question about driders

[Gundark]

the MM entry for driders says that they are either 6lvl clerics, sorcerers, or wizards. Driders are advanced by character class. So what happens if I give them a charcter class in one of the above 3? Is their new class at 7th level (do they get new spells at that level) ? or do they get spells and other stuff at first level?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

They get it at 7th-level. A drider wizard 7 has 6 drider hit dice, 1 wizared hit die, and casts spells as a 7th-level wizard.

 

[Dakhran the Dark]

Note that only their caster level is 7th, and for other class abilities such as feats and familiars, they're still only 1st level wizards.

 

[smetzger]

Note that only their caster level is 7th, and for other class abilities such as feats and familiars, they're still only 1st level wizards.

No, I don't think so. The description specifically says they are 6th level Wizards, Sorcerers, or Clerics.

I think that SeveredHead's suggestion is a good one. Or you could reverse engineer the stat block and make a Drider template.

 

[Dakhran the Dark]

My interpretation of the entry:

Spells: Driders may be 6th-level clerics, wizards, or sorcerers.

...was that they get the spells/day and caster level of a 6th level cleric, wizard, or sorcerer, and since it specifically indicates "spells", that it meant that no other abilities of said class.

Plus, the monster statblock does not mention the possible special abilities of Turn/Rebuke Undead, Summon Familiar, or Scribe Scroll, nor does it instruct to select an extra metamagic feat (in the case of a Wizard, they would gain one at 5th level). So, I've basically assumed that while spellcasting is equal to a caster of said level, that all other special abilities must be learned.

I know that technically, a drider is created from a pre-existing drow character of the appropriate class and level, and should have said abilities. Yet, if they had intended for the drow to keep them upon transformation, they probably should've made it a template. As a monster statblock, it's just easier to take the drider as-is and tack the appropriate spellcasting levels on, than it is to massage it into having PC levels of the appropriate amount, complete with all feats, special abilities, and companions.