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Eladrinblade
2010-07-15, 03:46 AM
I was thinking, not many people I know allow or use LA adjusted races in normal campaigns starting at 1st level.

What if LA +1 meant, say, that you didn't get 10th level. As in, once you are 9th, you don't get 10th until you would normally get 11th, 12th at 13th and so on, instead of how it normally works?

LA +2 would be 5th and 10th or whatever.

Anyways, as DMs, would you use this instead?

Fitz10019
2010-07-15, 03:55 AM
The power level difference is much more significant in the beginning. Using your basic idea, it would make more sense to skip level 2 for a LA+1, and levels 2 & 3 for a LA +2, but I'm not sure if that works well either.

Shpadoinkle
2010-07-15, 03:56 AM
There's an LA buyoff option in Unearthed Arcana that's basically this. As I recall, the way it works is that instead of going up a level you instead sacrifice those XP, as though you'd created a magic item. You stay the same level but lose the LA, meaning that you're probably a level behind the rest of the party now.

The good news is that 3.x's experience system was designed to work with characters periodically sacrificing XP. Granted, what they had in mind was the creation of magic items, but it has a self-correcting nature that works well for this kind of LA buyoff as well. Since the previously LA'd member of the party is now a level behind, he'll be gaining more XP from encounters than the rest of the party, meaning that after a couple sessions he'll catch up.

Edit: Well, I thought it was in UA, but I can't seem to find it there now.

Yora
2010-07-15, 03:57 AM
This is pretty much how LA Buyoff works. It's in the Unearthed Arcana section of the SRD.
However, it still does not make an LA character at first level as strong as 1st level characters without.
If you use LA races, all characters should start at the same ECL (Class level + Racial HD + LA).

Gan The Grey
2010-07-15, 04:04 AM
Actually, I think it might be kinda cool to assign 'dead' level to character with a level adjustment.

Like Level +1 gets you a dead level at level 1, granting you 1d6 HP, average base attack bonus, all poor saves, 4 + int skill points. You basically buy off the level adjustment immediately by taking this crappy level.

For Level +2, your dead level is 1st and 3rd.

I don't know how this would work with RHD, but hey, its a jumping off point.

ShadowsGrnEyes
2010-07-15, 09:28 AM
Actually, I think it might be kinda cool to assign 'dead' level to character with a level adjustment.

Like Level +1 gets you a dead level at level 1, granting you 1d6 HP, average base attack bonus, all poor saves, 4 + int skill points. You basically buy off the level adjustment immediately by taking this crappy level.

For Level +2, your dead level is 1st and 3rd.

I don't know how this would work with RHD, but hey, its a jumping off point.

That actaully sounds pretty close to racial levels as described in Savage species. . .Racial levels are the other way to get rid of level adjust. . .

Personally. . . i just go with buy off.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2010-07-15, 09:38 AM
At the back of Player's Guide to Faerun it's suggested that starting at 1st level you begin play with a number of negative levels equal to your level adjustment. Each level you would gain you instead buy off one of those negative levels. You could combine that with LA buyoff to start at 1st level with a level adjusted race, and later on get rid of the level adjustment altogether.

Draz74
2010-07-15, 10:42 AM
You could combine that with LA buyoff to start at 1st level with a level adjusted race,

Unless your DM enforces the usual rule, where you die if you ever have negative levels equal to your character level. :smalltongue:

Lhurgyof
2010-07-15, 12:04 PM
I just make Racial Hit Dice optional.
Don't really like RHD at all. xD

Natael
2010-07-15, 12:44 PM
I tend to keep account of the monster's CR. For example, something may have 4 RHD (which, in general, are worth less than a class level) and +2 LA, but only be CR 4 or even 3. In which case I'd probably knock off both LA and consider the racial bonuses as proper compensation for having mediocre hit dice. I personally dislike level adjustment, but am cool with racial hit dice.

I'd almost be receptive to having some racial hit die buy off, where instead of gaining a level, you could turn a racial hit die into a class level. Though that could be weird with skills and hit points, though could always say you have to keep old skills, gain new class ones if your class would give more, and could increase/decrease HP as needed. Though the HP going down would be weird, but kind of something you'd need to do for it to work well.

Threeshades
2010-07-15, 01:00 PM
The power level difference is much more significant in the beginning. Using your basic idea, it would make more sense to skip level 2 for a LA+1, and levels 2 & 3 for a LA +2, but I'm not sure if that works well either.

Our DM used that exact way of handling characters up to LA +2 in a Forgotten Realms campaign. It worked out okay, especially considering that most of the LA +1 races available (planetouched) weren't really that tough at all (well tieflings and aasimar really are stronger, but most genasi just have a marginal advantage through more or less useful spell-like abilities).

PId6
2010-07-15, 01:15 PM
At the back of Player's Guide to Faerun it's suggested that starting at 1st level you begin play with a number of negative levels equal to your level adjustment. Each level you would gain you instead buy off one of those negative levels.
Eh, that -5 to HP is incredibly crippling on a 1st level character, making you pretty easy to kill in one hit (even more so than usual). Anything more than LA +1 could very possibly cost you more HP than you have. That doesn't seem like a very well thought out variant.