Kobold HP

DM with a vengence · Nov 24, 2002

I notice that a standard Kobold has 1/2 d8 hp. If I were to make a second level Kobold, would he have 2 1/2 d8? How about a Kobold Fighter, 1/2 d10 hp?

Opinions?

Dr_Rictus · Nov 24, 2002

No. Creatures with 1 or fewer hit dice use only their character levels, if they have 'em. A kobold fighter gets 1d10 (adjusted for Constitution) like anybody else.

Personally, I think it was a mistake of them not to just have the standard kobold be a 1st-level commoner. It's led to just this sort of confusion.

Stalker0 · Nov 24, 2002

Dr_Rictus said:
No. Creatures with 1 or fewer hit dice use only their character levels, if they have 'em. A kobold fighter gets 1d10 (adjusted for Constitution) like anybody else.

Personally, I think it was a mistake of them not to just have the standard kobold be a 1st-level commoner. It's led to just this sort of confusion.

But hey there kolbolds. They have to be special and get their way.

dcollins · Nov 24, 2002

Dr. Rictus is correct. A 1st level kobold Warrior has 1d8 Hit Dice, 2nd level has 2d8, etc. You can see this rule at the top of MM p. 14.

My opinion is that they should've avoided the fractional Hit Dice and scaled creatures like these with reduced Constitution instead. As it stands, elves are the only creatures in all the core rules with less than Con 10. More on the subject here: www.superdan.net/dndmisc/fractional_hit_dice.html

Gez · Nov 25, 2002

All 1-HD humanoid have 1 level of warrior (not fighter, not commoner, warrior). Humanoid with less than 1 HD (kobolds are the only example) or with more than 1 HD (like bugbears) have monstrous HD.

Non-classed 1HD humanoids would probably have 1/2 humanoid HD like the kobolds (so a nonclassed elf would get a 1/2 d8 HD).

Myself, I'd have liked if they gave us statistics for a first-level character in the race's favored class (1st-level sorcerer for the kobold, 1st-level rogue for the goblin, 1st-level figther for the hobgoblin, and 1st-level barbarian for the orc). And similarly dwarf fighter, elf wizard, gnome illu, halfling rogue, etc.

hong · Nov 25, 2002

Gez said:
All 1-HD humanoid have 1 level of warrior (not fighter, not commoner, warrior). Humanoid with less than 1 HD (kobolds are the only example) or with more than 1 HD (like bugbears) have monstrous HD.

Non-classed 1HD humanoids would probably have 1/2 humanoid HD like the kobolds (so a nonclassed elf would get a 1/2 d8 HD).

Ain't no such thing as an unclassed 1HD humanoid. Such creatures always have a character class, which for the majority of the population will be commoner. The stats given are for warriors because they're the most likely class to be encountered by adventuring PCs, not because they're the most prevalent in the population.

Gez · Nov 25, 2002

hong said:
Ain't no such thing as an unclassed 1HD humanoid. Such creatures always have a character class, which for the majority of the population will be commoner.

Except Kobolds.

Hey, actually, every humanoid race have lots of unclassed member. See the PH, Chapter 6: Description. It lists the minimal age for a first level character by race. For example, no human adventurer can be younger than 16 years (15 + a roll of '1').

A 70-year old elf is going to be unclassed.

hong · Nov 25, 2002

Gez said:
Except Kobolds.

Well, a kobold has 1/2 HD, not 1.

Hey, actually, every humanoid race have lots of unclassed member. See the PH, Chapter 6: Description. It lists the minimal age for a first level character by race. For example, no human adventurer can be younger than 16 years (15 + a roll of '1').

A 70-year old elf is going to be unclassed.

Actually, is there any indication that children exist in D&D-land?

0-hr · Nov 25, 2002

hong said:
Actually, is there any indication that children exist in D&D-land?

Searching the SRD, here is the only indication of children:

Characters typically use prestidigitations to impress common
folk, amuse children, and brighten dreary lives.

Of course, I notice that there is no "human" creature listed in the Monster Manual. Is this in one of the expansions, or is this race just a common House Rule?

Gez · Nov 25, 2002

Ki Ryn said:
Of course, I notice that there is no "human" creature listed in the Monster Manual. Is this in one of the expansions, or is this race just a common House Rule?

It's because humans are listed in the DMG. You have huge tables of human encounters with all PH PC classes, from level 1 to 20.

And Hong, about Kobolds and unclassed humanoids, I was just saying that if you had (for any reason) an unclassed humanoid that, in the MM, is presented as being a 1-st level warrior, it would probably have a 1/2 HD like Kobolds do. I was just extrapolating from the Kobolds a greater rule on how the D&Dverse was designer. And it's true, unless Kobolds are an exception.

(Not that they don't deserve to be an exception, mind you. Kobolds are great !)