Mercury Elementals - The Twisting Toxic Scourge

The quicksilver elemental slurps forth, sowing venom - Quicksilver Elemental by Tony Szczudlo

The elemental is a classic in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The embodiment of a natural energy in a human like shape. We've covered elementals a lot on this blog, simply because they interest me so.

Most elementals in Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons are based on alchemy's cardinal elements of alchemy. Air, earth, fire, and water. The tornadoes with faces and lumbering rock men of old are always classic monsters that have been played out frequently and to great effect in fantasy and science fiction.

Alchemy also treats several fairly common metals as key building blocks of the universe. It's interesting to try and build monsters in that kind of space.

Mercury Elemental

Mercury Elemental stats generated with Homebrewery

The twisting shape of quicksilver has been used in chemistry, alchemy, medicine, and poisonings across history of our world, and the worlds of dungeons and dragons. Living mercury is an even rarer thing, making the Mercury Elemental a truly formidable thing.

Mercury Elementals do not have a solid form, as it's the only metal that's liquid at room temperature. Much like Gold Elementals, the Mercury Elemental is a living liquid creature, much like an ooze. It glides with far greater motility and adhesion than the Gold Elemental. They're significantly larger and more dangerous than Gold Elementals as a result.

Their liquid nature makes them resemble the oozes and other slime creatures of the world. Rippling tentacles that bludgeon their enemies are always a threat from any ooze. The highly toxic nature of mercury is what adds to the deadly nature of this elemental.

Deadly Quicksilver

The elemental is particularly prized by magical practitioners. Mercury always has its uses in potions and craft. The creature can occur anywhere and may be found in the magical fallout of any location, making it a terrifying wandering monster.

Now we want to hear from you. Where would Mercury Elementals occur in your world? How do you imagine elemental forms of other alchemical metals? Let us know in our discord server or in the comments below.

Adam Ray contributes much for adventurers here on Apotheosis Studios. As co-founder of fantasticuniverses.com, they write about card gaming and PC gaming to a corner of the internet he carved out themselves. On Youtube, they can be found game mastering for No Ordinary Heroes, or editing the antics on The Hostile Atmosphere. Find where they dwell by climbing their Linktree.