I'm a little unclear about how to convert the hp's on a 3.5 undead monster. I know that they lose their Con score and use Charisma instead. Furthermore, the conversion guide says to add -2 hp's per HD since their HD have been reduced to d8 from d12.
Undead, which dropped down to d8 Hit Dice,
lose 2 hit points per Hit Die, but they now use their
Charisma modifier in place of their Constitution
modifier when calculating hit points and Fortitude
saves. Mindless undead typically have a Charisma
score of 10, whereas intelligent undead tend to have a
higher Charisma score.
so, according to this you would calculate their HP's based on their charisma and new HD for undead classes, and then add the -2 hp/HD?
For an example:
Vampire Spawn
Size/Type: Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 4d12+3 (29 hp)
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con Ø, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 14
Challenge Rating: 4
Lastly, it seems as if PF somewhat nerfed undead (d12 to d8?) Does anyone know why they would make undead less powerful while they made PC's significantly more powerful?
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The "lose 2hp/HD" is the same drop as "drop to d8 hit die". Note that undead often have at *least* +2 charisma modifiers, meaning that this isn't really a nerf. In fact, for many undead (sorcerous liches/vampires especially) this is a huge buff. I had a party facing a final *full-mage* boss with nearly 300HP unbuffed at one point because he was a vampire. EDIT: He would have only had ~110 HP in 3.5 rules.
The stat-block you quote would change to (assuming they had old-style toughness for that +3):
Hit Dice: 4d8 + 11 (29)
The "lose 2hp/HD" is the same drop as "drop to d8 hit die". Note that undead often have at *least* +2 charisma modifiers, meaning that this isn't really a nerf. In fact, for many undead (sorcerous liches/vampires especially) this is a huge buff. I had a party facing a final *full-mage* boss with nearly 300HP unbuffed at one point because he was a vampire. EDIT: He would have only had ~110 HP in 3.5 rules.
The stat-block you quote would change to (assuming they had old-style toughness for that +3):
Hit Dice: 4d8 + 11 (29)
I don't understand where the +11 is coming from. 14 Cha would be a +2 then added to +3 for the innate Toughness feat.
+2 Cha times 4HD = 8 +3 Toughness = 11.
Ah, I see! Thank you.
So, how do you determine the HP's from the HD (in this case 4d8?) I haven't been able to find a clear statement on how to do this; but I had assumed it was full HP's for the first die, and then half of each consecutive die?
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It's full for the first hit die if and only if the first hit die is a PC class level (as opposed to an NPC class level or a racial hit die). All other hit die are assumed "average" (in this case 4.5) for the purposes of the HP listed (though it can be as low as 1+ per, or as high as 8+ per for this creature).
EDIT: To wit, this creature could have anywhere from 3 per hit die, +3 for toughness, to 10 per hit die, +3 for toughness. To be perfectly accurate the statblock should say 4d8+11 [15,43] to show the range of possible values. This same statblock would, if possessed by a level 4 bard with no racial HD for example, look more like 8 + 3d8 + 11, for [22,43].
OK, I think I'm starting to get it. It doesn't help that I'm learning both the 3.5 and Pathfinder systems concurrently. =)
My condolences. That sounds like a headache and a half.
Well, I'm trying to decide which one I like better. My primary interest is Ravenloft, so I'm torn between upgrading to PF or sticking with D20.
I think you'll find that converting is a lot easier once you know the systems you're converting from and to. So, if I were you I'd hold off on the converting part until you know both systems better.
I think you'll find that converting is a lot easier once you know the systems you're converting from and to. So, if I were you I'd hold off on the converting part until you know both systems better.
That's probably a wise decision.