I've a question about advancing a creature, I understand how to use the templates, and adding class levels, but doing it by adding HD seems always harder, and I'm never sure if I did it properly.
Here's a grizzly bear I advanced by adding an HD, is this right, is there some more detailed step-by-step guide on how to do it?
*Grizzly Bear CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large animal
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent ; Perception +6
Defense
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex , +7 natural, –1 size)
hp 53[47] (6d8+20)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+5 plus grab), bite +8 (1d6+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Statistics
Str 21, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 21 (25 vs. trip)
Feats Endurance, Run, Skill Focus (Survival)
Skills Perception +6, Survival +5, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +4 Swim
Ecology
Environment cold forests
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none
Thank you.
Just bumping because this was a 0 post thread, so I don't think anyone saw it.
I've a question about advancing a creature, I understand how to use the templates, and adding class levels, but doing it by adding HD seems always harder, and I'm never sure if I did it properly.
Here's a grizzly bear I advanced by adding an HD, is this right, is there some more detailed step-by-step guide on how to do it?*Grizzly Bear CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large animal
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent ; Perception +6
Defense
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex , +7 natural, –1 size)
hp 53[47] (6d8+20)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+5 plus grab), bite +8 (1d6+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Statistics
Str 21, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 21 (25 vs. trip)
Feats Endurance, Run, Skill Focus (Survival)
Skills Perception +6, Survival +5, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +4 Swim
Ecology
Environment cold forests
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure noneThank you.
Better late than never, right? I found this while searching for an answer to one of my questions. Since no one else had answered, I thought I would. :)
Firstly, I don't know of a more detailed guide (more on that in a bit.) Now, to the monster. Everything looks good except for a couple of points:
1) You have increased its natural armour. While there is nothing saying you can't, I don't see why you did it.
2) Hit Points and Hit Dice: Don't forget to add additional points for Constitution when you increase HD. At 6 HD and 19 Con, this monster should have +24 hp. Also, sticking with the average (4.5 on a d8), this monster should have a total of 51 hp (4.5 x 6 = 27, +24 = 51).
3) Skills. Adding a HD to an animal generally gives it another skill point, which you don't seem to have used. (I recommend Survival, giving it +6 to the skill, and evens out the skill point spread.)
4) CR: Even though you've made the monster tougher, I'm not sure you've toughened it up enough to warrant an increase in its CR. I would personally still call this a CR 4 monster.
"Fixed" Stat Block:
Advanced HD Grizzly Bear CR 4
XP 1,200
N Large animal
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent ; Perception +6
Defense
AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex , +6 natural, –1 size)
hp 51 (6d8+24)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+5 plus grab), bite +8 (1d6+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Statistics
Str 21, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 21 (25 vs. trip)
Feats Endurance, Run, Skill Focus (Survival)
Skills Perception +6, Survival +6, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +4 Swim
Ecology
Environment cold forests
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none
As for a more detailed guide... I'd suggest you make one for yourself. When working with D&D 3.5, I always had difficulty whenever I changed a monster's ability scores. So I started making a list whenever I came across something, especially if it was something I knew I usually forgot. It looked something like this:
Strength
- melee attacks (remember to add size modifier!)
- damage (melee, thrown weapons, composite bows)
- grapple
- Climb, Jump, Swim bonuses
- some special ability DCs
Dexterity
- initiative
- AC
- Reflex saves
- ranged attacks
- melee attacks with Weapon Finesse (remember to add size modifier)
- melee attacks for incorporeal creatures
- Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, Use Rope bonuses
- some special ability DCs
...etc.
I realize this wasn't an issue here (you didn't increase any of the monster's ability scores), but the same could be done for increasing hit dice:
Hit Dice
- does BAB go up?
- do any save bonuses go us?
- how many skill points (if any) does this add?
- do any feats get added?
etc.
Hope this helped! (And sorry for my long-windedness!)
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Taffer