33
votes
Can a Dragon really also be Half-Dragon?
There's no specific prohibition against applying the half-dragon template to a dragon.
However, applying templates to monsters is DM business. It's not something that will happen just randomly out of ...
- 239k
32
votes
Accepted
Party Paladin sold his soul to an evil goddess. Does he get a new character template now? (ie: deathknight, blackguard, etc.)
Selling your soul doesn’t make you evil
Let’s not get into off-topic discussions about the nature of good and evil. Suffice it to say that being in debt to an evil demon doesn’t make you evil; only ...
- 189k
31
votes
Can a Dragon really also be Half-Dragon?
Yes, and that really isn't weird.
A Half-Green Dragon Red Dragon is a dragon with a green dragon mummy and a red dragon daddy, aka, two dragon parents, just of different hues. A bit stronger than ...
- 22.8k
22
votes
What do I do about a player with the half-celestial template turning non-Good?
Half-celestial does not make any requirements on your alignment, and you cannot fall as a half-celestial the way a paladin can; there is no such thing as an “ex-half-celestial,” no way to lose the ...
- 321k
21
votes
Accepted
Can player characters pick monster feats?
The Monster Manual feats aren't limited to monsters
A feat can be taken by any creature that qualifies for the feat based on the feat's type (for example, the most common type of feat is general, but ...
- 183k
20
votes
Can you Wild Shape into a beast with the half-dragon template?
Players can't apply templates to creatures, nor can they assess CR. That's up to the DM.
You'd have to discuss this with your DM, and they'd likely (at the very least) tell you that you'd need to have ...
- 77.9k
17
votes
When applying a template, which comes first: the template or the first level feat?
Follow the steps when creating a character
The steps listed on page 6 of the Player's Handbook are the steps in order for creating a character ("[T]hen follow these steps to create a 1st-level ...
- 183k
14
votes
When gaining a level, can I take a CR+1 Template in place of a Class?
Base classes are base classes because they are assumed to be things that just about anyone can do, join, or become. That is why you are able to freely choose among them when selecting your next level.
...
- 321k
14
votes
Is there a revenant template that can be applied to existing monster statblocks?
Things are about to get spooooooooky...
In the thirteenth Unearthed Arcana, "Gothic Characters", there is a revenant subrace template that one can apply to a PC and, I suggest, would work ...
- 98.9k
13
votes
Do mindless base creatures gain sentience through Int boosting templates?
MM 3.5 on Nonabilities:
Some creatures lack certain ability scores. These creatures do not
have an ablitiy score of 0 - they lack the ability altogether.
If the template adds a bonus, as most ...
- 5,040
13
votes
Does an AI connected to a space station's electrical devices have No Manipulators?
GURPS models quite a few things very well, but an AI that doesn't live in a traditional 'body' isn't one of them. In GURPS, your body and your mind are inextricably linked (at least at character ...
- 47k
13
votes
Accepted
Is the Saint, from Book of Exalted Deeds, broken?
Saint is immensely powerful. You are missing a whole lot of what it offers. Its defenses are top-notch and then some. Some highlights:
Wisdom to AC, regardless of armor. Stacks with monk or monk’s ...
- 321k
12
votes
Accepted
Does the Lizardfolk NPC template's bonus to AC apply when armored, or only when unarmored?
It is pretty strongly implied (PHB p 14) that it would not apply to a monk's nor barbarian's unarmored AC abilities - they provide a full calculation in lieu of worn armor.
DMG Page 276 specifies how ...
- 70k
11
votes
Accepted
Is a dragonborn arctic half-minotaur half-ogre water orc possible?
Dragonborn is an LA +0 template from Races of the Dragon (an official book) with a bit of backstory and gp requirements, but it's fairly practical for a suitably rich level 1 character (100 gp, if ...
- 5,147
11
votes
Accepted
How do I determine a dragon's new Challenge Rating when applying the Shadow Dragon template?
