Greetings!
Unless you are a Tarrasque in disguise, no. You are not a unique monster. This rule helps monsters since they don't usually use any gear at all.
But, if there isn't any source that allows you to overcome powerful DR (spells, class ability, magic items, etc) then as a GM I'd consider letting the character do it anyway, or give him a magic item with a price more or less equal to epic weapons, just to balance the power level between party members.
Hope that helps.
Why would DR/Epic not work the same way when it's worded in a similar manner?
"Some monsters are vulnerable to magic weapons. Any weapon with at least a +1 magical enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls overcomes the damage reduction of these monsters. Such creatures' natural weapons (but not their attacks with weapons) are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
A few very powerful monsters are vulnerable only to epic weapons—that is, magic weapons with at least a +6 enhancement bonus. Such creatures' natural weapons are also treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Some monsters are vulnerable to good-, evil-, chaotically, or lawfully aligned weapons. When a cleric casts align weapon, affected weapons might gain one or more of these properties, and certain magic weapons have these properties as well. A creature with an alignment subtype (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) can overcome this type of damage reduction with its natural weapons and weapons it wields as if the weapons or natural weapons had an alignment (or alignments) that matched the subtype(s) of the creature."
Pathfinder doesn't have a separate rules system for PCs and monsters. The rules apply to both equally (except where they specifically state that they don't).
And that's why I love participating in the forum, I never know when I'll be surprised myself.
Mainly I'm asking whether these rules apply to PCs as well as monsters, which our DM just ruled they do. So that's my table sorted.
As for "is your character a unique monster in disguise"... uh, kinda! I mean, it's quite possible for PCs to get DR/Epic with mythic rules, and mythic characters by nature tend to be unique in nature. It's quite possible to literally be the embodiment of your god's power on Golarian, even to the point of granting spells to your followers.
That was a bad habit of mine. I tend to make lame jokes, apologies if it sounded offensive. Also I'm not familiar with mythic rules so pherhaps they follow another reasoning.
But hey, now I am the one interested.
Pathfinder doesn't have a separate rules system for PCs and monsters. The rules apply to both equally (except where they specifically state that they don't).
Can anybody kindly explain to me why they are in the universal monster rules then?
Does it make no diffence the source (race, class, spell, etc ) of a feature?
Do they need to be a permanent effect to benefit from that rule?
Why would DR/Epic not work the same way when it's worded in a similar manner?
"Some monsters are vulnerable to magic weapons. Any weapon with at least a +1 magical enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls overcomes the damage reduction of these monsters. Such creatures' natural weapons (but not their attacks with weapons) are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
A few very powerful monsters are vulnerable only to epic weapons—that is, magic weapons with at least a +6 enhancement bonus. Such creatures' natural weapons are also treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Some monsters are vulnerable to good-, evil-, chaotically, or lawfully aligned weapons. When a cleric casts align weapon, affected weapons might gain one or more of these properties, and certain magic weapons have these properties as well. A creature with an alignment subtype (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) can overcome this type of damage reduction with its natural weapons and weapons it wields as if the weapons or natural weapons had an alignment (or alignments) that matched the subtype(s) of the creature."
This is the part that I'd love to be corrected if I'm wrong, because that would be great news for one of my player's character. As you can see the word 'monster' is the term used in every text. We could argue that an alchemist with mutations has turned into a monster but that would be... racist (pun intended).
As I told before, characters have tools to increase their power while lots of monsters don't. IMO the intention of the rule was to avoid old 3.5 issues such as werewolves fighting to boredom. If one gives a feature that is bypassing DR as a monster 'for free' then that said character can use his wealth on another tools of power. Again, that's why I said the consideration of giving it as a magic item or even free for the sake of balance.
'Monster' is not a defined game term. Is a storm giant alchemist a monster? An orc alchemist? A half-orc alchemist?
If the rules for an ability refer to 'monsters' it's probably because at the time of writing there was no way for a PC to gain that ability.
I stand corrected.
FYI, use the Paizo PRD for this sort of thing when you can, pfsrd has a nasty habit of throwing in 3pp, 3.5 and its own stuff without clearly marking it as such.
Speaking of which, I cannot find a strict definition of "Monster" in the PRD. On the other hand, I opened up Bestiary 1 and the CRB and found things like this.
There are a number of monsters in this book that do
not possess racial Hit Dice. Such creatures are the best
options for player characters, but a few of them are so
powerful that they count as having 1 class level, even
without a racial Hit Die. Such characters should only be
allowed in a group that is 2nd-level or higher.
Note that "monsters that do not possess racial Hit Dice" include Aasimar and Tengu. Both of those are also listed as monsters that live in urban terrain.
Also, this:
Hit Dice represent a creature’s general
level of power and skill. As a creature gains levels, it gains
additional Hit Dice. Monsters, on the other hand, gain
racial Hit Dice, which represent the monster’s general
prowess and ability.
It is pretty clear that "monster" is used inconsistently. I would assume that character, creature and monster are interchangeable, unless you feel like having half the rules break because someone rolled an Aasimar.
FYI, use the Paizo PRD for this sort of thing when you can, pfsrd has a nasty habit of throwing in 3pp, 3.5 and its own stuff without clearly marking it as such.
Speaking of which, I cannot find a strict definition of "Monster" in the PRD. On the other hand, I opened up Bestiary 1 and the CRB and found things like this.
Core Rulebook > Getting Started > Common Terms.
This is the part that I'd love to be corrected if I'm wrong, because that would be great news for one of my player's character. As you can see the word 'monster' is the term used in every text. We could argue that an alchemist with mutations has turned into a monster but that would be... racist (pun intended).
It also uses the term creatures.
Creature: A creature is an active participant in the story or world. This includes PCs, NPCs, and monsters.
Monster: Monsters are creatures that rely on racial Hit Dice instead of class levels for their powers and abilities (although some possess class levels as well). PCs are usually not monsters.
Some Monster's don't have racial hit dice...like Aasimar.
If you have DR/Epic your Natural Attacks bypass Epic.
Fair enough, and much appreciated for your patience.
I was more concerned about the importance of the origin's feature than the feature itself. I always thought that DR gained through character levels and DR gained from monster racial hit die was... "the same but different, and not quite sure if still the same".
Guess the terminology got me confussed here.
Not a problem! Mythic adds a layer of complexity to characters and often comes bundled with a dramatic increase in power, some of which obviously underwent very little balancing before implementation. If it says anything, I recently figured out a way to deal over 10,000 damage in a single turn through an exploit involving Mythic Improved Vital Strike.And that's why I love participating in the forum, I never know when I'll be surprised myself.
That was a bad habit of mine. I tend to make lame jokes, apologies if it sounded offensive. Also I'm not familiar with mythic rules so pherhaps they follow another reasoning.
But hey, now I am the one interested.
Several such builds were posted within a couple of days of the PDF being released.
My personal favorite is the Two-Handed fighter archetype. No dice need to be rolled.