None listed LA templates:

[Fyermind]

I saw posted somewhere that a nonlisted LA on a template meant LA:+0 or LA as base creature (for example Dragonborn and Magic-blooded are both LA +0), but that for a race it meant LA - or not suitable for player use (such as Stone Golems and Dire rats)

Is there a source for this?

[Kuulvheysoon]

You might be referring to the (contested) Unseelie Fey template: while the template itself presents no LA, the example (gnome) character has a entry of LA: +0.

[Karnith]

Is there a source for this?
Monsters need a Level Adjustment to be playable (even if it is only +0). Without one, a monster is ineligible for player use as-written, because its ECL can't be determined. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm#startingLevelofaMonsterPC):

Monsters suitable for play have a level adjustment given in their statistics. Add a monster’s level adjustment to its Hit Dice and class levels to get the creature’s effective character level, or ECL.
So whether a monster's LA is unlisted or is LA: -, it's unusable because it lacks a level adjustment.

Templates, however, work differently. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#templates):
A template’s description provides a set of instructions for altering an existing creature, known as the base creature. The changes that a template might cause to each line of a creature’s statistics block are discussed below. Generally, if a template does not cause a change to a certain statistic, that entry is missing from the template description. For clarity, the entry for a statistic or attribute that is not changed is sometimes given as "Same as the base creature."
(Emphasis mine)

If a template doesn't contain a Level Adjustment entry, the argument goes that it does not change the LA of the base creature, in much the same way that a template that does not contain a Speed entry does not modify the base creature's speed or movement modes.

[Piggy Knowles]

Under the rules about templates, they say that if a section is left off of an entry, it means that there is no change. There are folks who argue that this means a template without a listed LA simply doesn't change the existing LA.

I find this kind of hard to swallow, because there are a lot of templates that don't list LA and are clearly not LA +0 templates. What I assume the line refers to is, for example, if there is no movement entry or ability score line on a template, then the movement or ability scores of the base creature remain unchanged.

[TuggyNE]

Under the rules about templates, they say that if a section is left off of an entry, it means that there is no change. There are folks who argue that this means a template without a listed LA simply doesn't change the existing LA.

I find this kind of hard to swallow, because there are a lot of templates that don't list LA and are clearly not LA +0 templates. What I assume the line refers to is, for example, if there is no movement entry or ability score line on a template, then the movement or ability scores of the base creature remain unchanged.

It's probably something where WotC forgot the general rule they made in a lot of cases, which reduces its utility a great deal. Kind of like the mess-up with primary source and Rules Compendium.

So RAW might indicate one thing in a lot of cases that's pretty patently not RAI and not even slightly RACSD.

[Cog]

Hm. If you want a rules-lawyerly argument against this working: The rules say that if a certain statistic does not change, that statistic is not included. They do not say that it's the only reason a statistic might not be included, and therefore the LA of a template that's unlisted is indeterminate. In cases where the rules are not clear, then, it becomes a matter of DM discretion.

[Chronos]

It's probably something where WotC forgot the general rule they made in a lot of cases, which reduces its utility a great deal. Kind of like the mess-up with primary source and Rules Compendium.
The problem is confounded by the fact that there's still some material around from 3.0 edition, before the concept of LA was introduced. Even if it's gotten updated, the updates were sometimes a bit sloppy on some of the details. The Epic Level Handbook, for instance, was a 3.0 book and so didn't list LAs, and nobody ever bothered to put one on, say, the Paragon template (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/paragonCreature.htm), even though it's all upside and no downside and increases CR by a whopping 15.

[Fyermind]

The problem is confounded by the fact that there's still some material around from 3.0 edition, before the concept of LA was introduced. Even if it's gotten updated, the updates were sometimes a bit sloppy on some of the details. The Epic Level Handbook, for instance, was a 3.0 book and so didn't list LAs, and nobody ever bothered to put one on, say, the Paragon template (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/paragonCreature.htm), even though it's all upside and no downside and increases CR by a whopping 15.

The Epic Level Handbook does however at the beginning of the chapter on monsters note the Effective Character Level of all it's playable mosters including the pseudonatural Troll and the Paragon Mind Flayer which, because we can find the ECL of Trolls and Mind Flayers, allows us to find the LA of Pseudonatural (the epic version), and Paragon. Off the top of my head I don't recall what they are.

[Gemini476]

The Epic Level Handbook does however at the beginning of the chapter on monsters note the Effective Character Level of all it's playable mosters including the pseudonatural Troll and the Paragon Mind Flayer which, because we can find the ECL of Trolls and Mind Flayers, allows us to find the LA of Pseudonatural (the epic version), and Paragon. Off the top of my head I don't recall what they are.

Which, in turn, is a great example of Text Trumps Table, But If The Table Is The Only Source Then That Trumps The (Nonexistent) Text, or TTTBitTitOSTTTtNT, which is a mouthful. Alternatively, Specific Beats General.