Aberration vs Outsider?

[kalos72]

Are aberrations considering outsiders as well since they aren't from the Prime?

Can a weapon that affects evil outsiders also affect an aboleth for example?

[Kaleph]

Are aberrations considering outsiders as well since they aren't from the Prime?

Can a weapon that affects evil outsiders also affect an aboleth for example?

Note: this question could be probably asked in the pinned post "easy RAW questions" or whatever, in any case...

Not being from the material plane renders a creature, while it stays on the material plane, indeed "extraplanar", which is a subtype, and not "outsider", which is a type. So, no.

In addition, most aberration are native to the material plane. Extraplanar aberrations are identified as such in their entry, and still aren't ousiders.

[AnimeTheCat]

Are aberrations considering outsiders as well since they aren't from the Prime?

Can a weapon that affects evil outsiders also affect an aboleth for example?

No, aberrations are different from outsiders. Lore-wise, outsiders are from the non-prime planes while aberrations are spawned from the magical chaos soup that is the far realms or creatures from the prime that are touched by that magic soups stuff.

Rules answer, aberration and outsider are creature types. If it doesn't have that type, things that only effect that type will not work. If the weapon only effects evil outsiders, it would not effect a creature without both the evil alignment and the outsider type.

[hamishspence]

No, aberrations are different from outsiders. Lore-wise, outsiders are from the non-prime planes while aberrations are spawned from the magical chaos soup that is the far realms or creatures from the prime that are touched by that magic soups stuff.

That's more a 4e thing. In 3e, they have many origins, not all of which have anything to do with the far realm.

The one set of traits all aberrations are supposed to have in common:

"a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three."

In 3e, the most powerful natives of the Far Realm (or its Expy in Eberron, Xoriat) tend to be outsiders (Uvuudaum, Daelkyr), and the Kaorti (outsiders) from Fiend Folio are supposed to be humans affected by the Far Realm due to having been trapped there for a while.

The pseudonatural template for Far Realm versions of regular creatures, also turns those creatures into extraplanar outsiders.

[AnimeTheCat]

That's more a 4e thing. In 3e, they have many origins, not all of which have anything to do with the far realm.

The one set of traits all aberrations are supposed to have in common:

"a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three."

In 3e, the most powerful natives of the Far Realm (or its Expy in Eberron, Xoriat) tend to be outsiders (Uvuudaum, Daelkyr), and the Kaorti (outsiders) from Fiend Folio are supposed to be humans affected by the Far Realm due to having been trapped there for a while.

The pseudonatural template for Far Realm versions of regular creatures, also turns those creatures into extraplanar outsiders.

Oh... well rules reason stands. Fluff is mutable :p

[kalos72]

Well, if you are from Far Realm, thats not the Prime right? I guess it's just the wording on the outsider I was looking at...

So if I want to reward a weapon, just leave it as evil vs evil outsider would cover all the basis. Or magic seems pretty fulsome in the same regard...

[AnimeTheCat]

Well, if you are from Far Realm, thats not the Prime right? I guess it's just the wording on the outsider I was looking at...

So if I want to reward a weapon, just leave it as evil vs evil outsider would cover all the basis. Or magic seems pretty fulsome in the same regard...

If you're looking to give this as a reward, just say to the player what it does. No reason you need to be so rules strict when you're the arbiter of said rules.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Well, if you are from Far Realm, thats not the Prime right? I guess it's just the wording on the outsider I was looking at...

So if I want to reward a weapon, just leave it as evil vs evil outsider would cover all the basis. Or magic seems pretty fulsome in the same regard...

Being from the outer planes doesn't make you an outsider, being an incarnate spirit made manifest from the raw matter of that plane does. Abberations are living things that don't belong in the natural cycle at all. This includes stuff from the Far Plane in 3.5 but also includes stuff from the distant future or a previous universe. Stuff whose existance is an afront to nature itself.

Why not just make the weapon deal more damage Vs Abberations?

