[3.5] LA BuyOff

[giovaneduca]

How does LA BuyOff work?
Can you explain me because I can't really understand the idea and the mechanics?

[Octopus Jack]

If you're playing a race with a level adjustment, ie a hobgoblin, you can reduce the level adjustment by one whenever your class levels reach a multiple of three times the adjustment your character has. So in the case of a hobgoblin it'd be level 3 to reduce it to +0 for a race with LA+2 you could buy off at 6 and 9.

To reduce the LA you pay an exp cost equal to your current ECL (not class level) -1 and then multiply that by 1000.

This has the result of delaying your progress slightly and will put you behind your party but you no longer have the LA so count as an ECL equal to your class levels for the purpose of determining exp gain and therefore you should soon catch back up with your party.

Hope that this very brief thing helped. No doubt I've been ninja'd whilst typing it.

[One Step Two]

Okay, first, relevant link: Found here on the D20srd. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm)

The maths is simple. When you first reach a Class Level equal to your LA x3, you can sacrifice XP equal to (ECL-1)x1000.

In the above given example.

A Drow Cleric Reaches level 6, with an LA of +2 their ECL is 8.

Level 6 of their Class is 3x their LA of 2

Therefore the character needs to pay 7000exp ( (8-1)x1000 ), to reduce their LA from +2 to +1.
If they make this XP sacrafice they will have the exact exp needed for ECL 7, which is their new ECL.

The process is repeated at level 9 (three more class levels due to their LA +1)

The reason why this is done is outlined thusly:


On the surface, this tradeoff may look like a bad deal. The drow cleric has now sacrificed 16,000 experience points, putting her behind her comrades in total class levels. Now, however, she progresses as if she had never had a level adjustment. With the self-correcting nature of the experience point system, she will soon catch up to the rest of her party, and will reach 20th level after earning a total of 206,000 XP (190,000 plus the 16,000 in XP costs). If she had not used this variant system, she would have had to amass 231,000 XP to reach her 20th class level (which is ECL 22 for a normal drow with a +2 level adjustment).

Partially ninja'd but I do hope it's concise.

[ahenobarbi]

If you play character with race that has n LA you can start buying off when you have 3n class levels.

To buy off a level you loose amount of XP you used on your last level up and reduce LA by 1.

After you bought off 1 level of LA you can buy off next one after you get 3 more class levels.

This process can't reduce your LA below 0.

For example if you are playing Aasimar (+1LA, no RHD) when you reach class level 3 (character level 4, at 6000 XP) you can buy off 1 of your LA. When you do your character keeps class levels, looses 4000XP (just enough to keep you at level 3 with your new LA +0).


If you were playing a Drow (LA +2) you could start buying it off at class level 6 (character level 8), by spending 7000XP, and continue buying off at class level 9 ( ECL 10), spend 9000XP more and continue playing without LA.

[giovaneduca]

Okay, followuing up:

If I want to play a LA race/tamplate I have to be a class level inferior due the LA or not?

Es:

Drow cleric (+2 LA) in a party of lvl 8 PC, I have to be lvl 6 cleric or lvl 8 cleric?

[Octopus Jack]

Okay, followuing up:

If I want to play a LA race/tamplate I have to be a class level inferior due the LA or not?

Es:

Drow cleric (+2 LA) in a party of lvl 8 PC, I have to be lvl 6 cleric or lvl 8 cleric?

The former until/unless you buy off the level adjustment but you count as level 8 for experience gain due to encounters.

[Crake]

This has the result of delaying your progress slightly and will put you behind your party but you no longer have the LA so count as an ECL equal to your class levels for the purpose of determining exp gain and therefore you should soon catch back up with your party.

Note that LA buyoff itself does not actually delay your progress. At levels where you buy off LA, your class level goes up, but since your LA goes down, its merely your ECL that remains the same. You still receive all the benefits of gaining a character level.

