Half-Elemental's feats

[nicollynn]

Ok so I am trying to settle a dispute on how a half-elemental gets feats.* One person says that based on this quote from the book for the half-elementals feats "Feats: Half-elementals have one feat for every four levels or the base creature's total of feats, whichever isgreater." that the half-elemental creature/character would get 1 feat at 1st lvl and then 1 feat at every 3lvls so 3rd, 6th,9th,12th....so on. and that the feature of the half-elemental is pointless because you just gain feats like very other creature/character/class .*The other person is saying that based on the same quote"Feats: Half-elementals have one feat for every four levels or the base creature's total of feats, whichever isgreater." that the half-elemental creature/character would get 1 feat at 1st lvl and then like every other creature/character/class would get 1 feat at every 3lvls (3rd,6th,9th,12th) and 1 feat at every 4lvls (4th,8th,12th) and that is why it is written that way in the book and makes it so it is not pointless.I really need this settled, I think that maybe both are looking at this the wrong way with how it is written in the book so I need outside opinions

 

[Celebrim]

The quote is certainly not intended to give them both.

I think the language is very plain. If you would otherwise get fewer feats than 1 every 4th level, then the half-elemental gets 1 feat every 4th level. Otherwise, if you would get feats more often than that, then you get the greater number of feats.

I imagine that most of the time this clause has no real effect, as the number of cases where a creature gets fewer feats than 1 every 4 levels is pretty small. And I would imagine that the half-elemental template you are looking at is the one from the 3.0 Manual of the Planes, and as such feats were generally rarer in 3.0 than they are in 3.5. If you are using the 3.0 template with 3.5 rules, it's entirely possible that there are no situations where the rule applies and it is as you say pointless.

 

[ksbsnowowl]

You have to understand that Manual of the Planes (from which the half-elemental templates come) is a 3.0 book, and that in 3.0, monsters did not gain feats and skill points like they do in 3.5. In 3.0, monsters gained feats every 4 additional HD, and the template is just restating that.

From the 3.0 SRD:

Elemental

Elemental: An elemental is composed of one of the four classical elements: air, earth, fire, or water. It is immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning. Elementals have no clear front or back and are therefore not subject to critical hits or flanking. Unless noted otherwise, they have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

A slain elemental cannot be raised or resurrected, although a wish or miracle spell can restore it to life.

Hit Die: d8
Attack Bonus: Total HDx3/4 (as cleric)
Good Saving Throws: Variable by type-
Reflex (Air, Fire);
Fortitude (Earth, Water)
Skill Points: +2 per extra HD
Feats: +1 per 4 extra HD

In other words, you should just ignore that line of the template, which does not conform with 3.5, and instead give the creature/character the normal feats available every three levels in 3.5. In essence, the first person is right; the creature gains one feat at level 1, and each level divisible by 3, and since that is more than one per four levels, that's all he gets. The other person's reasoning has no basis in the text at all, even under 3.0.