Rationalizing Savage Species

[Chauzu]

Well explained, my fellow Midget.

 

[Zerovoid]

Just say the minotaur is growing up while he's adventuring. He's not getting bigger because he's killing things, at least not from a narrative perspective. The minotaur is killing things while he's getting bigger. At the same time, the fighter is getting more skilled, and the wizard is learning more spells.

If the minotaur just sat at home in his maze and ate pizza all day, he'd still get bigger, but then he wouldn't be a PC, so no one would care if he was earning xp or not.

Basically, you have to accept that there is a certain amount of coincidence between the minotaur's growth, and his gaining xp. Except from the rules perspective, these are totally seperate things. They just happened to be aligned to help make a balanced game.

 

[Volaran]

Well, we have a race in my DM's campaign that we've been waiting for Savage Species to come out in order to make them PC compliant.

Now, starting them from level 1 isn't an issue now, because the group is currently 10th level, but in a campaign where such did occur, we're been discussing the following.

Gaining monster levels via experience while adventuring is strictly a PC thing. Regular members of the race will still end up with the full range of powers. A PC who is leveling up will have to take a level in another class if there hasn't been sufficient time for age to warrent another race level.

Now, this particular race averages four years from adolesence to adulthood. We get a fair bit of downtime, so it also wouldn't be out of the question to ask to wait until levelling up.


_Another_ idea that has been brought up was one I saw on EN World a little ways back. The idea of filtered experience. No matter how much experience is gained, the idea that a character can only process 1000 or 1500 or whatever number per month. This actually seems to fit well into an aging/leveling plan.

 

[Kai Lord]

Basically, you have to accept that there is a certain amount of coincidence between the minotaur's growth, and his gaining xp. Except from the rules perspective, these are totally seperate things. They just happened to be aligned to help make a balanced game.

Touche. Nicely put.

 

[David Argall]

excuse

One available excuse is a Curse, which can only be cured by this strange process [which just so happens to be what the party is doing]. He has been shrunk and otherwise weakened until he xnays the yzay, or whatever, a thing he achieves as he gains experience, by strange co-incidence.

"I am cursed, and I can't remember the curse or its cure..."

"Say, I remember! Part of the cure of the curse was to kill this ogre we just fought."

And so forth. Good roleplay for him if he wants to use it.

 

[Volaran]

I'm reading Savage Species now, and I note that on page 27, there is a section on multiclassing a character with monster levels. I guess the standard ruling implied in the book is that a character cannot multiclass out of a monster class until they've finished progressing in that class.

The reason given is that this is to prevent a player from starting their character off in a monster class for a few quick benefits, and then immediately going into a standard class.

That does make sense, but I think we'll likely be using age and multiclassing anyway when it comes down to it.

 

[edbonny]

Something like a halfling is pretty much born as far as their body can take them. But a minotaur (for instance) can go through their entire lives never realizing their true might that lies simply beneath the skin, needing only the propper stress and pain to manifest.

This explanation only satisfies if the minotaur PC is an orphan with no attachment to any minotaur society. However, if this minotaur comes from an actual minotaur society (i.e. the advanced empire of minotaurs on Taladas on Krynn), then it would be common knowledge throughout that society that all minotaurs could/should achieve their full size.

The jury is out until I get the book. I would like to see how Wizards offers us ways to handle this.

 

[Nifft]

The way I'd rule it is that the player WILL gain Monster Levels, involuntarily, when the DM sees fit (over time). They'll only voluntarily choose their regular class levels.

Of course, their monster levels will eat into the XP available for their regular class levels, but that's what you get for playing a monster.

-- Nifft

 

[I'm A Banana]

This explanation only satisfies if the minotaur PC is an orphan with no attachment to any minotaur society. However, if this minotaur comes from an actual minotaur society (i.e. the advanced empire of minotaurs on Taladas on Krynn), then it would be common knowledge throughout that society that all minotaurs could/should achieve their full size.

It still works...it just means that the minotaur from such a society (like a typical adventurer) hasn't advanced to a normal level for their society yet.

Otherwise, take the initially at full ECL and don't allow the Minotaur race-class, is what I'd do.

 

[Psion]

Re: re: the minotaur

Well BMF, again it comes down to the idea of aging through action, the way the rules ( size is the change causing the biggest problem) the lazy minotaur who avoids conflict (and therefor XP) will remain barely more than a human, while the one who goes out and slaughter goblins comes home 11 feet tall and immune to maze spells.

You don't need to engage in conflict or kill things in 3e to get XP. Read your DMG. Specifically the (ahem) Minotaur example.