Adjusting Level Adjustment?

[rugbyman]

I love the idea of playing monsters as characters (an old planescape habit). But I hate Level Adjustments. It just makes characters into paper tigers – terrible hp, terrible saves, & terrible skills. I know I'm not alone here.

So, I’ve whipped up the following for PC’s only (NPC’s are on their own!):

- For every point of LA, add 2 hp. No Con bonuses, just 2 hp per LA.

- For every point of LA, add +1 racial bonus to select skills. If the character has racial skills by virtue of its racial HD it allocates this bonus among its racial skills. If the character doesn’t have racial skills, it allocates this bonus among the following skills: Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local), Listen, Profession, Ride, Speak Language, Spot, Swim, and Use Rope.

- For every point of LA, add racial BAB and save bonuses as if the character had gained a comparable level in the Commoner NPC class (the worst progression in all categories).

- If using racial classes a la Savage Species, add these bonuses sequentially at every racial level where racial HD does not advance.

Really, this is a fancy way of replacing LA with levels in Commoner without advancing HD and all the benefits higher HD can bring (defense against fear effects, feats, ability bonuses, etc.)

For the record, I’m fine with NPC’s not getting these bonuses. Sure, a githyanki without these bonuses is inferior to a PC githyanki with them. But a PC githyanki is still a hero and heroes, regardless of race, are a cut above their fellow … whatever-they-are. And NPCs aren’t built to last anyway.

Now the question: do these bonuses make PCs with LAs more playable as PC races? Do they overpower a Level Adjusted PC? Are the benefits not enough? I know what works in my group, but I’m a small sample size!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Your suggestions have some merit, and shouldn't be unbalancing.

In a similar vein, you might want to do as Monte Cook did with his Arcana Unearthed/Arcana Evolved game- instead of LAs or Savage Species style monster levels, you treat & design those monster levels as actual class levels. A PC of a "monster"/LA adjusted race has a set of base stats, then can advance in racial levels, complete with HD, skill points, and other benefits.

Additionally, and most unlike SS, a PC of a "monster"/LA adjusted race need never take any racial levels at all, being content with the base racial stats, or can take some or all of the racial levels as he sees fit.

It works there, and I use it in my own campaigns. So far, no complaints.

 

[irdeggman]

The Savage Progressions articles at the WotC site laid out LA races (and templates) in a class level method.

This process covered the LA (not just the HD part - which was covered via Savage Species).

It also had the caveat that a character did not have to take all of the levels nor did he have to take them in order or prior to any class levels. Thus it was a way to make "lesser" races.

 

[eamon]

I don't think it's bad, but it's a little complex... can't it be simpler?

Unearth arcana has rules for "buying off" Level Adjustment. Those are a little over the top perhaps, allowing an LA to lapse entirely, but perhaps combined with a 5-10% slowdown in XP gain per "normal" LA it'd be balanced again? And frankly, I don't think there's a real problem with giving players "extra" HD. It's rarely a factor, and when it is, it's not really a balancing factor, more of a gee-your-drow-dies-to-cloudkill-roflmao factor. So maybe literally giving them an HD of commoner per LA is good enough?

Somehow I have the feeling that the real problem is that almost all level adjustments are too high - wisely, to make them not an automatic choice, but it does make such races weak, esp. for spellcasters that really need the class levels.

 

[Phlebas]

I did away with LA & house ruled SS style progressions so that you dont have to take all the racial levels first. (but your non racial levels can't exceed your racial levels until you've maxed on racial). You also get feats every three levels rather than HD, and you get skill points every level (though i adjust the racial points down so it effectively gives you + int skill points more for the non-HD levels)

Keeps things simple and since i have a centaur, half-djinn and a half-dragon in my group who seem happy enough without being overpowered relative to the two humans and the half elf it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Having said that, I had to re-write / create the progressions, and attempt to balance them. (not simple for high LA)

Since most combat orientated races tend to get significant con bonuses i've never seen the loss of HD/HP as a major disadvantage compared with what you do get