Here are some basic miscellaneous rules from the Beginner's Guide.
**ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY**
With the Core Rulebook, when you do something reckless in combat and let your guard down, nearby opponents can take advantage of your moment of weakness and make a free attack against you. That attack is called an attack of opportunity (or AOO). If you like a more tactical game where players can take risks to accomplish interesting things, you may want to try adding attacks of opportunity to your game. Generally, if there’s an action you could perform in the Core Rulebook that would trigger an attack of opportunity from an enemy, the Beginner Box rules won’t let you do that action at all.
For example, on page 61 of the Hero’s Handbook, the Beginner Box rules say you can’t cast a ranged spell when you’re next to an enemy. If you’re using the attack of opportunity rules, you can cast a ranged spell next to an enemy, but the enemy gets to make an attack of opportunity against you! Likewise, on page 56 of the Hero’s Handbook, the Beginner Box says you can’t attack with a ranged weapon unless you’re at least 10 feet from an enemy. If you’re using attacks of opportunity, you can use a ranged weapon even if you’re only 5 feet away from an enemy, but the enemy gets to make an attack of opportunity against you. It’s a risk... but sometimes you have to take that chance in order to win a battle or save a friend. The full rules for attacks of opportunity are on page 180 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**DISARM, GRAPPLE, AND TRIP**
The Beginner Box doesn’t let most creatures perform fancy maneuvers like disarming an opponent’s weapon, grappling a bandit so you can take him prisoner, or knocking down an opponent so she’s at a disadvantage. The Core Rulebook calls these kinds of special attacks combat maneuvers and gives rules for how characters and monsters can perform them. Performing a combat maneuver is similar to making an attack roll, except instead of using your attack bonus, you use a special bonus called a Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB), and instead of rolling against your target’s Armor Class, you’re rolling against a special defensive number called a Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD). If your d20 + CMB equals or exceeds the target’s CMD, you succeed at the maneuver. In addition to being able to disarm, grapple, and trip, you can bull rush (push an enemy into another square), overrun (move through an enemy’s square into a square past it), or sunder (break an opponent’s weapon or held item). The full rules for combat maneuvers (including how to figure out your CMB and CMD) start on page 198 of the Core Rulebook. The Core Rulebook also includes feats that make you better at performing combat maneuvers (see page 110).
---
**WHAT DO I NEED TO READ?**
When learning to use the Core Rulebook, you don’t have to read it cover to cover; you can take pieces and add them to your campaign as you’re ready. For example, one week you could read about the paladin class in Chapter 3 and add that to your game, and the next week you might read some of the feats in Chapter 5 and add them to your game. Just like the Beginner Box, the Core Rulebook allows you to plug in parts of the rules as you learn them. The easiest chapters to add in small pieces are Races (Chapter 2), Classes (Chapter 3), and Feats (Chapter 5).
The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary use a lot more rules than the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box. Many of these rules are simply more of the same things you’re already familiar with—like feats, spells, and monsters—and you can easily add them to your campaign. However, there are also new rules that change or enhance how things work in the Beginner Box, and you’ll need to make sure you understand them before adding them to your game. This section summarizes those rules and tells you where you can find more information on how they work. Remember, if you don’t like a rule, you don’t have to use it in your game!
---
**BASE ATTACK BONUS**
In the Beginner Box, a character’s attack bonus is based on his class and level. In the Core Rulebook, this modifier to attack rolls is called the base attack bonus (BAB). Both characters and monsters have a base attack bonus, even monsters in the Beginner Box—the base attack bonus isn’t shown for the Beginner Box monsters, but it’s built into the attacks listed in their stat blocks. A character’s base attack bonus works basically the same as an attack bonus in the Beginner Box. The full rules for base attack bonuses are on page 11 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**HIT DICE**
Hit Dice (HD) are a rough measure of a creature’s power and skill. Each PC has a number of Hit Dice equal to her level (a 2nd-level fighter has 2 HD, a 4th-level wizard has 4 HD, and so on). Monsters also have Hit Dice; they’re just not shown in the Beginner Box monster stat blocks because most of the time you don’t need to know how many Hit Dice monsters have. (Only a few spells and monster abilities grant different effects depending on how many Hit Dice the target has.) If you need to know how many Hit Dice a monster has, look up the monster in the Bestiary; the monster’s Hit Dice are listed on the same line as its hit points.
