Negative levels: an alternative?

[Desdichado]

I've never been a fan of negative levels. For one thing, the concept does not quite make sense to me ("that vampire just slapped the levels right outta me!") making it unlike anything in literature, folklore or any other source that I can imagine D&D would draw from. It's clearly just a mechanical penalty, which I find terribly uninspiring.

And, to make it worse, it's a real pain to have to stop and compute all the changes negative levels slap onto a character, especially if you're likely to just have to do it again later in the same combat. There's nothing to release the tension from a big fight scene like stopping for ten minutes to figure in your negative levels.

So, is anyone else doing something different for negative levels? Some kind of replacement system that doesn't feel so "gamish" and is easier on the book-keeping?

 

[Berk]

I use the standard negative level rules. -1 to all skills, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, and a -1 effective level penalty for things that require level to be a factor like say a caster level check. Sorcerers and wizards also lose one spell or spell slot from their highest level spell. Only after the 24 hours are up and if you fail the fort save then does paper work come in, but by that time most of the time you will be in down time.

 

[Chroma]

Negative levels...

I've always hated level loss in all incarnations of D&D, so I've always looked for alternatives. In 2nd Ed I used abilty damage, but that's something that exists already in 3rd Ed. I was tinkering around, trying to think up and an idea, when the obviousness of it slapped me in the face! *laugh*

In my campaign, if someone recieves negative levels, and fails their Fort save after 24 hours, we don't lower their class level, we just leave the negative level (-1 per negative level to a bunch of stuff) on them as a penalty! The character does lose xp as if they had lost a level, and must regain it to remove the "shadow on their soul", but there's none of the silliness of losing knowledge or hit points or suddenly deciding to go into a different class. My players like it because it seems more like their character's souls have been damaged by the dark touch of undeath and it seems more plausible to them.

Does that make sense?

 

[Drawmack]

Character folio from green ronin make negative levels as easy as turning back the pages.

 

[Desdichado]

Re: Negative levels...

I've always hated level loss in all incarnations of D&D, so I've always looked for alternatives. In 2nd Ed I used abilty damage, but that's something that exists already in 3rd Ed. I was tinkering around, trying to think up and an idea, when the obviousness of it slapped me in the face! *laugh*

In my campaign, if someone recieves negative levels, and fails their Fort save after 24 hours, we don't lower their class level, we just leave the negative level (-1 per negative level to a bunch of stuff) on them as a penalty! The character does lose xp as if they had lost a level, and must regain it to remove the "shadow on their soul", but there's none of the silliness of losing knowledge or hit points or suddenly deciding to go into a different class. My players like it because it seems more like their character's souls have been damaged by the dark touch of undeath and it seems more plausible to them.

Does that make sense?

Y'know, sometimes all you have to do is ask, and you get to see brilliance in action! Great idea, consider it stolen!

 

[Chroma]

Re: Re: Negative levels...

Y'know, sometimes all you have to do is ask, and you get to see brilliance in action! Great idea, consider it stolen!

Thanks! Can you tell me how it works out with your players?

 

[shadowlight]

You can also just hang on to your character sheet from the last time you leveled up

 

[Desdichado]

You can also just hang on to your character sheet from the last time you leveled up

That's only half the problem. That's actually not that hard to do, what's hard is imagining a vampire running around slapping you and saying "who's ya daddy" and it knocks the levels right outta you!

 

[Darkness]

Moved to House Rules.

 

[Plane Sailing]

FWIW I treat them all as CON drains along the same line as the wraith.