Questions about lion totem

[moritheil]

As Hyp and I indicated, you can't play the race AT ALL unless you are taking all the racial HD and the LA to start with. That is, in fact, the standard way to start such a character.

If you allow people to take class levels or whatever first, that's totally up to you as a DM - but strictly by the rules it isn't an option and a DM is not under any obligation to allow it.

This is why I found it very odd that you were complaining about 3rd level centaurs with a level in fighter and a level in barbarian.

 

[calighis]

Races of the wild provides a template where you can play them from level one and take the monstrous levels up from one slowly gaining all of the characteristics of the full blown centaur over the spread one level at a time. You sacrifice two hit die along the way as well as a feat and instead gain hefty bonuses to your stats and a permanent size increase by 6th level.

I think its a fair breakdown only the loss of two hit die at the level 1 through 6 stages of the game really makes survival very difficult. and makes what would otherwise a great tank into skittish archer.
So I grant that players must complete all their centaur or other levels by the time they are eighth level and that gives them some leeway.

I recommend this approach to anyone who is serious about playing a nonstandard level adjusted race from early levels.
Of course we wont have this problem by 4th edition.
Too bad.
It was a fun problem to have.

 

[moritheil]

It's not that I was unaware of RotW, it's that I didn't understand why you stated you had a problem when one is not intended (per RAW) to play that race at that level to start with.

Anytime you let people have things before the minimum levels, balance could get wonky. For example, if you let the party wizard memorize 9th level spells at 10th level, I'm sure there will be issues. You should be prepared for that. It's self-evident.

Earlier, you stated your house rule to fix the matter of "3rd level characters" rampaging like it was a universal problem that resulted from poor design and necessitated a house rule, rather than a problem specific to your own campaign stemming from your own earlier house rule.