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There are 100 variant tiefling abilities & 100 alternative physical features available to Tiefling characters. Here's what it says about them.
Variant Abilities and Physical Features
GMs may customize tiefling NPCs using the following charts, or allow players to do so by rolling a d%. Players with a particular character concept in mind may consult their GM if they want to select a specific variant ability or may take the Fiendish Heritage feat. The abilities and alternative physical features presented here replace the standard / default equivalent trait or feature. Any abilities that grant spells or spell-like abilities are treated as having a caster level equal to the tiefling’s character level.
Some of these are easy enough to figure out the "standard / default equivalent trait or feature" of, such as Variant Ability 1 "You can animate a 1 HD skeleton, as per animate dead, once per day as a spell-like ability" which obviously replaces Spell-like ability Darkness, or Alternative Physical Feature 1 "Arms: elbow spurs" which obviously replaces the default physical feature "Not having elbow spurs".
I'm having a bit of trouble though figuring out others, such as Variant Ability 12 "You do not need to sleep. You are not immune to sleep effects", which default ability would this replace?
There are others I also can't figure out, any help with this would be appreciated.
They all replace the 1/day spell-like ability, which is Daylight by default.There are 100 variant tiefling abilities & 100 alternative physical features available to Tiefling characters. Here's what it says about them.
Variant Abilities and Physical Features
GMs may customize tiefling NPCs using the following charts, or allow players to do so by rolling a d%. Players with a particular character concept in mind may consult their GM if they want to select a specific variant ability or may take the Fiendish Heritage feat. The abilities and alternative physical features presented here replace the standard / default equivalent trait or feature. Any abilities that grant spells or spell-like abilities are treated as having a caster level equal to the tiefling’s character level.
Some of these are easy enough to figure out the "standard / default equivalent trait or feature" of, such as Variant Ability 1 "You can animate a 1 HD skeleton, as per animate dead, once per day as a spell-like ability" which obviously replaces Spell-like ability Darkness, or Alternative Physical Feature 1 "Arms: elbow spurs" which obviously replaces the default physical feature "Not having elbow spurs".
I'm having a bit of trouble though figuring out others, such as Variant Ability 12 "You do not need to sleep. You are not immune to sleep effects", which default ability would this replace?
There are others I also can't figure out, any help with this would be appreciated.
Darkness
DarknessThey all replace the 1/day spell-like ability, which is Daylight by default.There are 100 variant tiefling abilities & 100 alternative physical features available to Tiefling characters. Here's what it says about them.
Variant Abilities and Physical Features
GMs may customize tiefling NPCs using the following charts, or allow players to do so by rolling a d%. Players with a particular character concept in mind may consult their GM if they want to select a specific variant ability or may take the Fiendish Heritage feat. The abilities and alternative physical features presented here replace the standard / default equivalent trait or feature. Any abilities that grant spells or spell-like abilities are treated as having a caster level equal to the tiefling’s character level.
Some of these are easy enough to figure out the "standard / default equivalent trait or feature" of, such as Variant Ability 1 "You can animate a 1 HD skeleton, as per animate dead, once per day as a spell-like ability" which obviously replaces Spell-like ability Darkness, or Alternative Physical Feature 1 "Arms: elbow spurs" which obviously replaces the default physical feature "Not having elbow spurs".
I'm having a bit of trouble though figuring out others, such as Variant Ability 12 "You do not need to sleep. You are not immune to sleep effects", which default ability would this replace?
There are others I also can't figure out, any help with this would be appreciated.
Gesundheit.
Everything on the list of abilities replaces your spell like ability.
Yes, a lot of them are just flavor or just terrible, and not worth the trade.
Sidenote- I've been wondering: what interesting could you do with that animate dead SLA? It only gives 1hd undead, so obviously it can't be used for anything combat useful past the first few levels. You could, of course, collect your own little horde (since you still get caster level increase, which increases the pool of HD you could control). Besides providing the occasional fodder for flanking, what can these actually do?
This is mostly just a request for 'wacky' uses that are within the rules. Maybe you could use them as a pack mule? Can they follow orders enough to be a more visible version of unseen servant?
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Everything on the list of abilities replaces your spell like ability.
Yes, a lot of them are just flavor or just terrible, and not worth the trade.
Sidenote- I've been wondering: what interesting could you do with that animate dead SLA? It only gives 1hd undead, so obviously it can't be used for anything combat useful past the first few levels. You could, of course, collect your own little horde (since you still get caster level increase, which increases the pool of HD you could control). Besides providing the occasional fodder for flanking, what can these actually do?
This is mostly just a request for 'wacky' uses that are within the rules. Maybe you could use them as a pack mule? Can they follow orders enough to be a more visible version of unseen servant?
Dress it up in a tuxedo and have it be your butler.
Dress it up in a tuxedo and have it be your butler.
Well obviously. I already have an A-Z naming convention as I run through them (ie- one gets destroyed, and I replace it with another from the enemies we just beat). "Johnson, look at you just falling apart. Well- you are fired. Well hello there Mr. Kennedy, welcome to the job".
I was more looking for daily 'what to do with it?' stuff.
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Dress it up in a tuxedo and have it be your butler.Well obviously. I already have an A-Z naming convention as I run through them (ie- one gets destroyed, and I replace it with another from the enemies we just beat). "Johnson, look at you just falling apart. Well- you are fired. Well hello there Mr. Kennedy, welcome to the job".
