
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Chapter 2: Building Games / Building Creatures / Design Abilities / Basics of Ability Design

Level Appropriateness

Source GM Core pg. 123 2.0
The effects of an ability should be appropriate to the creature’s level. For damaging abilities, that means they follow the damage guidelines. For others, take a look at spells and feats with a similar effect to see if they’re level appropriate. For instance, say you’re considering giving a 6th-level creature the ability to teleport a short distance. Translocate is comparable—that’s a 4th-rank spell, normally cast by a 7th-level or higher creature. That means 6th level probably isn’t too low, but the creature shouldn’t be able to use the ability more than once. You can also compare your creature to those in a Monster Core volume to see if the special abilities seem similar in power to those of other creatures of the same level.