A question about level drain....

[sfgiants]

Hey all, I had a question regarding level drain and I can't seem to find the answer anywhere... I certainly missed it...

Anyways, once being level drained and having a Restoration spell cast what xp does the renewed lvl go to? example if you were at 2nd level and were drained 1 level, later got restoration cast would you have your original xp or start at the start of lvl 2?

Secondly, once restored do you have to take the same level in the same class your lvl 2 was in? For example a level 2 rogue gets level drained, then restored. Instead of taking back the lvl 2 rogue, could they instead go fighter?

Any help/advice would be great

 

[Dracomeander]

Restoration only brings the character to the minimum XP needed to achieve the formerly lost level as explicitly stated in the Restoration spell.

Also, it is a Restoration, i.e. returning the character to its previous capabilities. If the character wanted to rethink and reallocate his choices for the level, he would have to forego the Restoration and gain the experience to qualify for the level again.

 

[TheGogmagog]

I believe that when you are drained levels, you go to the midpoint of exp of that level, but when restored you go to the lowest exp for that level. I don't remeber seeing the second point spelled out before though.

By the RAW you could lose a level and then take levels in something else. There was also a debate last week about if you lose your higest class level or your most recent class level. Your most recent prevents you from losing levels in a core class, and then resuming a prestige class, assuming you now meet the prerequisites.

Personally, I run permanent levels in the same way temporary levels are. Your exp drops to the specified amount, and you take -1 to all rolls and so forth for each level drained. This saves you from remembering what you rolled for hitpoints, where you put your skill points, what feats and so forth which could be hard to track for more than a level.

This is actually better for the player because class skills and feats are unaffected and spellcasting is affected at a slower rate than the energy drain. It also saves time when they level back up you just remove the penalties.

 

[werk]

May be talking about something else, but with regard to energy drain and negative levels... http://www.d20srd.org/srd/naturalSpecialAbilities.htm#energyDrainAndNegativeLevels

In 3.5 we've never played level loss as lower xp. It just lowers everything with regard to level until they get the restore. It's a level penalty, not an xp penalty.

 

[seans23]

Anyways, once being level drained and having a Restoration spell cast what xp does the renewed lvl go to? example if you were at 2nd level and were drained 1 level, later got restoration cast would you have your original xp or start at the start of lvl 2?

Well, first I'd say that if you're going to have restoration cast, do it within one day of receiving the negative level, so you don't have to worry about it. However, if a day has passed and the person loses his fortitude save and is drained a level, and you cast restoration, the person will be at the start of level 2.

 

[Len]

In 3.5 we've never played level loss as lower xp. It just lowers everything with regard to level until they get the restore. It's a level penalty, not an xp penalty.

So, what happens if you lose levels and don't get them restored for a long time? (Happened in our campaign recently.) If you get more XP, do you get to keep it? What if you get enough XP to advance a level - but your XP is already 2 levels past your actual level?

 

[seans23]

So, what happens if you lose levels and don't get them restored for a long time? (Happened in our campaign recently.) If you get more XP, do you get to keep it? What if you get enough XP to advance a level - but your XP is already 2 levels past your actual level?

Restoration only works for one day per caster level after the level loss, so that limits the amount of time.

When you get a level loss, you lose a level, and your XP changes to reflect that, so your XP would no longer be 2 levels past your actual level. If you get enough XP to gain a level, don't bother with the restoration.

But really, why wait around to cast Restoration?

 

[Zandel]

Where is the text in the SRD stating that loosing a level makes you loose xp?

We've always played that you loose the benifits but your still considered that level for xp purposes.

 

[Len]

Where is the text in the SRD stating that loosing a level makes you loose xp?

I don't think there is any.

But my question still stands: What do you do if you've lost a level and then you gain a bunch of XP? How do you handle leveling up, if your XP doesn't match your level?

 

[dcollins]

Where is the text in the SRD stating that loosing a level makes you loose xp?

From SRD "Magic Overview: Casting Spells: Special Spell Effects: Bringing Back the Dead":

Level Loss: Any creature brought back to life usually loses one level of experience. The character’s new XP total is midway between the minimum needed for his or her new (reduced) level and the minimum needed for the next one. If the character was 1st level at the time of death, he or she loses 2 points of Constitution instead of losing a level.

You can't have your XP be one thing and your actual level be another thing. That would be simply contradictory.