Raise Dead and level loss?

[Legildur]

Experience point guide in the DMG says that characters that started the encounter get experience, even if the died during the encounter.

Say you are 6th level and just short of 7th level, start an encounter, die, and yet earned enough xps to make 7th.

What happens if Raise Dead is cast on the character? Do you:

1. Go back to the mid-point between 6th and 7th? or

2. Go back to the mid-point between 5th and 6th? or

3. Or some other bizarre option that I disregarded as unlikely? (like apply xps gained after the raise).

 

[the Jester]

You lose the level first, then (upon returning to life) gain the xp from the encounter.

 

[Li Shenron]

You lose the level first, then (upon returning to life) gain the xp from the encounter.

What makes you so sure about that?

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

What makes you so sure about that?

Probably that it says so in the DMG

(can't tell you the page, don't have the books with me.)

 

[shilsen]

Pg. 41 of the DMG (3.5).

 

[Li Shenron]

Pg. 41 of the DMG (3.5).

Right

If I had to adjuticate by myself, I would have let the PC get the Xp when he died, since what he did to gain them he did it before dying. This would have meant that it would have been possible for him to gain a level and lose it immediately, and basically being raised at the same level (although with Xp halfway towards the next).

If the DMG has an official rule, obviously it should be used. It could still happen that once raised he gets back the lost level by those Xp. But now the question: since it's one level lower when he gains the Xp, do you give his Xps as a lower level character? But he wasn't lower level when he actually defeated those monsters.

 

[dcollins]

Generally the (1) lose level, (2) gain XP sequence is more advantageous to the PC. On average you'd prefer to lose half the XP from a lower, less-XP level than a higher one.

Of course, I play under 3.0 where it's simpler and individual level doesn't matter in the XP calculation -- don't have an analysis to know definitively if that changes or not (I'd doubt it).

For old-schoolers, working under the idea that XP gets awarded after rest and reflection (not instantaneously during an adventure), then it makes sense that the PC needs to be raised first, comprehend what happened, and then get the XP award.

 

[physics_ninja]

Generally the (1) lose level, (2) gain XP sequence is more advantageous to the PC. On average you'd prefer to lose half the XP from a lower, less-XP level than a higher one.


That is true only half of the time. Specifically, when you are in the bottom half of the level.

Consider character A, who has 5990 xp and 3rd level.
Consider character B, who has 6010 xp and 4th level.

Both die and loose a level.

Character A goes to 2nd level and now totals 2000 xp. Net loss 3990 xp.
Character B goes to 3rd level and now totals 4500 xp. Net loss 1510 xp.

Edit: Thinking about it some more, if you don't gain a level with the xp from the 'death encounter' then it gets lost anyway if you apply xp before the level loss, because you are going back to mid level.

 

[Wish]

I'm a softy. I let my PCs do it in whichever order is most beneficial to them.

 

[Dimwhit]

I'm a softy. I let my PCs do it in whichever order is most beneficial to them.

That's what one of our DMs did. He houseruled it to let the PC take the experience either before or after he is raised. Kinda nice, and not unbalancing at all.