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Thrawn183
2007-01-06, 01:36 AM
Quite a few templates add spell-like or psionic-like abilities to a creature. If a humanoid were to have such a template, or ex-humanoid if the template changes their type to outsider or something, what happens when that creature gains class HD? Many of these abilities awarded are based upon the number of HD the creature possesses, does the creature gain more spell-like abilities?

IE: if a Human fighter that had the phrenic template ever got to high enough levels to get 20 class HD, would it get ultrablast and fission or would it only get the abilities that go along with having 1 HD?

Tokiko Mima
2007-01-06, 02:44 AM
Quite a few templates add spell-like or psionic-like abilities to a creature. If a humanoid were to have such a template, or ex-humanoid if the template changes their type to outsider or something, what happens when that creature gains class HD? Many of these abilities awarded are based upon the number of HD the creature possesses, does the creature gain more spell-like abilities?

IE: if a Human fighter that had the phrenic template ever got to high enough levels to get 20 class HD, would it get ultrablast and fission or would it only get the abilities that go along with having 1 HD?

Answer found here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm#hitDice


Hit Dice
The creature’s Hit Dice equal the number of class levels it has plus its racial Hit Dice. Additional Hit Dice gained from taking levels in a character class never affect a creature’s size like additional racial Hit Dice do.

Feat Acquisition and Ability Score Increases
A monster’s total Hit Dice, not its ECL, govern its acquisition of feats and ability score increases.


So you add racial hit die to class levels to get the number of Hit Die powering your racial abilities. Humans essentially get 0 HD, so a human fighter with the phrenic template would get ultrablast at level 19, which because of LA would be when most party members would be 21.

Lord Lorac Silvanos
2007-01-06, 05:16 AM
I am not familiar with the Phrenic Template, but any ability that uses Racial HD as its base, such as Breath Weapons for instance, is only based on monster/racial HD, NOT class levels, unless noted otherwise in the creature's/ability's description text


When a special ability allows a saving throw, the kind of save and the save DC is noted in the descriptive text. Most saving throws against special abilities have DCs calculated as follows: 10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier.

And the MM page 6.


Do creatures with special attacks increase the DC for those attacks when they gain class levels? Are they calculated based on the creature’s new ECL or its new CR?
Unless specifically noted in a monster description, the DC of a creature’s innate special attacks depends only on its racial HD, and not from HD gained from class levels. A horned devil who gained levels of fighter, for instance, would not use its fighter HD to calculate the DC of its fear aura or stun supernatural special attacks. A creature’s ECL or CR has no effect whatsoever on the save DCs for its special attacks or any other ability.
However, if the creature’s ability scores change—such as from the increase at every 4-HD interval—that might well affect the DCs of its special attacks. If that horned devil, for instance, improved its Strength from 31 to 32 when it gained its first class level (giving it 16 HD total), its stun save DC would improve by 1. Each special attack lists the ability score upon which it is based (such as Strength for the horned devil’s stun).

Tokiko Mima
2007-01-06, 10:56 AM
He asked about abilities based on number of Hit Die. Phrenic template (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/phrenicCreature.htm) gains abilities from having more Hit Dice, and in this case Hit Dice = racial Hit Dice + class levels.

The quotes you pulled out are all regarding Save DC vs. Hit Dice. By comparison spell-casters don't get better DC just by raising levels/HD either, they get them from casting better spells or raising attributes.