Reducing Level Adjustments for Acquired Templates?

[thundershot]

In Unearthed Arcana, there's a nice way to reduce a level adjustment over time. However, a situation came up where the character was given a template (the Saint template from Book of Exhalted Deeds) that gave a level adjustment. Now we're curious on how to pay it off. The player insists that it shouldn't affect his 16th level character because it would have been paid off. However he didn't get it until just now (making him an ECL 18). One of the prerequisites for Sainthood is being at least 6th level, so it's not as if a first level character could have it anyway. At what levels, and how much XP should be burned to remove the LA?



Thanks
Chris

 

[Question]

The simple solution is not to allow LA buyoff at character generation, or to allow it immediately when someone gains a template, otherwise you are effectively gaining the benefits for nothing.

An example where a ECL 15 PC is made, he takes the half-celestial template, and "buys" it off.....making him a level 11, ECL 11 PC, as opposed to a level 11 ECL 15 PC.

 

[thundershot]

Normally it's fine, so long as the character has the template from the beginning. But this is a case of an active 16th level character gaining a template that gives a +2 LA. I want to give him the ability to eventually buy it off, but the rules don't take that into account.

My idea is to make him an ECL 18 character with 105k XP. When he finally builds up to 171k (18th level), I'll subtract the 66k from his total, and let him level up normally from there (since he'll be back down to the XP of a 16th level character). The other PC's meanwhile will be at 18th, so he'll still have a little catching up to do.

 

[Question]

It should be fairly simple. He gains EXP as a ECL 18 PC(and since the rest of the party is ECL 16, thats not much, and the rest will easily catch up to him), and when he finally does gain a level simply implement the buyback rule, he loses XP, and loses one LA.

 

[DM_Matt]

The saint has special rules for advancement that essentially ARE LA buyback rules. Instead of making each level harder from now on, it explicitly states that they sacrficie thier next two levels catching up. Its in Chapter 2 of the BOED, not the monster section. Thats also where it says that Saints are intentionally overpowered, so its also a reason not to really worry about his need for a buyback.

 

[Question]

You mean they dont get XP as ECL +2 PCs?

 

[thundershot]

Right. They spend the next two levels "catching up" but it also says that they're still an 8th level Paladin and a 10th level character. The "catching up" is supposed to represent the relatively low LA for the template.



Chris