Alternatives to Level Adjustment?

[Kobold Avenger]

There's been constant complaints about level adjustment for PCs, and yet I've never really seen anyone mention a good alternative to it.

So what exactly is preferable to LA as it's been done in the core books?

Would the buying off your LA option in Unearthed Arcana be one? It seems to only works for low LA races like Planetouched and Drow.

Would arbitrarily lowering the LA on many monsters work too?

What about more radical ideas like some system based off of standard magic items per level, now that the Magic Item Compendium has Item Levels? Comparing a special ability to a magic item's level...

What about level variants on monster HD levels, for monsters who want to be of a certain character class? Like lowering the hit die size, BAB for a monster to have spellcasting levels per HD.

 

[Agent Oracle]

Start with negative experience equivalent to the number of levels you wanted to be Level Adjusted?

So a +1 LA race starts with -1000 exp, +2 starts with -3000, +3 starts with -6000 and so on...

Unfortunately, this does cause a slight case of diminishing returns and disproportionately quick re-leveling. Since after the negative exp is paid off, you then start leveling as a normal character of equivalent exp to someone with the level adjustment you have.

The big problem is that this allows someone to potentially play a +19 LA race from the very start (like those Divinity hating outer-planes Xenophobes that I can't remember from the MMIII), and then just spend the rest of the campaign paying it off. Frankly, that's both boring _and_ unfair to everyone else.

 

[Mokona]

Use Savage Species monsters as character classes.

I think monsters need hit dice at every level, despite special powers, so give bonus powers/feats/items to humans and their ilk to catch them up.

Or if you limited everyone to a +2 level adjustment you could create a version of human, elf, dwarf, tiefling, &c that were powered up until each one had +2 LA. That puts the drow PC on the same footing as dwarf PC.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm currently designing a new campaign, and I'm planning on using the AU/AE take on racial class levels.

Its very similar to the SS approach, but with the following differences:

1) A PC need never take a single level of his racial class. He can adventure as long as he wants with just the base racial stats.

2) A PC who elects to take racial class levels does not have to take all of them. He can take as many or as few as he cares to.

3) Racial class levels have BABs, HD, save progressions and skill points, just like normal PC classes.

IOW, a racial class is just like a PrCl, except it has only one prerequisite: Must be a member of "X" race.

I haven't noticed any problems in AU/AE campaigns with this approach, and not all of the races have racial class levels. The tradeoff remains the same- take nifty racial abilities at the expense of normal class levels.

 

[Hussar]

Another option opens up if you use point buy for chargen. Standard races come in at a 25 point buy. LA+1 races come in at 17. If you want to use +2 races, then standard races come in at 32, +1 at 25 and +2 at 17.

Works fairly well IMO.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

My preferred solution would involve a little work - it would mean rebalancing all monsters to have a true Effective Character Level equal to their Hit Dice. Some creatures - probably the majority - would be very similar to fighters. Others would be like mages, or fighter mages, or priests, or thieves, or whatever.

 

[smootrk]

You can use a combination of methods.

The Point Buy 'buy off' - which is good for 1 or maybe 2 LA
The UA XP LA buy off - which is good for a few (3 maybe), but must be done over time.
Negative Traits, Flaws, etc. - a good method for another LA buyoff. A substantially weak Ogre, A Mind-Flayer with no Psi Blast power!, Drow with no SR, or roleplay effects like Mute (and player must pantomime all in-character communication).

Basically, I can work with the player to find a method to moderate those LA, but sometimes it takes a creative idea to make it happen. With the combination of methods you would be surprised at how much LA can be wiped off in reasonable ways.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I don't think you really can get away from LA. Every idea come up with so far still uses LA (potentially to nothing), just reduces it or allows a player to slowly obtain it.
Except for starting at negative XP, which as the poster pointed out has its own problems.
I think in many cases eliminating a race's racial hit dice and increases its LA by +1 could help PCs start with more class levels.
I also think WotC over estimated the LA of many creatures, and might've underestimated for a couple as well.

I've heard people suggest applying XP penalty (-20% say) or increasing the amount of XP needed to level up, both of these suggestions don't seem any better that LA in my opinion.

 

[Wraith-Hunter]

Start with negative experience equivalent to the number of levels you wanted to be Level Adjusted?

So a +1 LA race starts with -1000 exp, +2 starts with -3000, +3 starts with -6000 and so on...

Unfortunately, this does cause a slight case of diminishing returns and disproportionately quick re-leveling. Since after the negative exp is paid off, you then start leveling as a normal character of equivalent exp to someone with the level adjustment you have.

The big problem is that this allows someone to potentially play a +19 LA race from the very start (like those Divinity hating outer-planes Xenophobes that I can't remember from the MMIII), and then just spend the rest of the campaign paying it off. Frankly, that's both boring _and_ unfair to everyone else.

Possible but no sane DM would really allow it anyway so rather a moot point I think, in regards to massive LA races.

 

[Ry]

There was a really good thread about this in D&D Rules a while back. I asked how to equalize LA+1 and LA+0 races for my 6th-level cap game. The best and most agreeable response was to change the point buy; 32 point buy for LA+0, 25 point buy for LA +1.

Alternatively, you could go 32/25/18 for LA +0/+1/+2, but it starts to stretch a bit.