Potestas: a D&D3E supplement

Creatures

Creature Type

A creature's type determines certain features about a creature, similar to how character class determines features about a character such as base attack bonus, base saving throw bonuses, and skill points.

The major differences between racial levels and class levels are as follows.

• Creatures that begin with racial levels must take those levels first, before taking any class levels.
• Racial levels do not give bonus class feats, including the two bonus class feats for 1st character level.
• Once a creature has one or more class levels, it cannot take additional racial levels.

There are two major groups of creatures: arcane creatures and mortal creatures.

Arcane Creatures: There are three types of living arcane creatures, namely dragons, the fey, and giants. They are immortal creatures who do not die of natural causes and who do not forget their past lives when they return through the Cycle of Arda to life. All three types of living arcane creature have Eldritch Mark, Innate Strength, and Talented as bonus feats, and know their True Names. The other type of arcane creatures are the undead. They are animated corpses or unquiet spirits who have risen up because of their untimely deaths, unfinished business, or because of arcane necromancy. Sometimes the dead person's soul remains, sometimes not: if the soul remains, it does not pass though the Cycle of Arda until they are destroyed or until the issue binding them to this life is resolved.

Mortal Creatures: There are six types of living mortal creatures, namely animals, elementals, humanoids, magic beasts, monsters and vermin. All die of natural causes and forget their past lives when they return through the Cycle of Arda. While they have True Names, almost all do not know them. Some are descended from arcane creatures, but lack the immortality and arcane power of their forebears. The other type of mortal creatures are the constructs. They are objects animated by magic, and as such lack souls (and True Names). Although they are not alive, they are like all mortal creatures subject to the passage of time, gradually breaking down and wearing away.

Racial Level Bonuses

Attack and Defence: all creatures have a base attack bonus and a base defence bonus. The player must allocate at least 1 point to each: poor progression costs 1 point, average progression costs 2 points, and good progression costs 3 points. Once allocated, the progressions chosen for this creature cannot be changed.

Class Skills: all creatures have a different number of class skills. The player must specify which skills are class skills. Creatures of greater than animal intelligence (that is, not animals, constructs and vermin) also receive Craft and Profession as class skills.

Bonus Weapon and Armour Proficiency Feats: All creatures of humanoid shape have a different number of bonus weapon proficiency and armour proficiency feats. Once allocated, these bonus feats cannot be changed. Note that all humanoid-shaped characters are automatically proficient with the club, dagger, quarterstaff and nonlethal unarmed strike.

Magic Power: all creatures have a set progression for magic power. This determines the rate at which creatures increase in power level and power points. In addition, all living creatures begin with 1 power point, while unliving creatures (constructs and undead) begin with 0 power points.

Level-Dependent Benefits

Maximum Skill Ranks: creatures can have a maximum number of ranks in a skill equal to effective character level + 3.

Bonus Feats: all creatures gain one feat of any kind at 1st character level, plus one feat of any kind at every character level divisible by three (that is, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and so on).

Ability Point Increases: all creatures gain one (1) ability point each time the character gains a level.

Multiclassing

Intelligent creatures may add class levels as they progress in level, becoming a multiclass character.

As a general rule, the abilities of a multiclass character are the sum of the abilities of their classes. Multiclass characters stack racial levels and class levels with the same progression when determining their total base attack bonus, base defence bonus, base save bonuses, magic power and bonus class feat progression. Note that a multiclass character gains as many power points as their new magic power when they gain a level.

Summary of Creature Type Information

Creature Subtype

A creature's subtype helps distinguish it from other creatures of the same type.

Air Subtype: Creatures with this subtype always have fly speeds and usually have perfect maneuverability.

Aquatic Subtype: Creatures with this subtype always have swim speeds and thus can move in water without making Swim checks. Some aquatic creatures can breathe underwater, but cannot also breathe air unless they have the amphibious special quality. Other aquatic creatures breathe air, not water.

Arcane Subtype: Creatures with this subtype are immortal creatures who do not die of natural causes and who do not forget their past lives when they return through the Cycle of Arda to life.

Augmented Subtype: Creatures receive this subtype whenever something happens to change their original type. Some creatures (those with an inherited template) are born with this subtype; others acquire it when they take on an acquired template. The augmented subtype is always paired with the creature's original type. A creature with the augmented subtype usually has the traits of its current type, but may still have the features of its original type.

Cold Subtype: Creatures with this subtype have immunity to cold. They have vulnerability to fire, which means they takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

Earth Subtype: Creatures with this subtype usually have burrow speeds, and most can burrow through solid rock.

Fire Subtype: Creatures with this subtype have immunity to fire. They have vulnerability to cold, which means they takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from cold, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

Spirit Subtype: Creatures with this subtype inhabit the World of Spirits, and thus have no physical body. Instead, they have an ethereal body in the World of Spirits. Ethereal creatures are invisible, inaudible, insubstantial, and scentless to creatures in the physical world, but fully visible, audible, and tangible to creatures in the World of Spirits.

Ethereal creatures can move in any direction, even up or down, albeit at half normal speed. As insubstantial creatures, they can move through solid objects, including living creatures. An ethereal creature can see and hear in the physical world, but everything looks gray and ephemeral. Sight and hearing into the physical world are limited to 60 feet.

Force effects and abjurations affect an ethereal creature normally. Their effects extend in the World of Spirits from the physical world, but not vice versa. An ethereal creature can't attack physical creatures without entering the physical world. When they enter the physical world, most ethereal creatures appear with a body of mist.

Part-Arcane Subtype: Creatures with this subtype are mortal creatures with an arcane parent or ancestor.

Plant Subtype: Creatures with this subtype are living entities composed of vegetable matter. Note that regular plants, such as one finds growing in gardens and fields, are objects that lack Wisdom and Charisma scores, even though they are alive.

Shapechanger Subtype: Creatures with this subtype have the supernatural ability to assume an alternate form.

Water Subtype: Creatures with this subtype always have swim speeds and can move in water without making Swim checks. They usually have the amphibious special quality and can breathe both air and water.

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