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I am trying to setup a game for my players (GM). I am new to this and I am trying to figure out what some of these creature stats mean.

Melee short sword +3 (1d6+1/19-20)

Do I divide by 19-20, or do I need to roll between a 19-20 for this to succeed?

Also ran across an Artic Tatzlwyrm and it states the below.

Tatzlwyrm poison: Breath—inhaled; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 2 rounds; effect 1d2 Str damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Have no Idea about the above.

Melee bite +5 (1d8+3 plus grab)
Special Attacks poison gasp, pounce, rake (2 claws +5, 1d4+2)

So rake is the 2 claws +5? So roll a AC then for each claw +5?

There was one other when battling Pym, Shor, and Vosi it states

DR 2/cold iron;
Weakness Vulnerable to fire;
shortbow +8 (1d2-2/*3 plus numbing cold) Numbing Cold (DC 12)

What is cold iron? Could they use a torch to scare them off? Numbing cold just a constitution check 12 or greater? How should I go about understanding these because they are used often in Reign of Winter.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Hello and welcome to the site. I can't help but notice you're asking a bunch of basic questions that are answered in the rulebook. Please look at rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/15582/… and do a little research before asking - searching on www.d20pfsrd.com for any of these terms (or looking them up in the index of the rulebook) should help a lot. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    May 21, 2014 at 2:42

2 Answers 2

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For information on how to read a monster stat block, have a look at this section of the PRD. A number of standard creature abillities (such as Grab, Pounce, Rake and Poison) are explained here.

In answer to some of your specific questions -

  1. The creature has a melee attack that is a short sword. The creature has a +3 to hit, and will do 1d6+1 points of damage. It will threaten a critical hit on a natural 19 or 20, rather than the standard 20. You may also see other attacks in the form of 1d8+1/x3 - these sorts of weapons will do more than the standard double damage on a crit. They could also be combined, such as 1d8+1/19-20x3, although that is unusual(I found exactly one creature with that sort of crit line - http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/additionalMonsters/daemon.html#_daemon,-purrodaemon).
  2. For the Tatzlwyrm poison - it can breathe out poison gas at something it has grappled. This applies a Poison (you can find information on poisons in the Glossary).
  3. For the Tatzlwyrm attacks, it can normally bite, getting a +5 to hit, and doing 1d8+3 damage. If the attack hits, it also gets a free grapple attempt (the grab ability). If the grapple succeeds, then the creature can Rake - this allows a pair of claw attacks, hitting at +5 each, and doing 1d4+2 damage each.
  4. Cold iron is a special material some weapons can be made from, found in the Equipment chapter - some creatures have damage reduction that can be negated by weapons made from this material. I'm not familiar with the Numbing Cold special ability - if it is a unique ability, it should be explained underneath the creature's stat block. The creature is Vulnerable to Fire, meaning it takes one and a half times as much damage from any Fire, so yes, perhaps a torch might scare one away. This would be up to you as a GM to rule on though - there are no standard mechanics for this sort of thing.
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This is several inter-related questions. I'll work my way down from the top.

Melee short sword +3 (1d6+1/19-20)

You read that as the following:

  • Melee Short Sword (Weapon in use)
  • +3 (Add this to your d20 roll as part of your attack)
  • 1d6+1 (damage on a successful attack)
  • 19-20 (if your d20 shows a 19 or 20, you threaten a critical hit)

If the last part (19-20) isn't specified, you can assume it's just "20".

Special Attacks poison gasp, pounce, rake (2 claws +5, 1d4+2)

The rake is two attacks, each at +5 on the attack roll, each for 1d4+2 damage if they hit. You don't roll AC, you roll an attack roll (d20 + 5 in this case) and hit if you equal or exceed the AC of the target.

DR 2/cold iron;

Cold Iron is a special material that weapons can be made out of. If you have a Cold Iron weapon, you can ignore the damage reduction in this case. (If you don't have a Cold Iron weapon, the monster takes 2 less damage from the attack.)

Tatzlwyrm poison: Breath—inhaled; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 2 rounds; effect 1d2 Str damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

This one is better explained on the monster's page. In short, that's a special ability that when it gets to use it, the target has to make a Fortitude Save (DC 12). If they fail it, the attack does 1d2 Strength damage.

Here's the description of what frequency means:

Frequency: This is how often the periodic saving throw must be attempted after the affliction has been contracted (after the onset time, if the affliction has any). While some afflictions last until they are cured, others end prematurely, even if the character is not cured through other means. If an affliction ends after a set amount of time, it will be noted in the frequency. For example, a disease with a frequency of “1/day” lasts until cured, but a poison with a frequency of “1/round for 6 rounds” ends after 6 rounds have passed.

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