Increasing Hit Dice
As its Hit Dice increase, a creature’s attack bonuses and saving throw modifiers might improve. It gains more feats and skills, depending on its type, as shown on Table: Creature Improvement by Type.
Note that if a creature acquires a character class, it improves according to its class, not its type.
Table: Creature Improvement by Type
| Column 1 | Hit Die | Attack Bonus | Good Saving Throws | Skill Points* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberration | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Will | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Animal | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Fort, Ref (and sometimes Will) | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Construct | d10 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | — | 2 + Int mod per HD** |
| Dragon | d12 | HD (as fighter) | Fort, Ref, Will | 6 + Int mod per HD |
| Elemental | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Ref (Air, Fire), or Fort (Earth, Water) | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Fey | d6 | HD x1/2 (as wizard) | Ref, Will | 6 + Int mod per HD |
| Giant | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Fort | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Humanoid | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Varies (any one) | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Magical beast | d10 | HD (as fighter) | Fort, Ref | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Monstrous humanoid | d8 | HD (as fighter) | Ref, Will | 2 + Int mod per HD |
| Ooze | d10 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | — | 2 + Int mod per HD** |
| Outsider | d8 | HD (as fighter) | Fort, Ref, Will | 8 + Int mod per HD |
| Plant | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Fort | 2 + Int mod per HD** |
| Undead | d12 | HD x1/2 (as wizard) | Will | 4 + Int mod per HD** |
| Vermin | d8 | HD x3/4 (as cleric) | Fort | 2 + Int mod per HD** |
| All types have a number of feats equal to 1 + 1 per 3 Hit Dice. | ||||
| * As long as a creature has an Intelligence of at least 1, it gains a minimum of 1 skill point per Hit Die. | ||||
| ** Creatures with an Intelligence score of “—” gain no skill points or feats. |
SIZE INCREASES
A creature may become larger when its Hit Dice are increased (the new size is noted parenthetically in the monster’s Advancement entry).
A size increase affects any special ability the creature has that is affected by size. Increased size also affects a creature’s ability scores, AC, attack bonuses, and damage values as indicated on the tables below.
Table: Changes to Statistics by Size
| Old Size* | New Size | Str | Dex | Con | Natural Armor | AC/ Attack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine | Diminutive | Same | –2 | Same | Same | –4 |
| Diminutive | Tiny | +2 | –2 | Same | Same | –2 |
| Tiny | Small | +4 | –2 | Same | Same | –1 |
| Small | Medium | +4 | –2 | +2 | Same | –1 |
| Medium | Large | +8 | –2 | +4 | +2 | –1 |
| Large | Huge | +8 | –2 | +4 | +3 | –1 |
| Huge | Gargantuan | +8 | Same | +4 | +4 | –2 |
| Gargantuan | Colossal | +8 | Same | +4 | +5 | –4 |
| *Repeat the adjustment if the creature moves up more than one size. |
Table: Increased Damage By Size
| Old Damage (Each)* | New Damage |
|---|---|
| 1d2 | 1d3 |
| 1d3 | 1d4 |
| 1d4 | 1d6 |
| 1d6 | 1d8 |
| 1d8 | 2d6 |
| 1d10 | 2d8 |
| 2d6 | 3d6 |
| 2d8 | 3d8 |
| * Repeat the adjustment if the creature moves up more than one size category. |