Rules of the Game - Monstrous Conundrums

The current rules for the D&D game give players and DMs tremendous opportunities for creating unique characters and unexpected challenges. If you want to play a troll cleric/rogue, you can. If you want to bedevil your players with a rakshasa rogue, you can. Unfortunately, when you start mixing monsters with class levels you can find yourself descending into a maze of rules and numbers that could make a paladin curse.

This series delves into the fine art of creating monstrous player characters and creating monsters with class levels as foes for player characters. Much of the material presented here was drawn from the D&D 3.0 FAQ, and it still holds true in v.3.5.



One of the biggest hurdles players and DMs face when dealing with monsters is making sense of all the terms the game uses when dealing with the subject. All of these terms mean very different things (or there wouldn't be separate terms), but many of them look and sound the same. Here are several terms we'll examine in depth in this series:

Bonus Feat: An extra feat a creature gains outside of its normal allotment. A bonus feat might allow a creature to choose any feat (for example, the bonus feat a human gains at 1st level). A bonus feat also might be restricted to a short list or even be restricted to a single feat. (For example, a 1st-level monk can select either Improved Grapple or Stunning Fist as a bonus feat.)

Sometimes, a creature can have a bonus feat without meeting the feat's prerequisites. When this is the case, the bonus feat's source will say so. For example, a monk can select bonus feats from the list the class offers at 1st, 2nd, and 6th levels without meeting any prerequisites for those feats (see the monk class description).

Class Level: The total number of levels a creature has in a class. For example, a 5th-level fighter has 5 class levels in the fighter class. A 5th-level fighter/5th-level wizard has 5 class levels in fighter and 5 class levels in wizard.

Class level affects many things. See Part Two for a comprehensive look at class level.

The term "class level" and "Hit Dice" are often used interchangeably (especially when dealing with spells and other magical effects) because a class level provides a creature with a Hit Die. Class levels and Hit Dice, however, are not really the same thing. A Hit Die is something a creature can have by virtue of its race and size. A class level has to be earned through experience.

Character Level: The total number of class levels a creature has, plus any racial Hit Dice the creature has.

A human 5th-level fighter/5th-level wizard has 10 class levels. An ogre 5th-level fighter/5th-level wizard has 14 class levels (10 class levels plus 4 racial Hit Dice).

Character levels determine when a creature gains feats and ability score increases (see Table 3-2 in the Player's Handbook). Any feats a creature gets by virtue of its character levels are in addition to any bonus feats it has from its race or from its class levels.

In addition, character level determines how much experience a character earns when he defeats a foe and how many experience points he needs to gain his next class level.

From page 181 of the Player's Handbook: 

Hit Dice: The term "Hit Dice" is used synonymously with "character levels" for effects that affect a number of Hit Dice of creatures. Creatures with Hit Dice only from their race, not from classes, have character levels equal to their Hit Dice.


Challenge Rating (CR): Challenge Rating reflects a game designer's best judgement about how tough a monster will prove in a fight. The CRs of all the creatures in an encounter help to determine the encounter's Encounter Level (see Chapter 3 in the Dungeon Master's Guide).

When characters defeat a creature, the creature's CR is a starting point for determining each character's experience award for the victory. You must compare the defeated monster's CR with each character's effective character level or ECL (see pages 36-37 in the Dungeon Master's Guide).

The experience award a character receives for a particular defeated monster is the same no matter what the encounter's EL was (but see Modifying XP Awards on page 39 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).

Effective Character Level (ECL): Character level plus the level adjustment for the character's race. For example, a drow has a level adjustment of +2. Many people (and even one or two rulebooks) say ECL when they really mean level adjustment.
Add a monster's level adjustment to its Hit Dice and class levels to get the creature's effective character level, or ECL. Effectively, monsters with a level adjustment become multiclass characters when they take class levels. Characters with more than 1 Hit Die because of their race do not get a feat for their first class level as members of the common races do, and they do not multiply the skill points for their first class level by four. Instead, they have already received a feat for their first Hit Die because of race, and they have already multiplied their racial skill points for their first Hit Die by four. Use ECL instead of character level when referring to Table 3-2: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits in the Player's Handbook to determine how many experience points a monster character needs to reach its next level. Also use ECL with Table 5-1: Character Wealth by Level to determine starting wealth for a monster character.

Monster characters treat skills mentioned in their Monster Manual entry as class skills.

