Glorind looked nervously at the assembly before him. They consisted of his fellow students at the wizard training college, but Glorind was shy and so even an audience of friends would spook him. And there was his professor in the back. The young wizard had to give a report on something related to magic and summoning for his conjuration class, and he had chosen mephits.
“Mephits are creatures born of some elemental material, or so it is believed,” he began. “I intend to show that there are mephits made of composite materials as well, and even some that draw their essence from things we would not call elemental at all. Regardless of what 'makes them up,' mephits have some features in common.
“All mephits are about 4 feet tall and have a humanoid appearance. Their specific appearances depend on their natures, but their wings, horns, and sometimes pointed ears give them a demonic look that cause some to mistake them for devils or demons. Mephits use claws to fight with, and they have breath weapons. A single mephit can't do much with its breath weapon, which is usable only twice a minute or so (on average), but a gang of the creatures can cause quite a bit of damage to a single target. Mephits also have some spell-like abilities, which vary based on their natures. Mephits all heal quickly, but only when in contact with their 'own' element. This principle is stretched a bit when it comes to the less elemental mephits. Their natures give them some protection against attacks, and magic weapons are usually required to really hurt mephits.
“Mephits all have the ability to summon more of their kindred to their side, much as we cast spells to summon monsters to aid us. Mephits are not as good at this summoning as wizards are, and they get another mephit only about one quarter of the time. Further, mephits that have just been summoned cannot summon other mephits, since they reportedly cannot use their own summoning ability for an hour after arrival. There is some debate on this, but most wizards believe that summoned mephits disappear back whence they came after an hour. This prevents a single mephit from creating a swarm of its kindred in a short space of time. It also makes the mephits' summoning ability kind of useless, at least from my perspective.
“All other characteristics of the creatures depend on their natures, so I have grouped the types for ease of presentation. The first grouping of mephits comprises those that are drawn from the basic elemental forces of the cosmos. Each is at home on the elemental plane that matches its type, but all can and do exist on our world freely.
“Air mephits look like humanoids with cloudy white skin, and they have whirlwinds instead of legs. They fly rather than walk and breathe cones of dust and grit particles. I was expecting them to breathe gusts of wind, but I guess they are not as elemental in nature as a true elemental after all. Air mephits can create gusts of wind and use the air around them to blur their forms. Their ability to heal themselves works when they are in contact with moving air, and an air mephit can fan itself to create the necessary wind for healing. This is the only mephit type that can induce its own healing ability. They weigh about a pound.
“Earth mephits are stocky little guys that weigh 80 pounds, though they are the same height as other mephits. They look brown and rocky. They spit cones of rock shards and pebbles as their breath weapons. They can make themselves larger and can soften the earth around themselves when they desire. Earth mephits heal quickly when underground or when buried at least to the waist. Just being on the ground is not enough to activate their healing ability. They don't burrow, so they have to bury themselves just like we do.
“Fire mephits are not made of fire, though they do have hair that looks like flames. They really look like little devils, and I have brought one to show you. This is a fire mephit; it is my uncle's familiar and on loan. As you can see, it is very light – it weighs about a pound – and has elongated nails and ears like you'd expect of a demon. It breathes fire, heats metals, and casts magic missiles. It is especially vulnerable to cold, but immune to fire. It heals quickly when in contact with a large flame other than its own hair.
“Water mephits look like little fish people and weigh only 30 pounds or so. They can be quite annoying with their senses of humor, and they don't get along very well with fire mephits. In fact, it is hard to tell in general when mephits will get along or not; it is not always dependent on their natures. Water mephits spit cones of caustic liquid, like acid. They each can create a stinky fog like a stinking cloud spell and throw acidic blobs. They heal quickly when in the rain or when more than half submerged in water.
“The following mephit types are made from combinations of the four basic elements. There is some confusion as to which planes they call home, but I will clear it up.