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**MONSTER TEMPLATES**
A monster template (or “template”) is a way to modify a monster by changing its stat block. For example, if you had a dungeon full of giant spiders and wanted an encounter with a very tough spider, you could add a template to the giant spider stat block to make it deal more damage and increase the difficulty class (DC) of its poison. Alternatively, if you wanted to have a herd of demon-tainted boars attacking a village, you could add a template to the boar stat block to create a “hell boar” with damage reduction (like a gargoyle has), fire resistance (like a resist energy spell grants), and spell resistance (like a serpentfolk has). Some templates are called simple templates because they only change a few things and you can make the change in about a minute. Other monster templates are more complex, greatly changing a monster from its original form—the ghost, skeleton, werewolf, and zombie in the Beginner Box are actually humans transformed with complex monster templates. Simple templates are on page 294 of the Bestiary, and complex templates are listed in the Bestiary under the template’s name (ghost, half-dragon, skeleton, and so on).
---
**BONUS TYPES, OVERLAPPING, AND STACKING**
With the Core Rulebook rules, every bonus you add to a roll has a bonus type. For example, the bless spell gives you a morale bonus on attack rolls and the divine favor spell gives you a luck bonus on attack rolls. This is important because if you have more than one bonus of the same type, you only use the highest bonus of that type. For example, if you had a ring that gives you a +1 luck bonus on saving throws and a cloak that gave you a +2 luck bonus on saving throws, the luck bonus from the cloak is more powerful and is the only one that counts. Two bonuses of the same type are called overlapping bonuses—the bigger bonus of that type is dominant. This rule keeps players from reaching overly powerful bonuses by adding together multiple weak items of the same type. The Beginner Box incorporates this into the rules behind the scenes, without telling you why it’s doing it. For example, you can only wear one ring of protection at a time—that’s because in the Core Rulebook, the ring gives you a +1 deflection bonus, and wearing two +1 deflection bonus items just gives you a +1 bonus, not a +2. Another example is the mage armor spell, which says if you’re wearing armor, you use either the +4 bonus from the spell or the armor’s bonus, whichever is greater—that’s because both the spell and the armor give you an armor bonus, so you’d only get the armor bonus from either the spell or the armor, whichever is greater. If you have two different kinds of bonuses, however, they still add together. This is called stacking. For example, if you have a ring that gives you a +1 luck bonus to AC and an amulet that gives you a +1 natural armor bonus to AC, these bonuses stack since their bonuses are of different types—both of them count, for a total of +2. A few kinds of bonuses stack even with bonuses of the same type, though these are rare. For example, dodge bonuses to AC always stack. If you have a +1 dodge bonus from a feat and a +1 dodge bonus from a racial ability, these bonuses stack and both of them count toward your AC.