From page 36 of the Dungeon Master's Guide: 

A Challenge Rating is a measure of how easy or difficult a monster or trap is to overcome. Challenge Ratings are used in Chapter 3: Adventures to determine Encounter Levels (EL), which in turn indicate how difficult an encounter (often involving multiple monsters) is to overcome. A monster is usually overcome by defeating it in battle, a trap by being disarmed, and so forth.


Encounter Level (EL): Encounter Level is strictly a tool for the DM to use when deciding if an encounter is too easy, about right, or too hard for a particular group of characters. It has no real effect on play. Some people think that Encounter Level determines how much experience character can gain from an encounter, but that's not so (see Challenge Rating).

Feat: A special trait or ability that either gives a creature a new capability or improves one the creature already has. A creature has one feat for its first class level or Hit Die, and gains one more feat at each level or Hit Dice that is evenly divisible by three. Table 3-2 in the Player's Handbook shows feats player characters get as they gain levels.

A creature can gain extra (bonus) feats from its race, class, or from some other source.

Hit Die or Hit Dice: The die (or collection of dice) rolled to determine a creature's hit points. A creature's Hit Dice can come from its race, from its class (or classes), or both.

A creature's total Hit Dice also serves as a measure of its overall power. Many spells can affect creatures with a certain number of Hit Dice (including dice from class levels) or lower. Other spells can affect creatures whose total Hit Dice (or levels plus Hit Dice) don't exceed a specified total.

Level Adjustment: A value assigned to a creature from a non-standard race to help promote some equity among the player characters in a campaign.

When a character has a level adjustment, use the character's ECL (character level plus level adjustment) to determine the character's starting equipment and how the character earns and benefits from experience, as noted on page 172 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Use the actual character level for just about everything else (see Part Two).



Anyone who plays the D&D game encounters the term "level" often. It seems that almost everything in the game has levels: spells, characters, encounters, even dungeons. (For an example of this in action, so to speak, you might take a look at The Order of the Stick strip on this very topic.) In general "level" is a measure of power or inherent danger. The higher the level, the more power or danger. This week, we'll sort out the variations on the term "level" as it applies to monsters and monsters that also are members of character classes.


Gaining a class level grants a creature a host of benefits, as a look through the class descriptions in the Player's Handbook will show. Here's a summary of the perks a class level grants:

• A Hit Die. The class description shows the Hit Die's size. If this is the first Hit Die the creature receives, the Hit Die has the maximum result.

When a creature of the humanoid type with one racial Hit Die or fewer gains its first class level, the racial Hit Die is dropped in favor of the class Hit Die. Creatures of other types simply add the class Hit Die to their existing Hit Dice, even if they have only one racial Hit Die. (The text dealing with monsters as races in the Dungeon Master's Guide doesn't make this clear, but the text in the Monster Manual does; see page 290). If the creature has levels from other classes, the Hit Die from the new class is added to the creature's total Hit Dice.

From page 190 of the Monster Manual: 

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.


• Base attack bonus and base save bonuses. The table included in the class description shows the amount of each bonus. If the creature drops a racial Hit Die in favor of the class Hit Die (see the note at Hit Die, above), the bonuses from the class level replace the bonuses the racial Hit Die provides. If the creature has racial Hit Dice that aren't dropped, or other class levels, add the base attack bonus and base save bonuses to the creature's existing totals.

Remember that a creature is entitled to extra attacks when its base attack bonus is +6 or higher, provided it uses the full attack action. See page 59 in the Player's Handbook. Creatures using natural weapons don't gain extra attacks from a high base attack bonus.

• Skill points. The class description shows the number of skill points the class grants at each level.

If the creature drops a racial Hit Die in favor of the class Hit Die (see the note at Hit Die, above), the skill points from the class level replace the skill points from the dropped Hit Die. If these are the first skill points the creature receives, the allotment of skill points from the class is quadrupled.

If the creature has racial Hit Dice that aren't dropped, or other class levels, add the skill points gained from the class level to the creature's total skill points. In this case, do not quadruple the skill points from the class, even if this is the first class level the creature has earned (the creature has already received quadruple skill points for its first racial Hit Die; see page 172 in the Dungeon Master's Guide).

From page 172 of the Dungeon Master's Guide: 

Other Statistics for Monsters: Creatures with Hit Dice of 1 or less have normal, class-based Hit Dice and features. They get a feat for their first class level and multiply the skill points for their first class level by four (even if they have a level adjustment). Those with 2 or more Hit Dice have statistics based on these Hit Dice plus Hit Dice for class levels (if any).