I was more looking for daily 'what to do with it?' stuff.
Scare the townsfolk every night into thinking there's monsters by having the skeleton go spook people, having the gullible townsfolk beg the PCs to kill said "monsters," and repeat until the town gives the PCs all their money?
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Thanks.
There are others I also can't figure out, any help with this would be appreciated.
Post a few more, the chatter helps fill in text that's missing.
Dress it up in a tuxedo and have it be your butler.Well obviously. I already have an A-Z naming convention as I run through them (ie- one gets destroyed, and I replace it with another from the enemies we just beat). "Johnson, look at you just falling apart. Well- you are fired. Well hello there Mr. Kennedy, welcome to the job".
I was more looking for daily 'what to do with it?' stuff.
Well... You know those traps that you'd normally use hirelings to trip?
Now you can deal with them humanely (at the cost of pieces of someone's immortal soul) by sending in skeletons instead! Wait! Wait! Instead, use cows. And when the cow dies, you animate the cow and use it AGAIN to check for traps. GENIUS!
Other than that, what about using your horde of undead to run an undead circus? You can have skeleton clowns, and skeletons juggling axes (and losing their arms because they're bad at it), and skeletons doing dances to amuse people... And they don't have to eat OR be paid!
Now you can deal with them humanely (at the cost of pieces of someone's immortal soul) by sending in skeletons instead! Wait! Wait! Instead, use cows. And when the cow dies, you animate the cow and use it AGAIN to check for traps. GENIUS!
I specifically looked into making undead animals. I mean...undead mount is an obvious choice. And unlike with undead humanoids, I think I could bluff my way out of undead animals ("What? It is immoral to turn a cow into a skeleton? Well, it is also immoral to kill and eat a person, but you don't complain when I do it to a cow. What are ya, a bloody druid?")
Unfortunately, most notable animals are 2HD. I am not familiar with necromancy, but I am pretty sure that means you can't use them. I think dog is the higher level of what you can grab with 1hd... and obviously people complain when you turn all the town's dogs into skeletons.
Another limitation is that the SLA is 'a' skeleton, once per day. Assuming that they redie quick, that means you get a temp minor ally 1/day if you push it. It takes a while to make a collect up a bunch (which you can- your caster level and capacity for controlling undead still grow, even if the rest of the spell doesn't scale).
Now you can deal with them humanely (at the cost of pieces of someone's immortal soul) by sending in skeletons instead! Wait! Wait! Instead, use cows. And when the cow dies, you animate the cow and use it AGAIN to check for traps. GENIUS!I specifically looked into making undead animals. I mean...undead mount is an obvious choice. And unlike with undead humanoids, I think I could bluff my way out of undead animals ("What? It is immoral to turn a cow into a skeleton? Well, it is also immoral to kill and eat a person, but you don't complain when I do it to a cow. What are ya, a bloody druid?")
Unfortunately, most notable animals are 2HD. I am not familiar with necromancy, but I am pretty sure that means you can't use them. I think dog is the higher level of what you can grab with 1hd... and obviously people complain when you turn all the town's dogs into skeletons.
Another limitation is that the SLA is 'a' skeleton, once per day. Assuming that they redie quick, that means you get a temp minor ally 1/day if you push it. It takes a while to make a collect up a bunch (which you can- your caster level and capacity for controlling undead still grow, even if the rest of the spell doesn't scale).
Hm. You could still use certain animals with some heft to them to check for traps. Let's see...
Dwarf Caiman have swim speeds and can still do stuff on land, so they could be useful. They also are Small sized, so they probably have comparable weight to, say, a halfling. That should be enough to trigger traps.
Zombie Compsognathus would have 10 STR and a d4 slam. Make it a fast zombie and it can move and attack in the same turn, or make two slams easily enough.
Chickens are readily available, and while they will only ever do 1 damage with an attack, you can have a barrel full of skeletal chickens that you carry around with you before tearing the lid off and throwing all the chickens out at an enemy.
The common dog would make a fairly decent zombie or skeleton with 13 STR and DEX. A zombie would be better since then it has 15 STR and can make a slam and a bite attack each turn. The goat has similar advantages.
Perhaps the goblin dog would be a better choice. 15 STR becomes 17 as a zombie, and it'd have a bite and a slam. That's perfectly fine if you ask me. If you can convince your GM to swap out its base Toughness feat due to receiving it as a bonus feat as a zombie then you're in an even better position.
Monkeys would make... okay skeletons? They'd get 2 claw attacks with their hands, and so could deal a potential 3 damage in a single turn (claw/claw/bite). But that's it: 3 damage. Maybe their climb bonus would make them useful?
Dire rats also would be useful. 3 types of speed (land/climb/water) makes them able to go with you pretty much wherever.
EDIT: Actually, what about Vermin?
Fire beetles are usable. They're pretty weak, but they have a fly speed. They'd be usable as zombies (not skeletons because skeletons can't fly). With 12 STR, a slam attack, a bite attack, DR 5/slashing and a fly speed... Yeah, I can see that as a useful thing to have around, both for checking places for monsters/traps and for fighting.
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^A barrel full of deadly chickens all attacking one individual, for when you're in the mood for a good Zelda reference.
Start by throwing one, wait for it to be attacked, then release the rest.