Level Drain Questions

[Aluvial]

I have a few questions about level drain (and Vampires).

1) If you die while having negative levels bestowed to you, but aren't drained to level 0 (i.e., you were killed from other damage), what happens when you someone casts Raise Dead on you? Do the negative levels remain?

2) You are supposed to lose a level whenever you return from the dead. If you had negative levels when you died, do you lose one of those when you return, or is that an additional penalty for dying?

3) What happens to an animal companion that has negative levels? What if it also died?

4) In 3.0 there was the spell, "Negative Energy Protection." What is the equivalent to that spell in 3.5 if any?

Thanks,

Aluvial

 

[Legildur]

4) In 3.0 there was the spell, "Negative Energy Protection." What is the equivalent to that spell in 3.5 if any?

I'm not willing to make a wild error on questions 1-3, but Death Ward (Clr4/Death4/Pal4/Drd5) replaced Negative Energy Protection.

 

[Pyrex]

A character with negative levels at least equal to her current level, or drained below 1st level, is instantly slain. Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight.

0.5) You weren't killed by the Energy Drain, so Raise Dead works.

1) Raise Dead lists conditions it repairs. Negative Levels are not on that list. Ergo, when raised you still have negative levels. A kind GM would probably rule that Raise Dead dispels any Negative Levels (but would not reverse Level Loss)

2) Two different things. Energy Drain attacks typically result into Negative Levels which may result in Level Loss 24hrs later. Raise Dead instantly causes 1 Level Loss.

3) If an animal companion acquires Negative Levels < it's HD; 24hrs it saves to remove them. The rules do not cover what happens if it fails; but it'd be reasonable to apply the rules for advancing monsters by HD in reverse. If it's killed by Negative Levels > HD, it'd rise as undead, just like a PC.

 

[Hypersmurf]

A kind GM would probably rule that Raise Dead dispels any Negative Levels (but would not reverse Level Loss)

Someone asked Monte Cook in 3E once what happens if the 24 hours expire while you're dead. He said that as a DM, he'd assume a dead character automatically failed the Fort save, so the negative levels would automatically cause level loss that would be there when you were eventually raised.

Some DMs aren't as kind as others

-Hyp.

 

[Pyrex]

Well, I was assuming that the Raise Dead was occuring within 24hrs thus the Negative Levels hadn't converted to Level Loss yet.

I'd also rule that a corpse is an object, and thereby immune to Level Loss 24hrs later.

*shrug*

 

[Aluvial]

Someone asked Monte Cook in 3E once what happens if the 24 hours expire while you're dead. He said that as a DM, he'd assume a dead character automatically failed the Fort save, so the negative levels would automatically cause level loss that would be there when you were eventually raised.

Some DMs aren't as kind as others

-Hyp.

This is going to happen to my group. In short, there are 8 20th level characters, 1 animal companion, 2 cohorts, one 15th level, one 12th. I had the group go against a gigantic vampire coven, virtually a whole slew of True Vampires and Vampiric Spawn. All told the group lost 73 levels, but none lost more than their HD.

The cleric is only able to cast 5 Greater Restorations the next day, and manage to take take 7 Restorations to restore all but 2, the cohorts. The 15th level cohort is dead. If not raised, he will make his Fort saves, 8 of them. He will make them one at a time, each one he survives will raise his saving throw by one, until all are rolled for!!! I won't auto-fail him, but I will make him roll regardless of him being dead or not.

((Dead is a state for the character, a dead character that has a spell cast on him, still has the spell on him when he's dead, unless of course the spell needs a living creature to be effective. A lot of spells don't have that requirement as far as I know.))

Aluvial

 

[StealthyMark]

Someone asked Monte Cook in 3E once what happens if the 24 hours expire while you're dead. He said that as a DM, he'd assume a dead character automatically failed the Fort save, so the negative levels would automatically cause level loss that would be there when you were eventually raised.

Actually, I think that's wrong. A dead person is an object. Objects are immune to anything requiring a fortitude save. So the negative level would just dissipate.

 

[FEADIN]

I think so, they dissipate but you can say that negative levels are linked to the soul, when you're dead you can still be affected, a bit complicated by the rules but possible.
To be fair the penalty is death, remove more levels seems a bit too hard.

 

[Infiniti2000]

4) In 3.0 there was the spell, "Negative Energy Protection." What is the equivalent to that spell in 3.5 if any?

As Legildur mentioned, there's death ward. However, doesn't one of the supplements, perhaps Complete Divine, have a new spell called protection from negative energy? It's lower level but works on a save of some sort.

The cleric is only able to cast 5 Greater Restorations the next day, and manage to take take 7 Restorations to restore all but 2, the cohorts. The 15th level cohort is dead. If not raised, he will make his Fort saves, 8 of them. He will make them one at a time, each one he survives will raise his saving throw by one, until all are rolled for!!! I won't auto-fail him, but I will make him roll regardless of him being dead or not.

This, as you probably know, is a big source of debate. I think a majority of people (based on my recollections of the threads) rule that restoration removes all negative levels, not just one. So, the heroes should be fine.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

Player: "I've got six negative levels and we ran out of restorations? Quick, kill me! You can raise me after the 24 hours. That way I'll only loose one level."

I'd have the saving throws made at the 24 hour mark.

-RedShirt