immunity to negative levels

[Raishoiken]

I was wondering if anyone out there knew of anything that is immune to negative levelsextraordinarily. I'm not talking immunity to energy Drain, Just straight up negative levels similar to the moderate school esoterica of a master specialist necromancer (complete mage? ) or the thing binders get at 13th level. The matter specialist thing doesn't work because it's temporary, and the binder thing is supernatural. Many thanks for any help

[Ignominia]

Warforged are immune to Energy Drain.

[KillianHawkeye]

I'm not talking immunity to energy Drain


Warforged are immune to Energy Drain.

Hmm.... :smallconfused:

[aeauseth]

I suggest you read the [3.5] Lists of Necessary Magic Items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851).

Excerpt from above list:


Immunity to Death effects and/or energy drain and/or negative energy effects. (Lumped together because most things that protect against one of them protect against them all.)

Why you need it: Death effects kill you. Negative levels/energy drain are a very common, very wide-spanning debuff, which stack with themselves. Also, some of them cause you to permanently lose levels, which means you have to back-edit your character sheet, and no one wants to bother with that. All sorts of nasty things are caused by "negative energy".
Cheap:

Talisman of Undying Fortitude (MIC). 8000GP, held. Swift action activation, gives you lots of undead immunities for 3 rounds, including those that are relevant here.
Death Ward armor enhancement (MIC). +1 armor enhancement. Once per day, ignore Death effects, energy drain and negative energy effects as an immediate action.
Crystal of Adaptation armor crystal (MIC). 3000GP, armor crystal. Protects from the negative levels bestowed by visiting major negative-dominant planes.

Standard/Deluxe:

Soulfire Armor Enhancement (BoED). +4 armor enhancement. Total immunity to Death effects, energy drain, and negative energy.
Choker of Life Protection (MIC). 14000GP, throat slot. The cheaper version of the Bone Ring (below), requires immediate action activation, and can't handle ability drain, but is significantly cheaper.
Bone Ring (MIC). 20000GP, ring slot. Protects against three negative levels (or points of ability drain) per day, but not against Death effects or general "negative energy" effects.
Ring of Negative Protection (MIC). 36000GP, ring slot. Immunity to negative levels and negative-dominant planar traits, but not Death effects or negative energy effects in general.
Absorbing Armor Enhancement (DotF). +3 armor enhancement. Weird enhancement that allows partial protection against ability drain and "level drain". I'd hold out for Soulfire, but this is cheaper.

Not recommended:

Phylactery of Virtue (MIC), Scarab of Protection (DMG), Cornucopia of the Needful (MIC), Runestaff of the Undead Slayer (MIC), Cloak of Blackflame (MoF), Bone Bracers of the Death Deity (MoF)

[Raishoiken]

I'm looking for a class feature, feat, maybe a monster that has it non magically

[holywhippet]

A pale master gets immunities to death effects, ability drain and energy drain at level 10.

I suppose you'd say the walker of the waste becoming a dry lich is a class ability.

[Raishoiken]

I'm not after immunity to energy drain, but ALL negative levels. There does Seem to be a differencence. I don't tHink immunity to energy drain Applies to stuff like heaRing negative levels from items

[Chronos]

For reference, there are ways to get negative levels other than energy drain. Wielding a holy or equivalent weapon of the wrong alignment, for instance.

[Darth Stabber]

Immunity to energy drain covers 95% of the use cases, and the ones it doesn't typically involve you making a specific choice that causes the negative levels (like choosing to use weapons that require an alignment component you don't posses, so you can just avoid those in particular by not using items like that), and thos negative levels tend to be temporary, and over as soon as you choose to drop something. There are probably a few corner cases involving cursed items or similar, but those are likely to be extremely rare unless your GM has a beyond gygaxian sadistic streak. In addition the energy drain immunity provides protection from a wide variety of nasty things. Getting it as a class feature is a bit more complicated than getting it as an item (unless you want to count spellcasting in which case most divine casters get deathward and thus meet the demand). I would not be surprised if there was some combination of feats and or class abilities that could do what you are wanting, but this seems like an unnecessary level of convolution, especially since energy drain immunity is fairly easy and desirable.

