Player Character Nereid: LA / ECL Issues

[Aeolius]

A player, whose character was the half-fey daughter of a nereid, left my game more than a year ago. She now has a new schedule and may want back in. At the party's current level, she might even want to return as a full-blooded nereid. Yet she thinks the ECL of 6 ( 3HD, LA +3) is a tad steep. Are there any options to tone it down, using the books? (She thinks the half-fey template is too generic and doesn't do justice to the nereid)

I have seen some of the rituals in Savage Species and the bit about reducing LA in Unearthed Arcana that might be of use, but I'm not sure that's the way to go.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Look at what it gets:
Displacement always on. You can't even buy that in a non-epic game (Major Cloak of Displacement is X/rounds a day).
Cha to AC as deflection bonus.
1/day Control Weather, Wall of Ice

Those are major reasons.
They have powerful abilities.
Removing Displacement would lower LA by at least 2. Turn it into Blur effect to lower LA by 1 (if you want to retain some form of it).

Additional Cha to AC is worth at least 1 LA.

So I would look at the abilities that are troublesome/powerful.

 

[Alzrius]

This isn't using the books, but you can have her start as a less-powerful nereid by simply not giving her the racial Hit Dice. She'd still have the +3 LA, of course, but at least it'd have the total ECL.

Having said that, I think the special powers of the nereid are going to be somewhat problematic. I'd go with a story-change of making her a nereid who has lost her connection with the Plane of Water, and so make the following changes:

She's now a Native Outsider, rather than Extraplanar.

She's lost her Drown power.

Her air breathing spell-like ability is now always active, and affects only herself (since she's still aquatic and all).

Stagger her other spell-like abilities so that they're gained when her character level equals the minimum caster level to normally cast those spells.

I'd also recommend getting rid of her displacement power, simply because having to make a 50% miss chance roll whenever she's attacked will become overpowered (and annoying) very fast.

Finally, reduce her dependency on her shawl. Make it so that if it's lost she's sickened, and if it's destroyed she's stunned for some period of time (not long, but enough to be serious) until she can make a new one, which shouldn't take more than a day.

I'd say that that'd reduce her to about LA +1, though I'm just eyeballing it. If you want to get her down to LA +0, I'd add a further reduction to her ability scores - change them from Str -2, Dex +6, Con +2, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +6 down to Str -2, Dex +2, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +4 (in other words, a net reduction of -2 to each ability score, with Strength's penalty moved over to Dexterity, on top of the normal reduction to Dex, so as not to hit her with a crippling Strength penalty).

 

[FEADIN]

It also depends on the level of the game, some abilities are way too powerful at low level and nearly useless at high level (save dc and cl to low) that's the problem with LA.
Removing racial HD is a good starting point.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I'm not familiar with the specifics of half-nereids, but could you convert it into a UA-style bloodline?

Alternatively, if you want to avoid some of the pitfalls of UA bloodlines, convert it into a "Bloodline level" advancement, more akin to the Racial Paragon classes. Here is such a scheme done up for generic fey bloodline levels.

 

[Aus_Snow]

What *I* would do - prior to a campaign starting, that is - is remarkably similar to what Alzrius would do, it seems.

That said, IMO the most important starting point is, 'What are the other characters?'

So, are they all 'by the book', any LA/HD, what levels/ECL, etc.

Also, 'What are the players (including the returning player) like, in terms of optimising, etc.?'

In other words, if there is something significantly exploitable, will it be exploited by any of them? And if so, how badly? In addition, if so, would that bother the others, or your good self? Likewise, would simple imbalance per se bother you or anyone else much, and if so at what point? . . . things like that, anyhow.

 

[Aeolius]

What *I* would do - prior to a campaign starting, that is - is remarkably similar to what Alzrius would do, it seems.

That is the direction I was leaning, as well. Not so much a less-powerful nereid as a half-fey specifically written as the offspring of a nereid, with powers significantly reduced from her mother's. Now... for a name... nereid:wiki

hrmmm.... aquatic na'vi?

 

[Starbuck_II]

Here is the Fey Bloodline if she likes it better than 1/2 Fey.
Bloodlines :: d20srd.org

She choose whether she is minor, meduim, or major (major makes most sense since she her mother was one).

You could switch out spells to fit the nereid if you want.
Charm Person for the drown touch, etc.