Adding racial HD to a race that doesn't have any?

[Arturius]

Is there any means of a player obtaining racial HD if their race doesn't typically do so? I've gone through Savage Species and can't find anything specifically relating to my question. In particular, the character is an Aquatic Orc Dragonborn. From my understanding, dragonborn can qualify for dragon-specific feats, but only with a dragon's racial HD.

[Doctor Despair]

You're out of luck for a humanoid.

The sidebar on page 13 of Savage Species reads:


1 HIT DIE CREATURES
A creature with a single Hit Die, like all standard-race characters, gives up that Hit Die when it gains its first class level. This makes such a creature somewhat different from other monster characters. In general, it is most advantageous for a 1 Hit Die creature with a +0 level adjustment to abandon its monster Hit Die and take class levels. While this chapter has detailed rules for each step of character creation, this sidebar collects the important information for dealing with 1 Hit Die creatures.

When building a monster character from a 1 Hit Die creature, determine its ability scores and the racial modifiers to those scores normally. Upon taking a level in a class, the creature gains that class’s base save bonuses and base attack bonus and loses the base save bonuses and base attack bonus it had as a monster. The new monster character gains skill points only from class levels, losing any that it had as a result of its monster Hit Die, but any racial bonuses on skill checks that the base creature was entitled to are retained. Multiply the skill points for the character’s first class level by 4, just as you would for any standard-race character. A 1 Hit Die creature may choose one feat, just like any other 1st-level character, and it also gains any additional feats granted by its class level. It retains any racial bonus feats of the base creature.

On the other hand, you may wish to keep that one monster Hit Die. If you do so, the character gets the skill points shown on Table 2–1 or Table 2–5 (and in Appendix 2: Compiled Tables) regardless of its Intelligence score. But in that case, you do not multiply the skill points gained from the character’s first class level by 4, because it is not a 1st-level character. The character gets the same number of feats as the base creature

Paragraph 1 explains that standard-race characters (an undefined term that, to my reading, undoubtedly includes the base humanoid races) give up their first racial Hit Dice when they gain their first class level.

For the purposes of the sidebar, paragraph 3 defines class level in such a way that it excludes monster Hit Die.

Therefore, the process described here would indicate that a character with a single racial hit die trades that hit die for a class level when they would gain their first non-monster class level; in practice, a player could therefore begin play with a class level, having traded away their racial HD away in their backstory (as the final character is still ECL 1 and never truly advanced to ECL 2), or they could begin play with that racial HD, making the choice to keep it or trade it away when they would normally reach ECL 2. Of course, trading it away in normal gameplay would set you back by a level.

With that said, on page 290 the Monster Manual, just once, appears to contradict Savage Species with regard to whether or not racial hit die are considered class levels:


If a creature acquires a character class, it follows the rules for multiclass characters described on pages 59–60 of the Player’s Handbook. The creature’s Hit Dice equal the number of class levels it has plus its racial Hit Dice. For example, an ogre normally has 4 HD. If it picks up one level of barbarian, it becomes a creature of 5 Hit Dice: 4d8 HD for its ogre levels, plus 1d12 HD for its barbarian level. A creature’s “monster class” is always a favored class, and the creature never takes XP penalties for having it. Additional Hit Dice gained from taking levels in a character class never affect a creature’s size.

It refers to racial hit dice as a "monster class" for the purposes of declaring it a favored class. Arguably, this would make it impossible for the Savage Species rules to take effect, as a character that takes their racial hit die (as described on page 13 of the aforementioned text) would immediately gain a "monster class" level, and therefore have to choose, then and there, whether or not to give up their racial hit die, becoming a 0 hit die creature and, presumably, die. This would have the unintuitive effect of forcing all creatures to keep their racial hit die except for humanoids (to be discussed a little more in a moment).

However, earlier in that same paragraph, the authors of the Monster Manual refer to class levels and racial Hit Dice as distinct, separate statistics to be tracked. I would submit to the people of the Discord that "class level" and "monster class" must therefore be separate terms, thereby avoiding dysfunction with the Savage Species rules.

As alluded to earlier, the Monster Manual does recreate the Savage Species 1-HD rules in miniature when they describe rules governing this process for humanoids on page 290 and 295 respectively:


Humanoids and Class Levels: Creatures with 1 or less HD replace their monster levels with their character levels. For example, a goblin sorcerer loses its humanoid attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skills, and feats, and gains the attack bonus, save bonuses, skills, feats, and other class abilities of a 1st-level sorcerer.

Humanoid: A humanoid usually has two arms, two legs, and one head, or a humanlike torso, arms, and a head. Humanoids have few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but most can speak and usually have well-developed societies. They usually are Small or Medium. Every humanoid creature also has a subtype, such as elf, goblinoid, or reptilian.

Humanoids with 1 Hit Die exchange the features of their humanoid Hit Die for the class features of a PC or NPC class. Humanoids of this sort are presented as 1st-level warriors, which means that they have average combat ability and poor saving throws.

Humanoids with more than 1 Hit Die (for example, gnolls and bugbears) are the only humanoids who make use of the features of the humanoid type. Humanoids have average combat ability and hit points, but poor saving throws.

