HYPERBOREA / Classy monsters

**Posted by Handy Haversack** 5/24/2014 9:08 am

When do you all think HD should change for monsters that have classes? E.g., ape-men from Orcist can operate in the main classes. At what level should their HD start to go up. I also have the scorpioids of Xin, and basically all the females are either monk, witch, or illusionist. They also have a base 5 HD. I am kind of leaning toward letting them fight and cast at HD or class FA/CA, whichever is higher. Or does that seem too overpowered?

**Posted by Ghul** 5/24/2014 9:29 am

I think the HD should change when the class level exceeds the natural HD level. I would do this, too: They fight at HD or F (whichever is higher) and cast at CA straight up. So a HD 5 montster with CA 2 class ability will fight as HD 5 monster, cast at CA 2.

**Posted by Blackadder23** 5/24/2014 9:39 am

If you use the snake-men in the rules as a model, they gain 1 HD for every level beyond first. A 1st level snake-man necromancer has the standard 2+2 HD, while a 10th level one has 11+2. I suppose other monsters with classes would work the same way. So a 1st level scorpioid witch would have 5 HD and a 5th level one would have 9. I personally would give a monster with a class all the benefits of their class at level (FA, CA, special abilities, etc.) and I would use their class level in place of any other metric. Anyway, monsters with classes still use the monster attack table, right? If so, the HD FA will always be the same as, or better than, the class FA.

EDIT: What Jeff said.

Last edited by Blackadder23 (5/24/2014 9:41 am)

**Posted by Yora** 5/24/2014 9:55 am

Ghul wrote:
I think the HD should change when the class level exceeds the natural HD level. I would do this, too: They fight at HD or F (whichever is higher) and cast at CA straight up. So a HD 5 montster with CA 2 class ability will fight as HD 5 monster, cast at CA 2.

That's how I also do it.
It was a major annoyance in 3rd ed. D&D that you always had to add HD if you wanted to have monstrous spellcasters.

**Posted by Ghul** 5/24/2014 10:34 am

Blackadder23 wrote:
EDIT: What Jeff said.

Doesn't have to be that way, just because I wrote the game. There are bound to be countless gray areas in this open concept form (as opposed to the closed concept form of video games).