Comparing Bralani between 3.5 and PF1. Was it nerfed because it was deemed overpowere

[arkieNork]

Noticed that in 3.5 Bralani was 6 HD and wielded Holy weapons, making it an ideal candidate for Lesser Planar Ally if one had to fight something evil.

In PF1 - it got +4 base damage, but lost its Holy weapon property and had its HD raised by 1, removing it from the Lesser Planar Ally list of options.

I am DMing a hybrid game with 3.5 and PF1 content. I was wondering if this change was done because in 3.5 era it was considered an overpowered option for Lesser Planar Ally to have an ally that would be slicing up evil creatures for ~40 damage a round?

Or was it just an accidental nerf to Lesser Planar Ally options as PF1 generally upped HD of a bunch of creatures?

[Darg]

It depends on how the creature was played. The D&D stat block uses the one handed damage formula for the scimitar (1d6+4(+1enhancement)) while the pathfinder version wields it 2 handed (1d6+8). The pathfinder version gets 2 extra str along with the +1 BAB giving it +2 to AB.

So the difference here is that it's weaker against less armored enemies and actually stronger against higher armored enemies. If the D&D version hits on an eleven, the PF version hits on a 13 for roughly the same average damage output with the PF version being stronger the higher the AC gets. That's not to mention the benefits apply to neutral enemies as well.

Overall, I think the power level remained largely the same with less swinging in one direction or the other.

[Crake]

It depends on how the creature was played. The D&D stat block uses the one handed damage formula for the scimitar (1d6+4(+1enhancement)) while the pathfinder version wields it 2 handed (1d6+8). The pathfinder version gets 2 extra str along with the +1 BAB giving it +2 to AB.

So the difference here is that it's weaker against less armored enemies and actually stronger against higher armored enemies. If the D&D version hits on an eleven, the PF version hits on a 13 for roughly the same average damage output with the PF version being stronger the higher the AC gets. That's not to mention the benefits apply to neutral enemies as well.

Overall, I think the power level remained largely the same with less swinging in one direction or the other.

I think you kinda missed the point… the OP was asking about nerfs with regards to planar ally/binding, due to the HD being bumped up, putting them out of range for the lesser versions.

Personally though, I’d never really considered them a particularly powerful option for planar ally/binding in the past.

[Darg]

I guess I got caught up in actually verifying the numerical changes that I didn't answer the context of the question.

The main thing that makes the bralani stick out to me is the 100ft perfect fly speed on top of having the large damage output against evil. Then again, a 6HD air elemental could be just as devastating due to having flyby attack. I just can't see it as purposefully being nerfed based on statistical relevancy. If it was nerfed for the spell specifically, it is likely because other reasons.

[arkieNork]

thank you both for clarifying.
i just wanted to make sure I wasn't accidentally allowing some balance breaking creature.