Simulacrum question

[Cheiromancer]

Does a simulacrum get the extraordinary, supernatural and spell-like abilities of the original creature?

If so, how should the diminishment of the powers be adjudicated?

One more: Can empower be used to pump-up the effectiveness of the subject of the simulacrum?

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

You get all your racial powers, but not things like Permanent spells. Also, some things would depend on how high a level your Sim is. If you got that Innate Spell last level, your copy will not have it.

As for Enhance or Maximize, yes, if you mean when you are casting the spell. Up to 65% of your character would be copied. Thats a long time coming, though.

 

[Lord Ben]

The simulacrum has only 51% to 60% (50%+1d10%) of the hit points, knowledge (including level, skills, and speech), and personality of the real creature.

Would this mean that things like a Dragons breath weapon aren't changed? It's not HP, level, skills, or speach really. So a 200hp 10d6 White Dragon who had Simulacrum cast might have 120hp and still a 10d6 breath weapon right? Would his BAB be lower as well? Is racial HD associated with age considered like levels? I'd assume it is and they'd go from 20hd down to 12hd.

 

[Cheiromancer]

The easy (and brutal) solution would be to say that the simulacrum has hitpoints, levels, skills and speech, and nothing else.

Make a simulacrum of a Troll? It wouldn't have regeneration, anymore than a creature polymorphed into a Troll gets it. Ditto for a dragon's breath weapon, etc..

Natural weaponry would be retained, but the BAB would be reduced for the lower hit dice.

A more generous approach would multiply quantitative abilities by the appropriate percentage. Trolls would have regeneration 3 instead of 5. Dragons would breath for 5d6 or 6d6 instead of 10d6.

All or nothing abilities would have a chance of not appearing. A simulacrum of a medusa might have only a 53% chance of having a petrification attack.

But all that involves a huge amount of trouble. My suspicion is that the easy and brutal solution is the correct ruling- I just don't have any support for this.

Thus my question.

 

[Lord Ben]

There was a Dragon adventure where there were several simulacrums. The Dragon still had a breath weapon, etc.

Simulacrum Trolls would probably be damaged normally since healing a simulacrum is special.

What about Simulacrum Clerics? A CE wizard makes a simulacrum of a LG cleric he kills, who does the Cleric get his divine abilities from?

 

[Kraedin]

One more: Can empower be used to pump-up the effectiveness of the subject of the simulacrum?

Yes, but I don't recommend allowing it. Remember that Empower Spell changes the variable effect, not the random effect, so a empowered simulacrum is 76.5-90% as powerful, and a empowered empowered simulacrum is 102-120% as powerful. (Whatever that means.)

 

[Voldrath]

Yes, but I don't recommend allowing it. Remember that Empower Spell changes the variable effect, not the random effect, so a empowered simulacrum is 76.5-90% as powerful, and a empowered empowered simulacrum is 102-120% as powerful. (Whatever that means.)

As you stated empower only affects the variable affects (the 1d10). thus would at most be +5% per empower.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Check out the example of Magic Missiles in the player's handbook, page 82:

For example, an empowered magic missile deals one and one-half times normal damage (roll 1d4+1 and multiply the result by 1.5 for each missile).

It's not just the random part (the d4) but the variable part (d4+1).

But I agree that a DM would have be kinda eccentric to allow an empowered simulacrum, let alone a doubly empowered one.

***
So there was a Dragon Adventure that had a simulacrum of a dragon who could breathe fire. Is there any other rules advice out there regarding a simulacrum and supernatural, extraordinary and spell-like abilities?

 

[Lord Ben]

I think the Wizard had also created simulacrums of himself riding simulacrumed nightmares, his images could cast and I believe the nightmares still had special abilities too.

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

The Sim would have half the HD, so things like BAB and breath weapon would be based on the new hit dice. A troll's healing would be negated, but any other all or nothing ability would be there in full.

Empowering would only multiply the D10. The base 50% is not a variable. If it were, it would be stated as D10 + 50%. Common sense also applies if I'm proven wrong.