Level Adjustment - Revision history

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2023-06-21T16:55:32Z

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1d4chan>QuietBrowser at 20:58, 14 May 2023

2023-05-14T20:58:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:58, 14 May 2023
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	[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons~~]][[Category: Game~~ Mechanics]]		[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Mechanics]]

2.31.231.88 at 17:55, 9 May 2023

2023-05-09T17:55:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:55, 9 May 2023
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	'''Level Adjustment''' is a games mechanic native to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition]], which has yet to resurface.		'''Level Adjustment''' is a games mechanic native to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition]], which has yet to resurface. This is a good thing.

	In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.		In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.

73.70.13.107: Monster classes are NOT an alternative

2021-01-24T08:07:45Z

Monster classes are NOT an alternative

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:07, 24 January 2021
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	In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.		In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.

	~~==Monster Classes==~~
	The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species is an alternative to level adjustment however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up. The ''World of Warcraft'' tabletop RPG used a similar system.

	==Getting Around Level Adjustment==		==Getting Around Level Adjustment==

1d4chan>SpectralTime: /* Monster Classes */

2020-08-07T02:33:15Z

Monster Classes

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:33, 7 August 2020
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	==Monster Classes==		==Monster Classes==
	The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species is an alternative to level adjustment however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up.		The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species is an alternative to level adjustment however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up. The ''World of Warcraft'' tabletop RPG used a similar system.

	==Getting Around Level Adjustment==		==Getting Around Level Adjustment==

1d4chan>Agiletek: /* Monster Classes */ SS page 25: "When using these rules to create a character with one or more levels in a monster class, you can ignore level adjustment. This is replaced by your character’s monster class level." - Sounds pretty clear to me.

2020-08-07T00:17:24Z

Monster Classes: SS page 25: "When using these rules to create a character with one or more levels in a monster class, you can ignore level adjustment. This is replaced by your character’s monster class level." - Sounds pretty clear to me.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:17, 7 August 2020
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	==Monster Classes==		==Monster Classes==
	The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species ~~doesn't replace~~ level adjustment~~, nor was it intended to, contrary to the claims of certain dumbfucks who like to edit wikis without knowing what the fuck they're talking about. It did,~~ however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up.		The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species is an alternative to level adjustment however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up.

	==Getting Around Level Adjustment==		==Getting Around Level Adjustment==

73.70.13.107 at 07:56, 9 January 2020

2020-01-09T07:56:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:56, 9 January 2020
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	In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.		In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.

			==Monster Classes==
			The "Monster Class" system introduced in Savage Species doesn't replace level adjustment, nor was it intended to, contrary to the claims of certain dumbfucks who like to edit wikis without knowing what the fuck they're talking about. It did, however, allow races with level adjustments to be played from level 1, by starting out as a severely nerfed version of that race (similar to the "Lesser Drow", "Lesser Planetouched" etc. from the [[Player's Guide to Faerun]]) and then taking "levels" in their monster class instead of a normal class as they leveled up.

	==Getting Around Level Adjustment==		==Getting Around Level Adjustment==
	Unearthed Arcana included a rule for buying off level adjustment. Once you were a certain level you could spend XP to remove level adjustment forever. This ~~requires every player~~ character ~~having separate XP for the GM to keep track~~ of, and ~~since XP~~ gain ~~is based on your~~ level ~~relative~~ to ~~the [[Challenge Rating]] the GM needed~~ to ~~calculate~~ XP ~~twice for everything (the problem~~ is ~~hardly unique to LA Buyoff however~~, as ~~death+resurrection~~, level ~~drain~~ and ~~making magic items could all trigger it)~~. ~~Despite this it worked well enough~~ for ~~LA+1~~ and ~~LA+2 stuff~~. ~~Since~~ the ~~rule is OGL, any group that bothers~~ with LA ~~races uses it (though it's possibly~~ the ~~other way around: groups that don't use it find LA so horrible they don't bother with it)~~.		Unearthed Arcana included an optional rule for buying off level adjustment. Once you were a certain level, you could spend XP to remove level adjustment forever. This was very poorly explained and involved a lot of math that most people can't be bothered to remember, and the benefits were far from obvious. However, it sort of worked out: a character with a level adjustment of +1, upon earning 6,000 experience points, would hit ECL 4 and gain a third class level. When that happens, he or she would have the option of paying 3,000 experience points to reduce their LA to +0. They'd then be an ordinary level 3 character with 3,000 XP left, hanging out with a bunch of level 4 characters with 6,000 XP. However, they'd get back up to level 4 when everyone else is still 1,000 XP away from hitting level 5, and as time went on, they'd spend less and less time a level behind everyone else, and more time at the same level as everyone else. An aasmar or tiefling who wanted to pick up Outsider Wings, and who didn't take Monk or Favored Soul as their first class level, would be able to get the wings after earning only 18,000 XP (3,000 for the buyoff and 15,000 to keep to hit level 6) instead of the 21,000 XP needed to hit ECL 7. By level 20, the character with the bought-off LA will be spending around 85% of their time at the same level as their teammates, and only 15% of their time lagging a level behind.

	[[Pathfinder]], which was based on 3rd edition, just said no to level adjustments. While the system did include powerful races, they were measurably comparable to each other using the "Race Building/RP" system, so it fell to the [[GM]] to either disallow overly powerful races to maintain group balance, but if necessary he had the tools to actually change the mechanics of a particular race.		[[Pathfinder]], which was based on 3rd edition, just said no to level adjustments. While the system did include powerful races, they were measurably comparable to each other using the "Race Building/RP" system, so it fell to the [[GM]] to either disallow overly powerful races to maintain group balance, but if necessary he had the tools to actually change the mechanics of a particular race.
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	It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).		It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).

