Post/Author/DateTime	Post
tuberov 02-25-08, 06:03 AM	My wizard/frost mage has a snow owl as a familiar. In the entry in the monster manual, it says an owl gets +6 to it's spot, and then the asterisk states that they have a +8 racial bonus to spot checks in areas of shadowy illumination. Does this mean that they get an additional +8 on top of the +6 they already have, or does the +8 replace the +6 when in shadowy illumination?
Naderion 02-25-08, 07:57 AM	As they have a spot modifier of +6, and the description say they get a 8+ bonus, I'd say it's added to the +6. It doesn't say "the spot modifier becomes +8 in shadowy ilumination". Also, a bonus of only +2 would be too meaningless to worry about it, as owls also see much better in darkness then humans, and not just a little bit better.
tuberov 02-25-08, 06:15 PM	But in the monster manual, it states that the skill modifier in the stat block includes racial bonuses, which makes me wonder if this overwrites a racial bonus for dealing with shadowy illumination.
Lazzmaniandevil 02-25-08, 07:47 PM	The skill modifier in the stat block includes racial bonuses that always apply. Bonuses that apply only part of the time (such as only in areas of shadowy illumination) are noted by an asterisk (*). You need to add it yourself when it is applicable. So your owl has a total skill modifier of +14 in areas of shadowy illumination and +6 everywhere else.