Monster Analysis: Lucien’s Ticket Taker (Legendary Water Elemental Guardian)

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  • Encounter Appearance: 2-136 Hell or High Water

  • Armor Class 17

  • Speed 40 ft (swimming)

  • Resistant to nonmagical weapon damage

  • Immune to poison and acid damage

  • Immune to exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, and stunned

  • Legendary Actions, Legendary Resistances

  • 131 damage taken before party tactical retreat

As we’ve already seen in an opposing plane, elementals can be charged as guardians to defend a sanctum or block an entrance. Although the Flame Guardian watching Ryn‘s sanctum was formidable, it wasn’t legendary, like the Legendary Water Elemental Guardian Ticket Taker (which is totally it’s real and actual name, since we haven’t been given an official one yet). We’re unsure of terms Lucien gave it or how such a deal was made, but it definitely slowed and softened the Nein up before they were able to break past to the Astral Sea. 

Water and grasping tendrils prove to be a very bad mix for a party that is attempting to quickly pass through an area. The difficult terrain of the flooded halls already made traversal difficult, forcing most of the Nein to resign themselves to combat in the first round instead of sprinting through the portal after their quarry. The relatively small size of the portal room combined with the elemental’s 20-foot long reach with its water tentacles proved even more difficult for trying to escape.

The legendary resistances also served the water elemental better than they would have the flame guardian. The latter was entirely devoted to damage, while the former relied on its status effects (and the six total possible attempts per round to inflict it via four standard attacks, an attack of opportunity, and a slam via two Legendary Actions). Its already impressive number of status immunities protected it from anyone who sought to disable it; the legendary resistances nicely filled in the gaps in these defenses so it could continue to hinder the party. The elemental managed to deal a total of 205 damage spread across the party. (While this hurts, its more like saltwater to the wound when sprinkled on top of the whopping 324 damage they collectively took from a single Intuit Charge).

The Nein all spent varying levels of resources in order to escape the real danger of the elemental’s grapple. Fjord stayed at the portal for an extra round, taking an attack so other another party member wouldn’t get too much attention from the creature. Essek freed himself with Misty Step while Caduceus safely escaped with his Hidden Step and Essek’s Fly spell. Caleb burned a 7th level spell (and turned into a sheep for at least the next hour) just to get himself across the room safely. Jester’s duplicate served her extremely well until the final round when she almost got pulled back from the Astral Plane, but Tiny Veth’s mage hand on the controls removed the elemental’s limb.