	~~==Monster Classes==~~
	Introduced in ''Savage Species'' the system is an alternative to level adjustment and racial hit die. Here the more powerful races have their abilities unlocked by taking actual levels in their specific racial-class, "true" multiclassing that came with the benefits of hit dice, skills and so on, and not some imaginary level that incurred a penalty. The original ''Savage Species'' required a player take all levels sequentially, and had several HDless levels to include level adjustment, but this was dropped in future incarnation, meaning that players could choose whether or not to take those levels, particularly if it interfered or benefitted their class progression. This would be standard in both [[World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game]] and [[Monte Cook]]'s '''Arcana Evolved''' series and like [[Psionics\|many]] [[Book of Nine Swords\|other]] [[Incarnum\|forgotten]] subsystems from 3rd edition this would be ported to Pathfinder by Dreamscarred Press.

	[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]		[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]

1d4chan>Agiletek: They're an alternative system to level adjustment.

2019-10-12T15:54:01Z

They're an alternative system to level adjustment.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:54, 12 October 2019
Line 9:		Line 9:

	It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).		It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).

			==Monster Classes==
			Introduced in ''Savage Species'' the system is an alternative to level adjustment and racial hit die. Here the more powerful races have their abilities unlocked by taking actual levels in their specific racial-class, "true" multiclassing that came with the benefits of hit dice, skills and so on, and not some imaginary level that incurred a penalty. The original ''Savage Species'' required a player take all levels sequentially, and had several HDless levels to include level adjustment, but this was dropped in future incarnation, meaning that players could choose whether or not to take those levels, particularly if it interfered or benefitted their class progression. This would be standard in both [[World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game]] and [[Monte Cook]]'s '''Arcana Evolved''' series and like [[Psionics\|many]] [[Book of Nine Swords\|other]] [[Incarnum\|forgotten]] subsystems from 3rd edition this would be ported to Pathfinder by Dreamscarred Press.

	[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]		[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]

73.70.13.107: Monster classes have nothing to do with LA

2019-10-12T15:26:26Z

Monster classes have nothing to do with LA

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:26, 12 October 2019
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	'''Level Adjustment''' is a games mechanic native to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition]], which has yet to resurface.		'''Level Adjustment''' is a games mechanic native to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition]], which has yet to resurface.

	In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance~~; races with~~ particularly ~~strong benefits, such as [[Planetouched]] counting as "Native Outsiders" and so being resistant/immune~~ to ~~various common spells, would be treated as if they were~~ a certain number of levels ~~already before they could calculate their levels~~. ~~Actually taking levels in a class~~ was ~~treated as [[multiclassing]]~~.		In essence, because different possible PC races have different levels of strength, Level Adjustment was brought in as an attempt to provide some form of balance. It started out as a system called '''Level Equivalent''', where, during character-creation, a character of a particularly powerful race had to start a certain number of levels below everyone else in the party, and... well, that was it. This ended up being an absolutely horrible system because the characters from more powerful races would rapidly catch up in level to their party members, at which point they'd be at a long-term advantage. Level Adjustment fixed this by making characters level up at a rate that was appropriate to their ''effective character level''; under this system, a character with a +9 level adjustment required as much XP to get from their first class level to their second as a character with a +0 LA required to get from their 10th to their 11th. This had the opposite problem of level adjustments being too steep a tax, because as the game progressed, class levels became waaay more important than racial traits.

	~~A good idea~~, ~~in theory~~. ~~In practice, most found~~ Level Adjustment ~~didn~~'~~t work out~~, ~~mostly because of the fact that while you were ahead of the rest of the party early in the game, the~~ level adjustment ~~didn't include crucial things such~~ as ~~Hit Dice, Skill Points or Save & BAB modifiers which added up in later levels, always putting you "one~~ level ~~behind" the other players, despite your fancy spell-like abilities or racial features. You would then struggle~~ to ~~catch up~~ with ~~them as they~~ had ~~less~~ of ~~an XP~~ tax than ~~you did~~.

	==Getting Around Level Adjustment==		==Getting Around Level Adjustment==
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	It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).		It also featured superior mechanics for playing a monster, by essentially putting a "floor" under it equal to the party's level (so a player wanting to be a [[troll]] would have to join a fifth-level party and only gain class levels from there starting at level 1), then dopplering out as the game went one (giving the troll a free level every three-or-so levels as his monster powers become less and less relevant, until he's caught up with the rest of the party).

	~~==Monster Classes==~~
	Introduced in ''Savage Species'' the system is a novel way of getting around racial imbalance. Here the more powerful races have their abilities unlocked by taking actual levels in their specific racial-class, "true" multiclassing that came with the benefits of hit dice, skills and so on, and not some imaginary level that incurred a penalty. The original ''Savage Species'' required a player take all levels sequentially, but this was dropped in future incarnation, meaning that players could choose whether or not to take those levels, particularly if it interfered or benefitted their class progression. This would be standard in both [[World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game]] and [[Monte Cook]]'s '''Arcana Evolved''' series and like [[Psionics\|many]] [[Book of Nine Swords\|other]] [[Incarnum\|forgotten]] subsystems from 3rd edition this would be ported to Pathfinder by Dreamscarred Press.

	[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]		[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Game Mechanics]]