Shackled City (Smoking Eye) question (spoiler!) ...

[Jeff Wilder]

A while back, my PC acquired the Smoking Eye template from Test of the Smoking Eye in the Shackled City adventure path series. My DM showed me the sidebar on it, but it's very strange; it's not written up at all like a normal +ECL template. I don't remember the exact wording, but it says the PC is only treated a level higher for the purpose of calculating XP, or something similar.

My DM has ruled that my PC counts as level 14 for calculating XP, but stays level 13 for everything else. I briefly argued with him (against my own best interests), as it's my belief that the author intended the Smoking Eye to be +1 ECL, and just did a bad job saying so. "Briefly argued" because, frankly, the template doesn't do much for my character (a necrotheurge) and getting further behind in acquiring spell levels (which is what happens if the template is +1 ECL) would seriously weaken him in relation to the rest of the group.

My question is simple:

Is the Smoking Eye template intended to be +1 ECL?

 

[glass]

Isn't 'treated a level higher for the purpose of calculating XP, or something similar', pretty much what +1 ECL means anyway? What difference does it make?


glass.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Isn't 'treated a level higher for the purpose of calculating XP, or something similar', pretty much what +1 ECL means anyway? What difference does it make?

The way the sidebar is worded, it sounds very much like the +1 level is only for the purpose of calculating XP. That is, my PC would be treated as 14th level for determining how much XP is awarded, but wouldn't be treated as 14th level for determining how much XP he needs to level-up.

 

[glass]

The way the sidebar is worded, it sounds very much like the +1 level is only for the purpose of calculating XP. That is, my PC would be treated as 14th level for determining how much XP is awarded, but wouldn't be treated as 14th level for determining how much XP he needs to level-up.

Oh, I see. That is strange. I guess it is probably meant to be +1 ECL in all it's glory, but I don't have the adveture so I'm really only guessing.


glass.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Personally I'd suggest to your DM to let you have the template without any level/xp modifiers. It is, after all, supposed to be a reward not a punishment. It's certainly not powerful enough to count as an entire level, especially for a wizard. If you have to, suggest that perhaps you can research a ritual to offset the level cost of the template (the numerical benefits are roughly worth 38000gp, and the rest more or less balances itself out).

 

[gfunk]

My DM has ruled that my PC counts as level 14 for calculating XP, but stays level 13 for everything else.

Your DM is correct. You are treated as one-level higher for how much XP you receive, otherwise everything else is unchanged.