ECL of a Half-Celestial...

[Cergorach]

I'll keep this short and simple:

DMG says +3
Dragon says +5

By the current 'rules' it should be +5.

I personally found +3 a bit low, but on the other hand think that +5 is a bit on the high side. One of my players will get this template added to his character and i want to hear some opions about how fair/unfair using +4 is.

Background:
The character is called Caramon, Son of Torm. He's an Aasimar Purple Dragon Knight Lvl. 5 /Paladin of Torm Lvl. 8. The player expressed a desire to add the Half-Celestial template to his character. Normaly that would be a no-no, but as the character is called "The Son of Torm" and has some planar blood in his veins, i allready planned something "special". The template just fits in perfectly with my plans. I want to keep things as balanced as possible, not pulling one player before another or giving a player to much grief. I plan to gradually add some abilities at each level.

Points of view are appreciated...

 

[EOL]

While I think +5 is closer than +3 I think that the +5 is still under consideration. The list in the Dragon was published in anticipation of the Tooth and Claw book.

From your post I assume that you're going to allow him to take a "level" in half-celestial which will give him some of the abilities of a half-celestial when he takes levels in half-celestial equal to the ECL then he will be done. I've done this with a half-dragon and it worked out really well.

This being the case it sounds like you have quite a while before you have to know.

 

[ZR]

levels in 1/2 celestial

I would be interested in how you did "levels in 1/2 dragon" and how you are planning to do levels in 1/2 celetial.

Woulds it be like a character class or a prestiege class. Would a spell caster get spells??. Would a fighter get BAB increases?

 

[Irda Ranger]

Re: levels in 1/2 celestial

I would be interested in how you did "levels in 1/2 dragon" and how you are planning to do levels in 1/2 celetial.

Woulds it be like a character class or a prestiege class. Would a spell caster get spells??. Would a fighter get BAB increases?

I wouldn't. If they want a template, they need to pay the ECL in levels until their present character level is sufficient to advance with the ECL. For the next 3,4 or 5 levels the only thing you get are your template's powers, starting with the weakest. Its an interesting concept.

 

[AGGEMAM]

DMG says ECL +3, where?

 

[Jeremy]

Table 2-4: Monsters as Races, page 22.

Back when it was ok to be an ogre or a minotaur without being 10-13 levels behind the party.

(Ever since then it's gotten worse and worse, FRCS upped them by a couple each, FRCS errata by a couple more, Dragon magazine almost doubled them, and I'm sure Tooth and Claw will raise them a couple more again.
<sarcasm/exaggeration mode>
Want to play a gnoll ranger? Sure! Of course at this point their ECL +9 so you'll have 14 hit points at level 8 while the rest of us have near to 100. Go to it buddy! Why the long face? We can't have you outshining the human PC's now can we? You gave up the right to have as much fun as they when you presumed to be different! <frustrated sarcasm/exaggeration mode off>)

 

[AGGEMAM]

Thanks Jeremy, I completely forgot about that table. Not that it is very important anymore since WotC pulled the plug on ECL ratings.