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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 6153214" data-attributes="member: 8461">I think that the problem is the opposite issue.A standard class level, overlooking specific class abilities, will grant four things: Hit Dice, BAB, saves, and skill points. Each Hit Die that a monster earns will come with those other three as part of the same package, so superficially they're the same - one class level is worth one "monster level."The problems start to come when we look at the issue of class features. Specifically, they're two-fold: 1) Monster abilities don't build on themselves across levels the way significant class abilities do, and can't be built on by existing classes. Hence why your 1st-level gnoll ranger will not be as effective as your 3rd-level human ranger; the latter character simply has more class abilities that are increasing or improving on themselves over multiple levels.2) Assigning a "level adjustment" to special monster abilities is problematic at best. Saying that special powers are, collectively, worth a certain amount of levels is difficult, because those special powers will only be useful at certain (usually very specific) times, whereas by contrast the standard fare of levels (the aforementioned Hit Dice, BAB, saves, and skill points) will, collectively, be useful in virtually all situations. A <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/planetouched.htm#aasimar" target="_blank">3.5 aasimar</a> has several special abilities (most notably a +2 to Wisdom and Charisma, resistance 5 to acid, cold, and electricity, and can use daylight once per day), but these aren't going to help when trying to hit an enemy, or survive being hit in combat, or make a Reflex save, etc.There's a reason why each class levels grant a suite of things that, while certainly not sexy, lay the foundations for a workable character in the game system - and that's before their special class abilities are taken into account. Special abilities, even when grouped into a whole, can't be so easily declared to be worth X number of levels.</blockquote>

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