I am a bit confused about the Sidekick rules, regarding the starting HP.
I feel like its a not that well worded and here is whats causing confusion for me:
It says that the STARTING LEVEL of the Sidekick is the average Party Level. Therefore I assume When my Level 5 party gets a Sidekick, it gets all features of the Sidekick class up to that level.
But for HP, the book says that it gainst an additional hit dice on LEVEL UP and only levels up when the Party does.
So, lets assume we have a Creature with 1d8 hit dice and 10 HP in the stat block. You make it a sidekick when you party is Level 5.
Does that mean your level 5 sidekick now has 10HP and only gains 1d8+con more once your party levels up to level 6, since after the wording in the book, it didnt level up when it became your sidekick, it got a set starting level?
Does that mean your level 5 sidekick now has 10HP and only gains 1d8+con more once your party levels up to level 6, since after the wording in the book, it didn't level up when it became your sidekick, it got a set starting level?
I believe that the intent of the statement about a sidekick gaining additional hit dice upon the party leveling up was to simplify the process of not tracking the NPC's experience points and leveling requirements (i.e., sidekick automatically levels when the party levels). If the NPC joins the party at 5th-level, then the NPC should presumably be a 5th-level NPC as well. That 5th-level NPC would have five (5) hit dice as a 5th-level creature, which would give it the number of hit points associated with having those five hit dice.
Now, if the DM wants the sidekick to join the party as a 1st-level NPC, then it would only have one (1) hit die and whatever hit points associated with that. As party goes to 6th-level, this particular sidekick example would go to 2nd-level, since it gains a level when the party levels up. I don't know why a DM would want to hinder the sidekick NPC further by starting it at a lower level and I don't believe that was the intent of the sidekick classes, especially since sidekicks already have lesser abilities than what the normal classes provide...but that the DM's prerogative if they don't want the sidekick's level to match the party's level.
It is worded awkwardly. But the way to think of it is your level 5 sidekick leveled up four times before they started with the party. So give them the starting hp, plus 4d8 plus conx4. Then the usual d8+con from there on out.
It is not very good wording is it? It is intended for sidkicks to have extra hit dice equal to their level.
I don't think there's a problem with the wording.
Whenever the sidekick gains a level, it gains one Hit Die, and its hit point maximum increases. To determine the amount of the increase, roll the Hit Die (the type of the die appears in the sidekick's stat block), and add its Constitution modifier. It gains a minimum of 1 hit point per level.
NPCs, by default, don't have levels, so as soon as it gains 1 level in a sidekick class the sidekick has a level and gains a Hit Die. What I find interesting is, by RAW, you can't just take the average like you can with a PC. The intention seems to be for us to roll every time. That said, if someone wanted to use the average, I would suggest calculating it as we do NPCs already: all of the odd dice are 1/2, rounded down, and all of the even dice are 1/2 rounded up.
It is not very good wording is it? It is intended for sidekicks to have extra hit dice equal to their level.
Derp! You and Jounichi are totally correct about the sidekick's gaining EXTRA hit dice for their sidekick levels (i.e., are added to the creature's stat block). I was so focused on the adding levels portion of the question that I completely overlooked the aspect that the levels are ADDED to the base stats of the creature, which would be adding the hit dice results to the creatures stat block hit point total.
And, yes, while it isn't poorly worded by any means, the verbiage could be a bit clearer (or perhaps more redundant) on the point about adding the level benefits to the main stat block.
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I am a bit confused about the Sidekick rules, regarding the starting HP.
I feel like its a not that well worded and here is whats causing confusion for me:
It says that the STARTING LEVEL of the Sidekick is the average Party Level. Therefore I assume When my Level 5 party gets a Sidekick, it gets all features of the Sidekick class up to that level.
But for HP, the book says that it gainst an additional hit dice on LEVEL UP and only levels up when the Party does.
So, lets assume we have a Creature with 1d8 hit dice and 10 HP in the stat block. You make it a sidekick when you party is Level 5.
Does that mean your level 5 sidekick now has 10HP and only gains 1d8+con more once your party levels up to level 6, since after the wording in the book, it didnt level up when it became your sidekick, it got a set starting level?
I believe that the intent of the statement about a sidekick gaining additional hit dice upon the party leveling up was to simplify the process of not tracking the NPC's experience points and leveling requirements (i.e., sidekick automatically levels when the party levels). If the NPC joins the party at 5th-level, then the NPC should presumably be a 5th-level NPC as well. That 5th-level NPC would have five (5) hit dice as a 5th-level creature, which would give it the number of hit points associated with having those five hit dice.
Now, if the DM wants the sidekick to join the party as a 1st-level NPC, then it would only have one (1) hit die and whatever hit points associated with that. As party goes to 6th-level, this particular sidekick example would go to 2nd-level, since it gains a level when the party levels up. I don't know why a DM would want to hinder the sidekick NPC further by starting it at a lower level and I don't believe that was the intent of the sidekick classes, especially since sidekicks already have lesser abilities than what the normal classes provide...but that the DM's prerogative if they don't want the sidekick's level to match the party's level.
The creature gains a number of hit dice, appropriate for its size, equal to its level in the class.
A warhorse, for example, has three hit dice. A warhorse that's also a 5th-level Warrior would have 8 hit dice.
It is not very good wording is it? It is intended for sidkicks to have extra hit dice equal to their level.
It is worded awkwardly. But the way to think of it is your level 5 sidekick leveled up four times before they started with the party. So give them the starting hp, plus 4d8 plus conx4. Then the usual d8+con from there on out.
I don't think there's a problem with the wording.
NPCs, by default, don't have levels, so as soon as it gains 1 level in a sidekick class the sidekick has a level and gains a Hit Die. What I find interesting is, by RAW, you can't just take the average like you can with a PC. The intention seems to be for us to roll every time. That said, if someone wanted to use the average, I would suggest calculating it as we do NPCs already: all of the odd dice are 1/2, rounded down, and all of the even dice are 1/2 rounded up.
Derp! You and Jounichi are totally correct about the sidekick's gaining EXTRA hit dice for their sidekick levels (i.e., are added to the creature's stat block). I was so focused on the adding levels portion of the question that I completely overlooked the aspect that the levels are ADDED to the base stats of the creature, which would be adding the hit dice results to the creatures stat block hit point total.
And, yes, while it isn't poorly worded by any means, the verbiage could be a bit clearer (or perhaps more redundant) on the point about adding the level benefits to the main stat block.