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The main reason for my confusion is that the vampire template does not fit the pattern of other templates. If a template changes the creature's type it tells you what not to recalculate and then lists the missing features (HD, BAB, saves, or skills) in the corresponding sections.

Examples for "do not recalculate HD, BAB, or saves":
Fey Creature, Half-Celestial, Half-Dragon, and Half-Fiend. They all list a "Skills" section with skill points per HD and class skills.

Examples for "do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks":
Lich and Worm That Walks. They have a "Hit Dice" section on how to handle the new hit dice.

The only other template that does not fit this pattern seems to be Animal Lord which, oddly enough, has the same phrase as the vampire template "do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves" (notice the "class" term; thus vampire is not the only one with it).

EDIT: Found a vampire succubus in "The Moonscar" and, if I didn't fail my math, she kept her outsider skill points. Though she didn't get Knowledge (planes) as a class skill.

Secondly your sidenote, this phrase actually makes sure the vampire template is at least an 'upgrade' to the base creature and maintains the increase in CR for difficulty. At least that is how I see it. Normally an undead creature would go to medium BAB, has only 1 good save, and has middle of the road HD. If applied to a creature with all good saves, good BAB and better HD, the change would be a downgrade, making the creature less powerful but yet worth more XP.

Your NPC would retain BAB from outsider racial HD, as well as the good saves it had (I think Ref/Will) and the racial HD would remain d8's.

My sidenote was aimed at the term "class" before "Hit Dice". Sorry if that wasn't clear enough. This makes it actually worse than other templates that just say "Hit Dice" in general, because I have to recalculate my D10s (outsider) to D8s (undead).

Hi,
I'm working on an evil NPC (a vampire succubus) and I'm having a little bit of trouble figuring out her new skills.

Type: The creature's type changes to undead (augmented). Do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves.

Skills: Vampires gain a +8 racial bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks.

Skills are not listed as one of the "do not recalculate" features, but the Skills section does not explicitly say how many skill points per HD the creature gets or its class skills (unlike, for example, the Half-Celestial/Dragon/Fiend templates). In addition, the vampire gains +2 INT which should give her another 8 skill points. So how many skill points does a vampire succubus have?

I guess it's a question of "do everything you're told to do" or "do everything you're not told not to do".

On a sidenote: The vampire template seems to be the only template that says not to recalculate class HD. All other state HD in general (without the "class"). And does that apply to the HD only or to the BAB and saves as well (i.e. recalculate the outsider BAB/saves to undead BAB/saves)?

Achaekek could be a good choice, thanks (Is there more information about Barbarica?). NE deities are fine, too.
I want to focus more on the aspect of the hunt, but a little focus on "the beast" is also nice.
If you find someone else, please let me know.

Hi,
I'm looking for a god for a LE werecrocodile cleric in Golarion. The domains aren't really an issue. I want the character to be a hunter with some code of conduct.
Is there a god in Golarion that is like Sebek (in Faerûn)??

Thanks,
The Ripper.

Hi,
I have a quick question regarding polymorph spells and effects.

What happens if a non-humanoid creature (e.g. a dragon) changes into a human, picks up some equipment, and then changes back?
Will it meld into its body? Or will it just drop onto the ground or even break/tear if the natural form is too big?

The polymorph section does not cover that one.

Regards,
TheRipper.

Okay, a few things.

1: You add the bonus to the stats or take the animal stats; whichever is higher. You can reverse engineer these stat changes from nearly every Were from the beastiary, but for example lets look at the Werebearand the Grizzly Bear

The werebear bases are Str 21, Con 19. The humans are: Str 16, Con 13. If you added +2 atop those scores, it's hybrid form would be 23 Str & 21 Con... But instead it's just Str 21 & Con 19. Generally you have to assume earlier books were misprinted and later books are correct

It's poorly written, but you boost your stats before you decide whether the animals stats or the base creatures are higher. If not, just enjoy your boosted stats since they wrote this clause to not make were-rats hindered by the stats of the base form.

So your stats are: STR 22, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 17, CHA 8 OR

1.1 You have to assume that the most recent books ways of doing it correctly, Beastiary 2 & 3, are presumably doing it correctly as where if there are errors the previous books are wrong. The Wereboars are simply wrong by any count.

A Boars stats: Str 17, Con 17. The Barbarians human form: Str 19, Con 18. Yet the Hybrids is Str 23, Con 23. This is just wrong, since the humans are higher. Since the humans are higher, it's be 19+2(hybrid)+4(rage)=25 str. Con would be just 24.
...

That's what I thought, to use the more recent books. Though there are no lycanthropes in the B3, and the B2's contradict each other.

