RHD and 1st Level Only Feats

[RaiKirah]

I'm having some conceptual difficulties with how Racial Hit Dice interact with class levels. Specifically how they interact with 1st level only feats. As I read it, the first RHD counts as a first 'level' and thus you could take a first level only feats. Thus if you could somehow give a human RHD they could take Dreadful Wrath. Similarly a dragonblooded race with RHD could take Dragon Tail. However, it seems like a character with RHD could never take Precocious Apprentice, since they don't meet the Spellcasting requirement at 'level' one (leaving aside a flaw to pick up Magical Training) regardless of what their first real class level is. Is this correct? Thanks!

[GrayDeath]

I dont know the exact RAW mechanics, but given most RHD have predecided feats built in (As they are not aquired but normally part of a Monster package, excluding Savage SPecies stuff obviously), we always did it like this:

"1st level only Feats can be taken when the first Class Level is taken, whenever that may be, but ONLY then."

Saves you a whole lot of trouble imo. ^^

[Falontani]

I would as a dm rule that if your starting with all your rhd and a class level then you could take it with your first RHD feat.

However by RAW you are correct in assuming you can't take the feat.

[Nifft]

However by RAW you are correct in assuming you can't take the feat.

And thank goodness for that.

We don't want those powerful races to become even more powerful!

[RaiKirah]

Thank you both for the insight and ideas! That's about what I thought would be the case.

[AnimeTheCat]

Just to take a snippit from the Bugbear entry in Monster Manual I:

Racial Hit Dice: A Bugbear begins with three levels of humanoid, which provide 3d8 Hit Dice, Base Attack Bonus of +2, and base saving throws bonus of Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +1.
Racial Skills: A bugbear’s humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 6 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Climb, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, and Spot.
Racial Feats: A bugbear's humanoid levels give it two feats

From this entry, you select your "First level only" feats at the time you receive your first Racial Hit Die, and you later select your 3rd level feat when you receive your 3rd racial hit die. In the entry it doesn't specify the feat you take, you get to select it.

To further expand, a bugbear will take it's first three levels in "humanoid" granting him/her the above. Then, he/she would take levels of whatever class after that. The class levels would not get the x4 skill point multiplier, the character is taking ther fourth level. Racial hit die are essentially levels in a race as opposed to levels in a class, and they stack for determining character level. Feats and ability score increases are determined by your character level, not by class levels. A bugbear Figher 1 is a 4th level character and would have 3 feats (1st and 3rd levels and one fighter bonus feat) and +1 to an ability score. The easiest way to arrive at your character level is to add racial hit dice to class levels.

For your specific example of a human taking dreadful wrath, you can already to that. In PGtF, you have to be either a Rashemi Human, Kua-Toa, or on of several planetouched variants. No need to seek racial hit dice to take that. For Dragon Tail, you could have a Fireblood Dwarf (Dragon Magic pg 7) commoner 1 with the feat dragon tail. It would be the only feat that you would have, but there it would be. Again, no need to get racial hit dice just to take the feat.

EDIT:
I accidently hit submit instead of preview. You and @Falontani are right on the last part though. Without being able to cast spells, you can't take precocious apprentice with your first level feat if you have 2 or more racial hit dice.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

If you're playing a race with RHD, you can always hit yourself with enough negative levels to knock you down to 1 HD, let them become permanent, retrain your first level to whatever will let you take that 1st level only feat, then pay for a greater restoration. Use those XP you just got to take class levels instead of RHD.

[death390]

monster characters basically have a adjustment to their ECL, which is Hit Die -1 (min: 0) + LA. they can take ANY feat they qualify for at their first class level, including feats that have the pre-requisite of 1st level only. because 1st level only is 1st class level only.

this means that Pixie for example has 1 RHD -1 + 4LA "cost" to play. they are ECL 4 BEFORE they get their first class level, putting them at ECL 5 for class level 1. at class level 1 (ECL5) they could take precocious apprentice as an arcane caster if they were to take a arcane caster level (wizard, sorc, beguiler, ect).

in order to get to level 2 of thier class they have to reach 5000 experience due to ECL 5.