A few questions about Rules

[Talonblaze]

Got quite a few listed here, ranging from a few odd ones or others that might have been answered before.

1. If a character trades out Evasion for an ability, they later get Improved Evasion. Do they get the benefits of both normal and Improved? Only Improved? Or is Improved downgraded to normal Evasion? If only Improve Evasion, does this still count for abilities that require Evasion as a prereq?

2. My DM has been unable to determine a small issue regarding PC creatures and abilities. In one particular case one of our group members wants to play a dragon. Hoping to gain all the special attacks and abilities. However they were unable to figure out how other creatures got special attacks like Improved Grab, Poison Spit, Gaze, Swallow Whole and such not listed in their table. No feats or the like pertained to gaining it. Is there a specific requirement creatures must get to qualify or must they simply have to have it as a base to ever obtain such?

3. Are PC's that play as monsters qualify for monster feats and abilities? Also what if one is a lycanthrope? Do they count as well? Only in their monster forms or not at all? (Things like feats for improv natural attack or animal specific feats).

4. Does the Wild Cohort feat (Wizard's site) count for the effects of the feat of Natural Bond?

5. Lastly, is there a stats chart for ability score adjustments for dragons without size adjustments? The half dragon template provides a specific bonus, but there is no hint as to what pure pred dragons actually get for scores.

Whew.

 

[Dandu]

3. Are PC's that play as monsters qualify for monster feats and abilities? Also what if one is a lycanthrope? Do they count as well? Only in their monster forms or not at all? (Things like feats for improv natural attack or animal specific feats).

If you meet the prerequisites for a monster feat you can take it even if you are human.

 

[Deset Gled]

1. There is no way that I know of to simply trade out Evasion. Since you're into house rules territory, you need to houserule your own answer. Mine would be that you get evasion instead of improved evasion, but I probably wouldn't have allowed the initial swap to begin with.

2,3,5. Get Savage Species. Read it. Playing with a true dragon character will be very difficult, and is probably done best by using racial class levels. If you don't know how to set this up properly, don't allow it, because it can destroy your game. If at all possible, just use the half-dragon template or Dragon Disciple PrC instead.

 

[Dandu]

Monks can trade Evasion for Spell Deflection iirc.

 

[Talonblaze]

Monks can trade Evasion for Spell Deflection iirc.

1. There is no way that I know of to simply trade out Evasion. Since you're into house rules territory, you need to houserule your own answer. Mine would be that you get evasion instead of improved evasion, but I probably wouldn't have allowed the initial swap to begin with.

2,3,5. Get Savage Species. Read it. Playing with a true dragon character will be very difficult, and is probably done best by using racial class levels. If you don't know how to set this up properly, don't allow it, because it can destroy your game. If at all possible, just use the half-dragon template or Dragon Disciple PrC instead.

As Dandu noted there is that ability and a few others that classes with Evasion can swap out for. The one in particular is Feign Death. Which is why this question has come up since they traded the first Evasion for it and they are using the Rogue's special ability level to choose Improved Evasion which is why this has our heads being scratched.

As for the other 3 I'll ask the DM if he has the book or can get it for us to use. Hopefully it will give us some answers. The reason we didn't go with the half dragon template in the first place was the player thought it was a serious nerf to the dragon's real capabilities. Sadly though none of us know what it entails. Thanks for the book suggestion.

 

[irdeggman]

What book has the allowance for swapping out evasion in the case in point?

Usually for alternate class features they say what happens like losing all of the uncanny dodge "tree", etc.

 

[Talonblaze]

What book has the allowance for swapping out evasion in the case in point?

Usually for alternate class features they say what happens like losing all of the uncanny dodge "tree", etc.

Ah, after re-reading the passage it seems it does note this;

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the evasion ability.
If your class would grant you improved evasion at a higher
level, you instead gain evasion.

This seems to be also true for the Feign Death ability replacement.

Seems to have cleared things up in this department. We must have missed it on our initial scan or the Rogue conveniently was trying to get the better option of getting both out of the confusion.

 

[anest1s]

5. Lastly, is there a stats chart for ability score adjustments for dragons without size adjustments? The half dragon template provides a specific bonus, but there is no hint as to what pure red dragons actually get for scores.

Whew.

There is a hint: most monsters have base stats of 11 11 11 10 10 10, everything above that is racial

At what level you play? To play a monster you have to add its LA to its HD, and that is his ECL. A wyrmling blue dragon would be ECL 10 (6HD+4LA). It would be easier to play a half-dragon, or if you absolutely want to play a dragon, to split the abilities and the Hd over 10 levels, and make it a class...this way the player will start as a weak dragon and transform to a full dragon at level 10.

It may be hard to create a balanced progression..however maybe you will be able to find something already made?

Also, elfs gnomes etc are in the monster manual so why wouldn't they get monster feats!

 

[Duke Arioch]

1. Answered.
2. Dragons and many other creatures have racial HD, which act like class levels regarding feats.
3. One can take any feat he meets the prerequisites for, even if he/she cannot use it or cannot use it yet.
4.

Wild Cohort [General]​

You have a special bond with a wild animal, and it is willing to travel and adventure with you.​

Benefit: You gain an animal cohort. The animal cohort is generally friendly to you and is willing to follow you and adventure with you. If given proper training, the animal cohort will willingly serve as your mount, guardian, and companion. (See the description of the Handle Animal skill on page 74 of the Player's Handbook for more details on training animals.)​

You can use the Handle Animal skill on your animal cohort as a move action rather than as a standard action, and you gain a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made to direct or influence your animal cohort.​

Provided the DM gives her approval, at 1st level you can choose from a badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. Like a druid, you can choose more powerful animals as you increase in level. These alternative animal cohorts work like the alternative animal companions available to a druid, but they are available as cohorts later than they are available as animal companions. When selecting an alternative animal cohort, use the list of alternative animal companions on page 36 of the Player's Handbook, but treat yourself as a druid three levels lower than your character level. For example, once you reach 7th level, you can choose an animal cohort off the list of animal companions available to a 4th-level druid.​

Special: Druids and rangers who take the wild cohort feat gain an animal cohort in addition to their animal companion. Although the two abilities are similar, they follow different sets of rules and must be tracked separately.​

Emphasis mine.
Seems to me that by RAW animal cohort and animal companion are not the same. So, the answer would be no. However, the rules are almost the same for both, so your DM might houserule it to suit your game.
5. Treat every odd number score as 11, and every even as 10. Difference is the ability score bonus for that creature. (ie. Tiger (Str 23, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6) would have +12 Str, +4 Dex, +6 Con, and so forth. You can take a look at Bear warrior PrC and compare it to Black/Brown/Dire bear from MM.
Hope I helped

 

[Sekhmet]

My concern with your Natural Bond question is one of great importance.
What in the world are you hoping to gain from the Natural Bond feat?

Lets assume that Wild Cohort is the same as Animal Companion (which it isn't) for the purpose of argument.

You're level 1, you take Wild Cohort.
As a human, you also take Natural Bond.

Your effective level is still 1, as Natural Bond only applies +3 up to your maximum character levels.

At level 20, without Natural Bond, your Wild Cohort would treat you as being level 20, no matter how you get to level 20.

With Natural Bond, you'd still only be treated as a level 20, so it would be waste of a feat.