When figuring CRs when Advancing Creatures do you check chart 1-2 in Bestiary?
So lets say im going to advance a wraith from a CR 5 to a CR 6 When looking at the undead on this chart it says 9 HD the wraith has 5 HD to start with so I need to advance them 4 HD to make a CR 6 is this correct.
Now with a Shadow Demon it its a CR 7 to make it a CR 8 it needs 10 HD which means I need to advance it 3 HD from its orginal 7HD
is there a set number like there was in 3.5 or by Pathfinder should I always look at the chart?
Compare the current CR to the average stats of that CR by the chart. Then advance the monster via a roughly estimated ratio. So long as the end result compares well against a creature of the new CR you should be all set.
So the chart of stats is what I should be looking at not the HD to CR Chart?
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Honestly depends upon the purpose and use of the monster.
Is it going to appear in a single fight, get destroyed by the PCs after a few rounds of glorious battle? If so, I would advance the HD (hp) and combat stats, Saves, and maybe feats IF they will play a part in the fight. I'd stop there because nearly all of the other advancements won't make any tangible difference in play.
If on the other hand this monster will appear over several sessions as a foil, or boss, or thorn in the sides of the PCs I would go the whole route of building it using ALL of the charts, making sure HD and hp are appropriate, the skills and saves, feats, treasure, you name it, that it all conforms to the appropriate CR.
The procedure you probably want to use is Adding Racial Hit Dice as a form of monster advancement. The six-step procedure is outlined in the rules.
The Monster Advancement Table says that to move from a CR 5 to a CR 6, the monster should gain about 15 HP. Because of its 21 CHA, a wraith gains d8+5 (avg 9.5) HP per hit die, so I'd start by just adding one hit die and see what happens. It will gain +1 BAB, no feats, +1 to five skills, +1 to all saves, and that's about it. That'll give it a +1 to hit and to its CMB and CMD scores (not so important when it's incorporeal), plus of course it's harder to affect with turning or the like because of the better saves.
We could probably give the wraith a 7th hit die and still fall within the CR 6 range as shown on the Monster Advancement Table. The 7th hit die would give it another feat and more skills, and it will be up 19 HP, which seems okay. So decide whether you think the wraith matches better the CR charts at 6d8 or 7d8, and run with it.
Im using the new Hero Lab Bestiary and trying to get kinda a set science
Im converting Second Darkness to Pathfinder and im advancing the first 2 adventures by a level so the PCs will start at 2nd and not have the extra adventure in between book 2 and 3
Well, if you're using Hero Lab anyway, I'd recommend using the Monster Advancement table and the Monster Statistics by CR table to choose your advancement.
1) Compare the normal, 5 HD wraith to the Monster Statistics by CR table. Is it on the low or high side in each category? Make note of anywhere that it feels really behind or ahead of what a CR 5 should be according to the chart.
2) Add HD until the change in hit points is close to what's mentioned on the Monster Advancement table; in this case, as I said above, two HD ought to be about right but you could see how one feels first.
3) Now compare the new 7 (or 6) HD wraith to CR 6 on the Monster Statistics table. Is it still on the high and low side in about the same places? If it's really behind or ahead of what a CR 6 should be, is it in the same places that it was in step one? If so, that's what's expected for a wraith and that's all right.
4) If the change doesn't match what the tables say the change should be, add more or fewer HD until you're comfortable with the monsters' stats.
Oh, and don't forget the quick and dirty method: the "advanced" template. Just give the wraith a +2 to all rolls and another 10 hp to move it from CR 5 to CR 6. This is an easy, standardized, cut-and-dry way to deal with all of the encounters if you just want to play them with PCs one level higher.