saving throws are a function of the HD, a dragon has good saves in every category which means it's base saves = 2+(1/2 HD)
HD for young black dragon is base(4) + 4 = 8
young black dragon has 8HD so that is 2 + 4(1/2*8) = 6
after that you apply the ability modifiers and possibly feats/items that enhance saves.
Hey,
I am currently trying to convert an older adventure to Pathfinder rules and I've hit a snag. I have the bestiary here in front of me and for the life of me I cannot understand how you calculate the saving throws for a juvenile black dragon.
A young black dragon has Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +7
But I do not know how these are calculated. The only place the book mentions dragon saving throws is in the Hit Dice discussion that
"Increases to HD ...as well as increase the dragon's base attack bonus and base save bonuses."But where exactly do you get this base save bonus.. for the aforementioned young black HD is Base + 4. Base HD is 4d12 but I don't know what that has to do with anything. Dex for the dragon is 14, Con 17 and Wis 13 so those do account for the differences.
When I look at the adult black dragon I can't follow how the young black dragons saving throws turn into the adult ones saving throws. It has Base + 10 but its saving throws do not increase by 6 (+stat modifiers)
Best regards,
~skyde
You advance the dragon to the number of hit dice you need, in your case 8d12 and then just calculate all saves by using the rules for good saves. Thus your base saves are +6 for all three, plus ability modifiers and other bonuses.
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Dragons have Good Fortitude, Reflex and Will Saves.
This is just like a character class, where they progress in each save as more HD are added.
Check out the Monk, who also has Good saves in all three categories.
Therefore, they start with base saves of +2, plus a further +1 for every 2 HD.
So, for the base black dragon (which is a Tiny hatchling), each save has a base of +4.
A young black dragon is much bigger, having grown to Medium size, and having 8HD.
Those extra 4HD increase each save by a further +2, to +6 each.
Add the save bonuses (Con +3, Dex +2, Wis +1) and you get +9/+8/+7.
These numbers can also be adjusted for feats like Lightning Reflexes, or racial abilities (like Dwarves' resistance to poison), but these don't apply here. If you do see a creature whose bonuses don't appear to add up, check for additional details such as these.
