Non-XP Level Adjustment Buy-off?

[Jastermereel]

I've got two questions bout Level Adjustment and I don't think the rules as written cover them so I thought I'd ask more generally.

Question 1: In an upcoming campaign, I'm going to be starting players at level 1. A player of mine wants to know if he can use a race with a +1 LA. Can this be made to work or would it have to wait for him to die and start a new character at some later level?

Question 2: If it can be made to work, is there a way to buy-off the Level Adjustment later without using XP? I was planning on doing a more casual way of leveling (it makes sense in the campaign to level now) than a pure XP method so the Unearthed Arcana guidelines wouldn't cover it. Any suggestions?

[holywhippet]

1. Treat the LA as XP required to reach the next level. So instead of needing the usual amount to go from 1 to 2, make his need the amount to go from 2 to 3. That way they take longer to reach each new level and will lag behind the other characters in level by a bit. Generally LA bonuses aren't that dramatic so as to be a game breaker.

2. Throw on some extra penalties maybe?

[theMycon]

Question 1: I agree with HolyWhippet above me. Let him start that way, but still need to wait 'til everyone hits 3 to actually hit 3 (or, LA1 classLevel2).


Question 2: If you level only every four or five sessions, just have him level 1 session later than everyone else after his buyoff "should have been" bought off.

Until you're far enough along that the "buyoff XP" is minimal, in which case you can make him level with the rest.

[AmberVael]

Here are a few options you could work with:

1) A normal level 1 character either dies or is retired after reaching level 2, at which point they are replaced by the appropriate character.

2) Use or make a Savage Progressions Class for the race.

3) Allow them to start off as a LA 0 race, but during the game, around the transition from level 1 to 2, allow them to somehow change their character's race- maybe some kind of magic ritual, or a weird procedure, or maybe they were that race in disguise all along (knowingly or unknowingly). Plenty of in game explanations.

Edit: 4) Give them the LA +1 race, but give them a level in an NPC class (such as commoner, expert, or warrior) instead of a PC class. Let them switch out that level for a PC class level when they level up, instead of gaining a new level.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Which race? There may be a +0 version either floating around or that we can construct. Failing that, depnding on the type, it may be balanced to replace the LA with 1 hit dice.

[Gaiyamato]

1. Treat the LA as XP required to reach the next level. So instead of needing the usual amount to go from 1 to 2, make his need the amount to go from 2 to 3. That way they take longer to reach each new level and will lag behind the other characters in level by a bit. Generally LA bonuses aren't that dramatic so as to be a game breaker.

I really like this as a variant idea for LA. Makes mroe sense to me as well. lol.

[TheOOB]

Just don't level him up to level 2 with the rest of the group. 1 level of being slightly overpowered(slightly) won't screw things up too bad.

After a certain point you could just have them level up one session later then everyone else.

Or perhaps the best solution, modify the race a little to be LA +0. Most LA + 1 races are not that impressive, so it's not that hard.

[Jastermereel]

So, I should have him lag behind a bit in the early levels but catch up somewhere around level 3-5 when the bonus stats/abilities starts to wear off? I'm still trying to stay away from the XP ideas, but delaying the leveling a bit or having him earn the level overtime sounds alright.

Which race? There may be a +0 version either floating around or that we can construct. Failing that, depnding on the type, it may be balanced to replace the LA with 1 hit dice.

The two he's mentioned as ideas so far are Catfolk and Chaos Gnomes. If it were a larger progression I'd do something like Savage Species does, but one level is hard to divide up that way.


How much is a Level Adjustment's bonus typically worth? Might it make sense to ask him to take a flaw or two?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

The two he's mentioned as ideas so far are Catfolk and Chaos Gnomes. If it were a larger progression I'd do something like Savage Species does, but one level is hard to divide up that way.

