Appendix 1: Special Abilities
Pathfinder Core Rulebook, page 554
The following special abilities include rules commonly used by a number of creatures, spells, and traps.
Extraordinary Abilities (Ex): Extraordinary abilities are nonmagical. They are, however, not something that just anyone can do or even learn to do without extensive training. Effects or areas that suppress or negate magic have no effect on extraordinary abilities.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are magical abilities that are very much like spells. Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). Spell-like abilities can be dispelled, but they cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell.
Supernatural Abilities (Su): Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See Table 16–1 for a summary of the types of special abilities.
Table 16–1: Special Ability Types
| Extraordinary | Spell-Like | Supernatural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dispel | No | Yes | No |
| Spell resistance | No | Yes | No |
| Antimagic field | No | Yes | Yes |
| Attack of opportunity | No | Yes | No |
Dispel: Can dispel magic and similar spells dispel the effects of abilities of that type? Spell Resistance: Does spell resistance protect a creature from these abilities? Antimagic Field: Does an antimagic field or similar magic suppress the ability? Attack of Opportunity: Does using the ability provoke attacks of opportunity the way that casting a spell does?
In this section
- Ability Score Bonuses Some spells and abilities increase your ability scores. Ability score increases with a duration of 1 day or less give only temporary bonuses.
- Ability Score Damage, Penalty, and Drain Diseases, poisons, spells, and other abilities can all deal damage directly to your ability scores.
- Afflictions From curses to poisons to diseases, there are a number of aff lictions that can affect a creature. While each of these aff lictions has a different effect, they all function using the same basic system.
- Blindsight and Blindsense Some creatures possess blindsight, the extraordinary ability to use a nonvisual sense (or a combination of senses) to operate effectively without vision.
- Channel Resistance Creatures with channel resistance gain a bonus on Will saves made against channeled energy. They add their bonus to any Will saves made to halve the damage and resist the effect.
- Charm and Compulsion Many abilities and spells can cloud the minds of characters and monsters, leaving them unable to tell friend from foe—or worse yet, deceiving them into thinking that their former friends are now their worst enemies.
- Damage Reduction Some magic creatures have the supernatural ability to instantly heal damage from weapons or ignore blows altogether as though they were invulnerable.
- Darkvision Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature. Darkvision is black-and-white only (colors cannot be discerned).
- Death Attacks In most cases, a death attack allows the victim a Fortitude save to avoid the effect, but if the save fails, the character dies instantly.
- Energy Drain and Negative Levels Some spells and a number of undead creatures have the ability to drain away life and energy; this dreadful attack results in “negative levels.” These cause a character to take a number of penalties.
- Energy Immunity and Vulnerability A creature with energy immunity never takes damage from that energy type.
- Energy Resistance A creature with resistance to energy has the ability (usually extraordinary) to ignore some damage of a certain type per attack, but it does not have total immunity.
- Fear Spells, magic items, and certain monsters can affect characters with fear.
- Invisibility The ability to move about unseen is not foolproof. While they can’t be seen, invisible creatures can be heard, smelled, or felt.
- Low-Light Vision Characters with low-light vision have eyes that are so sensitive to light that they can see twice as far as normal in dim light. Low-light vision is color vision.
- Paralysis Some monsters and spells have the supernatural or spell-like ability to paralyze their victims, immobilizing them through magical means. Paralysis from poison is discussed in the Afflictions section.
- Scent This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
- Spell Resistance Spell resistance is the extraordinary ability to avoid being affected by spells. Some spells also grant spell resistance.
- When Spell Resistance Applies Each spell includes an entry that indicates whether spell resistance applies to the spell. In general, whether spell resistance applies depends on what the spell does.
- Successful Spell Resistance Spell resistance prevents a spell or a spell-like ability from affecting or harming the resistant creature, but it never removes a magical effect from another creature or negates a spell’s effect on another creature.