D&D 5E What do intelligent, fire elementals want?

[trentonjoe]

I am working on a powerful, fire elemental type being (tentatively Fszzzt, the seventh hottest fire in the dominion of Ftttsz) NPC who is trying to gain power in his world by creating a connection with my groups Prime Material Plane. I am struggling with what a Fire Elemental would really want. I want it to be uniquish, not souls or magic items like some netherworld demon thing would want. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[steeldragons]

Fire exists for one thing...burning stuff. Once lit, and since we're talking about an elemental being it's already "lit", it requires two things to make this happen. Fuel [something it can burn] and oxygen.

The only thing an elemental being would ever want is something it can "consume" (fuel)...and oxygen.

Maybe in the case of elemental beings, destroying any/all water-based elementals/creatures is also high on the list.

 

[Wik]

Fire elementals want to do what fire does - destroy and consume, and in so doing, create new life. It doesn't want to stay in one place, it wants to always expand, and it doesn't want to think of itself as pure evil. Burning down a building so it can be replaced with a new one, destroying a goblin tribe so a red dragon can use the smoking ruins to lay an egg, and so on and so forth.

 

[Staffan]

In Dark Sun, fire elemental clerics were often charged as part of their pact with the elemental lords to promote the growth of forests, fields, and cities - so there would be things to burn.

I think it would depend on the personality of the elemental being. If you're looking for minor sacrifices, such as those a spellcaster would make in order to summon it, burning rare things (particular incenses, woods, oils, etc) would be the obvious thing. If you're looking more along the lines of short-term goals, it would be to burn things by itself. For deeds a long-term servant would perform, it would be more like the elemental pact above.

Of course, there's also the possibility that fire is just part of Fszzzt's toolkit, and not something that is necessarily its goal. For example, efreeti don't seem to be overly concerned about burning things, they're more about establishing domination over what they see as lesser creatures. For novelty, you could go a similar but different path with Fszzzt - perhaps it is interested in kindling the flames of passion in mortals, or fanning the fires of freedom among slaves, or something like that.

 

[Parmandur]

Be sure to keep in mind that the chemical process of combustion is NOT what elemental Fire is; Fire, in modern science terns, is the state of Energy (Water is Liquid, Air is Gas, and Earth is Solid). In the classical conception, Fire was inimical to Water, came from Earth and went into Air.

Perhaps weakening Water, getting consumables for cosmic forges, etc...

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Imix just wants to burn everything for example.

 

[Mistwell]

The hands down absolute 100% best depiction of what Elementals really want is in The Book of Elementals series by Phyllis Eisenstein. Literally one of the best fantasy series ever, and perhaps the most unknown/underrated fantasy series ever as well

 

[Nellisir]

Pastries

 

[iserith]

I am working on a powerful, fire elemental type being (tentatively Fszzzt, the seventh hottest fire in the dominion of Ftttsz) NPC who is trying to gain power in his world by creating a connection with my groups Prime Material Plane. I am struggling with what a Fire Elemental would really want. I want it to be uniquish, not souls or magic items like some netherworld demon thing would want. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

It seeks to become the sixth hottest fire in the domain of Ftttsz.

Fszzzt sets reasonable goals for itself.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I am working on a powerful, fire elemental type being (tentatively Fszzzt, the seventh hottest fire in the dominion of Ftttsz) NPC who is trying to gain power in his world by creating a connection with my groups Prime Material Plane. I am struggling with what a Fire Elemental would really want. I want it to be uniquish, not souls or magic items like some netherworld demon thing would want. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Excitement, glitz, dynamism, spectacle, adulation... and rock music.