Do negative levels affect hit die for the purposes of spells and spell like abilities?
Such as...
Level 10 fighter with 8 negative levels gets hit by cloudkill. No save and just dead? (Going by cloudkills ruling of creatures underneath three (or is it four hit dice just popping)).
My apologies if this has been answered before, did some searching but after page three I gave up.
negative levels don't appear to reduce your effective HD except for
The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed.
The -8 to your save might make it largely irrelevant.
As dragonhunterq quoted, he's treated as a lower level. Since he gets his hit dice from his class, he has less hit dice and gets the 3 or fewer HD result.
I think that's the opposite of what dragonhunterq said.
nope you're total hit die is the same. I feel the line "The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed. " is only for abilities you do. not your hit-die count.
But isn't hit die a level dependent variable for creatures with class levels?
From the CRB--
Hit Dice (HD):Hit Dice represent a creature's general level of power and skill. As a creature gains levels, it gains additional Hit Dice. Monsters, on the other hand, gain racial Hit Dice, which represent the monster's general prowess and ability. Hit Dice are represented by the number the creature possesses followed by a type of die, such as “3d8.” This value is used to determine a creature's total hit points. In this example, the creature has 3 Hit Dice. When rolling for this creature's hit points, you would roll a d8 three times and add the results together, along with other modifiers.
I feel it's saying like spell casting where duration is caster level. Or smite where it's added ever so many levels. Or Rangers favored enemy. Things like that. I feel your hit die isn't a variable amount. But I very well could be wrong. HD might be effected.
I suppose the issue is for spells like sleep and color spray. Do negative levels reduce your HD for these spells?
Reading the rules, it appears that negative levels don't affect your hit dice, since they have a separate rule in regards to how much your maximum health is reduced (5 per negative level, regardless of HD).
Though it does appear negative levels stack like non-lethal damage. If your negative levels equal or exceed your HD, you die, but before that, you're as alive as ever.