Templated Characters and Scaling

[Greatwyrm]

I've heard comments from both sides of the issue, but I can't seem to put my finger on an actual rule regarding this. As a character or creaure increases in HD or levels, do they gain additional benefits from templates?

For example, if a character is playing a half-celestial and gains a level, do they get the additional spell-like abilities for a creature such as gaining Aid and Detect Evil when moving from 2nd to 3rd level?

 

[LokiDR]

If a template has abilities that are based on HD, then increasing your HD changes abilites based on HD. There is nothing in rules to contradict this.

This leaves some interesting effects, like a wizard with a celestial familar that gains more powers as time goes on. You may wish to house rules this away if it seems too silly to you or you think it will make the game not fun.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Heh.

The Elemental Familiar spell, from the WotC Website...

A Wiz 20 could have a 2-foot tall Tiny Water Elemental familiar... that can overturn 100' ships

-Hyp.

 

[LokiDR]

So? What could a a 20th level wizard do to a 100' foot ship?

 

[Hypersmurf]

So? What could a a 20th level wizard do to a 100' foot ship?

I just love the image.

Or, in the parlance, the "cool visual".

-Hyp.

 

[Caliban]

Familiars don't actually gain any extra HD. They are just treated as being higher HD for the purposes of effects related to HD (things like the sleep spell). They don't gain BAB, Hit points, skills, or feats from this, and they wouldn't gain any template benefits either.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Familiars don't actually gain any extra HD. They are just treated as being higher HD for the purposes of effects related to HD (things like the sleep spell). They don't gain BAB, Hit points, skills, or feats from this, and they wouldn't gain any template benefits either.

In the case of the water elemental, it's not a template benefit, it's an effect related to Hit Dice.

A half-celestial gets certain powers depending on its hit dice. Any water elemental has Water Mastery - the effect of that ability is HD dependent.

Effects related to Hit Dice are the case in which the familiar's HD are treated as being equal to the master's.

-Hyp.

 

[Caliban]

In the case of the water elemental, it's not a template benefit, it's an effect related to Hit Dice.

A half-celestial gets certain powers depending on its hit dice. Any water elemental has Water Mastery - the effect of that ability is HD dependent.

Effects related to Hit Dice are the case in which the familiar's HD are treated as being equal to the master's.

-Hyp.

I'm pretty sure they just mean spell effects and the like.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'm pretty sure they just mean spell effects and the like.

I'm happy to accept that a Half-Celestial Cat familiar doesn't get the 12th level spell-like abilities.

But I think a Fiendish Cat familiar of a 16th level wizard should do +16 damage on its Smite Good - it's an effect based on HD.

-Hyp.

 

[Caliban]

I'm happy to accept that a Half-Celestial Cat familiar doesn't get the 12th level spell-like abilities.

But I think a Fiendish Cat familiar of a 16th level wizard should do +16 damage on its Smite Good - it's an effect based on HD.

-Hyp.

And I don't. None of the improved familiars were available when the PHB was written, and I think the PHB is only referring to effects that target the familiar, not abilities the familiar might have. (Since none of the familiars in the PHB have any abilities that scale with HD.)