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This may seem like an odd request, but one of my players has an earth elemental summon while another has an immovable rod. The stats for the immovable rod specify that it can hold up to 8,000 pounds and one of my players asked...

"Could the earth elemental hold onto the immovable rod without breaking the spell?" and considering it is a "large" creature that is not as clear cut as I thought.

The closest number I could find was 6,000 pounds but that seems like a shot in the dark. Does anyone know? or Could anyone figure it out?

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2 Answers 2

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According to the Monster Manual, the earth elemental's head and body are dirt and stone, while its arms are stone. The specific density of an elemental depends on the type of stone and the ratio of dirt to stone, but a rough guide is that dirt has twice the density of a human, while stone has two to three times the density.

At Large size, the earth elemental is approximately twice as big as a human in all three dimensions, making its weight approximately eight times that of a Medium creature.

Since an average human weighs 125 to 250 pounds, a typical earth elemental could weigh anything between 2,000 to 6,000 pounds.

It's possible for any individual earth elemental to weigh considerably more or less. Earth elementals occasionally contain metals or metal ores, which weigh significantly more than normal rock. It's also possible for the elemental to be larger or smaller within the limits of Large size. The heaviest earth elementals would break the 8,000 lb limit, but these aren't typical.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for answering with a range. Different artists portray earth elementals with vastly different proportions, so a range of 1:3 on the end values seems entirely reasonable. \$\endgroup\$
    – keithcurtis
    Commented Feb 4, 2018 at 17:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ Typo? At Large size, the earth elemental is approximately twice as big as a human in all three dimensions, making its volume approximately eight times that of a Medium creature. \$\endgroup\$
    – Arthur
    Commented Feb 5, 2018 at 8:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ I know this is a 5e topic, but as a matter of curiosity, the earth elementals in MM3.5 have their weight by category on a table on page 98. The large one there is 6000 lb. \$\endgroup\$
    – Aguinaldo Silvestre
    Commented Feb 5, 2018 at 13:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Kevin I know. That's what I meant. The actual text in the answer says "weight" instead of "volume", though, and considering it had just made the point that the density of the elemental is probably about 2-3 times higher than for a creature made of flesh, the actual weight would be roughly 15-25 times, not 8 times, that of a medium creature. \$\endgroup\$
    – Arthur
    Commented Feb 5, 2018 at 14:02
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Quick Google search says a 70kg human has a volume of about 70 litres. I'd quick guesstimate an Earth Elemental as twice as thick and twice as tall as a human --maybe a little less than twice as tall and a little more than twice as thick --moot point. So "my" Earth Ele has a volume of 70Lx4= 280 litres. How much does one litre of granite weigh? Who knows? The internet! 5.93 pounds x 280 litres. My granite Earth Elemental weighs a mere 1,661 pounds. Much lower than your shot in the dark, but backed up by assumptions and calculations. https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-to-weight

If I were creating an 8th grade Science Fair project, I would determine accurate volumes based off lead figs and create a whole chart, but neither am I in 8th grade, nor am I trying to pass science...

Update My Earth Ele 1.0 seems a bit twiggy, fine. How about this. Each leg and arm is one cubic meter of material, plus a body of two cubic meters, totaling 6 cubic meters of granite giving us 35,595 pounds. Well now! That seems like a lot... Ok, let's make him a bit smaller... Point being, visualize what you think it should look like, guestimate the volume, and calculate.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Why is your elemental twice as thick and twice as tall but not twice as wide (so x8)? This would give 3,200lb instead, bang in the middle of the range given in @QuadraticWizard's answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – tardigrade
    Commented Feb 4, 2018 at 16:15
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    \$\begingroup\$ @tardigrade is right: volume is the cube of length. When you double an object's linear measurements, you octuple its volume. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mark Beadles
    Commented Feb 4, 2018 at 18:14
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    \$\begingroup\$ It's a good thing you're not trying to pass science since you've gotten the number of spatial dimensions in the universe wrong. \$\endgroup\$
    – David Conrad
    Commented Feb 5, 2018 at 3:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ Answering a question with the monster manual instead of granite density, looks like backing with the right source of information. And i joined just to say that. \$\endgroup\$
    – AndreaBogazzi
    Commented Feb 5, 2018 at 12:28

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