The creature treats any skill included in its creature description as a class skill; however, it must spend the skill points as a multiclassed character. Its maximum rank for the racial skill is character level +3 (see page 59 in the Player's Handbook). If the racial skill is not a class skill for the class that gave the creature the skill points, though, the creature still must pay two skill points for one rank in the skill.

• Class features and bonus feats (if any). The class description shows any special powers, spellcasting, bonus feats, or other benefits the class level grants. Any level-based variable a class feature has uses the creature's class level for the variable no matter what the creature's total Hit Dice, character level, or effective character level. For example, an astral deva with 5 paladin levels has 17 Hit Dice (12 racial Hit Dice and 5 class dice) and an effective character level of 25 (thanks to its level adjustment of +8). Nevertheless, the character deals 5 extra points of damage with its smite evil power, because it is only a 5th-level paladin.

If a creature gains the same power from two or more different sources, it combines its level from each source to determine its effective level for that power. For example, an astral deva has the uncanny dodge power of a 12th-level rogue. If an astral deva gains 5 rogue levels, it has the uncanny dodge power of a 17th-level rogue.

See the section on multiclassed characters in the Player's Handbook (pages 59-60) for more information about combining class abilities.



As noted in Part One, character level is the total of all the class levels and racial Hit Dice a creature has.

Character level affects the following aspects of the character:

• Feats.

As noted in Part One, a creature has one feat for its first level or Hit Die and gains another feat at each character level evenly divisible by three. Bonus feats the creature receives from its race or from any class levels the creature has are in addition to the feats it has gained from its character level.

• Ability Increases.

A creature gains a +1 increase to one ability score every four character levels. This is not a bonus, but an outright increase. The improvement stacks with any temporary or permanent ability score bonuses the creature might receive.

• Experience awards for single monsters.

When awarding experience for a monster that player characters have defeated, you must compare the PC's character level with the monster's Challenge Rating to determine how much experience to award; see page 37 in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

• The next class level.

A creature's current character level determines how much experience the creature must earn before it can add its next class level, as shown on Table 3-2 in the Player's Handbook.

• Cash and equipment.

Use character level when referring to Table 5-1 in the Dungeon Master's Guide.



When a character has a level adjustment, add her racial Hit Dice, class levels, and level adjustment to get her effective character level. Use effective character level instead of actual character level when determining the experience award the character receives for defeating a monster, the experience the character needs to reach her next class level, and for determining how much cash and equipment the character should have. Also use effective character level to decide when the character can select epic feats and when it gains an epic attack and save bonus (see page 209 in the Dungeon Master's Guide).



Once you've built a monster with a few class levels to challenge player characters, you still must rate the challenge. Unfortunately, that task is a little more complicated than it seems at first. Fortunately, the rules provide plenty of material to guide you through the task.

You can find guidelines for matching foes to player characters on pages 37-38 and 48-50 in the Dungeon Master's Guide and pages 293-294 in the Monster Manual.



As noted in Part One, a creature's Challenge Rating is a general measure of how much danger the creature poses during an encounter. A creature's CR indicates the average level that a party of four fresh characters would find moderately difficult to defeat; see page 7 in the Monster Manual for details.

From page 7 of the Monster Manual: 

Challenge Rating
This shows the average level of a party of adventurers for which one creature would make an encounter of moderate difficulty. Assume a party of four fresh characters (full hit points, full spells, and equipment appropriate to their levels). Given reasonable luck, the party should be able to win the encounter with some damage but no casualties. For more information about Challenge Ratings, see pages 36 and 48 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.


It's important to remember that CR measures a creature's ability to challenge a party of four characters during a single encounter. A creature's Challenge Rating is no indication of how formidable it could prove as a player character. A monster that PCs meet during an adventure is present for one or two encounters at most. A player character, on the other hand, is present for just about every encounter in the campaign -- that is why the game includes level adjustments. A creature's CR and its character level or ECL can be wildly different, and that's a good thing because CR and character level or ECL measure different things.



Usually, it's pretty simple to calculate the CR for a creature with a few class levels -- just add the creature's class levels to its base CR (that is, the CR the creature has when it has no class levels at all). You need to be alert, however, for variations on the basic rule.

Creatures with NPC Class Levels: When a creature has levels in one of the NPC classes presented in Chapter 4 in the Dungeon Master's Guide, subtract one from the class level before adding it to the base CR. A creature's CR, however, always increases by at least +1 when it has an NPC class level.

