D&D 3.5 Scoops from Savage Species

[Bauglir]

The Minotar may be getting a bonus feat at level 4 and 8, but those are actually Hit Die 3 and 6...

thus Minotars ARE getting character feats, but they take 8 levels to reach 6 HD because of the other things they get.

This seems to say that you get character feats by HD + Level, not by ECL...
IE Minotars are ECL +2 (plus 6 HD) so a minotar with 8 fighter levels is ECL 16, but has feats as 14.

Atleast that is how I read it.Minotar monster class

Wouldn't that lead to them getting their feats at levels 5 and 8, rather than at 4 and 8?

Edit: Scratch that - I had another look at it. Makes sense now

 

[Desdichado]

It sounds more and more like the "3.5e" changes are really just going to make 3e more compatible and comparable to other d20 games that WotC has released since, particularly d20 Modern. None of those moves mentioned here surprise me, as all of them are already in d20 Modern.

 

[thundershot]

I noticed that last night when looking at the Minotaur. Creatures apparently won't get a size stat increases anymore by going up in HD. It can still be used when creating a monster, but if a creature goes up in size, it's stat adjustments are spread out through it's "levels". Dammit, I wish this book would just come out... One of my players has a Goblin Cavalier who rides a Worg, and he gives the Worg some of his XP to advance him. Now I wonder if he's going to be allowed to "grow". Hm...



Chris

 

[Lord Ben]

Aren't pit fiends extraplanar now instead of outsiders?

 

[Knight Otu]

I noticed that last night when looking at the Minotaur. Creatures apparently won't get a size stat increases anymore by going up in HD.

That's likely just an effect the Minotaur levels. Creatures certainly will retain the stat bonuses from growing.

Originally posted by Lord Ben
Aren't pit fiends extraplanar now instead of outsiders?

They are both

 

[coyote6]

Extraplanar appears to be a subtype. I wouldn't be surprised if things like magic circle against evil and dismissal will work on things with the Extraplanar subtype. Perhaps Extraplanar is also the source of the pit fiend's +2 bonus to Survival on other planes.

 

[Knight Otu]

Perhaps Extraplanar is also the source of the pit fiend's +2 bonus to Survival on other planes.

I would actually suspect it to be a synergy bonus from Knowledge (the Planes).

 

[Gez]

This means anyone who took Shapechanger as a Favored Enemy got shafted (same as those which took beast, I guess)...

Not necessarily. Maybe you can take a subtype as your favored enemy. In effect, this is already enforced for humanoids (elf, orc, reptilian, etc. are humanoid subtypes) and outsiders (alignment are outsider subtypes).

I can imagine a ranger dedicated to killing (fire) and (cold) creatures, to get the world rid of (incorporeal) creatures, and to eliminate once and for all those pesky (shapechanger) creatures, but before, he'll have to deal with these awfully aquous (aquatic) creatures.

It also means fighters can now craft: alchemy. ::Shrugs:: I guess It didn't make much sense for it to be a seperate skill...

Maybe we'll see for craft the same thing we can see for knowledge. I.e., some classes will get all crafts, others will gets only a few specific crafts.

However, if non-wizards crafting alchemical stuff worry you, what about house-ruling in a synergy bonus to Craft: Alchemy from Knowledge: Arcana (and maybe even Spellcraft, but that would make less sense) ?

I think I'll stole my own ideas if WotC hadn't come up with them.

 

[Gez]

Re: Re: D&D 3.5 Scoops from Savage Species

The animal/beast distinction has always seemed artificial to me. Just because a creature doesn't exist in our world doesn't mean it can't be a natural animal.

I hated the stupid change they called an errata for that. A monster manual errata that don't adress the missing Nightwing transformation, nor the Hill Giant Charisma of 17, but that decide Beasts now have only Animal-grade Int score, it's a mockery.

The beast type was used for making non-humanoids that had neither wacky anatomies (ethereal filcher) nor whole slew of magical capacity (gynosphinx), but yet was smarter than mere animals. The Girallon, for example, had Int 3. And I've seen scores up to 6 in various third-party products.

Then, without clear justification, they decide to blur the distinction between Animals and Beasts, making several valid sourcebook invalid...

Then, they discover that having animals and beasts be exactly the same kind of creature is silly, and they decide to remove the beasts entirely, rather than recognize the "errata" was a bad half-assed and unecessary idea.

Oh well. Since Beasts had better HD than Animals, they will shaft the former beasts again. Unless they boosts Animals with d10 HD now ?

They could have done like in Star Wars, and have Animals be divided in 2-3 categories (herd, parasite, predator, scavenger and vermin -- could have kept a prey, predator, vermin scheme).

 

[Ferret]

Just as Gez gnome-faced pointed out with the favoured enemy, wild shape will probably say something like...."*Blah blah changey stuff*..but untill nth level no animals with the dire sub type,and they are never able to assume animals with the beast sub type"