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First Post
Although there isn't (and probably won't be) a system designed specifically to apply templates a la carte to PCs, the application of monster templates is a (very) viable option, and it's surprisingly easy to compensate for. I recently started running an off-night game with 2 players in which the players selected base classes and each applied one of the class templates from the DMG, complete with elite hit points. The result? Really. Freaking. Fun. For their first encounter, I gave the PCs each 10 minions, and we had a huge eye-of-the-storm type of battle (a large-scale siege raged around them) which lasted about 3 hours. Everyone enjoyed it immensely.
For this campaign, I'd originally considered simply gestalting the characters (UA-style), but then I considered the implications of low hit points (as compared to a full party) and fully double the number of powers to track. This kind of turned me off to the idea, but then someone (on these boards) suggested simply applying class templates to the PCs. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it, and so I decided to give it a whirl. It worked beautifully.
In order to try something like this with a full party (should work about the same with the other templates in the DMG), I'd probably let them apply the templates, skip the elite step, and just add a couple of levels to all encounters. If you're worried about the PCs leveling faster than normal, you might consider handing out ~80% XP or something. To try it with only some characters out of a full party, I would probably try a +2 LA with no elite HP and give the templated PCs full HP (based on class) and 1/2-level modifiers for their adjusted levels (possibly/probably also ability adjustments). That should be a pretty fair tradeoff. Hitting them in the HP or attack bonuses would probably cripple them to the point that they were extremely suboptimal when compared to the rest of the party.
P.S. - Giving the PCs minions is also mega-fun!!
For this campaign, I'd originally considered simply gestalting the characters (UA-style), but then I considered the implications of low hit points (as compared to a full party) and fully double the number of powers to track. This kind of turned me off to the idea, but then someone (on these boards) suggested simply applying class templates to the PCs. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it, and so I decided to give it a whirl. It worked beautifully.
In order to try something like this with a full party (should work about the same with the other templates in the DMG), I'd probably let them apply the templates, skip the elite step, and just add a couple of levels to all encounters. If you're worried about the PCs leveling faster than normal, you might consider handing out ~80% XP or something. To try it with only some characters out of a full party, I would probably try a +2 LA with no elite HP and give the templated PCs full HP (based on class) and 1/2-level modifiers for their adjusted levels (possibly/probably also ability adjustments). That should be a pretty fair tradeoff. Hitting them in the HP or attack bonuses would probably cripple them to the point that they were extremely suboptimal when compared to the rest of the party.
P.S. - Giving the PCs minions is also mega-fun!!