Use the DMG's guidance on modifying monsters
The DMG, on pages 273 through 279, includes guidance on modifying monsters and creating new monsters, including guidelines on how to calculate a monster's ...
- 62.5k
11
votes
If a player gets Lycanthropy, does it start immediately? Or does it take a while?
You're looking for this rules text (from the section on Lycanthropes from p. 206 of the Monster Manual):
Some individuals see little point in fighting the curse and accept what they are. With time ...
- 77.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Can you tell when something has a template?
Can you tell when something has a template?
No
a "template" is a game mechanic/rule mechanic and nothing your character could perceive.
That said, depending on the template, the targets ...
- 21.6k
10
votes
Party Paladin sold his soul to an evil goddess. Does he get a new character template now? (ie: deathknight, blackguard, etc.)
The Oathbreaker
The Dungeon Master's Guide features the special Paladin subclass of "Oathbreaker". According to the description:
An Oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks his or her sacred ...
- 77.9k
9
votes
Accepted
What changes when an Alienist becomes an outsider?
The Features of a type are specifically features of racial hit dice for creatures of that type. Since the alienist (presumably) has no racial hit dice, none of those apply.
So that means no change in ...
- 321k
9
votes
Accepted
Can you choose to add a template to a druid's animal companion instead of adding a hit die?
The feat Wild Cohort provides no option for the wild cohort to have a template
The benefit of the feat Wild Cohort says, in part, that
You gain an animal cohort.... Provided the DM gives her ...
- 183k
9
votes
Is there a revenant template that can be applied to existing monster statblocks?
The stat blocks on the Orc War Chief and the Revenant are very similar, as is their base damage (1d12 vs 2d6, with two attacks). Although the Orc has better armor, it has fewer HP (this may balance ...
- 9,362
8
votes
how to balance a character with the half-ogre template (or the party)
Note: for 3.5 edition, the Half-Ogre has been reprinted in Races of Destiny (p. 96), in which it has a level adjustment +2. Since LA is generally inflated, sticking with the Savage Species edition is ...
- 9,147
8
votes
Accepted
Damage reduction and Saint template
This is a nitpick, but I'm not actually sure that a high-level saint has DR 5/magic at all. Reading the table you linked, it seems to say that the DR 5/magic is applied to a saint that has HD between ...
- 77.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Type changes confusing
Note: What the question posits doesn't do what the querent wants it to, but I've gone through the steps anyway so it can be seen where the process falls apart. Skip to the end if uninterested in the ...
- 183k
8
votes
What happens if you apply a template with a level adjustment when already at level 20?
Nothing. Your ECL is 20 + the LA, which is used to calculate the XP necessary for the next level, but there is no XP necessary for the next level because there is no next level, so your ECL no longer ...
- 321k
8
votes
What happens to my Doppelganger if it becomes a Vampire?
“Vampire” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Doppelgangers are monstrous humanoids, so they are ...
- 321k
8
votes
Accepted
When applying multiple templates, are they applied concurrently or consecutively?
In 3.5, Templates are always applied consecutively:
Adding More Than One Template
In theory, there’s no limit to the number of templates you can add to a creature. To add more than one ...
- 65.8k
8
votes
Creating Zombie Ogres
Hit Dice
Zombie's drop all Class HD, if existent, down to a minimum of 1 HD. Their new racial HD are d8. A general Ogre has no Class HD and will simply gain the 2 Zombie HD. Their HD were already d8, ...
- 36.3k
8
votes
Can you Wild Shape into a beast with the half-dragon template?
Half-dragons don't have a defined CR.
The one example in the MM, the half-dragon Veteran, is CR 5 and is explicitly based on a CR 3 Veteran.
The CR of a half-dragon-half-raven is not specified, though ...
- 21.3k
7
votes
Accepted
When applying a template, are a creature's saving throws recalculated as its new type if not explicitly mentioned in the template?
The ghost template specifically says (from the link you provided):
Type: The creature's type changes to undead. Do not recalculate the creature's base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. It ...
- 9,807
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