The only thing that seems to be going for the "+2 only to human stats" is that there are two examples (werebear, weretiger) vs. one (wereboar) in the B2. The first bestiary uses the rule "+2 to human/animal" for the werewolf (wererat cannot be classified as the human stats are better than the animal ones).

About the CR:
I always thought you look at the base creature/animal as two seperate instances for choosing the higher CR.
Example: Werebear
Human Ranger 4 -> CR 3
Grizzly Bear -> CR 4
So the Human natural werebear ranger 4 should be CR 5 (4+1).

Hi,
I'm currently building a lycanthrope NPC and have some questions about the stats and other abilities of lycanthropes. The creature in question is a human natural weresnake (emperor cobra).

Let's assume the base stats (pre-lycanthrope human) to be:
STR 15, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 10

After the template it should be (human form):
STR 15, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 12, CHA 8

The emperor cobra has:
STR 22, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 1, WIS 17, CHA 2

1. What stats does he have in hybrid/animal form?
STR 24, DEX 15, CON 20, INT 12, WIS 17, CHA 8 OR
STR 22, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 17, CHA 8 OR
STR 22, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 12, CHA 8 ?

Ability Scores: +2 Wis, –2 Cha in all forms; +2 Str, +2 Con in hybrid and animal forms. Lycanthropes have enhanced senses but are not fully in control of their emotions and animalistic urges. In addition to these adjustments to the base creature's stats, a lycanthrope's ability scores change when he assumes hybrid or animal form. In human form, the lycanthrope's ability scores are unchanged from the base creature's form. In animal and hybrid form, the lycanthrope's ability scores are the same as the base creature's or the base animal's, whichever ability score is higher.

1.1. Does the +2 STR/CON apply to both (animal, human) scores, or only to the human ones to determine the higher one?

The stats for the werewolf (base: wolf) and wereboar (base: boar + rage) suggest the former, while the werebear (base: grizzly) and weretiger (base: tiger) suggest the later.

1.2. Does this only affect physical ability scores (STR, DEX, CON) or all scores?

I would say only the physical ones, but RAW suggest all scores.

2. What special attacks/abilities does he get in hybrid/animal form?

Special Attacks: A lycanthrope retains all the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base creature. In hybrid or animal form it gains the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base animal. A lycanthrope also gains low-light vision, scent, and the following:

According to this, I would say "all of them" (i.e. the poison bite). Though the change shape ability lists polymorph as the "base spell" which would not grant poison. But when we look at the wererat (disease) and the weretiger (rake) it seems that the quote above overrides the spell's limits.

2.2. Does this include racial skill modifiers and bonus feats?

In the case of an emperor cobra:
Racial Modifiers: +8 Acrobatics, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth.

I would say "No" and none of the stat blocks suggest otherwise.

2.1. How are the DCs calculated?

Again, the wererat suggests that (in contrast to the polymorph magic rules) the DC is according to the "normal rules" (i.e. 10 + 1/2 Total HD + Ability Modifier) and not 15 (10 + spell level of polymorph) + "Casting Ability Modifier"

3. Less rule, more flavor: How would the hybrid form look like?

Change Shape (Su) All lycanthropes have three forms—a humanoid form, an animal form, and a hybrid form. Equipment does not meld with the new form between humanoid and hybrid form, but does between those forms and animal form.[...]

This suggests that the hybrid form is more human than animal. Therefore the hybrid form should have arms and legs.

Edit: As a side note, the lycanthropes in the bestiary 2 seem to have a CR of one less than they should have (Challenge Rating: Same as base creature or base animal (whichever is higher) + 1).

Like I said before:

The "cannot be a bloodline you already have" is not a prerequisite...

Prerequisites: Cha 13, Skill Focus with the class skill of bloodline selected for this feat (see below), character level 3rd.

So you do not lose the feat, as it is part of the benefit, not a prerequisite. Like getting Spell Focus as a bonus feat for a school you already had Spell Focus in. Normally you wouldn't be able to chose it twice for the same school, but you got it as a "forced" bonus feat. They won't stack, though.

The DM will probably have no problem with me having both, I just wanted to know the RAW.

You are descended from a long line of sorcerers, and some portion of their power flows in your veins.
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Skill Focus with the class skill of bloodline selected for this feat (see below), character level 3rd.
Benefit: Select one sorcerer bloodline. You must have Skill focus in the class skill that bloodline grants to a sorcerer at 1st level (for example, Heal for the celestial bloodline). This bloodline cannot be a bloodline you already have. You gain the first-level bloodline power for the selected bloodline. For purposes of using that power, treat your sorcerer level as equal to your character level – 2, even if you have levels in sorcerer. You do not gain any of the other bloodline abilities.

