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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 1559208" data-attributes="member: 2209">The easiest way is to assume they are all the same for every creature, i.e every drow has the same racial spell like abilities and every duergar has the same racial psionic abilities. Allowing mutant monsters with equivalent powered powers switched around is a time honored way to make individual creatures, sometimes with some story background to explain the difference (perhaps all of the souls in a specific caller in darkness were soulknives and the resulting psionic gestalt undead is able to manifest a soulknife itself).However allowing that every individual creature could have different powers takes it from a specific racial ability and turns it into the equivalent of every creature having class levels. For example araneas cast spells as a sorcerer and so each one could have different spells known. This is distinct from every gnome having a few specific cantrips they can cast. It is a different level of monster characteristic to have powers vary for each individual and will alter the nature of the creatures in your campaign.For example tales told about duergar will just mention they are strong psionic creatures instead of saying they can go invisible and grow large. How much racial identification you want for specific creatures is a DM choice.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 1559208, member: 2209"] The easiest way is to assume they are all the same for every creature, i.e every drow has the same racial spell like abilities and every duergar has the same racial psionic abilities. Allowing mutant monsters with equivalent powered powers switched around is a time honored way to make individual creatures, sometimes with some story background to explain the difference (perhaps all of the souls in a specific caller in darkness were soulknives and the resulting psionic gestalt undead is able to manifest a soulknife itself). However allowing that every individual creature could have different powers takes it from a specific racial ability and turns it into the equivalent of every creature having class levels. For example araneas cast spells as a sorcerer and so each one could have different spells known. This is distinct from every gnome having a few specific cantrips they can cast. It is a different level of monster characteristic to have powers vary for each individual and will alter the nature of the creatures in your campaign. For example tales told about duergar will just mention they are strong psionic creatures instead of saying they can go invisible and grow large. How much racial identification you want for specific creatures is a DM choice. [/QUOTE]

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