[Maginomicon]

Here's going through it step by step:

Assume a party of four. Bob has a an LA+1 race of some kind (and no Racial Hit Dice). The campaign starts out at ECL 2 (1000 XP), so Bob has 1 class level while everyone else in the party has 2 class levels.

"Bob and Co." go adventuring and raise each of their XP totals above 6000 XP, which is enough for everyone (including Bob) to reach ECL 4. Bob at this point gains his 3rd class level and everyone else in the party gains their 4th class level.

Bob immediately spends 3000 of his 6000 XP to buy off his LA. This drops Bob's XP total to 3000 XP while everyone else in the party still has 6000 XP. Bob's new XP total puts him as an LA+0 character at ECL 3 with 3 class levels while everyone else remains ECL 4 characters with 4 class levels (Bob's ECL and number of class levels now match).

The party continues to gain XP as normal, and the party gains another 3000 XP each. This puts Bob at 6000 XP again, and he rises to ECL 4 once more. The rest of the party is still at ECL 4 themselves because there's a difference of 4000 XP between ECLs 4 and 5 (and so with 3000 XP they're 3/4 of the way there).

For the next 1000 XP they would gain thereafter, Bob and the rest of the party all have the same ECL and class levels.

Once the party gains the next 1000 XP each, everyone but Bob rises to ECL 5. Bob is at this point at ECL 4 but is 1000 XP on the way towards the 4000 XP needed to rise to ECL 5 himself (Bob is 1/4 of the way there).

The party gains another 3000 XP each, and Bob rises to ECL 5. The rest of the party is still at ECL 5, but they have 3000 XP of the 5000 XP needed to rise to ECL 6 (the rest of the party is thus 3/5 of the way there).

For the next 2000 XP they would gain thereafter, Bob and the rest of the party all have the same ECL and class levels.

Starting to see the trend? Over time, more and more of the XP the party earns will be while everyone (including Bob) has the same ECL. This is how Bob is not left behind.

[giovaneduca]

Here's going through it step by step:

Assume a party of four. Bob has a an LA+1 race of some kind (and no Racial Hit Dice). The campaign starts out at ECL 2 (1000 XP), so Bob has 1 class level while everyone else in the party has 2 class levels.

"Bob and Co." go adventuring and raise each of their XP totals above 6000 XP, which is enough for everyone (including Bob) to reach ECL 4. Bob at this point gains his 3rd class level and everyone else in the party gains their 4th class level.

Bob immediately spends 3000 of his 6000 XP to buy off his LA. This drops Bob's XP total to 3000 XP while everyone else in the party still has 6000 XP. Bob's new XP total puts him as an LA+0 character at ECL 3 with 3 class levels while everyone else remains ECL 4 characters with 4 class levels (Bob's ECL and number of class levels now match).

The party continues to gain XP as normal, and the party gains another 3000 XP each. This puts Bob at 6000 XP again, and he rises to ECL 4 once more. The rest of the party is still at ECL 4 themselves because there's a difference of 4000 XP between ECLs 4 and 5 (and so with 3000 XP they're 3/4 of the way there).

For the next 1000 XP they would gain thereafter, Bob and the rest of the party all have the same ECL and class levels.

Once the party gains the next 1000 XP each, everyone but Bob rises to ECL 5. Bob is at this point at ECL 4 but is 1000 XP on the way towards the 4000 XP needed to rise to ECL 5 himself (Bob is 1/4 of the way there).

The party gains another 3000 XP each, and Bob rises to ECL 5. The rest of the party is still at ECL 5, but they have 3000 XP of the 5000 XP needed to rise to ECL 6 (the rest of the party is thus 3/5 of the way there).

For the next 2000 XP they would gain thereafter, Bob and the rest of the party all have the same ECL and class levels.

Starting to see the trend? Over time, more and more of the XP the party earns will be while everyone (including Bob) has the same ECL. This is how Bob is not left behind.

Thanks a lot.
Now is perfectely clear^_^