Blessed Lifegiver

Elemental, Water — Blessed Lifegiver

NG Elementals of Good Water

Most elementals don’t give a single moment’s thought to morals, ethics, or any kind of consideration about what’s right or wrong. But these cutters wash away that mould completely. The Blessed Lifegivers, as they call themselves, express the nurturing, sheltering, and cleansing aspects of their plane. They represent the fresh currents that bring clean waters, gentle tides that bring bountiful catches of fish, and holy waters that sanctify.

The blessed lifegivers are some of Ben‑Hadar’s most argent followers. They’re a clade of water elementals whose entire volume has been sanctified by their prince. Their aqueous forms shimmer with a faint inner radiance, and the water that composes them feels like a cool, holy tide—able to soothe wounds, wash away corruption. It repels fiends and burns the rancid flesh of the undead as if they’d stepped into a consecrated spring. Where most elementals are indifferent forces, the Blessed Livegivers choose the life of caretakers.

DESCRIPTION: Like other water elementals, blessed livegivers prefer to shape themselves into vaguely humanoid or serpentine forms, but what’s different is their outlines are softened by pearly light and streaming motes like sunbeams through clear surf. Their surfaces glow faintly turquoise or sea‑green from within, and tiny fish‑shapes or shell‑patterns swirl in their bodies like living tattoos. Close up, blessed livegivers smell faintly of salt breezes and fresh rain. When they move, they leave brief clouds of luminous droplets that quickly evaporate, and when they speak, their voices rumble like distant surf or the rush of a waterfall over smooth stone. In the darkest deeps of Water, the warm radiance from a blessed livegiver is often the only visible light.

PREFERRED HABITAT: Blessed lifegivers favour the pure, tranquil reaches of water that Ben‑Hadar holds dear: living reefs, sheltered atolls, and the open blue far from pollution or planar rifts. Many lifegivers dwell in and around Ssesurgass, patrolling its labyrinthine corals or enjoying the gentle currents of their prince’s domain, but they also volunteer for the long swim along trade routes, or guard holy springs. They avoid stagnant, fouled water when they can, both out of distaste and because their presence there is painfully conspicuous. When duty calls them into such places, they instinctively work to cleanse pockets of purity, and using those as bases from which to work.

PHILOSOPHY / SOCIETY: Livegivers see themselves as stewards of clean waters, and protectors of sea creatures. Their creed is that their beloved water can be dangerous, and they feel it’s their duty to rescue the drowning, prevent waterborne illness by making wells potable, and ensure that gentle rains regularly nourish the land. While most blessed lifegivers work alone, they are more sociable than many elementals. Lifegivers sometimes gather in pods of three, with each individual taking on a specialised role. The Reefwarden ensures the defence of the pod. The Aspergillum is the holiest of the group, communing with their patron. And finally, the Pelagic Lantern acts as a guide, both for location and morality.

ECOLOGY: The presence of these benevolent elementals alter their surroundings subtly over time. Wherever they linger, the waters tend to run clear and sweet, the corals bloom and the seagrass beds flourish. Lifegivers encourage symbiotic relationships: schools of small fish, dolphins, and even merfolk cluster around them, gaining protection from evil and fires, while providing extra eyes, ears, and local knowledge. Blessed lifegivers can wash away wounds, diseases and curses with their gentle touch.

COMBAT: While they are usually placid, an enraged livegiver is capable of great buffeting waves or explosive cascades of holy water. Their waters can be stirred up into a holy vortex capable of washing away evil creatures, and they are able to extinguish magical flames. Tactically, they prefer to be in control: creating tidal bores which push enemies away from innocents, drowning or disarming them when necessary, but they’ll always trying to end a conflict with as little lasting harm to the environment itself as possible. Only when faced with implacable evils—like Olhydra’s cults or Kelizandri’s vile brine‑spawn—do they unleash their full tempestuous might.

SOURCE: Homebrew by Margarita and Jon Winter-Holt