B.3 Traits

Blindsense: A creature with blindsense can sense the location of everything in its surroundings. It does not need to use its eyes to gain this benefit. This ability works regardless of concealment, invisibility, or light levels. Blindsense always has a specific range limit, and provides no benefit beyond that range. However, it only grants knowledge of location, not actual sight, so does not mitigate any miss chances that would apply. It also does not mitigate cover or otherwise allow sensing through objects that block line of effect. Blindsense does not require using eyes.

Blindsight: A creature with blindsight can perceive its surroundings perfectly regardless of concealment, invisibility, or light levels. It does not need to use its eyes to gain this benefit. This allows the creature to ignore all miss chances caused by those effects. Blindsight always has a specific range limit, and provides no benefit beyond that range. It also does not mitigate cover or otherwise allow sensing through objects that block line of effect. Blindsight does not require using eyes.

Construct: A construct is a creature that is made of nonsapient matter. Its inanimate body is given a semblance of life and sentience by some form of magic. Like other creatures, they can move and follow instructions. However, they lack agency and cannot make the independent decisions. They are mindless, making them immune to Compulsion and Emotion effects. Constructs lack a soul and cannot be resurrected by any means if they are destroyed.

Constructs are considered to be both creatures and objects, and are affected by abilities which affect either. They are not alive, and they do not need to eat, drink, or sleep. They are always considered to be attended by themselves, so they are never affected by abilities that only affect unattended objects, even while unconscious.

Constructs are not affected by the Medicine skill, and do not normally remove vital wounds when they take a long rest. Instead, their vital wounds must be repaired manually. This functions like like accelerate recovery ability from the Medicine skill, except that it uses an appropriate Craft skill and raw materials appropriate to the construct’s construction.

Darkvision: A creature with darkvision can see perfectly in both complete darkness and shadowy illumination just like a human does in bright illumination. Darkvision always has a specific range limit, and provides no benefit beyond that range. As long as a creature with darkvision is in bright illumination or brilliant illumination, their darkvision stops working. The darkvision briefly stays disabled even after they leave the lit area. Darkvision requires using eyes, and is disabled while you are dazzled (20% miss chance, no special vision).

Floating: A floating creature is only affected weakly by gravity. It does not fall while it is able to use a fly speed, and it is unable to glide. This does not increase its height limit for any fly speed it may have. A floating creature above the height limit for its fly speed falls down until its fly speed becomes functional again, which does not cause it to take falling damage. Some creatures can freely choose whether they float, potentially allowing them to glide.

Impervious: A creature can be impervious to a particular ability tag. Creatures gain a +4 bonus to all defenses against attacks that they are impervious to. In addition, they take no damage if the attack misses, even if the attack would normally deal half damage on a miss. If an attack has multiple tags, a creature is impervious to the attack if it is impervious to any of the attack’s tags.

Immune: A creature that is immune to an attack is completely unaffected by it. Creatures and objects can be immune to specific ability tag or debuffs. It is also possible to be immune to more specific effects, like being grappled or gaining conditions.

If an attack has multiple tags, a creature is immune to the attack if it is immune to any of the attack’s tags. However, being immune to a particular effect of an attack does not make you immune to the rest of the attack’s effects. For example, if you are immune to being stunned (-2 defenses), you still take full damage from an attack that deals damage and stuns you.

Incorporeal: An incorporeal creature does not have a physical body. It is both intangible and floating. In addition, it can enter or pass through solid objects. It must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior at all times.

While an incorporeal creature is inside of an object, it can choose whether it is completely enveloped or partially contained. If it is completely enveloped, it does not have line of sight or line of effect outside of the object, limiting its ability to attack. If it is partially contained, it has cover, but can otherwise attack and be attacked normally.

Indwelt: An indwelt is a creature that is made of nonsapient matter. Their inanimate bodies are awakened to life by connection to an external soul. They have agency and true intelligence like normal creatures.

The soul of an indwelt has no connection to the matter that composes its body. This contrasts with undead, which always maintain a connection between a body and its original soul. As a result, an indwelt’s connection to its physical body is weak. If an indwelt is killed, it can be resurrected, but its previous body is not considered its corpse in the same way that a human’s dead body is. This means it cannot be resurrected by magic that uses the corpse of the deceased creature.

Indwelt are considered to be both creatures and objects, and are affected by abilities which affect either. They are alive if their base matter is alive, but not if their base matter is dead or inorganic. If they are alive, they need to eat, drink, and sleep. They are always considered to be attended by themselves, so they are never affected by abilities that only affect unattended objects, even while unconscious.

Intangible: An intangible creature has a physical body that is gaseous or otherwise amorphous. It cannot be touched, and is never considered to be squeezing (-2 Armor and Ref). It is immune to mundane, Creation, and Manifestation abilities. It moves silently and ignores the effects of abilities that only work if it has a corporeal body. This includes all Brawling abilities, difficult terrain, being detected by tremorsense, setting off pressure plates, and so on. It can move freely through spaces occupied by enemies, but cannot pass through solid objects.