---
**SKILLS, TAKING 10, AND TAKING 20**
The Core Rulebook details several skills that aren’t in the Beginner Box: Appraise, Craft, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (engineering), Knowledge (nobility), Knowledge (planes), Linguistics, Perform, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Survival, and Use Magic Device. The descriptions for these skills begin on page 87 of the Core Rulebook. The Core Rulebook also details two shortcuts for using skills, called taking 10 and taking 20. Taking 10 lets you attempt an easy skill check as if you had rolled a 10 on your d20—you’d only want to do it for an easy task that you could succeed at by rolling 10 or higher. Taking 10 is in the rules so you don’t risk failing easy tasks. The rules for taking 10 are on page 86 of the Core Rulebook. Taking 20 is a little more complicated. If you are up against a difficult DC, but have some time to make sure you get a task done right, you can take an extra long time to perform the task and attempt the skill check as if you had rolled a 20 on your d20. Normally players take 20 on Perception checks (to search for a secret door or trap) and Disable Device checks (to pick a lock). It’s easier and faster for the player to take 20 instead of rolling the d20 again and again until she succeeds. The rules for taking 20 are on page 86 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**MORE ARMOR RULES**
Armor in the Core Rulebook is a little more complex than in the Beginner Box. The Core Rulebook includes three additional rules for those wearing armor. The first is the maximum Dex bonus. All armor restricts your movement, and if your DEX is higher than the maximum Dex bonus of your armor, you don’t get to add all of your DEX to your Armor Class. For example, full plate has a maximum Dex bonus of +1, so even if your DEX is +4, you only get to add +1 from your DEX to your AC. This means characters with a high DEX usually wear light or medium armor so they can take full advantage of their DEX. The rules for maximum Dex bonus are on page 149 of the Core Rulebook, and the armor table is on page 151. The second new rule is the armor check penalty. Armor and shields interfere with STR- and DEX-based skills, giving you a penalty on such skill checks equal to the armor check penalty of the armor and shield. For example, chainmail has an armor check penalty of –5, so you take a –5 penalty on Acrobatics checks, Climb checks, and so on. The rules for armor check penalties are on page 150 of the Core Rulebook. The third new rule is the arcane spell failure chance. You know how wizards can’t wear armor in the Beginner Box? Well, they can wear armor in the Core Rulebook... but each time a wizard casts a spell while wearing armor, there’s a chance the spell is ruined and has no effect. The arcane spell failure chance does not affect divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers). More information on arcane spell failure is on page 150 of the Core Rulebook. Certain feats make it easier for a wizard to cast spells while wearing armor—see Arcane Armor Mastery, Arcane Armor Training, and Still Spell in Chapter 5 of the Core Rulebook. Additionally, just as you can get masterwork weapons that are better than normal weapons, you can get masterwork armor that’s better than normal armor. Masterwork armor has an armor check penalty 1 lower than normal, but it costs 150 gp more. All magic armor is automatically masterwork armor. More information on masterwork armor is on page 153 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**CREATURE SIZES**
Dwarves and elves are about the same size as a human, but ogres are much bigger, and goblins are much smaller. The Core Rulebook has rules for creatures of all sizes, from a housefly to a house-sized dragon or whale. Every creature has a size category, such as Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, or Huge. A creature’s size category determines its size modifier, which is added to the creature’s AC, on attack rolls, and on some skill checks. For example, an ogre is Large, and the size modifier for Large creatures is –1, so an ogre has a –1 penalty on its attack rolls (because creatures smaller than it are harder for it to hit) and a –1 penalty to its AC (because it’s big and easier to hit). A goblin is Small, and the size modifier for Small creatures is +1, so a goblin has a +1 bonus on its attack rolls (because creatures bigger than it are easier for it to hit) and a +1 bonus to its AC (because it’s small and harder to hit). These size modifiers are already built into a monster’s stat block—even the Beginner Box monster stat blocks you’ve been using—so you don’t have to change anything! The size modifiers are listed on page 179 of the Core Rulebook. Two new races in the Core Rulebook—gnomes and halflings—are Small. This is an advantage for fighters and rogues of these races, because it’s like getting a free +1 on attack rolls and to AC! However, Small races usually have lower Strength scores than Medium creatures—gnomes and halflings have a racial Strength penalty.
