Elisabetta Golzio
We’d like to begin by thanking Catilus RPG for providing us with a digital copy of Periodic Table of Elementals and thus enabling this review. What we present here is an accessory manual compatible with D&D5e whose peculiarity is to present 118 new creatures: an elemental for each chemical element.
At this link you will find the manual (about 200 pages long), which can be purchased for $21.95 in English only.
Review of Periodic Table of Elementals: Plenty of Elementals
If you’re looking for something different for your group, or simply find yourself at a table crowded with the best kind of nerds, the idea of associating each element of the periodic table with a different elemental could bring a bit of liveliness to your evenings. So not only will air, earth, fire and water keep you company in your campaign, but also hydrogen, lithium, beryllium, sodium and so on.
Elementals, as we all know, are not just ordinary magical beasts, but the very embodiment of the element they represent. It must therefore have been no small challenge to dissect what the most characteristic properties of each element were and translate them into the powers and reactions of each creature. For example, the element of hydrogen takes its cue from the creation of life itself. As the first element to form and the most present in the Cosmos, hydrogen gives its manifestation invisibility, but also a massive presence. The weaknesses and strengths of metals also come to life with their counterparts. A platinum elemental, for example, will be extremely resistant to corrosion but may dissolve in a tub of hot white spirit. In short, an exercise in style that draws heavily from the world of chemistry by merging science with fantasy.
Fantastic Elementals and Where to Find Them
Of course, it will not always be easy to come across a creature of the types just mentioned. Elementals belong to a plane of their own that reflects their element. They are also usually deadly to humans. However, under special conditions it is possible to have a chance encounter with them on the Material Plane. For instance, a massive concentration of the element in question might draw them into our reality.
They can also be summoned as familiars by those with sufficient magical power. Not all of them, however, possess a meek disposition and, as always, they may not accept their task willingly. In this case, a successful charisma test with a difficulty class of 10 plus the elemental’s level of challenge can really save our skins.
Game cues can be varied. Despite the large number of creatures at one’s disposal, it is advisable to decide which are of most interest to our characters. Whether new adversaries or valuable helpers, you are sure to find what is right for you in this manual.
Conclusions of the Review of Periodic Table of Elementals
The manual has a layout very similar to that of the official Dungeons & Dragons manuals. We will in fact find a table next to the name summarising all the elemental’s characteristics, its saving throws, abilities, possible resistances and immunities, including languages and the degree of challenge. In addition to this graphics now familiar to any D&D5e player, there will be a small reminder of the position on the periodic table of the elemental in question, the form in which it can be found in nature and what the chance of encountering it is.
The stats presented are balanced and reflect all the elements they refer to.
Illustrations, by Catilus, are perhaps what separates it most from the official products. We are faced with rather cartoonish drawings, with vivid colours and sometimes imaginative proportions.
All in all, a very specific addition to your game world. Although there are many bestiaries, I would still recommend it to those particularly interested in the subject: it might be interesting to find out what the similarities are between element and elemental.
