So, an NPC wizard in our game took the True Name Research discovery and now has a planetar buddy to call in when needed. When printing out the character sheet for this ally, though, I noticed some oddities in how they're statted up. Namely, that for their listed BAB of +17 they only have 3 swings of their greatsword during full-attack. Also, for a level 16 cleric without domain spells and with a +7 WIS modifier, they're short a spell at levels 4 and 7 and heavy one spell at levels 1 and 2. Wondering if the devs can clarify if these are oversights and, if so, issue a correction, as planetars are pretty much the best possible option when it comes to things to take at level 15+ with this wizard discovery.
The spells can be explained as them just preparing an extra 1st and 2nd level spell in higher spell slots, for some reason. I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume that creatures emulating spellcasting as a prepared-spell caster can prepare new spells from the class's spell list on any given day, especially for recurring NPCs like a specific summoned planetar.
The BAB thing, though, just seems like an error.
The spells can be explained as them just preparing an extra 1st and 2nd level spell in higher spell slots, for some reason. I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume that creatures emulating spellcasting as a prepared-spell caster can prepare new spells from the class's spell list on any given day, especially for recurring NPCs like a specific summoned planetar.
The BAB thing, though, just seems like an error.
See, I might understand the "using higher level spell slots for lower level spells" thing, as that's something PCs sometimes do as well...IF she weren't using those spells for things like Cure Light Wounds and Cure Moderate Wounds. My alchemist routinely uses one or two of his 5th level extract slots for 4th level infusions, but they're for incredibly important things like Breath of Life, Freedom of Movement, or Death Ward. Why a general of a heavenly army with mental stats all at +6 or +7 would think wasting a potential Freedom of Movement or another Holy Word on tiny little bits of one-target healing is beyond me.
Yeah, the BAB thing I'm almost positive is just an error. I included it so any devs looking might note it for correction in future Beastiary releases.
It could be the planetar readies itself to wow some extra peasants each day. Who knows?
It is a bit ODD, I am not arguing that, but it doesn't seem like much of an error. Just have the planetar prepare the appropriate spells for next time it's summoned or the wizard will mispronounce it's name.
The Bestiary and Core Rulebook had an overlapping design an editing period, so there were some places where the rules didn't synch up between the two books. Also, the Bestiary was built by hand (instead of using our spreadsheet), so there may be some errors stemming from that (a monster built by hand using a ruleset that was still a little bit in flux when the monster was being designed).