[Psyren]

Aberrations are aliens - typically from other planets, whether arriving recently or Abusive Precursors that came to ours long ago and are lurking around in deep places. "Other planets" are still part of the Prime Material though.

It's correct that actual Far Realm denizens are pseudonatural outsiders with aberrant aesthetics, but my impression/assumption was always that the connection between the two is that many (not all, as hamish mentioned, but many) aberrations are the result of Far Realm entities or energies mutating or progenerating strange creatures on the Prime. In short, they are Material creatures (not Outsiders) but still "off" in some way, generally phyisologically.


Being from the outer planes doesn't make you an outsider, being an incarnate spirit made manifest from the raw matter of that plane does.

Being extraplanar DOES make you from other planes though, and most aberrations don't have that subtype. However they came to be, aberrations that aren't extraplanar are from here.

[Tvtyrant]

Aberrations are still biological, they eat and breath and die if cut up. What they eat and breath might be totally weird, but they are still alive.

An Outsider isn't biological, even if they look like it. They don't need to eat or breath, they aren't made of matter at all. They are manifestations of ideas or elements that just happen to look like living beings. An angel has more in common with a golem then a person.

[Gnaeus]

Aberration really doesn’t mean much. It’s just a catchall for weird stuff. (Using pfsrd for convenience)
Drider (god touched elf spider)
Chuul (apparently perfectly normal giant tentacle lobster)
Corpse Orgy (something that absorbs bodies, IDK)
Crystalline Horror (standard rock monster)
Decapus (smart land squid)
Dark young/elder thing/gug/great old one (anything Lovecraft)
Flumph (intelligent flying jellyfish)
Intellect devourer (psionic brain with legs)
Mimic/wolf in sheep’s clothing (trap monsters)
Naga (wizard snake)
Otyugh (thing that lives in the trash)
Roper (tentacle stalagmite)
Rust monster (giant bug eats metal)
Will o whisp (psychic light ball)

They eat, except the ones that don’t or the psychic ones or ones that eat metal
They breathe except the ones that don’t
They can have normal life cycles or be immortal
They range from animal intelligence to genius
They have bodies or they dont

If you go WTF it’s an aberration. That’s all. Some are just weird animals. Some are like outsiders, or oozes, or undead.

[Thurbane]

In addition, most aberration are native to the material plane. Extraplanar aberrations are identified as such in their entry, and still aren't ousiders.

True. I actually didn't think there were all that many Aberrations tagged as Extraplanar, but when I did a search there was a few more than I expected:


Beholderkin, Spectator
Cloaker, Shadowcloak Elder
Darkweaver
Dharculus
Ephemeral Hangman
Ethereal Defiler
Ethergaunts
Faze
Neh-Thalggu
N'gatispawn
Nilshai
Odopi
Phiuhl
Shrieking Terrors
Slasrath
Spirrax
Swarm, Abyssal Ant
Thought Eater
Thought Slayer

[hamishspence]

Aberrations are still biological, they eat and breath and die if cut up. What they eat and breath might be totally weird, but they are still alive.

An Outsider isn't biological, even if they look like it. They don't need to eat or breath, they aren't made of matter at all. They are manifestations of ideas or elements that just happen to look like living beings. An angel has more in common with a golem then a person.

Actually they do need to breathe.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#outsiderType

Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep.

And if you manage to get hold of an intact outsider corpse, you can even dissect it:

http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/images/fc1_gallery/98431.jpg

Weapons that only damage "living matter" (brilliant energy) damage outsiders. Templates that can only be given to "living creatures" can be given to outsiders. And so forth. They are vulnerable to all sorts of things that don't work on constructs. They are living, constructs are not.

[Feantar]

To make the difference more clear to you, from a faux physics perspective example, Aberrations would be creatures who don't use DNA as genetic material (or RNA, or Protein, or any type of Biopolymers), while outsiders are made of particles that don't exist in the world.

In simpler terms, Aberrations are foreign to the gameworld's biosphere(or have a foreign origin) while Outsider's are foreign to the Prime's physics. They might have a relation to one another, but not in the way that would apply to a bane weapon.