Advanced Creature Templates

[Theocrat]

Hi all -
I suck at this thing called Dungeons & Dragons. You'd think that someone celebrating 31 years of playing (Sep. 18, 1979) would be able to play this darn game. OK, same thing with Pathfinder. Well, maybe not all that bad.
But I really do have a hard time with math (five degrees that require a lower level math) - so advancing monsters are hard for me. Esp. in Pathfinder Society where an OGL monster lists the Monster Manual and are easily upgraded (because it's listed). Now with Pathfinder its a little harder for me to know that I have to look at page x in the index and then at page xx in the index and decide which of these are utilized.
What I'm doing is working on Pathfinder Society modules and hoping to increase the monsters for Pathfinder utilization. So when it asks for a Huge Centipede, I would like to use HL to upgrade them from the main listing - making sure my poison DC is correct and so forth.
But even with the ones that don't get advanced. I need a Ghoul and would like to use HL just to print out the stat block (so I don't have to look at my Bestiary or print the page from the PDF). Is this possible?
Thanks,
Theocrat Issak

[Sendric]

If you add "Additional Hit Dice" to a Giant Centipede, the DC for the poison does increase. However, I'm not sure the size increases, so that's something you'd have to do in the Adjust tab. I think you also have to make separate adjustments to Strength, Dex, Con, and Natural Armor. Once you make those additions, though, the DC should be correct.

[Theocrat]

Yeah, you do have to do all that - and I'm horrible. I try to prep my PFS Modules well ahead of time for all three tiers. The Centipede was an example - because I've had to do it with other monsters and never sure I've done it right. Plus, other than animal companions, I'm wondering what use there is for the Bestiary add-on. At this point, it doesn't matter for me - as I bought it when it came out, but other than the Riding Dog, Wolf and Lion AC's I've not used it (which are in the CR, and thus the Bestiary isn't needed).

[Mathias]

On the classes tab, for a race that has racial hit dice, the first options in the list should be "Additional HD" and "Size Increase". That will allow you to add extra HD to a monster, and when you've determined that it should have a size increase, you can select the size increase option as well, and that will handle all the changes listed on tables 2-2 and 2-3 (pg. 296).

(The size increase is not applied automatically because in Pathfinder, when to change size is a GM judgement call (pg 295, top of the right-hand column), unlike d20, where each monster spelled out the HD it changed at).

(Since the thread title mentioned a template, those are also in that list on the classes tab, at the bottom of the list).

Try this for the ghoul and see if it gives you what you're looking for; go to the portfolio menu and select "Import Stock Hero". Select "Miscellaneous Monsters (E-H)" from that list, and then find the Ghoul on that list. Change the number of ghouls to add to 1, and press "OK", then confirm your selection.

Now that you have a ghoul loaded, go to the file menu and select "Output Active Hero Summary". The statblock isn't a perfect match to the Bestiary statblock yet, but hopefully it serves your purpose.

[Sendric]

Oh wow, I totally overlooked the Size Increase option in the classes tab. That's awesome. Thanks!

[Theocrat]

OK, I was able to understand the above - but how do I make my Ghoul a Ghast? A Ghast's paralysis also effects elves. Or in Among the Living you can come across a Bugbear Zyphus Zombie (Zyphus being something new). But as the module lists what the Zyphus effect does, how can I just make a Bugbear or a Minotaur Zombie? Or increase a tier 1-2 Medium Monstrous Spider to a tier 3-4 Large Monstrous Spider? It's the utilizing the advanced creature aspects of PFRPG that I find most difficult. Or reducing a Scoripion, Giant CR3 down to a Cave Scorpion CR1. I'd like HL to be able to work that magic for me.

I misunderstood a couple things. I went to the Classes, added the Advanced Template and then found Ghoul. In so doing, it gave me 4 languages, 20 points to build the character, 6 additional skill points (10 were previously spent out of the 16 total). This seems way more powerful than I had intended. I think I'd have to change the 'Configure Hero' part to remove the 20 points for ability scores. But I don't see any way to add in the Paralysis for elves.
When I was looking for the Ghoul, I saw that animated objects has been a template. I wish I'd known about this part of the program this past weekend - the part went against slightly better Animated Objects than I think they should have. Because I sort of understand it, I'm going to look at the Bugbear Zombie as a test to see if it's right.

[Sendric]

There is an Advanced Creature Template listed under classes. There is also the Zombie template.

Unfortunately, there's more to turning a Ghoul into a Ghast than just using the Advanced Creature Template. I'm not sure there's an easy way to add the Stench ability, but you could create a custom creature. Also, I don't think you can reduce hit dice, so again, you would have to create a custom creature to get the Cave Spider. Everything else you should be able to do (ie import a minotaur then add the zombie template or increase a monstrous spider the same way you would increase the scorpion).

[Mathias]

A lot of the alternate monsters (like Ghasts, and the various spider/centipede sizes) have not been added yet - I just haven't had the time, but they are still on the schedule. Those can be created in the editor, starting with the existing races.

To make a bugbear or minotaur zombie, add the bugbear/minotaur race, then on the classes tab, add the Zombie template.

To increase the 3HD Size M monstrous spider to a size L 5HD monstrous spider, add 2 copies of the "Additional HD" and one of "Size Increase", then on the Adjust tab, add the "Challenge Rating" adjustment and set that to +2.

The Advanced creature template adds +4 to each ability score. Therefore the creature has +2 skill points/HD and +2 languages (the base ghoul has 1 unassigned language slot, which is why there are 3 languages to assign).

For the 20 ability score points, remember that the "Pathfinder Organized Play Character" setting fixes the ability score point buy at 20 points. That and the other restrictions for organized play only apply to PCs, not to the monsters they face, so I'd recommend turning that off when making a monster.