---
**MULTICLASSING**
Probably the biggest change the Core Rulebook has for character options is multiclassing. Instead of staying in the same character class for an entire adventuring career, you can pick a level in a new class every time you level up, gaining the benefits of the old class as well as the new one! For example, if you’re a fighter and you reach level 2, you can decide to gain a level of rogue instead of a level of fighter, so you’ll be a fighter 1/rogue 1 instead of a fighter 2. You can do this each time you level up—when you hit level 3, you can take another level of fighter and become fighter 2/rogue 1, or take another level of rogue and become a fighter 1/rogue 2, or take a level of cleric and become a fighter 1/rogue 1/cleric 1. You can find more information on multiclassing on page 30 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**ABILITY DAMAGE**
Monsters like dire rats and mummies can infect characters with horrible diseases, and monsters like giant spiders and venomous snakes can inject characters with dangerous poisons. In the Beginner Box, this usually means the character takes a penalty or extra damage. Diseases and poisons in the Core Rulebook are a little more complex. Instead of just giving the character a penalty or dealing extra hit point damage, diseases and poisons affect a character’s ability scores. This is called ability damage—when one of your ability scores is damaged, you use a lower number for that ability score. For example, the disease called devil chills gives you 1d4 points of Strength damage every day, and deathblade poison gives you 1d3 points of Constitution damage every round. Fortunately, you can recover from ability damage by resting, just like you can recover from hit point damage. Magic spells like lesser restoration and restoration can also cure ability damage. More information on ability damage is given on page 555 of the Core Rulebook. Diseases and poisons are described on page 557 of the Core Rulebook. Some monsters have an even more powerful ability called ability drain. Ability drain is just like ability damage, but only magic can fix it—no amount of rest is good enough. Fortunately, monsters with ability drain are very rare. Ability drain is explained at the end of the ability damage section on page 555 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**CONCENTRATION**
You know how clerics and wizards in the Beginner Box can’t cast a spell while next to an enemy unless it’s a touch spell? In the Core Rulebook, spellcasters can attempt a special check called a concentration check to cast spells while standing next to an enemy. If you succeed at the concentration check, you cast the spell successfully. If you fail the concentration check, the spell is ruined. It’s risky, but sometimes your best choice is casting a ranged spell when you’re in melee. More information on concentration checks is provided on page 206 of the Core Rulebook. See also the Attacks of Opportunity section on page 473 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**LANGUAGES**
The Beginner Box assumes that all PCs can talk to each other using a common language. In the Core Rulebook, that language is called Common, but there are many other languages, such as Dwarven, Elven, and Goblin. You start play knowing Common and your own racial language (and if your INT is at least +1, you know even more). If you don’t speak the language of another creature, you can only communicate with gestures and drawings. You learn languages by putting ranks in the Linguistics skill. More information on the Linguistics skill and languages is given on page 100 of the Core Rulebook.
**ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY**
With the Core Rulebook, when you do something reckless in combat and let your guard down, nearby opponents can take advantage of your moment of weakness and make a free attack against you. That attack is called an attack of opportunity (or AOO). If you like a more tactical game where players can take risks to accomplish interesting things, you may want to try adding attacks of opportunity to your game. Generally, if there’s an action you could perform in the Core Rulebook that would trigger an attack of opportunity from an enemy, the Beginner Box rules won’t let you do that action at all.
For example, on page 61 of the Hero’s Handbook, the Beginner Box rules say you can’t cast a ranged spell when you’re next to an enemy. If you’re using the attack of opportunity rules, you can cast a ranged spell next to an enemy, but the enemy gets to make an attack of opportunity against you! Likewise, on page 56 of the Hero’s Handbook, the Beginner Box says you can’t attack with a ranged weapon unless you’re at least 10 feet from an enemy. If you’re using attacks of opportunity, you can use a ranged weapon even if you’re only 5 feet away from an enemy, but the enemy gets to make an attack of opportunity against you. It’s a risk... but sometimes you have to take that chance in order to win a battle or save a friend. The full rules for attacks of opportunity are on page 180 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**DISARM, GRAPPLE, AND TRIP**
The Beginner Box doesn’t let most creatures perform fancy maneuvers like disarming an opponent’s weapon, grappling a bandit so you can take him prisoner, or knocking down an opponent so she’s at a disadvantage. The Core Rulebook calls these kinds of special attacks combat maneuvers and gives rules for how characters and monsters can perform them. Performing a combat maneuver is similar to making an attack roll, except instead of using your attack bonus, you use a special bonus called a Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB), and instead of rolling against your target’s Armor Class, you’re rolling against a special defensive number called a Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD). If your d20 + CMB equals or exceeds the target’s CMD, you succeed at the maneuver. In addition to being able to disarm, grapple, and trip, you can bull rush (push an enemy into another square), overrun (move through an enemy’s square into a square past it), or sunder (break an opponent’s weapon or held item). The full rules for combat maneuvers (including how to figure out your CMB and CMD) start on page 198 of the Core Rulebook. The Core Rulebook also includes feats that make you better at performing combat maneuvers (see page 110).