This means that a sorcerer (serpentine bloodline) can't take eldritch heritage (serpentine bloodline).

My Question: What happens if a non-sorcerer who has eldritch heritage (serpentine) takes a dip in sorcerer and selects serpentine as his bloodline?

The "cannot be a bloodline you already have" is not a prerequisite, so you don't lose access to the feat, but there is also no RAW that prevents the sorcerer to choose the same bloodline twice. What's the point in preventing a sorcerer from taking a bloodline he already has in the first place?

The whole point is that I'd like to get the bloodline arcana and the bite attack (with progression) without being a sorcerer. Is there another way to get both?

Hi,
I'm currently equipping a troll and wondered what counts as "wearing a ring".

1. Would a troll still benefit from a ring if he wore it inside his finger (i.e. around the finger bone)? Due to his regeneration it shouldn't be a problem to heal the flesh around it, but it would be well hidden.

2. In addition, if someone casts magic aura on the ring, would anyone be able to detect the ring? Magic aura protects it from casual detection and the will save seems to be only allowed if it was properly examined. And why would anybody think "let's open his finger".

3. Would the ring (and magic aura) also be protected from dispel magic as the flesh blocks line of effect/sight?

About the wand:

Since different classes get access to certain spells at different levels, the prices for two characters to make the same item might actually be different. An item is only worth two times what the caster of the lowest possible level can make it for. Calculate the market price based on the lowest possible level caster, no matter who makes the item.

Does this mean "caster level" or "character level"?

The "prefer cleric/wizard" part seems to count for scrolls only.

Not all items adhere to these formulas. First and foremost, these few formulas aren't enough to truly gauge the exact differences between items. The price of a magic item may be modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point. The pricing of scrolls assumes that, whenever possible, a wizard or cleric created it. Potions and wands follow the formulas exactly. Staves follow the formulas closely, and other items require at least some judgment calls.

The rules for monsters with PC levels is different from getting the elite array.

You get stat increases to the monster's base stats as follows: +4/+4/+2/+2/+0/-2 any way you like.

Go with an even numbered CR monster, because the level buy-out happens a number of times equal to half the monster's CR rounded down. The ice troll is probably best for your purposes, although at bard 8 he's only going to have a charisma of 14 before items. I guess that's okay though.

I think you are combining two things here. The stat boni are for "Monsters with Class Levels (p. 297)" and the CR buy-off is from "Monsters as PCs (p. 313)". We are using the latter, though probably without the buy-off, but I'm okay with that.

@Chaos_Scion: Power Attack is a good one and I will probably take it. What I meant with "not wanting to play a stupid fighter" was that his first approach to a problem should not be "smash it!!!". He would try to manipulate the involved parties and take advantage. On the other hand he should and will be a very good combatant, it's just not his favored solution.

My current state of progress is:
Str 26 (+6 belt), Dex 16, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 14

Skills: Bluff +19*, Climb +12, Diplomacy +19*, Disguise +19*, Knowledge (All) +9, Perception +17, Perform (Oratory) +19, Perform (Act) +19, Perform (Dance) +6, Perform (Percussion) +6, Sense Motive +19*, Spellcraft +12, Survival +7, Swim +9, Use Magic Device +19

Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Sense Motive are tied to Versatile Performance (Oratory, Act) and he's learning to dance and play his first instrument, too. Those seemed appropriate for his manipulative and "play dumb" style. My 14 HD (@level 12) make up a bit for my low charisma and I think a +19 bonus without any items/feats should be enough for level 12. If not there is always glibness (for bluffs). My UMD skill is also high enough to use any Wand/Staff I want without failure.

I will probably use most of the feats for combat and his spells for protection/deception purposes. Though I still haven't figured out which ones are a "must have" for my little troll.

Regarding items I'm pretty much lost. The most expensive ones would be a strength belt (+6) and a cloak of resistance (+5). Though I'm more interested in finding "cool" and cheap ones. Sources allowed are all that are included in the PRD.

BTW: If any one is interested, the other characters in my group are a Doppelganger Rogue/Assassin, a Serpentfolk Assassin, and a Drow Sorcerer (with a focus on "trading" with devils/demons). Not too much optimization in this group, but rather focused on having fun with our characters.

Hi,
I was wondering if it would be feasible to play a rather unusual (and evil) Bard: A Troll Bard.
Start-Level would be 12 (CR + Bard Level). My current favorite is the Ice Troll (CR 4). A normal Troll (CR 5) or Moss Troll (CR 3) might also be possible. The Rock Troll's sunlight petrification seems too problematic for a PC.

