Spirit type defined in Complete Arcane ?

[Silveras]

Ok.. maybe I am just not seeing it, but several of the Wu Jen spells are specific to "Spirit creatures." However, I don't see a Type/subtype for "Spirit" defined anywhere in Complete Arcane.

It looks like the OA spells were copied, but the Spirit subtype was left out -- which makes the spells kind of useless, since you really don't know what they are supposed to affect.

 

[hong]

OA defines the Spirit subtype as including fey, elementals (nature spirits), outsiders, undead and dragons. Plus some others -- eg spirit folk are humanoids, but also spirits.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

OA defines the Spirit subtype as including fey, elementals (nature spirits), outsiders, undead and dragons. Plus some others -- eg spirit folk are humanoids, but also spirits.

The fact that dragons are included makes this list suspect to me, for a core game. Eastern dragons have a spirit angle, but standard D&D dragons do not. And would every creature in each of those Types gain that Subtype, or only select creatures, which haven't been defined in the standard rules?

Edit to add: And if every creature in each of those Types did gain that subtype, it'd make the Subtype far more broad a category than the Type, which doesn't seem right to me, either...

 

[shilsen]

According to the description of the shaman in CD, spirits are all incorporeal undead, all fey, all elementals, creatures in astral form or with astral bodies (but not creatures physically present on the Astral Plane), all creatures of the spirit subtype from OA, spirit folk and telthors from Unapproachable East, and spirit creatures created by certain spells.

 

[Silveras]

OA applied the Spirit sub-type (or "type modifier", as it uses the phrase) selectively to some physical creatures as well as incorporeal creatures.

However, my point is, as a supplemental rulebook, CA should have the type definition in its text. Nothing says a purchaser of CA will also have CD or OA (although I happen to have both ), so the subtype definition needs to be available in CA to use the spells from CA properly.