---
**WHAT DO I NEED TO READ?**
When learning to use the Core Rulebook, you don’t have to read it cover to cover; you can take pieces and add them to your campaign as you’re ready. For example, one week you could read about the paladin class in Chapter 3 and add that to your game, and the next week you might read some of the feats in Chapter 5 and add them to your game. Just like the Beginner Box, the Core Rulebook allows you to plug in parts of the rules as you learn them. The easiest chapters to add in small pieces are Races (Chapter 2), Classes (Chapter 3), and Feats (Chapter 5).
The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary use a lot more rules than the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box. Many of these rules are simply more of the same things you’re already familiar with—like feats, spells, and monsters—and you can easily add them to your campaign. However, there are also new rules that change or enhance how things work in the Beginner Box, and you’ll need to make sure you understand them before adding them to your game. This section summarizes those rules and tells you where you can find more information on how they work. Remember, if you don’t like a rule, you don’t have to use it in your game!
---
**BASE ATTACK BONUS**
In the Beginner Box, a character’s attack bonus is based on his class and level. In the Core Rulebook, this modifier to attack rolls is called the base attack bonus (BAB). Both characters and monsters have a base attack bonus, even monsters in the Beginner Box—the base attack bonus isn’t shown for the Beginner Box monsters, but it’s built into the attacks listed in their stat blocks. A character’s base attack bonus works basically the same as an attack bonus in the Beginner Box. The full rules for base attack bonuses are on page 11 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**HIT DICE**
Hit Dice (HD) are a rough measure of a creature’s power and skill. Each PC has a number of Hit Dice equal to her level (a 2nd-level fighter has 2 HD, a 4th-level wizard has 4 HD, and so on). Monsters also have Hit Dice; they’re just not shown in the Beginner Box monster stat blocks because most of the time you don’t need to know how many Hit Dice monsters have. (Only a few spells and monster abilities grant different effects depending on how many Hit Dice the target has.) If you need to know how many Hit Dice a monster has, look up the monster in the Bestiary; the monster’s Hit Dice are listed on the same line as its hit points.
---
**MONSTER TEMPLATES**
A monster template (or “template”) is a way to modify a monster by changing its stat block. For example, if you had a dungeon full of giant spiders and wanted an encounter with a very tough spider, you could add a template to the giant spider stat block to make it deal more damage and increase the difficulty class (DC) of its poison. Alternatively, if you wanted to have a herd of demon-tainted boars attacking a village, you could add a template to the boar stat block to create a “hell boar” with damage reduction (like a gargoyle has), fire resistance (like a resist energy spell grants), and spell resistance (like a serpentfolk has). Some templates are called simple templates because they only change a few things and you can make the change in about a minute. Other monster templates are more complex, greatly changing a monster from its original form—the ghost, skeleton, werewolf, and zombie in the Beginner Box are actually humans transformed with complex monster templates. Simple templates are on page 294 of the Bestiary, and complex templates are listed in the Bestiary under the template’s name (ghost, half-dragon, skeleton, and so on).
---
**BONUS TYPES, OVERLAPPING, AND STACKING**
With the Core Rulebook rules, every bonus you add to a roll has a bonus type. For example, the bless spell gives you a morale bonus on attack rolls and the divine favor spell gives you a luck bonus on attack rolls. This is important because if you have more than one bonus of the same type, you only use the highest bonus of that type. For example, if you had a ring that gives you a +1 luck bonus on saving throws and a cloak that gave you a +2 luck bonus on saving throws, the luck bonus from the cloak is more powerful and is the only one that counts. Two bonuses of the same type are called overlapping bonuses—the bigger bonus of that type is dominant. This rule keeps players from reaching overly powerful bonuses by adding together multiple weak items of the same type. The Beginner Box incorporates this into the rules behind the scenes, without telling you why it’s doing it. For example, you can only wear one ring of protection at a time—that’s because in the Core Rulebook, the ring gives you a +1 deflection bonus, and wearing two +1 deflection bonus items just gives you a +1 bonus, not a +2. Another example is the mage armor spell, which says if you’re wearing armor, you use either the +4 bonus from the spell or the armor’s bonus, whichever is greater—that’s because both the spell and the armor give you an armor bonus, so you’d only get the armor bonus from either the spell or the armor, whichever is greater. If you have two different kinds of bonuses, however, they still add together. This is called stacking. For example, if you have a ring that gives you a +1 luck bonus to AC and an amulet that gives you a +1 natural armor bonus to AC, these bonuses stack since their bonuses are of different types—both of them count, for a total of +2. A few kinds of bonuses stack even with bonuses of the same type, though these are rare. For example, dodge bonuses to AC always stack. If you have a +1 dodge bonus from a feat and a +1 dodge bonus from a racial ability, these bonuses stack and both of them count toward your AC.
