Seerow
2015-04-09, 02:35 PM
So I mentioned in another thread that I am likely going to be running a Pathfinder Adventure Path for my group in the not too distant future, as part of prep for that I am trying to get a handle on various aspects of Pathfinder I never bothered with looking into much. In this case, I have noticed several monsters indicated as an advanced version of a different monster, but with no statblock attached, just the new CR of the advanced creature.
So I am trying to get an idea of how Pathfinder handles hit dice advancement. Looking on the SRD, it seems like instead of having a set rate of HD per CR, it's more complicated and based instead on tuning the monster to a specific HP total, and figuring out how many hit dice you need to get there. The table provided also includes listings for HP/Attack Bonuses, but I am not sure if those are the bonuses that you use in place of what hit dice would normally grant, if they're what's expected, or if they're granted as part of the advancement on top of the normal stat increases.
Right now my understanding is:
Step 1) Figure out the new CR, and how much HP is gained getting to that CR.
Step 2) Figure out how many hit dice you need to hit that new HP total, more or less.
Step 3) If Hit Dice Increase > 50%, increase size category. Recalculate hit dice based on new con score for increased size, adjust hit dice gain accordingly.
Step 4) Apply other benefits of hit dice and size (increased stats, attack bonus, damage, saves, feats, etc)
Step 5) Apply additional bonus to hit, natural armor, and damage based on the monster advancement chart (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/monster-advancement)
But I am not sure this is right. Biggest points of confusion are on advancing to hit a target HP (do you try to get as close as possible without going over? as close as possible with leeway either way? Go to exactly the right HP amount and fudge effective HD rolls to make it happen?), and whether the step 5 is actually a bonus applied in addition to everything else, or is just what is expected to be gained. I would say it's expected, but AC especially isn't likely to go up, and damage isn't likely to jump the expected numbers outside of a size change.
Also can I just take a minute to marvel how Pathfinder managed to take the already fairly convoluted hit dice advancement from 3.5 and somehow make it even harder to understand?
So I am trying to get an idea of how Pathfinder handles hit dice advancement. Looking on the SRD, it seems like instead of having a set rate of HD per CR, it's more complicated and based instead on tuning the monster to a specific HP total, and figuring out how many hit dice you need to get there. The table provided also includes listings for HP/Attack Bonuses, but I am not sure if those are the bonuses that you use in place of what hit dice would normally grant, if they're what's expected, or if they're granted as part of the advancement on top of the normal stat increases.
Right now my understanding is:
Step 1) Figure out the new CR, and how much HP is gained getting to that CR.
Step 2) Figure out how many hit dice you need to hit that new HP total, more or less.
Step 3) If Hit Dice Increase > 50%, increase size category. Recalculate hit dice based on new con score for increased size, adjust hit dice gain accordingly.
Step 4) Apply other benefits of hit dice and size (increased stats, attack bonus, damage, saves, feats, etc)
Step 5) Apply additional bonus to hit, natural armor, and damage based on the monster advancement chart (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/monster-advancement)
But I am not sure this is right. Biggest points of confusion are on advancing to hit a target HP (do you try to get as close as possible without going over? as close as possible with leeway either way? Go to exactly the right HP amount and fudge effective HD rolls to make it happen?), and whether the step 5 is actually a bonus applied in addition to everything else, or is just what is expected to be gained. I would say it's expected, but AC especially isn't likely to go up, and damage isn't likely to jump the expected numbers outside of a size change.
Also can I just take a minute to marvel how Pathfinder managed to take the already fairly convoluted hit dice advancement from 3.5 and somehow make it even harder to understand?