Monster playable race

[ratet]

I have no idea if this is the right place for this (new here) but I was wondering if someone can let me know how to convert monsters into playable races. For 3.5 DnD. I am having a heck of a time. It's really confusing me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[freyar]

You may also want to ask in the D&D Legacy Forum closer to the top of the forum listing.

But here's my understanding. Given a 3.5e monster, there's not really much you have to do in the way of "conversion." But the "effective level" of the monster character isn't equal to the HD anymore. It's HD plus the Level Adjustment listed in the monster's statblock. So if you have a monster with 3HD and a +2 level adjustment, it's effectively a 5th level character even before taking any classes! The book Savage Species talks about making "monster classes" to divide up monster abilities into levels (so you can start at 1st level), but someone else will have to help with that.

 

[ratet]

Hmmm. And is the level adjustment the CR? I was told so by a friend of mine. Thanks for the help.

 

[Cleon]

Hmmm. And is the level adjustment the CR? I was told so by a friend of mine. Thanks for the help.

No, the Level Adjustment isn't the Challenge Rating.

It's mostly to account for a monster's racial bonuses and special abilities. A CR X creature with useful at-will powers or a high ability score in a class-relevant ability makes for a much more potent character than one without.

For example, a succubus has a very high Charisma and potent SLAs, so would make a very effective sorcerer.

 

[ratet]

Ok. And what would a CR1 be?

 

[Cleon]

Ok. And what would a CR1 be?

It's more a question of what's appropriate for a given Level Adjustment.

 

[freyar]

Ok. And what would a CR1 be?

It's more a question of what's appropriate for a give Level Adjustment.

Like Cleon says, CR and LA are two conceptually different things. CR tells you how tough it would be if you are fighting it once. LA tells you something about how strong it will be if you make a PC out of it.

 

[Cleon]

Like Cleon says, CR and LA are two conceptually different things. CR tells you how tough it would be if you are fighting it once. LA tells you something about how strong it will be if you make a PC out of it.

Yes, and unfortunately it isn't a particularly good measure of a monster's strength as a PC - but that's another issue.

 

[ratet]

Hmmm. Ok so I was wrong. What if it doesn't have a LA listed? Is there anyway I could figure it ok? And here is the race by the way.

Thallid

Medium Plant
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft
AC: 16 (+6 Natural)
Attacks: 1 Slam +2 melee
Damage: Slam 1d6+1
Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft / 5 ft
Special Qualities: Saproling Factory, Natural Appearance
Saves: Fort +5, Refl +0, Will +1
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Hide +4*, Spot +2, Listen +2
Feats: None
Climate/Terrain: Forests and Valleys
Organization: Solitary, Clutch (2-5), Army (10-100)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: ½ Normal
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 3-4 HD (Medium-size)

Thallids are strange magically-created fungal plant life created by arcane elven farmers in ages past. The thallids rose up and destroyed their creators and to this day control
the forest they were cloned in.

Thallids come in many forms, some more fungal appearing than others, some even looking like bipedal flowering plants. Most are deep green in colour and they are all
photosynthetic unlike most naturally-occurring fungi. They are usually about 5 feet tall and thick and weigh about 225 pounds. They are ravenous eaters, never seeming to get full, and a Thallid not going about a task is often found on “guard duty”, soaking up sunlight and earthbound nutrients.

COMBAT

Thallids will generally rush offending creatures in a swarming group accompanied by hordes of Saprolings. They are not especially effective combatants on their own and can generally be easily dispatched if they are not in a group.

Saproling Factory: A well-fed Thallid continuously buds and sprouts Saprolings. Under optimal conditions they bud a Saproling every day. Under typical conditions they will have 3d4 Saprolings in their immediate area for every Thallid encountered. Many of these Saprolings will be crawling over and about the Thallids themselves. Under dryer or harsher conditions 1d4 or 2d4 Saprolings will be encountered per Thallid. See the Saproling entry for more information.

Natural Appearance: Thallids gain a +4 racial bonus to Hide rolls in naturally wooded environments.

And the saprolings that a go with it.

Saproling

Small Plant
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft
AC: 13 (+1 Size, +2 Natural)
Attacks: 1 Slam +2 melee
Damage: Slam 1d3+1
Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft / 5 ft
Special Qualities: Natural Appearance
Saves: Fort +3, Refl +0, Will -3
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 4, Wis 4, Cha 4
Skills: Hide +2*
Feats: None
Climate/Terrain: Forests and Valleys
Organization: Solitary, Clutch (10-40), Army (100-1000)
Challenge Rating: 1/6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: None

Saprolings are small, motile fungal creatures budded off from many Thallids. They are generally unnoticed until they join in a rush of Thallids against intruders.

COMBAT

Generally, Saprolings are inoffensive unless motivated into combat by their accompanying Thallids. Then they rush forward and swarm over their enemies.

Natural Appearance: Saprolings gain a +4 racial bonus to Hide rolls in naturally wooded environments.

And this was from the homebrew section of this site. Not mine.

 

[Cleon]

Hmmm. Ok so I was wrong. What if it doesn't have a LA listed? Is there anyway I could figure it ok? And here is the race by the way.

If it doesn't have a LA listed, that usually means it's not intended to be used as a Player Character race.

i.e. it has "Level Adjustment: —" but they just didn't bother to list it, like the Animals and Vermin in the Monster Manual.