Not sure how a human outsider would work

[Nivium Phoenix]

So I'm creating a character who comes from a different plane of existence, or different dimension, and has teleported to this campaign world forgetting who he really is. He's a semi-ordinary human, aside from him being from an alternate universe from our real one where inherited lycanthropy is rather common, and he has incredibly low intelligence (-2 mod, to be exact) due to amnesia from falling from the sky. A couple of my friends have told me that by coming from a different plane of existence, I can be considered extraplanar or an outsider, which could include me having magic resistance and immunity to most illnesses unique to the universe I am in. I've been trying to consult the books, and done a little research over the internet. I have not found anything that says direct information, so I have a couple questions:

Is my character really extraplanar or an outsider?
If so, what are some effects on my for being extraplanar or an outsider?

[Troacctid]

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 out as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence.

You're presumably not composed of planar essence, partially or otherwise, so you would be a humanoid (human, extraplanar), not an outsider.

Extraplanar usually doesn't matter much--basically it means that you are vulnerable to spells such as banishment that could send you back to your home plane. Otherwise, you're just a normal human.

[snailgosh]

Just have him be a regular human with the extraplanar subtype - Humanoid (Human, Extraplanar)

Only difference would be that he would be affected by spells that send him back to his home plane. He would still need to eat and breathe and can still be resurrected and generally affected by your usual spells.


swordsage'd

[Forrestfire]

Short answer: No.

An Outsider is a specific type of creature, made from the stuff that the planes are made out of. You can have creatures from other planes that are not Outsiders, even Humanoids, like this human would likely be. Unless there's something in a template, feat, or other option that changes your type, it remains the type it is. Place of birth doesn't alter it.

Now, Extraplanar is a bit fuzzier. Here's the definition of the subtype:

A subtype applied to any creature when it is on a plane other than its native plane. A creature that travels the planes can gain or lose this subtype as it goes from plane to plane. Monster entries assume that encounters with creatures take place on the Material Plane, and every creature whose native plane is not the Material Plane has the extraplanar subtype (but would not have when on its home plane). Every extraplanar creature in this book has a home plane mentioned in its description. Creatures not labeled as extraplanar are natives of the Material Plane, and they gain the extraplanar subtype if they leave the Material Plane. No creature has the extraplanar subtype when it is on a transitive plane, such as the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow.

This could be interpreted as "anything born on another plane as the Extraplanar subtype when they leave it", or it could be "creatures have the Extraplanar subtype based on their species." I personally like the former interpretation, but if your character is from an Alternate Prime Material Plane, then I'm not sure he'd actually get one. Normally in the default cosmology, you need to find one of a few ways to get to another Material, or use strong teleportation. Personally, if I were in the group or DMing, I would push for the character to not have the Extraplanar subtype, because all it gives you is a vulnerability to spells like Banishment and Dismissal, which in this case would likely be a save-or-permanently-be-removed-from-the-game effect (because of the difficulty in getting back if sent "home").

[Vhaidara]

This could be interpreted as "anything born on another plane as the Extraplanar subtype when they leave it", or it could be "creatures have the Extraplanar subtype based on their species." I personally like the former interpretation, but if your character is from an Alternate Prime Material Plane, then I'm not sure he'd actually get one. Normally in the default cosmology, you need to find one of a few ways to get to another Material, or use strong teleportation. Personally, if I were in the group or DMing, I would push for the character to not have the Extraplanar subtype, because all it gives you is a vulnerability to spells like Banishment and Dismissal, which in this case would likely be a save-or-permanently-be-removed-from-the-game effect (because of the difficulty in getting back if sent "home").

I might actually go with Humanoid (human, extraplanar, native). Banishment/Dismissal effects cause him to vanish for a few rounds (5-10) as the universe tries to figure out where he goes. Then it realizes the closest thing to a place that it can reach (since he's from a different universe) is right where he was.

[Forrestfire]

Ah, yeah, that'd be a really neat way to do that. Nice!

[DrMotives]

Short answer: No.


This could be interpreted as "anything born on another plane as the Extraplanar subtype when they leave it", or it could be "creatures have the Extraplanar subtype based on their species."

If you use the old Planescape rules, which I realize aren't any longer the standard cosmology but I still like them, the 1st of those is correct. If a human from the Prime world of Oerth goes to Arcadia, the Plane of Earth, or an alternative prime world such as Toril, they can be banished and hedged out with an appropriate protection from alignment spell.