[Particle_Man]

Necropolitans?

Vampires and other undead?

[Septimus]

Half-Shadow Dragon. I did such a character in a heavy undead campaign. Fun to fight vampires and so on.

[TuggyNE]

Necropolitans?

Vampires and other undead?

Nope. Those only have immunity to energy drain. Sure, that covers most of it (90%+, as noted), but it doesn't work for the OP's request.

Shadow dragons are the same, as far as I can tell, actually.

[sjeshin]

I'm looking for a class feature, feat, maybe a monster that has it non magically

A lvl 7 cleric with divine metamagic persist, with the undeath domain can persist death ward for all day usage. High feat tax, especially if you only use 1 night stick. Someone already mentioned warforged "race". You can also be a necropoliton i believe.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I believe the reason that there are no ways to be immune to Negative Levels (period), is because the few sources of Negative Levels that aren't a result of Energy Drain are supposed to be unblockable and unavoidable. Most notably, [Alignment] weapons being wielded by non-[Alignment] users.

Can you tell us why you need blanket immunity to Negative Levels? I should also note that I don't know of any EX method of inflicting Negative Levels so if you are concerned about AMF's, you shouldn't. You'd lose your armor (so to speak) but they'd lose their blade.

[Particle_Man]

I believe the reason that there are no ways to be immune to Negative Levels (period), is because the few sources of Negative Levels that aren't a result of Energy Drain are supposed to be unblockable and unavoidable. Most notably, [Alignment] weapons being wielded by non-[Alignment] users.

Just making sure, could UMD overcome the alignment issue? How about the horizon walker planar terrain that allows them to ignore alignment based effects?

[Psyren]

I believe the reason that there are no ways to be immune to Negative Levels (period), is because the few sources of Negative Levels that aren't a result of Energy Drain are supposed to be unblockable and unavoidable. Most notably, [Alignment] weapons being wielded by non-[Alignment] users.

Precisely this. There are some things you're not meant to be able to get around.

[Raishoiken]

There's a certain build I'm trying to refin why i need the immunity, I plan on posting it when it's finished. It would be finished and posted if I didn't realize that the master specialist moderate esoterica wasn't permanent

[Rijan_Sai]

Just making sure, could UMD overcome the alignment issue? How about the horizon walker planar terrain that allows them to ignore alignment based effects?

For UMD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/useMagicDevice.htm), that is one of the uses specifically called out in the description.

For Horizon Walker,


Aligned (Planar)
You have the instinctive ability to mimic the dominant alignment of the plane. You incur none of the penalties for having an alignment at odds with that of the plane, and spells and abilities that harm those of the opposite alignment don’t affect you. You have the dominant alignment of the plane with regard to magic, but your behavior and any alignment-related Class Features you have are unaffected.



While not specifically in regards to aligned weapons, I would still consider that a "spell or ability that
harm(s) those of the opposite alignment."
Ask you DM, YMMV.

[tyckspoon]

Just making sure, could UMD overcome the alignment issue?

I don't think so, but I'll admit I don't know of (and doubt it exists) any statement confirming this one way or the other. My opinion is that while UMD allows you to emulate having another alignment -thus allowing you to use powers of an item that requires a particular alignment - it does not get rid of your actual alignment while doing so. So if we had a hypothetical weapon that was +5 in the hands of a Good wielder but inflicted a -4 Strength penalty on an Evil one, then an Evil character could UMD it to make it act as +5 for him.. but he'd still have to deal with the penalty, because he's still actually Evil. Same kind of thing that happens with the infamous Succubus Paladin, where having the actual alignment of Lawful Good plus the [Chaotic] [Evil] Subtypes means she is treated as having all four extreme alignments at the same time.

