[3.5] LA Buy-off and Starting at Higher Levels

[Thurbane]

So, LA buy-off is a decent option for anyone wanting to play a level adjusted race.

And many games start with characters beginning above 1st level, especially when running a one-shot adventure or mini-campaign.

How do you mesh these together? How would you calculate a "fair" starting level for LA characters in a party alongside LA +0 characters?

Is it something really simple, and I'm missing a way to do it?

Cheers - T

[Troacctid]

According to the rules, when you start a game above 1st level, you have to give the players a certain amount of starting xp, not just a level. Any xp they spend as part of character creation, including crafting magic items or, in this case, buying off LA, comes out of that pool.

[Thurbane]

So, say an adventure was for 9th level characters: I'd give each PC 36,000xp, and the characters that had bought off LA would deduct the relevant amount, placing them at a lower level?

[Troacctid]

Right, or you could start at 40,000 xp and the players would have a little buffer to work with.