Toggle Theme

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder 1E | Pathfinder 2E | Starfinder

Rules Index
Introduction / Adjusting Creatures

Combat Power

Source Bestiary pg. 6
The creatures presented in this book have appropriate statistics for their levels. In many cases, you can make relatively minor adjustments, called elite and weak adjustments, to their statistics to make them function 1 level higher or lower than presented.

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. As such, when applied multiple times to the same creature, these adjustments cause its statistics to become less accurate for the creature’s level. These adjustments have a greater effect on the power level of low-level creatures; applying elite adjustments to a level –1 creature gives you one closer to 1st level, and applying weak adjustments to a 1st-level creature gives you one whose level is closer to –1.

Creatures that cast spells or rely on noncombat abilities typically need specific adjustments to those spells or abilities.

Elite Adjustment

Source Bestiary 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 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 Weapon), 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 Bestiary pg. 6
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 AC, attack modifiers, DCs, saving throws, 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 Weapon), 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