Hm...anyway...made it through the Bestiary section last night...and there's something I noticed there that doesn't add up for me. Maybe someone here can help me out.
As an example...the Aurak has 8 HD, and has a Level Adjustment of +4. Now to me...it seems an Aurak should then have a CR of 12...but it doens't, it has is a CR 9.
The Kapak on the other hand (or maybe it was the bozak) has 2 HD and a Level Adjustment of +2...but it does have a CR 4.
Then you've got the baaz that has 2 HD, LA +1, and CR 2.
I'm not seeing a pattern here. And to top it off...my DMG has gone AWOL. Not that it matters...cause I think this stuff has changed for 3.5e anyway.
Originally posted by Brimstone
As an example...the Aurak has 8 HD, and has a Level Adjustment of +4. Now to me...it seems an Aurak should then have a CR of 12...but it doens't, it has is a CR 9.
CR has nothing to do with level adjustment. Hit dice play a role in determining the level of threat, but CR is designed to represent how tough the monster is in a single fight, LA is the offset for balancing player characters in a campaign. It's a nice coincidence that the CR of an NPC is usually their level/HD, but that's not the case for monsters much of the time.
The Kapak on the other hand (or maybe it was the bozak) has 2 HD and a Level Adjustment of +2...but it does have a CR 4.
Then you've got the baaz that has 2 HD, LA +1, and CR 2.
The kapak has 2 HD and a LA of +2 which makes it an ECL of +4, so that the effective level for party balance, XP, and equipment would be number of levels +4. A 4th-level kapak ranger has an effective level of 8. However, it's base CR is only 2, so a 4th-level kapak ranger's CR is 6.
The baaz similarly has an ECL of +3 (HD plus LA) so that a 4th-level baaz rogue has an effective level of 7. It's CR, though, is 5.
Remember, for PCs you need to worry about level adjustment and ECL, as CR doesn't come into it. For NPCs, just add the character levels to the CR and determine the CR from that.
Cheers,
Cam
Like the following example.
A PC male Aurak Sor1 would have an ECL of 13 (8 HD + 4 LA + 1 Lvl)?
But...the same Aurak as a monster (or NPC) would have an CR of 10?
Oi...I guess what's confusing is that I thought at one time I read (or understood) that a character's ECL is equal to the CR of said character (if the PC's would happen to attack each other). I guess I misunderstood that, eh?
Anyway...thanks for the info. I'll just keep in mind...ECL and CR have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Originally posted by Brimstone
Anyway...thanks for the info. I'll just keep in mind...ECL and CR have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Exactly. ECL is used for party balance in a long-term campaign to make sure Bob uth Bobdar, human fighter isn't outclassed by Odo shub-Niggurath, ogre fighter, when they have the same number of class levels. The XP you need to advance a level, and your relative power compared to other characters, is what ECL is for.
CR is only for the challenge a monster or character presents in a fight. It doesn't take into account potentially game-breaking or powerful long-term abilities which, outside of combat, would unbalance the character. Flight, invulnerabilities, etc etc actually come into play much more often than in a single fight.
It's possible for two creatures to have the same CR, but different level adjustments. They may be the same level of challenge to a party of heroes, but one of them may have immortality, the ability to summon things once a day, higher non-combat stats, etc.
Cheers,
Cam
Originally posted by Brimstone
A PC male Aurak Sor1 would have an ECL of 13 (8 HD + 4 LA + 1 Lvl)?
But...the same Aurak as a monster (or NPC) would have an CR of 10?
Adding to what Cam said, the PC will also have more equipment than an NPC of equal level.
Originally posted by Cam Banks
Exactly. ECL is used for party balance in a long-term campaign to make sure Bob uth Bobdar, human fighter isn't outclassed by Odo shub-Niggurath, ogre fighter, when they have the same number of class levels.
Shub-Niggurath, I love it! In my campaign, everyone is pretty much outclassed by Shub-Niggurath...