Many intangible creatures have no Strength attribute. If an intangible creature has a Strength attribute, it has some ability to manipulate the physical world despite being intangible. Unless otherwise noted, an intangible creature with a Strength attribute may selectively choose whether it wants to interact with physical objects.

Invisible: An invisible creature or object cannot be seen with light. Creatures unable to see an invisible creature are at least partially unaware (50% miss chance, -2 Armor and Ref) of its attacks, and they can be fully unaware (-6 Armor and Ref) as normal depending on their level of awareness. Attackers suffer a 50% miss chance with targeted attacks even if they know the location of the invisible creature. See Awareness, and Stealth, for how to identify invisible creatures.

Legless: A legless creature has no legs. Legless creatures cannot jump, but they are immune to being prone (half speed, -2 Armor and Ref).

Lifesense: Lifesense functions like blindsense, except that it only grants knowledge of the location of living things. This includes both creatures and non-creatures, such as plants.

Lifesight: Lifesight functions like blindsight, except that it can only see living things. This includes both creatures and non-creatures, such as plants.

Low-light Vision: A creature with low-light vision can see perfectly in shadowy illumination, just like a human does in bright illumination. This provides no benefit in areas of complete darkness. Low-light vision requires using eyes, and is disabled while you are dazzled (20% miss chance, no special vision).

Mindless: A mindless creature lacks a mind. It does not have Intelligence or Willpower attributes, and has no Mental defense. Any attacks against it that would normally use its Mental defense use its Fortitude defense instead. It uses its Strength to determine its magical power instead of its Willpower. It has no soul, so if it dies, it cannot be resurrected. Mindless creatures are immune to Compulsion and Emotion abilities.

Multipedal: A multipedal creature uses three or more legs to move. Bidepal creatures, like humans, are not multipedal.

Multipedal creatures gain a +10 foot bonus to their land speed and a +5 bonus to the Balance skill.

Scent: A creature with the scent ability has an unusually good sense of smell. It gains a +10 bonus to scent-based Awareness checks. In addition, it is able to follow scent-based tracks (see Tracking).

Simple-Minded: A simple-minded creature has an incompletely functioning mind. It can follow simple instructions, but is not fully sentient or capable of complex reasoning. It has no soul, so if it dies, it cannot be resurrected. Simple-minded creatures are immune to Emotion abilities. However, they are vulnerable (-4 defenses) to Compulsion attacks.

Telepathy: A creature with telepathy has the ability to mentally communicate with other nearby creatures. All telepathy abilities have a defined range. Unless otherwise specified, a telepathic creature can only communicate with one creature at a time.

As a free action, a telepathic creature can open a telepathic communication channel with one creature it sees within the range of its telepathy ability. That channel remains open until the telepath dismisses it. The target does not have to be willing to receive telepathic communication in this way. While this channel is open, the telepathic creature can cause the target to “hear” the telepathic creature’s voice inside the target’s head. If the target attempts to mentally reply while the channel is open, the telepathic creature can similarly “hear” the reply in its head as if the target was speaking. This does not generally grant the ability to detect any other thoughts, though exceptionally stupid targets may accidentally broadcast their private thoughts.

Telepathic communication uses words, so it still requires a shared language to be intelligible, even though the words are only imagined. A telepathic creature may attempt to telepathically communicate with creatures without a language, though this is generally unproductive. A skilled telepath can customize the mental “voice” it projects in the same way that a creature can attempt to disguise or alter its voice when speaking.

Tremorsense: Tremorsense functions like blindsense, except that it requires an uninterrupted path through solid objects instead of line of effect. This makes it incapable of sensing flying creatures, but it ignores cover and can even sense through solid obstacles that are no more than half a foot thick.

Tremorsight: Tremorsense functions like blindsight, except that it requires an uninterrupted path through solid objects instead of line of effect. This makes it incapable of seeing flying creatures, but it ignores cover and can even see through solid obstacles that are no more than half a foot thick.

Vulnerable: A creature can be vulnerable to a particular ability tag or weapon special material. It takes a -4 penalty to all defenses against attacks with that tag, or attacks using weapons that it is vulnerable to. If a creature would be both vulnerable and impervious (+4 defenses) or immune to an ability, it is treated as vulnerable and not impervious or immune.

Undead: Undead are creatures that are made from the corpse or spirit of a dead creature. They are animated by some part of the soul of the original creature.

Although undead are not living, they are affected in unusual ways by effects that directly manipulate life energy. They can be targeted as if they were living allies by magical ✨ effects that would cause living creatures to regain hit points. Whenever they would regain hit points from an ability that normally only affects living creatures, they instead take damage equal to the hit points that they would have regained, ignoring any hit point maximum the ability would normally have.

Any other effects beyond simple hit point recovery are ignored. For example, if a cleric uses their divine aid ability to heal an undead creature, the undead would take damage, but it would not gain any bonus to its defenses.