Initially, these may seem to run counter to the Savage Species rules; someone might be tempted to claim they may erase the Savage Species rules entirely. However, upon further examination, I don't believe there is any disagreement here with regard to the process described in the 3.0 book, and so both would still apply equally. Both the Monster Manual passages regarding the humanoid type and humanoids with 1 Hit Die declare that such humanoids replace their monster levels with their character levels, and that they exchange the features of their humanoid Hit Die for the features of a PC or NPC class. Neither of these declare that this process must happen at any particular time (before or after gaining their first class level), so a humanoid should still be able to follow the process described in Savage Species without any issue. The notable exception is that a humanoid does not have the choice to retain their hit die when they would reach ECL 2; instead, they must exchange it for their class level.

In summation, the process described jointly in Savage Species, the Player's Handbook, and the Monster Manual should resolve thusly:

1. A character selects their race and class at the same time. This can be a racial hit die, as per Savage Species, but as a character with 1 HD can always exchange their HD for a class level while remaining ECL 1, it may be a base class, as per the Player's Handbook.

2. If the character selected a racial hit die, they use their racial features as their class features for their "monster class," and begin life as normal.

3a. When they would otherwise gain their first class level, the character may choose, if non-humanoid, to gain that class level and proceed as normal.

3b. If the character is humanoid or chooses not to avail themselves of 3a., they must replace their HD with their first class level, exchanging the features of their HD for the class features of that first class level.

With that said, the premise of your question is flawed. Dragonborn don't have the dragon type; they have the dragonblooded subtype. They are eligible for feats that require that subtype. Dragons count as having that subtype, but there are other feats and things that specifically require being a dragon that only they can qualify for. Dragonborn do have a special quality with regard to qualifying for dragonblooded feats though:


Special: Ordinarily, only a 1st-level character can select certain feats requiring the dragonblood subtype. However, upon becoming a dragonborn, you can elect to replace one (and only one) of your existing feats with one of these feats. A character cannot have more than one of these feats. The feat to be replaced cannot be a prerequisite for any prestige class, ability, or other feat.

Therefore, you should feel free to take Dragon Wings, for example, but not Awaken Frightful Presence.

[InvisibleBison]

The barghest's (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/barghest.htm) feed ability allows it to gain hit dice by eating the corpses of humanoids that it killed. The ability very strongly implies that these are outsider hit dice, but doesn't explicitly say so. If you use the spell ability rip to temporarily gain access to the feed ability, you could argue that when you use it you gain hit dice according to your type, rather than outsider hit dice.

[Maat Mons]

Lycanthropy can give you hit dice.

[loky1109]

Use Beast of Bane.

[Beni-Kujaku]

Polymorph into a Least Dusk Giant‚ then eat a few children at an orphanage. Uncapped RHD‚ but those disappear after 2 days per level. Also frowned upon by most.

[InvisibleBison]

Polymorph into a Least Dusk Giant‚ then eat a few children at an orphanage. Uncapped RHD‚ but those disappear after 2 days per level. Also frowned upon by most.

The problem with this approach is that polymorph changes your type to that of the form you're assuming, so polymorphing into a dusk giant sets your type to giant and causes you to gain giant racial hit dice. Since the OP wants specifically dragon RHD, that won't work for them.

[Darrin]

Is there any means of a player obtaining racial HD if their race doesn't typically do so?


If you add the Multi-Headed template to a creature, it will add +2 HD per head. Since Multi-headed would be added before it gains any class levels, these +2 HD would be racial HD. On most medium-sized humanoids, this would add +2 HD and +2 LA.



I've gone through Savage Species and can't find anything specifically relating to my question. In particular, the character is an Aquatic Orc Dragonborn. From my understanding, dragonborn can qualify for dragon-specific feats, but only with a dragon's racial HD.

Dragonborn gives you the "Dragonblooded" subtype, which allows you to take various feats/PrCs/etc. that require the dragonblood subtype. It doesn't change your type, though, so you'd still be humanoid. To take dragon-only feats, you'd need some way to change your type to "dragon". The easier methods to do this usually involve taking the half-dragon template, which can be done several ways:

Savage Progression Half-Dragon Template Class Levels (https://web.archive.org/web/20080730033733/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030912a) (probably least annoying)
Draconic Racial Class levels (Races of the Dragon p. 71)
Ritual of Unlearning (Savage Species p. 149, kinda fiddly and annoying)
Essence of the Dragon spell (Races of the Dragon p. 112, temporary but could be made into a magic item or lead to certain body-swapping shenanigans)
Wish (Savage Species p. 150, expensive but quick/easy)

There are also various polymorph shenanigans you could go through to change your type to a creature with the dragon type.

[Doctor Despair]

If we're discussing accessible ways to get the dragon type, being a Kobold and taking Dragonwrought would do it as well

[ben-zayb]

The problem with this approach is that polymorph changes your type to that of the form you're assuming, so polymorphing into a dusk giant sets your type to giant and causes you to gain giant racial hit dice. Since the OP wants specifically dragon RHD, that won't work for them.

Half-Dragon Aquatic Orc Druid 5 / Master of Many Forms 2. Wild Shape into a Least Dusk Giant, while retaining your dragon type.