environmental templates?

[Waldmarschallin]

Thinking along the lines of The Giant's acidborne template, albeit less "energetic". I was wondering if there's a template to make a desert-dwelling type of a creature, or a tundra-dwelling one, or any other extreme. Being mundane elements it's probably less dramatic, I just wanted to make sure I did my homework before executing my current plan:

As the party trudges through the shifting sands of the endless desert, mad with thirst, their situation goes from bad to funny to horrifying- first they hear high pitched squawking, then the rumble of the sands shifting- suddenly, over the rolling dunes come a horde of improbably swift penguins, tobboganing with hungry determination over the waves of the dun, their razor-sharp beaks pointed at the hapless adventurers.

Or something to that effect

[hamishspence]

Thinking along the lines of The Giant's acidborne template, albeit less "energetic". I was wondering if there's a template to make a desert-dwelling type of a creature, or a tundra-dwelling one, or any other extreme. Being mundane elements it's probably less dramatic, I just wanted to make sure I did my homework before executing my current plan:

As the party trudges through the shifting sands of the endless desert, mad with thirst, their situation goes from bad to funny to horrifying- first they hear high pitched squawking, then the rumble of the sands shifting- suddenly, over the rolling dunes come a horde of improbably swift penguins, tobboganing with hungry determination over the waves of the dun, their razor-sharp beaks pointed at the hapless adventurers.

Or something to that effect

Heat-proofing or cold-proofing might be a starting point:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#

General Arctic Racial Trait
All arctic races have the following racial trait.

Cold Endurance: Members of arctic races have a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saves made to resist the effects of cold weather or exposure.



General Desert Racial Trait
All desert races gain the following racial trait.

Heat Endurance: Members of desert races gain a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saves made to resist the effects of hot weather.

[Grooke]

For desert you can definitely go with Dustform since they are only found in that type of climate. You might also like Reptilian or Mineral Warrior.

For higher LA there are the [type] elemental creature templates (fire for desert, water/cold for tundra).

Edit: Master Template List (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1117261) if you want to go browsing

[manyslayer]

For desert you can definitely go with Dustform since they are only found in that type of climate. You might also like Reptilian or Mineral Warrior.

For higher LA there are the [type] elemental creature templates (fire for desert, water/cold for tundra).

Edit: Master Template List (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1117261) if you want to go browsing

Dustform does, however, turn the creature into a construct.

[ShurikVch]

Amphibious (Stormwrack)

Dragon #306:
Aquatic
Arctic
Deep
Desert

It looks like environment specialization easier to get from feats.

Background feats from Savage Species:
Deep Denizen
Desert Dweller
Grass Trekker
Peak Hopper
Swamp Stalker
Treefriend
Winter’s Child

Water Heritage (Planar Handbook)

[Flickerdart]

When in doubt, +2 CON/ -2 DEX aptly represents a creature that's built up its bulk to survive in an unforgiving climate, at the cost of the mobility that requires too much expended energy to achieve. Pepper in some environmentally appropriate minor skill bonuses to seal the deal - Survival is a classic, Spot or Listen are useful in an environment frequently beset by snow- or sandstorms.