Negative Levels

[Sharigen95]

Is there a way to gain permanent negative levels in game.

[OldTrees1]

Does holding a holy weapon count?

[Ellowryn]

Cuddling with several types of undead and choosing to fail your saving throws does it, but that tends to be lethal. Any particular reason you want them, and how many do you want?

[Spore]

Cuddling with several types of undead and choosing to fail your saving throws does it, but that tends to be lethal. Any particular reason you want them, and how many do you want?

Ugh yeah. Tell me sister. Dem undead never know when to stop. So embarassing.

[KorbeltheReader]

Pretty sure every way to gain negative levels is potentially a way to permanently lose a level (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_negativelevel&alpha=). Technically, however, no you cannot permanently gain a negative level. After 24 hours, if you fail your will save, the negative level goes away and you lose a level.

Always hated that rule, personally, even in 2e. It's an excellent way to create OOC drama while introducing power disparity into your party!

[Thorvaldr]

Does holding a holy weapon count?

Only if you hold it with Sovereign Glue.

[Rijan_Sai]

Only if you hold it with Sovereign Glue.

Not even then... (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#universalSolvent)

[TuggyNE]

Pretty sure every way to gain negative levels is potentially a way to permanently lose a level (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_negativelevel&alpha=).

Magic items that do not like you will give you a negative level (or sometimes more than one) that never converts into level loss and cannot be removed until you stop trying to use that item.

(Amusingly, nothing is immune to this, not even undead, so it's possible for e.g. a wight to be killed by negative levels from holding holy weapons … and if it's still holding them 24 hours later when it gets back up as a wight again, it will be killed again immediately, and so on!)