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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Monster Core / Introduction

Adjusting Creatures

Source Monster Core pg. 6
Sometimes you might need to customize a creature based on the needs of your story or the narrative circumstances as your story unfolds. This section guides you through some basic strategies you can use to adjust creatures. It includes quick adjustments you can make to a creature to alter its level. You might also need to adjust a creature’s languages or gear, or know its proficiency ranks in skills or Perception.

Combat Power

Source Monster Core pg. 6
The creatures presented in this book have appropriate statistics for their levels. In many cases, you can make relatively minor adjustments to a creature’s statistics, called elite and weak adjustments, to raise or lower its level by 1. Adjust the XP players earn for defeating the creature and how you build encounters with it accordingly.

Elite and weak adjustments work best with creatures that focus on physical combat. These adjustments overstate the normal numerical gains the creature would make from increasing its level to make up for the lack of new special abilities. Creatures that cast spells or rely on noncombat abilities typically need specific adjustments to those spells or abilities. These adjustments have a greater effect on the power level of low-level creatures, as noted. Applying the adjustments more than once to a creature should be avoided. If you need to alter a creature’s level more drastically, use the GM Core guidance on building creatures.

Elite Adjustments

Source Monster Core pg. 6
Sometimes you’ll want a creature that’s just a bit more powerful than normal so that you can present a challenge that would otherwise be trivial or show that one enemy is stronger than its kin. To do this quickly and easily, apply the elite adjustments to its statistics as follows:
  • Increase the creature’s level by 1; if the creature is level –1 or 0, instead increase its level by 2.
  • Increase the creature’s AC, attack modifiers, DCs, saving throws, Perception, and skill modifiers by 2.
  • Increase the damage of its Strikes and other offensive abilities by 2. If the creature has limits on how many times or how often it can use an ability (such as a spellcaster’s spells or a dragon’s breath), increase the damage by 4 instead.
  • Increase the creature’s Hit Points based on its starting level (see the table below).

Elite Adjustment

Starting LevelHP Increase
1 or lower10
2-415
5-1920
20+30

Weak Adjustments

Source Monster Core pg. 7
Sometimes you’ll want a creature that’s weaker than normal so you can use a creature that would otherwise be too challenging or show that one enemy is weaker than its kin. To do this quickly and easily, apply the weak adjustments to its statistics as follows:
  • Decrease the creature’s level by 1; if the creature is level 1, instead decrease its level by 2.
  • Decrease the creature’s AC, attack modifiers, DCs, saving throws, Perception, and skill modifiers by 2.
  • Decrease the damage of its Strikes and other offensive abilities by 2. If the creature has limits on how many times or how often it can use an ability (such as a spellcaster’s spells or a dragon’s breath), decrease the damage by 4 instead.
  • Decrease the creature’s HP based on its starting level.

Weak Adjustment

Starting LevelHP Decrease
1-2-10
3-5-15
6-20-20
21+-30

Languages

Source Monster Core pg. 7
The languages listed in a creature’s entry represent the languages a typical creature of that type knows. However, you might want to vary these based on the specific creature. For instance, if a creature is interested in speaking with or understanding the people in its region, it would most likely know the language those people speak. This language is most often Common, but you can give it a more appropriate language depending on where the creature lives (such as Sakvroth for the Darklands).

Beings from other planes are unlikely to know any languages from the Universe unless they frequently travel there. If such a creature knows a mortal language, then that creature likely is interested in communicating with mortals. This language is most often Common, though keep in mind that such a creature should speak Common only if it specifically travels to or studies your campaign’s world and region above others.

The languages are listed on Languages page from Player Core and in the Uncommon Languages table below.

Uncommon Languages

LanguageSpeakers
AlghollthuAlghollthu, thralls, and enemies
AmurrunCatfolk
ArborealArboreals and other plant creatures
BoggardBoggards
CaligniCalignis and associated creatures
CyclopsCyclopes
DaemonicDaemons and those who buy souls
KholoKholos and pugwampis
IruxiLizardfolk
MuanWood elemental creatures
ProteanProteans and related creatures
RequianPsychopomps and related creatures
SphinxSphinxes
TalicanMetal elemental creatures
TenguTengus
UtopianAeons, archons, coatls, and allies

Gear

Source Monster Core pg. 7
Some creatures rely on gear, like armor and weapons. You might need statistics for such a creature that has lost its gear. For example, a creature could be Disarmed, it might be ambushed while it’s out of its armor, or one of its worn magic items could be disabled with dispel magic. In most cases, you can simply improvise, but if you want to be more exacting, use these guidelines for weapons and armor.

If a creature loses its weapon, it might draw another weapon or use an unarmed attack. If it uses a Strike it doesn’t have listed in its stat block, find a Strike entry for the creature that most closely matches the substitute, reduce the attack modifier by 2, and use the damage dice for the new Strike. If the creature needs to make an unarmed attack and doesn’t have one listed in its stat block, it uses the statistics for a fist. If the creature loses a weapon with a weapon potency rune, you usually should reduce the attack modifier by 2 plus the bonus granted by the weapon’s potency rune for the new weapon. For example, if the creature is Disarmed of its +1 mace, then you would reduce the attack modifier by 3 instead of 2 for the new Strike.

If a creature doesn’t have its armor, find the armor in its Items entry, and reduce the creature’s AC by that armor’s item bonus. If the armor has an armor potency rune, increase the reduction as appropriate; for example, if the creature has a suit of +2 chain mail in its statistics, and the characters catch the creature without its armor, you would reduce the creature’s AC by 6 instead of 4. If the armor has a resilient rune, reduce the creature’s saves based on the rune’s type (1 for resilient, 2 for greater resilient, or 3 for major resilient).

Skills, Perception, and Proficiency

Source Monster Core pg. 7
In some situations, such as when a creature is trying to Disable a PC’s snare, you need to know the creature’s proficiency rank. Creatures are trained in the skills listed in their stat blocks and untrained in skills that aren’t listed. A creature usually has expert proficiency in its listed skills around 5th level, master proficiency around 9th level, and legendary proficiency around 17th level. A creature might need a certain proficiency rank in Perception to detect certain things. Many creatures have expert proficiency in Perception and improve to master proficiency around 7th level and legendary proficiency around 13th level.

At your discretion, creatures with world-class aptitude for a particular skill or in Perception, such as a shadow with Stealth, might have a higher proficiency rank in that skill or Perception.