Rules on Racial Hit Dice.

[magic9mushroom]

If you only have 1 RHD (like elves, dwarves, anthropomorphic bats etc.) do you always lose it, or is it specific to humanoids and monstrous humanoids?

[Devils_Advocate]

It's not dependent on creature type. Pixie (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/sprite.htm#pixie) characters lose their one hit die of Fey, for example. Lycanthropes are a special exception.

Elves and dwarves don't even have racial hit dice. Personally, I suspect that they would have done better not to have racial hit dice for humanoids ever. Most of the Humanoid races that have them -- gnolls, lizardfolk, troglodytes, etc. -- ought to be Monstrous Humanoids anyway.

[Irreverent Fool]

Generally, yes. If a creature has 1 racial hit die and gains a class level, its hit die is replaced with the HD of the class. This means it loses all abilities of the racial hit die and instead gains those granted by the class.


Hit Dice and Class Levels (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm)

Creatures with 1 or less HD replace their monster levels with their character levels. The monster loses the attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skills, and feats granted by its 1 monster HD and gains the attack bonus, save bonuses, skills, feats, and other class abilities of a 1st-level character of the appropriate class.

As for lycanthropes, I don't believe there is any special exception involved. A lycanthrope gains Animal Hit Dice which are added to whatever Hit Dice it had before.

obnoxious
sig

[Yuki Akuma]

Elves and dwarves don't even have racial hit dice.

Yes they do. They have one.

The fact that every humanoid has class levels and therefore replaces their natural hit dice is neither here nor there. What do you think children have before they develop class levels? Even a single level of Commoner implies some training and learning.

[Sliver]

Yes they do. They have one.

The fact that every humanoid has class levels and therefore replaces their natural hit dice is neither here nor there. What do you think children have before they develop class levels? Even a single level of Commoner implies some training and learning.

I thought humanoid HD are better then commoner's.. 8d HD, 3/4BAB, good reflex, all simple weapon proficiency and any armor they typically wear.. Sounds like commoners train to suck..

[SaintRidley]

I thought humanoid HD are better then commoner's.. 8d HD, 3/4BAB, good reflex, all simple weapon proficiency and any armor they typically wear.. Sounds like commoners train to suck..

You just train away your instincts.

[Yuki Akuma]

I thought humanoid HD are better then commoner's.. 8d HD, 3/4BAB, good reflex, all simple weapon proficiency and any armor they typically wear.. Sounds like commoners train to suck..

You mean you never train to inhibit your natural instincts?

A human with humanoid HD would be one of those feral children who was kept locked in a cage their whole life.

[Sliver]

You mean you never train to inhibit your natural instincts?

A human with humanoid HD would be one of those feral children who was kept locked in a cage their whole life.

But you said "What do you think children have before they develop class levels?" nothing about feral.. Or becoming weaker as the teenager becomes officially adult at the age of 15...

[Devils_Advocate]

As for lycanthropes, I don't believe there is any special exception involved. A lycanthrope gains Animal Hit Dice which are added to whatever Hit Dice it had before.
Well, that's how the template works, but natural lycanthropes have those HD as part of their race. And yet they're still treated as having multiclassed into the Animal type, even if they have no other RHD, despite the fact that racial hit dice normally come first. So it's weird.


What do you think children have before they develop class levels?
So far as I know, children just aren't statted out in d20.

The idea that wild humans are more capable than civilized peasants may kind of work as a justification for assigning a die of Humanoid to a human who grew up in the wild. But not to a peasant child. Certainly not if she's only, say, 4 years old. You need to work out rules for level 0 characters if you want to model demihumans that early in their development.

[Irreverent Fool]

I think children are like most 'weaker' creatures and have fractional hit dice.

obnoxious
sig

[Yuki Akuma]

Fractional hit dice work. Someone who grows up totally feral and reaches adulthood would have a single humanoid racial hit die - if he didn't manage to become a Barbarian - but a child would have fractional hit dice. 0.25d8, for example.

That's still a "single hit die" for the purposes of gaining class levels - a ten year old who took a level in Warblade somehow would still replace his quarter of a humanoid hit die.

[magic9mushroom]

Okay.

So a Hatchling Phaerimm character has no RHD to worry about. :smallamused:

(We need an evil smiley.)

[faceroll]

Yes they do. They have one.

The fact that every humanoid has class levels and therefore replaces their natural hit dice is neither here nor there. What do you think children have before they develop class levels? Even a single level of Commoner implies some training and learning.

So I am born with the knowledge of tool use and then slowly unlearn my learning? How wonderfully... platonic.


Okay.

So a Hatchling Phaerimm character has no RHD to worry about. :smallamused:

(We need an evil smiley.)

I was on the pot today wondering the exact same thing.

[Siosilvar]

Yes they do. They have one.

The fact that every humanoid has class levels and therefore replaces their natural hit dice is neither here nor there. What do you think children have before they develop class levels? Even a single level of Commoner implies some training and learning.


Most elves encountered outside their homes are warriors; the information presented here is for one of 1st level.

Similar lines appear for the other humanoid races.

[magic9mushroom]

Similar lines appear for the other humanoid races.

Yes, because it's replaced its 1 Hit Dice.

[Yuki Akuma]

Similar lines appear for the other humanoid races.

...So?

I fail to see any point here whatsoever. When did I ever even insinuate that an average humanoid would not/i] have replaced their single racial hit die with a class level? It's [i]automatic.