From page 38 of the Dungeon Master's Guide: 

Since NPC classes (see Chapter 5: Campaigns) are weaker than PC classes, levels in an NPC class contribute less to a creature's CR than levels in a PC class. For an NPC with an NPC class, determine her Challenge Rating as if she had a PC class with one less level. For a creature with monster levels in addition to NPC class levels, add the NPC levels -1 to the creature's base CR (always adding at least 1).


Humanoids with No CR or Racial Hit Dice: Humans and other standard races from the Player's Handbook have no Hit Dice or CR except for what they gain from their class levels. Such creatures have a CR equal to their class levels. If the creature has levels from an NPC class, subtract one from the number of NPC levels they have when calculating CR. If the creature has only one NPC class level, it has a CR of 1/2.

See pages 37-38 in the Dungeon Master's Guide for an extended example of this rule in action.

Creatures with Non-associated Class Levels: Sometimes, adding class levels to a creature doesn't make it more dangerous to foes. When that happens, not all the level are added to the creature's basic CR.

Only levels equal to or less than the creature's racial Hit Dice can be non-associated. Divide any non-associated class levels in half before adding to the base CR to get the increased CR for the class levels.

The rules don't say so, but you should round down if the number of levels isn't an even number. If you're adding NPC class levels, subtract one before dividing (and you still round down).

Here's an example of a CR adjustment using non-associated class levels: A troll has 6 racial Hit Dice and a CR of 5. If a troll has six levels in a non-associated class from the Player's Handbook, the troll has a CR of 8 (1/2 of 6 is 3 + 5 = 8). If the same troll, however, adds one more level in the same class, the troll's CR is 9.

The rules don't provide much in the way of guidelines for deciding when a class should be non-associated, so it's always a judgement call for the DM.

In general, a class should be non-associated when its characteristics don't mesh well with the creature's own abilities. For example, a fire giant is basically a fighting creature. Adding a level in a class that doesn't do much to improve that fighting ability, such as sorcerer or wizard, probably won't make it much more formidable in battle. I say "probably" because it's possible to make just about any class mesh well with a creature's racial prowess.

Suppose a tribe of fire giants includes a sorcerer who knows a collection of workaday spells such as mending, alarm, and locate object. The fire giant sorcerer mostly helps the chief keep the others in line and performs small magical services for the rest of the tribe as needed. The example fire giant probably will rely on its fighting ability in combat and its sorcerer levels won't have much effect in a battle. This creature is a prime candidate for non-associated class levels.

Now let's suppose we have a particularly clever fire giant sorcerer whose spell list has been carefully tuned for combat. This fire giant knows spells such as shield, true strike, blur, and haste. This fire giant could become a real juggernaut in combat, and all its sorcerer levels should increase its CR.



Once you've found the correct CR for all the creatures with class levels in an encounter, you determine the encounter's EL in exactly the same way you'd determine the EL in any other encounter. Table 3-1 in the Dungeon Master's Guide is your primary tool for determining Encounter Levels.

Table 3-1 works well for groups of creatures with the same CR, but doesn't work so well for groups of creatures with varying CRs. Here are a few tips and reminders for dealing with such groups:

• When two creatures have the same CR, the EL for an encounter featuring them is two higher than the shared CR. For example, two CR 9 creatures make an EL 11 encounter. (But be sure to check Table 3- 1: Encounter Numbers for those low-CR creatures.)

• When two creatures have CRs within two points of each other, the EL for an encounter featuring them is one higher than the highest CR. For example, a CR 9 and CR 8 creature make an EL 10 encounter. A CR 9 and CR 7 creature also make an EL 10 encounter.

• When two creatures have CRs that differ by three or more, use the higher CR to determine the encounter's EL. For example, a CR 9 and CR 6 creature make an EL 9 encounter.

• When you have a large number of creatures with different CRs, you can determine the EL for an encounter by arranging them into groups of similar CRs and then grouping the results. Here's an example: A group of creatures contains eight monsters of CR 3, three monsters of CR 7, and a leader with CR 10.

According to Table 3-1, eight CR 3 monsters have an EL of 9.

Two CR 7 monsters also have an EL of 9.

Combining the two ELs of 9 produces an EL of 11.

An EL 11 group combined with the CR 10 leader produces an EL of 12 for the whole encounter.



That wraps up our discussion of various levels. Hopefully you're now more prepared to create monstrous player characters and monsters with class levels as foes for player characters.



Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and was the Sage of Dragon Magazine for many years. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (rabbits and deer are not Skip's friends) or works on repairing and improving the century-old farmhouse that he shares with his wife, Penny, and a growing menagerie of pets.

Based on the original Dungeons & Dragons® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

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