Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hanchicken 07-06-07, 07:34 PM	Hey folks, what would be the Total Attack Bonus for a Hill Giant/9th Level Fighter be? According to the Monsters Manual under Hill Giants as Characters-it says they get a Base Attack bonus of +8. (doesn't anything over +6 give two attacks?) (+8/+3 ?) Now add 9 levels of Fighter, Base Attack for a 9th level Fighter is +9/+4. So what would the total be +17/+7 ? or +17/+12 ? Or if you get another attack for anything over +6 would it be +17/+12/+7/+2 What would the Challenge Rating be: 13 ? (9th level fighter + Level Adjustment +4) What about Feats? As a 9th level Fighter you get a total of 9 Feats then as a Hill Giant it says you get 5 Feats. So a 9th level Hill Giant Fighter would get 14 Feats? Thats alot!
locustechpriest 07-06-07, 07:57 PM	Add the BAB's before you determine number of attacks. You would do it like so: +8 (giant) +9 (fighter) = +17. At a +17 base attack you get these itterative attacks: +17/+12/+7/+2. Your last guess was correct. Class levels that increase a monster’s existing strengths are known as associated class levels. Each associated class level a monster has increases its CR by 1. Challenge Rating on a Hill Giant is 7. Since it is basically a combat oriented creature, I would consider Fighter to be an associated class. CR 7 + 9 (1/level of Fighter) = CR 16 baddie. Level Adjustment is (more or less) only for determining experience to level up and getting the relative strengths of PC's or cohorts/followers, not monsters. Feats are based on HD, so just treat racial HD as class levels to determine feats. So at Fighter9 you are a 21 HD creature, one feat at level one, plus 21/3=7, that is 8 feats based on HD. Add the fighter bonus feats, and you get 8+5=13 total feats. You had one extra. Your first level of fighter does not grant you a feat for being a first level character, this is because you are actually a 13th level character at that point.
Hanchicken 07-07-07, 02:29 PM	"Grog thank you, Grog no smash head like overly ripe watermelon!" :)
SilentOne 07-07-07, 03:29 PM	As for his CR, you take the existing CR of the monster, then add 1 for each level in an associated class (anything that the creature was already good at, so for giants it's smashing stuff, but for something like a rakshasa who has innate sorcerer levels, then sorcerer would be since they stack) and 1/2 for any non-associated class (like rogue, or wizard for a giant). So, in your case, 7+9 = CR 16. As for the ECL, which is what level he'd be were he a player character (guessing from your use of LA in the OP), you'd take his monstrous hit dice (12) plus his LA (4) plus his class levels (9), making him effectively a 25th level character, assuming my math is correct. He'd be built the same as you built him as a monster, but would get money and items as a 25th level character, and earn experience as one as well.
locustechpriest 07-08-07, 03:05 AM	I already hit the CR issue, but good job on explaining and filling in with the ELC, SilentOne. ;)
runestar 07-08-07, 06:59 AM	Are we talking about the same hill giant here? The hill giant in MM has 12 giant BAB, for a bab of +9. When you add 9 lvs of fighter, it gets +8 bab for the first 8 fighter lvs, and the 9th lv of fighter causes epic bab/save progression rules to kick in. Fortunately, at character lv21, it gets +1 ebab(epic bab), so you don't lose anything. But note that you do not get the +1 reflex/will save from that 9th lv of fighter. So a hill giant fighter 9 should be cr16, with a bab of +18 and base saves of +14/+6/+6.
locustechpriest 07-08-07, 08:33 PM	Ah, excellent save, runestar! I forgot completely about epic rules! Many thanks.