How do you encourage players to use Level Adjusted races?

[Psion]

I use the rule in Green Ronin's Advanced GM's Guide (discussed here), granting characters a free ECL that can either be used to offset LA or gain other benefits.

 

[Sejs]

Anyway, regarding the original question.

I don't encourage my players to make LA-race characters, nor do I particularly discourage them. In my current game, however I do disallow any race above LA +1. Not ECL, mind, just LA. So a gnoll (2 rhd, +1 LA), a goliath, a tiefling, a bugbear (3 rhd, +1 LA), or a catfolk would all be playable, but a minotaur (6 rhd, +2 LA) or a loxo (5 rhd, +2 LA) would not. I do make use of the LA-buyoff rules from UA, so in a way that makes the +1 LA maximum more viable in the long run. Templates are right out.

If it's something that's a part of your character as a person, by all means, go for it. If you're shopping for cool powers, sorry, no. That's not the game I run.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Yup, another one here that likes to make use of racial and template levels instead of flat full LA's.

 

[Psion]

Yup, another one here that likes to make use of racial and template levels instead of flat full LA's.

Along the same lines, in World of Warcraft RPG, they have have racial levels for the likes of Minotaurs working from a base of LA+0. This means that you can credibly make the likes of a minotaur spellcaster. I consider this a very nice alternative and think it'd be cool if more positive-LA races were reworked in this fashion.

 

[Voadam]

In my Wildwood high option/heavy house rule pbp game here (recruiting replacements currently). I allow free LA (no xp adjustment) but charge characters 8 point buy points per LA for stat generation. It starts off at a very heroic point buy. They can also gain back 8 points for being limited to NPC classes.

So lower base ability scores for LA creatures but not behind on HD or xp.

Out of 5 PCs, three have been humans, one a lizardman, and one a LA race from Mythic Races.

 

[Crust]

I don't normally allow monstrous races (we play in FR). I did, however, convince one of my players to run a lizardfolk druid in the Age of Worms campaign we started last March. He started as a level 1 druid while everyone else started at level 2. He hasn't complained.

I encouraged the lizardfolk PC simply because of the third installment of Age of Worms: "Encounter at Blackwall Keep." The lizardfolk PC is an exhile of the Twisted Branch tribe, being forced to flee after his mother (one of Shukak's harem) showed him the black egg in the egg chamber. She was killed and the PC escaped. After meeting the other members of the party (backstory), he was able to return and reclaim his birthright, as the original lizard king, his father, was killed by Shukak. The PC turned over rule to another seasoned, wise lizardfolk who aided the party, and the game moved on from there.

Having a lizardfolk PC in the party made the lair encounter especially sweet, since PCs weren't slaughtering the largely neutral lizardfolk. It was a fantastic game.

Oddly enough, I made the half-orc ranger/stalker of Kharash into a good-aligned werewolf type known as a "blackwolf," so I guess I do allow monster races. I prefer making them available as oppose to allowing PCs to pick any race. It's a matter of balance, I suppose.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not a big fan of monstrous or extra-planar races as PC's...in my roll-up table there's a tiny chance of getting such but the player can still choose not to use it. I've had a Gnoll, a Centaur, and a Leprechaun as PC's over time in my current game, and that's enough. I can't see myself ever *encouraging* more such things...

Lanefan

 

[Wik]

Just look at the group listed in my sig: fully half of them have LA's!

We only really allow +1 LA races "as is", though (for reasons which I'll explain in a second). Anything else gets reworked into a monster class progression - not that anyone in the group has ever done so (unfortunately).

We start the game off at first level, but if you want to play as a 2nd level character, I do something similar to what Thanee does. They don't level when the rest of the group hits 2nd level, but once the group hits 3rd level, they're on par with everyone else. It seems to work, although we've noticed that LA races are definately specialized to their tasks (our catfolk rogue could probably out-rogue any human rogue of the same level, and the goliath is worth two fighters).

 

[Wrathamon]

I have done it a couple ways...

I used the LA buyoff option from UA in addition some custom adjustments.

Each LA can be removed by taking a FLAW (you do not get the bonus feat).

I also use Action pts so for every 4 action pts permanently spent you can loose 1 LA.

I thought about lowering this to 3.

I like the idea of a lower Point buy... I may use that as well.

Example 28pt buy or use a 25pt buy and loose 1 LA.

 

[BryonD]

I use the rule in Green Ronin's Advanced GM's Guide (discussed here), granting characters a free ECL that can either be used to offset LA or gain other benefits.

So this is working well for you? Or is it a new test you are trying?
How many LAs do you allow?
Do you consider a +1LA Fighter1 alongside a buffed up human Fighter1 to be L2 characters for CR purposes, or just higher power L1s? Or do you just not worry about CR and use reasonably accurate challenges?
Any downsides you noticed?