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unre9istered
2010-06-22, 02:30 PM
I was thinking about the fact that there are no races with a single racial HD, with or without LA. I'm not sure why they don't exist. Are there any races for which a single racial HD would make more sense (balance wise) than the LA they currently have?
I think you'd be better off with this than LA due to the hp, skills and such except for the LA buyoff option. Perhaps a racial HD retraining option should be invented to allow you to "buy off" your racial HD in a similar fashion.

Yuki Akuma
2010-06-22, 02:32 PM
Races with a single racial HD replace it with a single class level.

Humans, dwarves, halflings, elves, et al are all humanoids with one (1) racial hit die.

This also applies to beings such as pixies, who replace their racial hit die with a class level if they take class levels.

Coidzor
2010-06-22, 02:39 PM
Yup. Impossible to have only one racial hit die on a character with PC levels unless one has had some interesting level drain shenanigans going on. Possibly impossible even then.

It's either RHD = 1, gets replaced by class level 1 and so is Class Levels + 0 RHD or is RHD = >1, gets added to class levels.

Why the last RHD isn't always replaced by a class level *shrug*

Lord Vukodlak
2010-06-22, 03:27 PM
The only exception I'm aware of is the lycanthrope template, A Wererat has only 1 animal hit die but its not converted to a class level.

sofawall
2010-06-22, 03:31 PM
That's because it is a template, not a base race. I cannot think of a way to put the template on a creature in such a way that the animal HD would be its only HD.

Also, Lycanthropy is one of the most unique templates in the game in that it adds HD.

KillianHawkeye
2010-06-22, 04:00 PM
Also, Lycanthropy is one of the most unique templates in the game in that it adds HD.

And it really only does so because keeping track of a lycanthrope's Hit Points under the 3.0 version was confusing as heck.

Zovc
2010-06-22, 04:06 PM
Yup. Impossible to have only one racial hit die on a character with PC levels unless one has had some interesting level drain shenanigans going on. Possibly impossible even then.

It's either RHD = 1, gets replaced by class level 1 and so is Class Levels + 0 RHD or is RHD = >1, gets added to class levels.

Why the last RHD isn't always replaced by a class level *shrug*

Well, it could be that the last Racial Hit Die is just as transparent then? Maybe their last RHD IS replaced just like Human's last RHD is replaced? (That is, without mention.)

Flickerdart
2010-06-22, 04:09 PM
There's a clause that lycanthrope HD can't be a creature's only HD, so that doesn't work.

DragoonWraith
2010-06-22, 04:12 PM
I'm pretty sure the 1 RHD rule only applies to Monstrous Humanoids and Humanoids, not to all creature types. Obnoxiously.

Yuki Akuma
2010-06-22, 04:27 PM
I'm pretty sure the 1 RHD rule only applies to Monstrous Humanoids and Humanoids, not to all creature types. Obnoxiously.

Pretty sure it also applies to Fey.

PId6
2010-06-22, 04:51 PM
I'm pretty sure the 1 RHD rule only applies to Monstrous Humanoids and Humanoids, not to all creature types. Obnoxiously.

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.
Source (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm#hitDiceAndClassLevels)

Nope; no mention of type restrictions there.

unre9istered
2010-06-22, 06:48 PM
So there are rules reasons why there aren't any 1 RHD creatures. I didn't know that.

But are there any creatures with LA +1 that would be more balanced keeping their 1 RHD and losing their LA instead?

PId6
2010-06-22, 07:32 PM
But are there any creatures with LA +1 that would be more balanced keeping their 1 RHD and losing their LA instead?
How about most of them? Unless LA buyoff is allowed, most LA creatures aren't worth the lost level(s), so replacing it with some of the benefits of leveling would be helpful. If buyoff is allowed though, LA +1 is better than 1 RHD since you can't buyoff RHD.