Advanced Serpentfolk


Rules Questions


Can someone please help me understand the Ability Score section of this entry?

Advanced Serpentfolk wrote:
A serpentfolk's racial ability score modifiers are as follows: Str –2, Dex +10, Con +6, Int +8, Wis +4, Cha +6.

1. Is this intended to be their new ability score modifiers (i.e. Str 7, Dex 30, Con 22, etc)?

2. Or are these what I modify the ability scores I get from point buy/rolling?

3. Or is this the amount the current ability scores get adjusted by (i.e. Str 8 becomes 6, Dex 21 becomes 31, Con 23), which comes out to pretty much #1?

Either way (except for rolling monumentally poorly), the new ability scores become extremely better. On top of gaining a class level. Does this really only go up to CR 5? Plus their Poison DC and SR get better, but those changes are obvious in how they function, and don't seem unbalanced. Can someone please explain if I'm missing something?


serpentfolk's racial ability score modifiers are as follows: Str –2, Dex +10, Con +6, Int +8, Wis +4, Cha +6.

Means:
8, 21, 17, 18, 15, 16 are its ability scores.

Remember: you subtract 10 or 11 (for odd) from scores to get the scores indicated.


Calculate your stats using whatever point buy/rolling method you use, then apply those modifiers.

They are pretty awesome, if your GM is letting you play one, you are extremely lucky.

They are CR 4, not 5.

Class levels add to CR.

Depending on how your GM runs the game, he may even let you use the rules on advancing as a monster (meaning you actually get MORE levels later on, you can 'work off' half your CR over time).

This is wildly unbalanced compared to a non-monster character, but mechanically allowed.

Don't forget, you don't gain the 1 additional stat point for the racial hit dice, you only get that for class levels.

Favored class is chosen normally. Feats are based on total hit dice.


BTW I use these guys as a base race for an entire empire in my game, they are SUPER AWESOME and fun to build.

If you get to play one, try very hard not to overshadow the rest of your party too much, they are VERY powerful.


Alexd1976: I got that they're CR4 as is - adding a class level to a monster typically increases that monster's CR by 1 all by itself, but these gangstas get huge increases to their ability scores as well as bumps in their poison DC and SR? That's still only +1 to the CR? And no, I'm designing Serpentfolk enemies for my game, not playing one, though I have to admit I'd really love to run/play that type of game.

Starbuck_II: Are you sure? Those abilities are exactly the same as the bestiary entry, which is on the same page as these rules. That seems pretty redundant.


I agree that racial modifiers refers to the adjustment you would make to generated stats (rolled, point buy, et al.), and is just codifying how to do a full build for a PC or NPC.

The reason that it's not redundant is that it's easier to adjust the class appropriate NPC elite array (which advanced serpentfolk should use) than to fiddle with "how do I adjust the base '10, 11, 11, 10, 11, 10' to match the elite array?"

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