As we are playing without the "get an additional level for every 3 levels" part of the Monsters as PC rules, I would start as an 8th level Ice Troll Bard.
Attributes are fixed, the elite array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.
I don't want to make him a "stupid" melee fighter, but quite manipulative. My first take at the attributes would be:

STR 12+8 -> 20
DEX 8+8 -> 16
CON 13+6 -> 19
INT 14-2 -> 12
WIS 10+0 -> 10
CHA 15-4 -> 11 (+3 Level Ups) -> 14

Important skills: knowledges (not maxed), perform (for bluff, sense motive, etc.), use magic device.

Feats: Maybe Arcane Strike for my natural weapons?
Traits: Magical Knack and one other.

Due to the Ice Troll's fire vulnerability a Ring of Fire Resistance (10 or 20) seems useful.

Any other suggestions? I'm looking for all kinds of ideas for this rather unusual project.

Edit: Just noticed that the Ice Troll is the only Troll without "Scent" ability. Is this a typo or intentional?

Hi,
I want to play a Shadowdancer in my next game and was thinking about equipping my shadow companion. In order for the shadow to be able to pick up objects I wanted to buy him "+1 ghost touch gauntlets".
I'm now wondering if it would make sense to instead buy him a "+1 ghost touch full plate" (which includes gauntlets)?

1. Is the armor considered corporeal or incorporeal when worn by the shadow?
2. Would the armor check penalty apply?
3. Would it make any sounds (regarding stealth)?
4. Would he get the whole armor bonus or just the enhancement bonus to his AC (i.e. does the first statement in the quote only count for corporeal creatures)?

Ghost Touch: This armor or shield seems almost translucent. Both its enhancement bonus and its armor bonus count against the attacks of corporeal and incorporeal creatures. It can be picked up, moved, and worn by corporeal and incorporeal creatures alike. Incorporeal creatures gain the armor's or shield's enhancement bonus against both corporeal and incorporeal attacks, and they can still pass freely through solid objects.

Hi,

My next character is going to be an (evil) Witch and I wanted to make a Fortune Teller theme. I will be taking the Harrowed feat from the Inner Sea World Guide and the Harrow Spell. I also have the Harrow Deck.
I am also considering taking the Fortune Teller feat from the same book, but I'm not sure if it is really worth a feat slot. It either rises the caster level for divination spells by 1 or removes the material component (up to 1000g) from divination spells. But besides True Seeing I don't really see a divination spell on the witch spell list with a costly (above 25g) component or where the +1 caster level would make a significant impact.
The other thing I have a hard time deciding, is taking the Harrower PRC. As much as I like the flavor, I'd hate to loose most of my hexes and patron spells...

Greetings,
TheRipper.

Thanks. I thought it was within the damage reduction rules, but I looked at the Universal Monster Rules, not the Glossary one...

But I'm still not sure about the attack to deal damage for the paralysis to function. Injury poisons and diseases make sense. Stunning fist explicitly states "a foe damaged by your unarmed attack" (not hit).
A Lich, Mohrg or Ooze just has to be in contact (touch) for their paralysis to function.

I guess it depends on the interpretation of the nature of the monster's paralysis ability. Whether it is based on great pain (must deal damage) or if it is more like a "life-sucking" supernatural ability or secretion (touch is sufficient and might be combined with touch spells).

Hi,
I have some questions about the monster ability paralysis:

1. Does the attack paired with the paralysis ability have to deal damage in order for it to work? (e.g. reduced by damage reduction)

2. If it doesn't have to deal damage, can the paralysis ability be used as a normal touch attack or as part of a touch spell? Could a Ghoul (paralysis with claws) Cleric for example deliver an inflict light wounds spell and force the victim to save against paralysis?

I THINK that the answer to question 1 is that the attack has to deal damage for special abilities to work, but I can't find the statement within the rules.

Thanks.

Hi,
I like the nature (passionate and fierce) of the Celebrant of Sharess PrC from Player's Guide to Faerun (p. 178). That is why I wanted to update it to Pathfinder. I also think it is quite weak (low BAB, low hit points) for a partly combat oriented class, so I wanted to give it some improvements. Because it is not OGC I can't give any details, but ideas.

What I wanted to change is:

HD: D8

BAB: Medium

Rage:
Stacks with barbarian levels for rounds per day, rage power effects, rage power qualification.
Does not gain new rage powers.
Greater Rage at level 10.

Flirtation:
Stacks with bard levels for bardic performance rounds per day, performance effects (DC, bonus, etc.), action required to activate.
Does not gain new bardic performances (of the bard's list).
Flirtation DCs = 10 + class level + Cha. mod.

Spellcasting:
I'm not sure if I should change this to 10/10 bard (only) spellcasting progression?

The rest stays the same. This would leave it with 3 "dead" levels. Any suggestions?

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