Classes that change creature types

[Tonymitsu]

Is there any general rules for how class features that alter your creature type interact?

For instance, say you have a warforged cleric that takes the Talontar Blightlord prestige class. At level 10 you gain the Winterheart (Ex) ability, which changes your type to plant.

Do you stay a construct? Become an plant construct?

Or what about a necropolitan wizard that takes levels in Alienist (changes you to outsider at level 10)?

[altpersona]

check the srd under Improving Monsters.

Size and Type
Templates often change a creature’s type, and may change the creature’s size.

If a template changes the base creature’s type, the creature also acquires the augmented subtype unless the template description indicates otherwise. The augmented subtype is always paired with the creature’s original type. Unless a template indicates otherwise, the new creature has the traits of the new type but the features of the original type.

[SorO_Lost]

Is there any general rules for how class features that alter your creature type interact?

Not really.

As Alt touches on there are plenty of rules to consider when a Template change's a Creature's Type that may be worth considering but there are very few that worry about Class specific changes. Just follow the entry the best you can.

[snakeman830]

At least type changes are almost exclusively after 10 levels in a PrC, so most of the time you don't have to worry about multiple class-based type changes.

Most of the time.

[Maelphaxerazz]

There are rules for templates, and since templates can be turned to classes (see the Savage Progressions articles), class-based type changes work the same way.

For more rules, there's the Type Pyramid in Savage Species 143, which basically says that some types do not get overridden by some other types. As far as I can tell, no one has ever actually used the type pyramid, but its there if you want it.

To your example problems: using the Type Pyramid, that warforged would remain a Construct (as Construct is higher in the type pyramid than Plant). On the other hand, if you do not use the type pyramid his type would become Plant. There's no such thing as a Plant Construct, but instead it would be a Plant (augmented construct).

Whether the Type Pyramid is used or not, a Necropolitan Alienist would become an Outsider (augmented undead).

[awaken_D_M_golem]

ninja'd on the Type Pyramid, that's the thing to use.

There's some other text round 'bout them there parts, about getting further off of that pyramid, but idk # I'm too afb.
Clearly it's the case, that a monster type X can take a class that changes type to Y, that otherwise can't do it ... can.

When in doubt, the Sav Species Rituals can do it, or an Epic spell.  Wish could do it if it's small.
Agree fully that the type pyramid has gotten almost no use at all.

Bhu has a (the?!) collection of templates that change your type, something in there might float your boat.

[Tonymitsu]

Yeah I'm aware of the type pyramid, but I always assumed it specifically related to template stacking.

Basically my problem is that I was building a Ghast cleric/talontar blightlord and I was wondering what happened when it hit level 10 and got the Winterheart ability (type changes to plant).
I'm thinking though that the solution to my problem is to just not take level 10. It's a dead caster level anyway, and -1 to the save DC of Talona's Blight isn't going to be fatal I don't think.

[Maelphaxerazz]

I always assumed it specifically related to template stacking.

You assumed correctly. However, because templates can be turned to classes, I believe classes are expected to work just like templates with regard to type changes. After all, a person can take the Ghost template (for example) all at once, or the Ghost class for five levels, and there's no logical reason why the latter would be treated differently from the former. Thanks to Savage Progressions and similar templates-turned-classes, you can see templates as classes and vice-versa.