No, they don't. A PC plays an active role in the world, things that the PC imagines do not. You are being ridiculous.
As I you should notice they are playing the same role as a dead creatures or creatures in temporal stasis.Maybe even more important (like the raven in kingmaker adventure path).So the definition is pretty open ended to include all of the above.Think before you flame.
By the PRD, The Fool means "Lose 10,000 experience points and you must draw again." There is no mention of level loss.
So if you lose enough xp to be of lower level what do you do?Play some drama queen action and keep playing?
I will not even tread on your logic of someone losing one level of each of his classes as that doesn't give the appropriate result,he has to lose more levels than his xp would dictate.
And I 'd really like to see that "logic" working on a rogue5/assassin5 character.You see logic must be consistent with itself.
First, simulacrum is not a case of level loss, so discussion of level loss is basically irrelevant to this discussion. Neither the character nor the simulacrum loses any levels; the simulacrum is merely created with half the levels of the character.
Ok this is even better.When you create something from scratch.Do you
do it in a nonlinear fashion?Like create a human with the assassin levels first?As it is a duplicate of a creature you start as the creature started and stop halfway.In the end you suggest a course of action and when one shows you the madness that is reached through the same logic you come back saying:"If your DM would do that you have a big big problem."Implying that it is ridiculous to do it but failing to see that it all derives of the same logic.Even if the one is not as obvious it is as ridiculous as the other.
...the idea of creating something with half HD and half levels is totally incorrect according to the system.It is like making the duplicate of an Assassin 6/Rogue 6 character and getting the results of an Assassin 3/Rogue 3 character or better yet the duplicate of a 20th lvl wizard with only the high level abilities and the 5th and above level spells and not the low level ones.The phrase half levels or HD doesn't mean that you get to mysteriously wipe the levels or HD in any order you wish.There are rules for reducing HD and levels and those write backwards.
If you insist in your theory then that means that the trick with the 20 lvl wizard can be done as well.
Um, the game developer himself said that's how you should probably halve it.
However, in the case of a rogue 6/assassin 6, I think it would be best (and in keeping with developer intent) to end with a rogue 6.
It's also important to note that the description talks about the simulacrum being under its creator's "absolute command" -- there's not necessarily any loyalty, it just has to follow your orders. The spell dosn't talk about personality, initiative, free-will or anything else, so if we assume that the simulacrum retains it's personality, free-will (except with regards to following the commands of its creator) and a desire for self preservation then except for following its creators commands it's going to behave more-or-less as the original would under given circumstances.
The simulacrum will look at it's circumstances, resources & abilities and determine how best it can survive and achieve its own goals (as tempered by the creator's commands).
So, even stripped of half their levels, just how well would the original Iggwilv or Mordenkainen react to being under somebody else's "absolute command"? Even at half power notIggwilv or notMordenkainen is going to a serious potential threat to their creator -- who's going...
Though I disagree with the above (I interpret the simulacrum text to mean the newly created minion has no wiggle room whatsoever), I would follow a GM who ruled thus PROVIDED he wasn't hypocritical about it. I've played games where a GM would rule something similar when I as a player tried that, but a game or two prior, had an NPC with nearly identical magical minions who did everything they were told without question, without trying to find a loophole. Basically, I got screwed not because I did anything wrong, but simply because I was a player.
Then what is this?
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#appendix-1-special-abiliti es
The fact that in the creature the text explains in detail some of its special abilities in order to be more accurate doesn't mean it includes them all.
Um, the game developer himself said that's how you should probably halve it.However, in the case of a rogue 6/assassin 6, I think it would be best (and in keeping with developer intent) to end with a rogue 6.
Good for the game developer to shed some light on the issue but logic should be consistent with itself (the spell doesn't give that meaning which is shown in the rogue-assassin case).
If the game developer was to say that you lose HD every time you gain levels and that should be the case, I think everyone would like him to write it down on an errata in order to be official.Same case here.Scripta manent (even virtual space scripta).
Then copy an advanced speciment or one that got levels after its HD.You got the same thing.
Furthermore what you say is as subjective as it gets.
Besides the wish spell-like ability and the "noble" status are not based on HD or levels .A Djinni with levels can be stronger than a noble Djinni without levels but will never have the innate abilities of a noble. So its rather like a racial distinction than a social one).
So there is no "appropriate" or "inappropriate" level for both of them unless there was some kind of advancement through HD written in the rules.
As it is now a baby noble Djinni has the wishes normally.
By the same token with which one can say "The Djinni got it's wish sp as it matured" one can say that "The Djinni actually had 30 wishes per day but it lost them as it matured".
In both cases you create house rules.
Read the first sentence of my last post.
Then learn to fly or bye bye..
(Seriously though,as a DM I think it is appropriate to stick with the rules otherwise we have no need for supplements or dice at all,you just do what the DM tells you to.If that doesn't work for you its Ok but that's my view of the situation.)
Glad I helped.
How does one adjudicate something like dragons, which DO have a progression?
Say, for example, I try and copy an elder wyrm gold dragon. A GWGD is typically colossal size and has 30 HD.
My GWGD sim will still be a great wyrm of colossal size, but it will only have 15 HD, correct?
It's ability scores, breath weapon DCs, skill ranks, feats, hp, etc. would all be reduced for the lower hit dice, but (short of a GM ruling otherwise) it would retain all the abilities of a typical GWGD such as divine aid and foresight, correct?
Yep.You are coping a great wyrm gold dragon.A great wyrm gold dragon you'll get.Just like when coping a greater barghest:you won't get a normal barghest but a greater one with half HD.
Dragons don't have progressions.At least not in the racial class sense.
At some point they get older and that leads to certain bonuses (size,abilities spellcasting...)one of those bonuses happens to be HDs which are then cut in half in order to be put to the simulacrum.
A way to make progression of dragons that one could urge would result in ability loses by copying would be to divide them in HD progressions and spread the abilities between the HD.This time nothing is based on HD (that are the only thing that is halved)but instead on age categories (which remain intact by the spell).
Another way is to specify in what HD of the age category does the dragon gain the ability and at the same time break the categories in HD like this:"When he reaches HD 30th a great wyrm gold dragon gains the ability..."If he had the HD(through advancement for example) but not the age category he would be barred from having the ability.If he had the age but not the HD(which is the result of copying it with a simulacrum) he would be barred from having the ability again.
None of this exists of course so simulacrum is a super strong,super cool(literally,it is made of ice and snow) spell in pathfinder as written.