My second question is the DC. It says its Strength Based so does that mean that it is just however much the strength of the Deva is or is it some formula I don't know?
I would assume its the Strength itself since the creature in the book has 22 Strength and the DC is 22.
If this is true then would my Deva's stun DC be 28 since my Strength is 28?
EDIT: Also, if my character gains Stun, do I have to use a Mace or would it apply to other weapons?
Thanks for all your help
My first question is whether the ability Stun (Su) would apply to my character.
According to the savage species handbook, stun applies to any weapon you attack with. It does not necessarily have to be a mace.
My second question is the DC. It says its Strength Based so does that mean that it is just however much the strength of the Deva is or is it some formula I don't know?
Its save dc is 10+1/2HD+str mod. (See the MM regarding saves for extraordinary/supernatural saves)
An astral deva has 12 outsider HD, and given your str of 28 (for a mod of +9), that would give a final dc of 25. Note that I am not sure if class lvs will improve this dc or not. Don't see any harm in allowing it though.
Save DCs are always based on some ability score. This means that as the bonus related to that score goes up, the effect is harder to save against. Spells are a very common example. Save DCs for cast spells are (10 + Spell Level + Ability Modifier). For wizards, it's INT. Cleric, WIS. Sorcerers, CHA
For most monster abilities, the Save DC is 10 + 1/2 HD + Ability Modifier. Take poison, for example. Larger monstrous spiders have more HD AND a higher CON score, making their venom harder to resist than the venom of smaller spiders.
Likewise, as you boost the STR score of your Astral Deva it becomes harder for others to resist the Stun effect. However, if you somehow manage to find a way to increase your racial hit dice by 2 (HD from class levels don't count!), that will also increase the Save DC by +1. Good luck with that, though...
I'm more playing this character for the fun roleplaying aspects.
Another quick question though, on my spell-like abilities, does the DC work like a Spell DC or HD based?
Unless it specifies it as an exception, is not HD = HD = HD?
Another quick question though, on my spell-like abilities, does the DC work like a Spell DC or HD based?
The save DC for spell-like abilities is the same as for spells. 10+spell level+ability modifier. For the astral deva, you use charisma.
Where does it say that class HD don't count for the purposes of these save DC formulas?
Beginning of the Monster Manual (v3.5, page 6, right column):
Special Attacks and Special Qualities
Many creatures have unusual abilities. A monster entry breaks these abilities into special attacks and special qualities. The latter category includes defenses, vulnerabilities, and other special abilities that are not modes of attack. A special ability is either extraordinary (Ex), spell-like (Sp), or supernatural (Su). Additional information (when needed) is provided in the creature’s descriptive text.
When a special ability allows a saving throw, the kind of save and the save DC is noted in the descriptive text. Most saving throws against special abilities have DCs calculated as follows: 10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier.
The save DC is given in the creature’s description along with the ability on which the DC is based.
Since it says most, I'd have to assume that if the save dc counted non-racial HD, the special attack would say so.
Thanks