Playing a monster from 3.0

[littlebum2002]

OK, I'm planning on playing a Jermlaine Cleric in an upcoming campaign. Looking at the MMII, his stats are

Str 3
Dex 17
Con 8
Int 8
Wis 16
Cha 5


Going with the "All stats are a 10 or 11" rule, this means his modifiers should be

Str -8
Dex +6
Con -2
Int -2
Wis +6
Cha -6



But what else comes with this character? I imagine the low-light vision does, as does the "speak with rats" ability. But he also has bonuses to some skills (from the update booklet: Craft (trapmaking), Hide, Listen Move Silently and Spot) and the "Alertness" feat. Do these apply to my character as well?

[Vaz]

I believe there is an update for them in the MM2 update which states their LA.

[littlebum2002]

Yeah, its +0. But what I meant is: Do I also get all the bonuses to skills that they get? Or just the Ability adjustments?

(Now that I look into it more, this question is directed at playing ANY monster, not just one from 3.0. I've never actually done it before, and the manuals aren't exactly clear on the issue)

[Karnith]

The rules for playing a monster character can be found here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm), with the corresponding section in the Dungeon Master's Guide on pages 172-173 . I would also recommend reading Urpriest's excellent guide to monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207928).

As to the Jermalaine, you won't get the skills that are in the monster's stat block; they represent the skill ranks that the creature gained from its racial (Fey) HD. 1 HD monsters are generally allowed to switch out their first racial HD for a class level, so you would get skill points (and HD, BAB, etc.) from your first class level, not from the Jermalaine's Fey HD. Were you to get a racial bonus to a skill check, the creature's entry would clearly state such (see e.g. the entries for planetouched (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/planetouched.htm) or kobolds (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/kobold.htm), where racial skill bonuses are specifically mentioned). You won't (necessarily) get Alertness; the Jermalaine acquired Alertness as the feat that all creatures get for having a Hit Die. When you make your Jermalaine character, you may choose any feat that you qualify for at first level, as normal. You certainly can choose Alertness as your first-level feat, but you are not required to, and you will not gain it as a bonus feat if you don't select it.

As a Jermalaine, your character will be of the Fey type (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#feyType), and gain the traits of the Fey type. Specifically, that means that your character will have low-light vision and proficiency with simple weapons. Your character will have the ability adjustments of a Jermalaine (Str -8, Dex +6, Con -2, Int -2, Wis +6, Cha -6), and will have the Speak with Rats ability. Your character will also be Tiny (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm#bigandLittleCreatu resInCombat) and have a 40 ft. movement speed.

EDIT: According to the 3.5 update to MMII (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a), you'll also get the Wild Empathy ability as the Druid class feature, though how that works exactly is a bit muddy, since it doesn't specify what you use instead of Druid class level.

[littlebum2002]

Thank you very much. That's exactly what I was looking for. I thought it was extraordinarily overpowered that I was getting really high skill bonuses for +0 LA.