UA - do bloodline levels count towards feats?

[drnuncheon]

Well, that's why I said it's sort of like buying a Level Adjustment. And probably why they didn't just say it's like a Level Adjustment.

Anyway, bloodline seems to increase your ECL, but not your character level - that's why I likened it to a level adjustment. Just like a drow gets feats at character levels 1, 3, 6, etc and not ECL 1, 3, 6, etc, you would too.
In other words, it would go something like this:

1: Fighter 1 (ECL 1, character level 1) 0 xp
2: Fighter 2 (ECL 2, character level 2) 1000 xp
3: Bloodline (ECL 3, character level 2) 3000 xp
4: Fighter 3 (ECL 4, character level 3) 6000 xp <- character level feat here
5: Fighter 4 (ECL 5, character level 4) 10000 xp <- stat bonus here
6: Bloodline (ECL 6, character level 4) 15000 xp
etc.

...at least, that's the most sense I can make out of it. It seems to fit everything the rules say.

J

 

[Deadguy]

Well, according to Andy Collins ( http://pub36.ezboard.com/fgameschat19968frm9.showMessage?topicID=80.topic ) the answer is that it doesn't count as a level for the purposes of earning a Feat... but it can if you want it to as DM!

Okay, I can see it now, it's a weird LA. In many ways I wish they'd just left it as an ordinary Level Adjustment. I'm not so impressed by Bloodlines as I hoped I would be.

Oh well, there are plenty of other goodies.

 

[Olive]

thanks for the heads up Deadguy...

he also explains the spell caster level and skill ranks thing

I didn't want the bloodline levels to screw spellcasters any more than they already do, so throwing in the caster level adjustment seemed reasonable.

The skill thing is really just a toss-in for the skill-user. It's not nearly as important as the caster level benefit.

 

[Kemrain]

Any reason you couldn't throw in the rules for reducing EL, found right befoore Bloodlines? I could see them meshing fairly well, even with the caster level increase and max ranks boost.

- Kemrain the Interested.

 

[Deadguy]

Any reason you couldn't throw in the rules for reducing EL, found right befoore Bloodlines? I could see them meshing fairly well, even with the caster level increase and max ranks boost.

Personally, I think they mesh just fine. But to be consistent, I think you'd need to say that once you bought off a Level Adjustment (Bloodline level) then it ceases to have any impact on the character's level-determined abilities (so sneakily boosting skill level or caster level). If you'd already bought up a skill such that it's above your new level cap, well, personally I'd let it slide... you paid a lot of XPs for a small privilege!