[D&D 3.5] Seeking help with the rules on reducing level adjustment

[Chesto]

I'm really struggling to understand how reducing level adjustment works. The entry for the variant rules has an example:
... a drow (level adjustment +2) may drop to level adjustment +1 after gaining her sixth class level, and then to +0 after gaining an additional three class levels.

The example says that the drow would have to wait an additional three levels until she can drop her level adjustment again, but nowhere else in the entry does it mention the "wait an additional three levels" rules.

Surely, you should be able to reduce your level adjustment as soon as you gain a new level, since when you pay the experience cost to reduce your level adjustment you lose a level.

The only consistent part of the entry is that the characters level has to be a divisible by three, so by that logic if you reduce your level adjustment, and by doing so lose a levels worth of experience, let's say going from sixth level down to fifth, then when you gain another level your character level becomes divisible by three and in theory you should be able to reduce your level adjustment again, right?

[weckar]

Ummm hm. I don't think you're meant to count the LA as class levels for this purpose, so you'd never actually be at 5th level after reduction?

[Jormengand]

Ummm hm. I don't think you're meant to count the LA as class levels for this purpose, so you'd never actually be at 5th level after reduction?

Yep, this. LA are not class levels, character levels or hit dice: the only type of levels they are is effective character levels.

[Andezzar]

I'm really struggling to understand how reducing level adjustment works. The entry for the variant rules has an example:

The example says that the drow would have to wait an additional three levels until she can drop her level adjustment again, but nowhere else in the entry does it mention the "wait an additional three levels" rules. It actually does:
Table: Reducing Level Adjustments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm#tableReducingLevelAdj ustments) gives the levels at which level adjustments are eligible to be reduced for starting level adjustments of +1 to +6.

[Chesto]

It actually does

According to the table what I proposed should work.

For example, you have an 8th level character with +3 LA (ECL 11, but that shouldn't be relevant). He needs to be 9th level to reduce his LA. He then gains a level, now being at 9th level, and chooses to reduce his LA on that level, losing a levels worth of experience. He would be down to +2 LA and at 8th level. In order to lower his +2 LA to +1 LA he'd need to be at 6th or 9th level, meaning that if he or she was a +3 LA and reduced his LA, then as soon as he gains a new level he or she would be eligible to reduce his LA again since his next level would be 9th again.


EDIT: I must be missing something, but I'm not quite sure what it is.

[Jormengand]

EDIT: I must be missing something, but I'm not quite sure what it is.

You can only reduce your level adjustment once at each of the levels given on T:RLA. So the drow has to reach 6th level to lose their first point of LA, and 9th to lose their second.

[Chesto]

Ah. I feel so stupid now.

When you lose the experience your level doesn't actually go down, since your level adjustment also goes down. If you wouldn't lose any experience then you'd gain a level every time you lower your level adjustment.

Thank you to everyone for their input!



EDIT: Guess I won't be getting rid of my level adjustment until I'm well into epic levels.