Adding HD

[Khazidhea]

alright im kinda new to this so any help would be appreciated

when adding HD to a monster in 3.5 what do they get? And how do you know at which HD they get it

oh and im trying to advance a Dire Wolf if that makes a difference

 

[Jack Simth]

Hit Dice are by type - so Animal hit dice, in the case of the Dire Wolf. You can get the specifics on what each hit die does Here, although do note that Dire animals have all good saves, unlike most animals.

 

[freyar]

Hopefully Jack Smith's reply will help, but it might not be hard for someone to post the advanced version if you tell us how many HD you want.

 

[Khazidhea]

alright i got it thanks for your help

 

[risner]

alright im kinda new to this so any help would be appreciated

when adding HD to a monster in 3.5 what do they get? And how do you know at which HD they get it

oh and im trying to advance a Dire Wolf if that makes a difference

There are a LOT of rules on this. Look in page 300+ of Monster Manual.

In short, here are some pointers:
1) You can only add a certain number of HD. Usually specified in the monster description under advancement.

2) Tiny can't have more than 6 HD. There is a chart showing what the limits are per size.

3) You are limited in adding class levels and HD in a number of ways. Many of them effect CR in a variety of ways.

 

[frankthedm]

In short, here are some pointers:
1) You can only add a certain number of HD. Usually specified in the monster description under advancement.

2) Tiny can't have more than 6 HD. There is a chart showing what the limits are per size.

Those are guidelines. They can have as many HD as the DM want to put on them. Once the DM does that however

• The DM has to play the CR by ear.
• Tiny critters tougher than an ogre can start to feel ludicrous.
• The party will feel shamed and insulted if the are defeated by tiny foes.

Big things
When advancing monsters, HD increased can make some special abilities unstoppable by making their save DCs astronomical.

Classed NPCs, even monstrous ones, in player character classes have Custom selected Gear based on a chart in the DMG. Currently IIRC the last two monster manuals MMIV & MMV recommend using the CR to determine what level of Gear a classed monster has.

Non classed, even advanced Monsters have Treasure, whether random or picked by you it is not intended to be custom, cherry picked gear. A smart monster can and should make use of what it has, but when placing the treasure keep in mind this loot, is not meant to “kit out” the foe.

“Rules” for CR are all really guidelines. Play testing them against copies of your own player characters are really the best way to see what CR they really are for your group.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/77583-franks-advanced-monsters.html

 

[Vahktang]

And don't forget to add appropriate feats and the appropriate HD.

 

[frankthedm]

Here is the 9 hit die dire wolf. The Level up point from 8 HD went to CON. the Feat gained at 9th HD went to Improved natural attack (bite) so it has a real impressive set of fangs. I went with just core feats since i don't know which one you allow, but I do tend to favor improved toughness since in the D&D world, surviving hits seems to matter more than not being surprised.

[sblock=9 HD dire wolf]
Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 9d8+36 (76hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: 6/17
Attack: Bite +13 melee (2d6+10)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +7
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 15, Con 18^(8th), Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +3, Listen +7, Move Silently +4, Spot +7, Survival +2*
Feats: Alertness, Run, Improved natural attack (bite)^(9th), TrackB, Weapon Focus (bite)
Challenge Rating: 4[/sblock] [sblock=12 HD dire wolf]
Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp)
Initiative: 2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: 9/20
Attack: Bite +16 melee (2d6+12, 19-20 crit)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +9
Abilities: Str 26^(12th), Dex 15, Con 18^(8th), Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +7, Move Silently +5, Spot +7, Survival +2*
Feats: Alertness, Run, Improved critical (bite)^(12th), Improved natural attack (bite)^(9th), TrackB, Weapon Focus (bite)
Challenge Rating: 5[/sblock] Since 3.5 dire wolves eat up 4 squares on the battlemap. investing their feats into spring attack lets you attack with more wolves per target.
[sblock=15 HD dire wolf Harrier] Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 15d8+60 (127 hp)
Initiative: 3
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: 11/22
Attack: Bite +17 melee (2d6+12)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +10
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +7, Move Silently +5, Spot +7, Survival +5*
Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Improved natural attack (bite), Mobility, Run, Spring attack TrackB
Challenge Rating: 6 [/sblock] [sblock=18 HD dire wolf Harrier Alpha] Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 18d8+90 (171 hp)
Initiative: 2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: 13/25
Attack: Bite +20 melee (2d6+12 and free trip)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip (+12)
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +14
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +11, Move Silently +5, Spot +7, Survival +5*
Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Improved natural attack (bite), Iron will, Mobility, Run, Spring attack, TrackB
Challenge Rating: 7
[/sblock]

 

[dingle]

If you want to experiment adding to monsters hit dice you can do so in the monster generator at http://www.dinglesgames.com/ (it's free to use and on-line). It will work out the saves, skills, attacks and damage for you and allow you to add in any extra feats it gains. (don't select a class on the first screen just change the Racial hit dice field on the second screen and press the recalculate button).

 

[allenw]

If you want to experiment adding to monsters hit dice you can do so in the monster generator at http://www.dinglesgames.com/ (it's free to use and on-line). It will work out the saves, skills, attacks and damage for you and allow you to add in any extra feats it gains. (don't select a class on the first screen just change the Racial hit dice field on the second screen and press the recalculate button).

Interesting , thanks. Note that it doesn't seem to increase the save DCs of Su abilities (or at least it didn't when I boosted a Succubus to 12 HD).