---
**SKILLS, TAKING 10, AND TAKING 20**
The Core Rulebook details several skills that aren’t in the Beginner Box: Appraise, Craft, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (engineering), Knowledge (nobility), Knowledge (planes), Linguistics, Perform, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Survival, and Use Magic Device. The descriptions for these skills begin on page 87 of the Core Rulebook. The Core Rulebook also details two shortcuts for using skills, called taking 10 and taking 20. Taking 10 lets you attempt an easy skill check as if you had rolled a 10 on your d20—you’d only want to do it for an easy task that you could succeed at by rolling 10 or higher. Taking 10 is in the rules so you don’t risk failing easy tasks. The rules for taking 10 are on page 86 of the Core Rulebook. Taking 20 is a little more complicated. If you are up against a difficult DC, but have some time to make sure you get a task done right, you can take an extra long time to perform the task and attempt the skill check as if you had rolled a 20 on your d20. Normally players take 20 on Perception checks (to search for a secret door or trap) and Disable Device checks (to pick a lock). It’s easier and faster for the player to take 20 instead of rolling the d20 again and again until she succeeds. The rules for taking 20 are on page 86 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**MORE ARMOR RULES**
Armor in the Core Rulebook is a little more complex than in the Beginner Box. The Core Rulebook includes three additional rules for those wearing armor. The first is the maximum Dex bonus. All armor restricts your movement, and if your DEX is higher than the maximum Dex bonus of your armor, you don’t get to add all of your DEX to your Armor Class. For example, full plate has a maximum Dex bonus of +1, so even if your DEX is +4, you only get to add +1 from your DEX to your AC. This means characters with a high DEX usually wear light or medium armor so they can take full advantage of their DEX. The rules for maximum Dex bonus are on page 149 of the Core Rulebook, and the armor table is on page 151. The second new rule is the armor check penalty. Armor and shields interfere with STR- and DEX-based skills, giving you a penalty on such skill checks equal to the armor check penalty of the armor and shield. For example, chainmail has an armor check penalty of –5, so you take a –5 penalty on Acrobatics checks, Climb checks, and so on. The rules for armor check penalties are on page 150 of the Core Rulebook. The third new rule is the arcane spell failure chance. You know how wizards can’t wear armor in the Beginner Box? Well, they can wear armor in the Core Rulebook... but each time a wizard casts a spell while wearing armor, there’s a chance the spell is ruined and has no effect. The arcane spell failure chance does not affect divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers). More information on arcane spell failure is on page 150 of the Core Rulebook. Certain feats make it easier for a wizard to cast spells while wearing armor—see Arcane Armor Mastery, Arcane Armor Training, and Still Spell in Chapter 5 of the Core Rulebook. Additionally, just as you can get masterwork weapons that are better than normal weapons, you can get masterwork armor that’s better than normal armor. Masterwork armor has an armor check penalty 1 lower than normal, but it costs 150 gp more. All magic armor is automatically masterwork armor. More information on masterwork armor is on page 153 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**CREATURE SIZES**
Dwarves and elves are about the same size as a human, but ogres are much bigger, and goblins are much smaller. The Core Rulebook has rules for creatures of all sizes, from a housefly to a house-sized dragon or whale. Every creature has a size category, such as Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, or Huge. A creature’s size category determines its size modifier, which is added to the creature’s AC, on attack rolls, and on some skill checks. For example, an ogre is Large, and the size modifier for Large creatures is –1, so an ogre has a –1 penalty on its attack rolls (because creatures smaller than it are harder for it to hit) and a –1 penalty to its AC (because it’s big and easier to hit). A goblin is Small, and the size modifier for Small creatures is +1, so a goblin has a +1 bonus on its attack rolls (because creatures bigger than it are easier for it to hit) and a +1 bonus to its AC (because it’s small and harder to hit). These size modifiers are already built into a monster’s stat block—even the Beginner Box monster stat blocks you’ve been using—so you don’t have to change anything! The size modifiers are listed on page 179 of the Core Rulebook. Two new races in the Core Rulebook—gnomes and halflings—are Small. This is an advantage for fighters and rogues of these races, because it’s like getting a free +1 on attack rolls and to AC! However, Small races usually have lower Strength scores than Medium creatures—gnomes and halflings have a racial Strength penalty.
