Sorry for the question, but I couldn't find the answer anywhere:
When I add Levels of Wizard/Sorc... to a monster like the Mephit, who already has a casterlevel, do the casterlevels stack?
The Bestiary says something like CL "can" stack, but I couldn't find the criteria for this.
shameless bump
shameless bump
short answer: yes
;)
Creative Director
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If you're advancing a monster with spell like abilities, you should indeed advance the caster level for its abilities as well. As a general rule, keeping caster level equal to or close to the monster's final CR is a good bet.
(Advancing monsters isn't an exact science, and there's no right/wrong answer here; you can certainly advance a monster without adjusting its CL for spell-like abilities, but the result would be weirdly off-balanced.)
Spellcaster class levels don't increase a monster's base spell-like ability caster level.
It would, however, increase the monster's caster level if its description says it "cast spells as a {class} of level X."
Frex, dark nagas cast as 7th-level sorcerers; add 3 sorcerer class levels to a dark naga and it now casts as a 10th-level sorcerer.
Mephits, on the other hand, don't "cast as," they just have SLAs, and those don't increase with class levels.
Note that while it appears James and I are contradicting each other, we are not. He is answering a question that the OP did not ask. :)
Go to sleep, James, we have to go to work tomorrow! ;)
Note that while it appears James and I are contradicting each other, we are not. He is answering a question that the OP did not ask. :)
Go to sleep, James, we have to go to work tomorrow! ;)
Both of you go to bed!
Ah, that is the difference.
Thanks to all of you and have a good night :)
While there are no specific rules for it, I like the idea of creating a more castery variant of magic-using monsters such as dragons by doing nothing more than increasing their effective spellcasting level and abilities (to no more than their HD) without adding hp, class abilities, saves and so forth. It works out to add approximately 1/3 to 1/2 a point of CR per level of casting added without modifying HD, but is vague and variable enough that it's worth checking carefully to make sure it's appropriate.
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Creative Director
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Although advancing a monster isn't the same as creating a new monster from scratch... you should still apply the same common sense and design rules/philosophies to an advanced HD monster as you would to a brand new monster. There's no handy easy-mode formula that'll cover every possible variable when you advance a monster's HD; a 20 HD imp needs more work than merely increasing its Hit Dice if it's gonna be a proper higher CR monster. This includes things like adjusting its caster level, how much damage its special attacks and natural attacks do, what its SR is, and everything else.
Don't be constrained by tables, in other words. Use them to get started, but don't be afraid to be creative.