“Ice mephits are kind of a mix of air and water. They have snowy translucent skin, which can be quite unnerving, and are standoffish. They like the cold but come from the Elemental Plane of Air. As cold creatures, they are immune to cold and especially vulnerable to fire. They spit ice shards and frosty cold vapor, and really have the worst breath weapon of all the mephits. Like fire mephits they can cast magic missiles, but they chill metal rather than heating it. They heal quickly when it is freezing cold or when they have a large enough piece of ice to touch.
“Dust mephits, a mix of air and fire, live or come from the Elemental Plane of Air. They look like little humans dressed all in black, and they have a fascination with death that rivals a necromancer. Like the other air-based mephits, they are very light; they weigh only 2 pounds. They breathe a cloud of dust that irritates the eyes and skin. They also can make a cloud of dust around themselves to blur their bodies. Dust mephits can even create a cloud of dust to obscure themselves and keep things away from themselves. The effect is most similar to a wind wall spell. Dust mephits need an arid environment to heal quickly. Of all the mephits, they are the most morbid and creepy.
“A cross of earth and fire, magma mephits look like little magma men (and women). They are heavy like earth mephits and weigh close to 60 pounds. Like fire mephits, they are immune to fire and especially vulnerable to cold. They each can breathe a cone of magma, which can mess with your skin and eyes. A magma mephit can create a fiery effect similar to our pyrotechnics spell, and they also have the ability to change into a pool of lava that crawls along the floor. They need lava or a large fire to heal quickly.
“Steam mephits are a cross between water and fire, but they call the Elemental Plane of Fire home. They are bossy and hotheaded, which should not be a surprise considering they are made of steam. They weigh a couple of pounds and trail water behind them when they move so you'd think they are dissolving. However, they somehow stay intact. They breathe steam, which can affect the eyes and skin like the magma of a magma mephit. They blur their bodies with steam and can create a boiling rainstorm that affects the area around them and to which they are immune. Like other fiery mephits, they are especially vulnerable to cold. They need boiling water or very humid conditions to heal quickly, so you usually find them at hot springs.
“The last group of mephits is composed of very strange nonelemental substances, thus destroying the theory that they are elemental creatures. In my view, salt, though it comes from earth, is too derivative a substance to be called an element in itself, and ooze is a complex substance from which many creatures are made.
“An ooze mephit is not made of the same material as a slime or gray ooze, thankfully. It is made rather of grimy filth and muck. It is a cross between earth and water, and pretty disgusting. Ooze mephits weigh about 30 pounds. The breath weapon they each have, if you can call it breath, is a cone of disgusting caustic liquid, which is even worse than the breath weapon of a water mephit. They each can create a stinky fog around themselves and can throw caustic blobs just like water mephits do. They need muddy places to heal quickly, so keep out of the sewers and you'll probably not run into very many of these. Yuck.
“The weirdest mephit of all, in my opinion is the salt mephit, which is made of salt. They have pale crystalline flesh and weigh about 80 pounds. Some say they are a cross between earth and air, but I think they are the least elemental of all the mephits. A salt mephit can spit a cone of salt crystals, which burns the eyes and skin. They can use the salt of their bodies to create an effect like a glitterdust spell and can suck the moisture from the air (and other things) around them. This effect can easily damage flesh that needs water to survive. They need arid environments to heal quickly, and they absolutely hate the water. You never find a salt mephit anywhere near water – for any reason. They won't even answer summoning spells if the summoner is near water. Maybe they really would dissolve.
“These last mephits lead one to conclude that other types of mephits can, and probably do, exist. They clearly have not been encountered in our world, but imagine the possibilities: plant mephits, steel mephits, oil mephits, and who knows what else.
“Mephits tend to travel in groups or gangs. Sometimes these gangs are made up of different types of mephits with similar natures, such as air and ice mephits, or dust and fire and magma mephits. Since they are physically weak on their own, they enjoy the protection of a group in much the same way that a kobold does.
“And that concludes my summary of mephits. Each of these creatures could be a life's work to study, though I wouldn't want to study ooze and salt mephits myself. But some of the others can be quite interesting to spend time with. Thank you.”
Glorind stepped down and was so thankful to be finished that he did not care what mark he received for his presentation.