Glossary of Creature Types

Aberration Type

An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mind-set, or any combination of the three.

Features: An aberration has the following features.

Traits: An aberration possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Animal Type

An animal is a living, nonhuman creature, usually a vertebrate with no magical abilities and no innate capacity for language or culture.

Features: An animal has the following features (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Traits: An animal possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Construct Type

A construct is an animated object or artificially constructed creature.

Features: A construct has the following features.

Traits: A construct possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Construct SizeBonus Hit Points
Fine-
Diminutive-
Tiny-
Small10
Medium20
Large30
Huge40
Gargantuan60
Colossal80

Deathless Type

Deathless describes creatures that have died but returned to a kind of spiritual life. They are similar in many ways to both living creatures and undead. However, while undead represent a mockery of life and a violation of the natural order of life and death, the deathless merely stave off the inevitability of death for a short time in order to accomplish a righteous purpose. While undead draw their power from the Negative Energy plane, the deathless are strongly tied the Positive Energy plane, the birthplace of all souls. In fact, the deathless are little more than disincarnate souls, sometimes wrapped in material flesh, often incorporeal and hardly more substantial than a soul in its purest state.

Features: A deathless has the following features.

Traits: A deathless has the following traits.

Dragon Type

A dragon is a reptile-like creature, usually winged, with magical or unusual abilities.

Features: A dragon has the following features.

Traits: A dragon possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in the description of a particular kind).

Elemental Type

An elemental is a being composed of one of the four classical elements: air, earth, fire, or water.

Features: An elemental has the following features.

Traits: An elemental possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Fey Type

A fey is a creature with supernatural abilities and connections to nature or to some other force or place. Fey are usually human-shaped.

Features: A fey has the following features.

Traits: A fey possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Giant Type

A giant is a humanoid-shaped creature of great strength, usually of at least Large size.

Features: A giant has the following features.

Traits: A giant possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Humanoid Type

A humanoid usually has two arms, two legs, and one head, or a humanlike torso, arms, and a head. Humanoids have few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but most can speak and usually have well-developed societies. They usually are Small or Medium. Every humanoid creature also has a subtype, such as elf, goblinoid, or reptilian.

Humanoids with 1 Hit Die exchange the features of their humanoid Hit Die for the class features of a PC or NPC class. Humanoids of this sort are presented as 1st-level warriors, which means that they have average combat ability and poor saving throws.

Humanoids with more than 1 Hit Die (for example, gnolls and bugbears) are the only humanoids who make use of the features of the humanoid type.

Features: A humanoid has the following features (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Traits: A humanoid possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Magical Beast Type

Magical beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2. Magical beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but sometimes are merely bizarre in appearance or habits.

Features: A magical beast has the following features.

Traits: A magical beast possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Monstrous Humanoid Type

Monstrous humanoids are similar to humanoids, but with monstrous or animalistic features. They often have magical abilities as well.

Features: A monstrous humanoid has the following features.

Traits: A monstrous humanoid possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Ooze Type

An ooze is an amorphous or mutable creature, usually mindless.

Features: An ooze has the following features.

Traits: An ooze possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Outsider Type

An outsider is at least partially composed of the essence (but not necessarily the material) of some plane other than the Material Plane. Some creatures start our as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence.

Features: An outsider has the following features.

Traits: An outsider possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Plant Type

This type comprises vegetable creatures. Note that regular plants, such as one finds growing in gardens and fields, lack Wisdom and Charisma scores (see Nonabilities) and are not creatures, but objects, even though they are alive.

Features: A plant creature has the following features.

Traits: A plant creature possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Undead Type

Undead are once-living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces.

Features: An undead creature has the following features.

Traits: An undead creature possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).

Vermin Type

This type includes insects, arachnids, other arthropods, worms, and similar invertebrates.

Features: Vermin have the following features.

Traits: Vermin possess the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).


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