[captain fubar]

the only method of immunity to negitive levels gained from aligned items that I know of is the hellbread race.

their fluff implys that they would be good or at least atempting to repent but they have a class feature that lets them use evil items with out dealing with negative levels or any negitive hit to their alignment (unless they use it an a way that would be evil even if it where not an evil item).

so now you can have a palaidin who can run around with a Unholy Despoiler
(if you can ever find one that is).

no way around items based on the other alignments though.

[Rijan_Sai]

Emulate an Alignment
Some magic items have positive or negative effects based on the user’s alignment. Use Magic Device lets you use these items as if you were of an alignment of your choice. You can emulate only one alignment at a time.

So yes, that hypothetical "+5 in Good hands, -4 STR penalty for Evil" would work just fine for the (for example) Evil Rogue that beats the DC 30 check.

[Raishoiken]

i'm thinking complete immunity to magic would do the trick, but that's not the route i wanna go. the creature already has immunity to energy drain just incase that's important.. any other suggestions? why does this ONE immunity have to be so rare? TT_TT

[Darth Stabber]

i'm thinking complete immunity to magic would do the trick, but that's not the route i wanna go. the creature already has immunity to energy drain just incase that's important.. any other suggestions? why does this ONE immunity have to be so rare? TT_TT

The reason is because there isn't much of a need for it, everyone smart enough to not use an opposite alignment specific item has effective immunity. The use case is extremely narrowly applicable, and there is so very little design space in vein that it is unsurprising that it was never explored.

[Stux]

Here's a feat for you: Heart of the Nabassu

It is an abyssal heritor feat from the Fiendish Codex (if memory serves). It lets you absorb harmlessly a number of negative levels equal to the number of abyssal heritor feats you have (including itself).

Any good?

[Raishoiken]

Here's a feat for you: Heart of the Nabassu

It is an abyssal heritor feat from the Fiendish Codex (if memory serves). It lets you absorb harmlessly a number of negative levels equal to the number of abyssal heritor feats you have (including itself).

Any good?

really close, but no. you did, however, lead me to an important feat that i'm going to use: Ordered Chaos from the Fiendish Codex. now the creature is counted as both chaotic and lawful. anyone know similar abilities? if i can get it to count as both good and evil, then i should be protected "a creature not of this alignment" negative levels

[Aquillion]

The reason is because there isn't much of a need for it, everyone smart enough to not use an opposite alignment specific item has effective immunity. The use case is extremely narrowly applicable, and there is so very little design space in vein that it is unsurprising that it was never explored.It's also, I think, because negative levels are meant to be something of an abstraction -- they represent different things depending on their source. "Immunity to negative energy" is a thematically interesting power; "immunity to negative levels" usually isn't.

[GameSpawn]

really close, but no. you did, however, lead me to an important feat that i'm going to use: Ordered Chaos from the Fiendish Codex. now the creature is counted as both chaotic and lawful. anyone know similar abilities? if i can get it to count as both good and evil, then i should be protected "a creature not of this alignment" negative levels

Also from the Fiendish Codex (II) are the Hellbred. They have a racial ability called evil exception, which lets them ignore negative levels from magical items for not being evil.

[Raishoiken]

Also from the Fiendish Codex (II) are the Hellbred. They have a racial ability called evil exception, which lets them ignore negative levels from magical items for not being evil.


just looked into those last night, thanks for reminding me : ). now i just have to find something that has the ability to appear as good and one to appear as lawful. i really only need one of them, i could just use UMD to emulate the other. monsters/races with these abilities are the most likely at this pointy i think. almost there! >_<

[Fax Celestis]

hellbread

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Health/ht_bread_is_devil_nt_120321_wblog.jpg

[Anthrowhale]

The feat "Font of Life" in Heroes or Horror is badly worded, but with a reasonable interpretation and high fort save, you can get near-immunity to negative levels.

[Raishoiken]

The feat "Font of Life" in Heroes or Horror is badly worded, but with a reasonable interpretation and high fort save, you can get near-immunity to negative levels.


as far as i can tell, any actual attack that would deal me negative levels is considered energy drain, right? if this is true i already have immunity, if not then this feat really helps. i still need a definite 100% immunity to them though