Catfolk...+2 Dex, -2(maybe Con? Str? Int?), keep the benefits other than the stat mods the same(and if you take 2 off of Con, keep the +2 Cha as well). Don't really remember about Chaos Gnomes.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

One method I tried a while back was to buy off LA by taking levels in NPC classes (warrior, expert, adept, or magewright in ECS, and maybe aristocrat but with fighter starting wealth), with every two NPC class levels buying off one point of level adjustment. If you want to try that, tell him his first two class levels must be in one of those NPC classes, and he'll be considered +0 LA. Those levels shouldn't ever count for whether he'd get an XP penalty for multiclassing. You may want to give him fractional BAB, such as if he goes Expert/Rogue, or Expert/Ranger/(3/4 BAB PrC).

For a race with +2 LA, your first four levels would have to be in NPC classes. You would count as +1 LA at level 1-2, so you'd have ECL 3 XP at your second character level. At ECL 4 XP you would gain your third class level, your +1 LA would be reduced to +0, and you would immediately gain a fourth class level being at ECL 4 with a +0 LA, which would also have to be in an NPC class. After that you could begin taking levels in PC classes and/or prestige classes, and not be behind on skill ranks, HD, BAB, feat progression, etc.

[Gnaeus]

Or you could add something to the other characters to put them where he is. Something like +2 to a stat of their choice, or a free feat, or a minor magic item given to them by their mentor. Then just ignore the level adjustment alltogether.

[Flickerdart]

You could just replace the point of LA with an RHD. Makes the guy marginally more powerful, but also means he won't be incredibly fragile. RHD is inferior to a real class level anyways.

So, as a Catfolk (Monstrous Humanoid?) he'd have a d8 hit die, full BAB, good reflex and will, and 2 skill points, meaning he loses out on most of the x4 1st level bonus, which will balance him out well enough even with the extra point of BAB.

[Satyr]

If you use the point-buy rules, you could reduce the points available for abilities. The ability scores will have an affect thorughout the game, but with magical items and the like, that will eventually even out. This probably works best if you use a higher that standard amount of abilitiy points, though.

[hewhosaysfish]

Question 2: If it can be made to work, is there a way to buy-off the Level Adjustment later without using XP? I was planning on doing a more casual way of leveling (it makes sense in the campaign to level now) than a pure XP method so the Unearthed Arcana guidelines wouldn't cover it. Any suggestions?

The problem is not with the XP for buying-off the LA: as soon as he hits character level 3/ECL 4 you just drop the LA so he's character level 3/ECL 3.
Simple.

The problem is with the XP awards after this. The character-who-had-a-level-adjustment-but-has-now-bought-it-off (I shall refer ro him as "the Aasimar" since its a convenient +1LA race) will be level 3 while the characters-who-never-had-a-level-adjustment-in-the-first-place (who I shall refer to as "the humans") will be level 4. So they will level up a different rates for a while before the Aasimar catches up.

Just crunching a few numbers in a speadsheet, it kinda goes like this:

Spoiler

Show

(Assuming xp awards for a party of 4 fighting encounters of a CR equal to the level of the guys who haven't bought of LAs)

After 9 enounters, LA-guy levels up to 4 (everyone is the same level)
After 5 more encounters, non-LA guys level up to 5
After 7 more encounters, LA-guy hits level 5 (everyone same level)
After 6 more encounter, non-LA guys hit 6.
5 more encounters, LAG hits 6 (all same level)
9 encounters, NLAGs hit 7
3 encouters LAG hits 7 (all same)
10 encounters, NLAGs hit 8
2 encounters LAG hits 8 (all same)
12 encounters NLAGs hit 9
1 encounters LAG hits 9 (all same)
12 encounters NLAGs hit 10
1 encounters LAG hits 10 (all same)
12 encounters NLAGs hit 11
1 encounters LAG hits 11 (all same)
Everyone levels up at the same rate after this point.

So, the guy who bought of the LA is roughly half-a-level behind until everyone is at level 6 or 7.
Then he levels up at roughly the same time as everyone else from then on. (Technically, he's a couple of encounters behind until everyone hits 11th but I guess if you can't be bothered to track XP, you're not going to be bothered with that )