the idea of taking over the world comes into play. If an air or water elemental could add the surrounding area to itself it could eventually take over an entire plane.
I think when he said "pure" he was saying the creature was only made of its own parts and did not lose or gain parts(for lack of a better term) from the surrounding area. That is now the idea of taking over the world comes into play. If an air or water elemental could add the surrounding area to itself it could eventually take over an entire plane.
I get it. But, what do you think about drinking from or breathing in an elemental.
On a vaguely related point, lately I've been wondering whether a Large water elemental could hide in plain sight as the water filling a (big) bath, and whether it could travel through the building's plumbing.
I get it. But, what do you think about drinking from or breathing in an elemental.I think when he said "pure" he was saying the creature was only made of its own parts and did not lose or gain parts(for lack of a better term) from the surrounding area. That is now the idea of taking over the world comes into play. If an air or water elemental could add the surrounding area to itself it could eventually take over an entire plane.
I have the same take. It would kill them if it were possible. Attacking a water elemental with straws would be funny though. :)
In short you can not take away from the elemental, and it can not add the surrounding area to itself.
It came up.
Yes, rule of cool.