Lightning, Storms, and Electricity
There’s more than just air, earth, fire, and water in The Elements and Beyond, the first entirely free compendium from D&D Unleashed. If you want to specialize in a particular damage type, you’ll have a full variety of spells, magic items, subclasses, and even monsters related to that damage type. Today we’ll be taking a gander at the diversity of options available within the new compendium for lightning damage, the damage type of storms and electricity. It can be found naturally in storms or used to power electrical devices, but in most cases is encountered in magical form.
Lightning energy, or electricity, can be used to produce magnetic effects even in worlds where it is usually created by magic, and no one knows that fact better than the paladins of the Oath of Dynamism. These paladins are named for not only their ideals of change and progress but also for their similarity to machines that generate electricity. You can use this paladin subclass to create a Thor-like holy warrior wielding divine lightning and storms, or to create a magical electro-knight that combines electricity and magnetism to empower their attacks. As with many of lightning damage effects, some of the abilities of these paladins are especially potent against creatures wearing any metal armor. The focus on the material aspects of lightning and electricity helps differentiate this subclass from similar lightning based subclasses, such as the Tempest cleric or the Storms druid (see below). Compared to other paladin subclasses, this one mechanically focuses on area damage and blasting. Try combining this paladin subclass with the Armorer artificer subclass to build the ultimate electro-magical tech-knight!
Speaking of advantage against creatures wearing metal armor, the new hybrid elemental made out of lightning energy — helpfully called a lighning elemental — carries that benefit on each of its melee attacks, like a living, flying shocking grasp spell. With the ability to fly as fast as an air elemental with a damaging body reminiscent of a fire elemental, it won’t light creatures on fire but it will damage them if struck with a metal melee weapon. As a result of its nature as a hybrid of air and fire, it struggles to battle when submerged in water or attacking targets buried in earth. Since they can hide within metal objects, these monsters make excellent additions to any technological campaign or setting, whether that means lurking in a lightning rod in Faerun or trapped in a magical generator in Eberron.
Spark spirits are tiny lightning elementals that often inhabit storms and may even appear in electrical discharges. These shocking little elementals are the second most dangerous elemental spirit (after burning spirits) on account of their speed and ability to deal lightning damage to many enemies in a row on the same turn by disengaging. However, its also the one of the most easily slain of the elemental spirits, with only ten average hit points to speak of. These spirits can also be conjured by a PC using the 4th-level conjure minor elementals spell.
The combination of air and fire that creates lightning can also manifest in the mortal lineages of genies, giving birth to an even rarer type of genasi called Storm Genasi. Carrying resistance to both lightning and thunder damage and sporting magical talents for electrical bursts of damage, these genasi are usually boisterous and volatile. The compendium also features some optional rules to slightly improve the underwhelming aspects of the genasi race by giving them more ribbons and narrative tools, bringing them up to a similar level of power as most other official races. You don’t have to use these if you prefer to keep your genasi as-is, but we highly recommend you try them out! These benefits are based on the attributes and abilities of elementals, especially those shared by all genies.
Thanks to those resistances, storm genasi are well-suited to face off against foes such as the terrifying CR12 storm elemental, a triple-element hybrid elemental formed of air, fire, and water. This versatile monster can be found on land, upon the sea, and even in the sky. Storm genasi are similarly capable against the electrified primal spirit called the serpent of the deep, which can also be fought on land despite its affinity for the ocean, where it is usually found when it is fought as a monster. Both of these CR 12 monsters can be used as primal spirit avatars for the new 9th-level druid spell summon primal spirit from the same compendium (it can be found below on the same page as storm spear).
Speaking of druids, the compendium also features a new druid subclass that harnesses the power of wind and storm. If you were thinking of building a druid to conjure these new electric elementals and fey, you might enjoy specializing in lightning and thunder damage with the Circle of Storms. This subclass was previewed just before the compendium’s release, and has practically no changes from its preview.
Of course, with class features that boost the power of lightning damage spells, the Circle of Storms works very well with the new lightning spells found in the compendium. Some of these, like storm spear and primordial tides, have been previewed before (storm spear received some minor buffs). Others are brand new and never seen before, such as the combat-defining buff spell storm god’s haste and the versatile, object-destroying 9th-level spell plasma coil. Storm god’s haste is a more potent version of the haste spell, allowing the target two additional actions each turn instead of only one, granting extra speed, and even boosting the target’s weapon attacks with advantage and bonus lightning damage. Plasma coil on the other hand resembles a 9th-level version of flame blade, but with Dexterity saves instead of spell attacks and with the ability to hit many enemies or objects at once with each arcing lash of the crackling whip.
Like the other damage types that are featured in the compendium, lightning damage can be boosted by a new 9th-level spell that also grants the caster resistance to most damage types and other minor benefits: an ordainment. Ordainments are designed to be reminiscent of the 6th-level Investiture spells that can be found in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything or the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion, such as investiture of flame. While the Investiture spells are themed around each of the four elements, these ordainments are themed around each of the game’s damage types, giving spellcasters who specialize in a particular damage type a new kind of capstone spell to salivate over when they dream of reaching level 17. Each ordainment transforms the caster into a different material, but since the Investiture spells already cover the four elements, the ordainments allow the caster to become other materials such as storm clouds, metal, lava, crystal, or even colorful light.
But some creatures can turn into storm clouds without needing a 9th-level spell, such as the new air and water-themed storm hag, a new fey found in the compendium that also features a great deal of lightning damage. Storm hags are lawful evil, a rare alignment for hags, and so they take extra care in ensuring that the magical deals and contracts they form with their victims will allow them to ruin their victim’s life.
Storm hags, whether they be the Small land-dwelling variety or the Ursula-like Medium aquatic variety, are a poor target for these lightning spells and class features we’ve been looking at, as these fey are completely immune to lightning damage. While some hags are focused on physical abilities (such as the Sea Hag or the Annis Hag), storm hags specialize in spells and magical damage (in the same way as the Bheur Hag or Night Hag), blasting their enemies with predictive surges of storm and lightning, and even releasing bottled storms to overwhelm their foes.
When facing down a storm hag and her minions, you might be well served by packing a lightning rod, one of the new magic items in the compendium. This rod can be used by anyone, even if they can’t cast any spells. When you are an ally are struck by a blast of lightning, you can use the rod to absorb the lightning instead, redirecting that lightning on the next turn to blast another target for high damage. Of course this rod works best against targets that deal lightning damage but are not resistant or immune to it, such as humanoid spellcasters, but creatures such a storm hag may be accompanied by minions that aren’t as protected against their own lightning as they are. There are few greater offenses to a storm hag than sending her own lightning bolt hurtling toward one of her blink hounds or displacer beasts!
Using the lightning damage content in The Elements and Beyond, combined with the official content, its easier than ever to unleash your own electric game of D&D!
This sample was from The Elements and Beyond, a magical exploration of the four elements and the various energies of creation — minus those dark forces that belong in forbidden tomes — powers such as light, thunder, lightning, acid, frost, and the magic of nature! It’s entirely free and you can download the pdf here!
This 246 page compendium contains 23 subclasses, 8 spellcasting feats, 134 spells, 213 spell variants, 85 monsters, 30 magic items, 4 races plus 12 new subraces each with racial feats, and even more goodies for both players and DMs!
