Reducing Level Adjustment through Feats

[Volsung]

I was thinking about allowing my players to reduce the cost of level adjustment and racial hit dice, with full casters primarily in mind. I was wondering if anyone else had tried something like this (a few searches didn't turn up anything).

Below are the feats I've created to this end, any thoughts on power level or possible ways they could be abused would be much appreciated.

GASS JAW OF STEEL [GENERAL]
Characters with level adjustment become less vulnerable.
Benefit: Your maximum hit points increase by 1 + Con modifier per point of level adjustment, with a minimum of one point per point of level adjustment.

REDUCE LEVEL ADJUSTMENT [GENERAL]
You mitigate the penalties of level adjustment.
Prerequisite: Glass Jaw of Steel, 3rd+ character level
Benefit: When you take this feat your level adjustment is reduced by one and you immediately gain one class level to compensate.
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times, so long as you have level adjustment to reduce. Note the benefit of Glass Jaw of Steel is reduced (and possibly eliminated) each time you take this feat

MONSTROUS SPELLCASTER [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: At least one racial hit die, class with spellcasting ability.
Benefit: When you take this feat you gain new spells per day as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class you belong to. You do not, however, gain any other benefit that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If you have more than one spellcasting class, you must decide to which class to add the new level for purposes of determining spells per day

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I would have to do some testing to be sure (I probably will do so, at some point)... But I want to say that these are pretty well balanced. Blowing a feat or two (which is a pretty rare resource) to make up for a level adjustment is a pretty good idea.

Later
silver

 

[irdeggman]

I think I would try to tie a level prerequisite to taking the feats that buy back the LA.

What I mean is to use something similar to the minimum character level required to "buy back" LA spelled out in Unearthed Arcana. What this would do is to force a period of penalty instead of allowing a PC to use starting feats to overcome this insurge of power.

I'm also not sure that taking a feat that gives you a class level is real balanced. I mean all of a sudden you gain hit points, skill points, etc. for a mere feat not to mention that you are now 1/3 of the way toward getting your next level based feat to compensate.

 

[Land Outcast]

I quite like it... (doesn't mean it's balanced or anything, but I find it to be an elegant solution to LA)

 

[Nifft]

I'm not so sure about this. Would you allow these feats?

Awesome Elf [Racial]
Prereq: Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Really Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Really [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Awesome Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Truly Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Truly [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Really Awesome Elf
Benefit: SR 15 + Class Level, Int +2, Cha +2, Darkvision 120 ft.

- - -

Basically, think of it in reverse. Would you allow two feats to grant everything that an LA +1 race grants? Three feats to grant everything that an LA +2 race grants?

It depends what races you allow, of course.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Land Outcast]

Awesome Elf [Racial]
Prereq: Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Really Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Really [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Awesome Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Truly Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Truly [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Really Awesome Elf
Benefit: SR 15 + Class Level, Int +2, Cha +2, Darkvision 120 ft.

Well, excluding fighters, you are a 6th level drow without feats...
Actually, you will get to be an 8th level drow without feats...

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I'm not so sure about this. Would you allow these feats?

Awesome Elf [Racial]
Prereq: Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Really Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Really [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Awesome Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Truly Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Truly [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Really Awesome Elf
Benefit: SR 15 + Class Level, Int +2, Cha +2, Darkvision 120 ft.

- - -

Basically, think of it in reverse. Would you allow two feats to grant everything that an LA +1 race grants? Three feats to grant everything that an LA +2 race grants?

It depends what races you allow, of course.

Cheers, -- N

I might actually allow those... Well, not so much those, specifically, but I don't see much wrong with the concept.... On the other hand, those feats give you something that you didn't have before, making you stronger... Whereare the original feats take something away that you already had, making you less weak. There is a difference, however slight.

Later
silver

 

[Nifft]

Well, excluding fighters, you are a 6th level drow without feats...
Actually, you will get to be an 8th level drow without feats...

I'd think of it as an Elf with three feats: Darkvision 120 ft., SR 15+ and +2 Int (because I'd play a Wizard, and Charisma would be my dump stat, so I wouldn't care about the +2 Cha).

Boy, those are three nice feats.

Cheers, -- N

 

[evilbob]

I don't really see anything wrong with it, but a better restriction might be something along the lines of the suggestion above, such as:

Reduce Level Adjustment
Prereq: +1 or greater LA, character level >= 3 x your LA
Benefit: Your LA is reduced by one. You cannot gain more than 1 level at a time using this ability, and this feat may only be taken once.

Essentially, you'd have to "rest" and level again later, and you can't reduce your LA until the time the UA variant suggests, and to avoid over-powering the player, you can only reduce one level. Restrictive, but probably worth a feat.

Nifft: Another way to view it is that this feat is worth Y amount of XP, where Y = how much you would have lost with the UA variant rule. Not a very bad rule, I think.

Question to the OP: Is this an alternative to the UA variant rule or have you looked over that?

 

[Volsung]

Originally Posted by Nifft
I'm not so sure about this. Would you allow these feats?

Awesome Elf [Racial]
Prereq: Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Really Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Really [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Awesome Elf
Benefit: None, this is a wasted feat to qualify for Truly Awesome Elf.

Awesome Elf, Truly [Racial]
Prereq: Elf, Really Awesome Elf
Benefit: SR 15 + Class Level, Int +2, Cha +2, Darkvision 120 ft.

This is definitely on my mind, particularly abilities that scale with hit dice, like the drow SR 11 + class level and the half-celestials expanding list of spell-like abilities, DR, resistances, etc.

Given my players I don't think I'll have a problem with a 7th level drow sorcerer in a 7th level party, that hasn't a singe feat to his name. My most savvy player in this regard almost exclusively plays humans. In another kind of group this could be a problem, particularly if two characters fill the same party role, and one has level adjustment.

Originally Posted by evilbob
Question to the OP: Is this an alternative to the UA variant rule or have you looked over that?

You are correct, this was an alternative to that rule.

My issue with the original rule is: though the XP cost seems fair, ultimately the nature of the DMG experience point table closes that gap in a couple of party levels, at which point the character has paid no permanent cost for their special abilities.

I like your idea of steepening the character level requirement in line with the UA variant, however it pushes out access to spellcasting ability counter to what I'm trying to accomplish. Perhaps I could allow Practiced Spellcaster/Manifester to be limited by ECL instead of hit dice, and use it as an alternate prerequisite to Glass Jaw of Steel.

That would mean an LA +2 character could completely ditch his level adjustment until the rest of the party was 10th, yet would at least have access to spells through scrolls that a non-level adjusted spellcaster would be able to cast normally.

What do you guys think?

Oh, any got a better name for Glass Jaw of Steel?