---
**MULTICLASSING**
Probably the biggest change the Core Rulebook has for character options is multiclassing. Instead of staying in the same character class for an entire adventuring career, you can pick a level in a new class every time you level up, gaining the benefits of the old class as well as the new one! For example, if you’re a fighter and you reach level 2, you can decide to gain a level of rogue instead of a level of fighter, so you’ll be a fighter 1/rogue 1 instead of a fighter 2. You can do this each time you level up—when you hit level 3, you can take another level of fighter and become fighter 2/rogue 1, or take another level of rogue and become a fighter 1/rogue 2, or take a level of cleric and become a fighter 1/rogue 1/cleric 1. You can find more information on multiclassing on page 30 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**ABILITY DAMAGE**
Monsters like dire rats and mummies can infect characters with horrible diseases, and monsters like giant spiders and venomous snakes can inject characters with dangerous poisons. In the Beginner Box, this usually means the character takes a penalty or extra damage. Diseases and poisons in the Core Rulebook are a little more complex. Instead of just giving the character a penalty or dealing extra hit point damage, diseases and poisons affect a character’s ability scores. This is called ability damage—when one of your ability scores is damaged, you use a lower number for that ability score. For example, the disease called devil chills gives you 1d4 points of Strength damage every day, and deathblade poison gives you 1d3 points of Constitution damage every round. Fortunately, you can recover from ability damage by resting, just like you can recover from hit point damage. Magic spells like lesser restoration and restoration can also cure ability damage. More information on ability damage is given on page 555 of the Core Rulebook. Diseases and poisons are described on page 557 of the Core Rulebook. Some monsters have an even more powerful ability called ability drain. Ability drain is just like ability damage, but only magic can fix it—no amount of rest is good enough. Fortunately, monsters with ability drain are very rare. Ability drain is explained at the end of the ability damage section on page 555 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**CONCENTRATION**
You know how clerics and wizards in the Beginner Box can’t cast a spell while next to an enemy unless it’s a touch spell? In the Core Rulebook, spellcasters can attempt a special check called a concentration check to cast spells while standing next to an enemy. If you succeed at the concentration check, you cast the spell successfully. If you fail the concentration check, the spell is ruined. It’s risky, but sometimes your best choice is casting a ranged spell when you’re in melee. More information on concentration checks is provided on page 206 of the Core Rulebook. See also the Attacks of Opportunity section on page 473 of the Core Rulebook.
---
**LANGUAGES**
The Beginner Box assumes that all PCs can talk to each other using a common language. In the Core Rulebook, that language is called Common, but there are many other languages, such as Dwarven, Elven, and Goblin. You start play knowing Common and your own racial language (and if your INT is at least +1, you know even more). If you don’t speak the language of another creature, you can only communicate with gestures and drawings. You learn languages by putting ranks in the Linguistics skill. More information on the Linguistics skill and languages is given on page 100 of the Core Rulebook.
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» Game On! Friday 8 March - Pathfinder 2e Newport Hills 6 PM
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