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<blockquote data-quote="Pax" data-source="post: 1516364" data-attributes="member: 6875">You should have followed the same rule I now impose on characters made for any game I ever run, based on my g/f's experience with exactly the sort of character you describe - an ECL(4) half-dragon, with only one hit die.&nbsp; And she was in a part of only third level characters (her XP was the same as theirs, it would've just been that much longer before she levelled up - I was treating her as ECL3 for the time being).&nbsp; She was literally a paper tiger; she had NO staying power in combat.&nbsp; A party of five characters, and she was the &quot;frontline fighter&quot; ... yet she had to fall back out of combat after two rounds, in serious danger of being dropped well below 0 with the next hit.&nbsp; Against nothing more than three 1st-level-warrior drow (and their third-level cleric leader, who bailed after only one round of combat).&nbsp; So.&nbsp; The rule I now use, universally, is: no more than havle your ECL may come from LA; the other half MUST come from actual hit dice (racial or class based, doesn't matter ... HD are HD).&nbsp; So, I don't allow starting Halfdragons at less than ECL6 .. which is enough for them to have three hit dice.&nbsp; Level Adjustment's &quot;increasing slope of difference&quot; effect can be ameliorated partly by using the &quot;Reducing Level Adjustmen&quot; variant in Unearthed Arcana.&nbsp; I'll definitely be offering that option for my face-to-face game when we get together tomorrow.&nbsp; Two of them are Genasi, and everyone is ECL4 (making them third-level characters, LA aside), so now is &quot;do or die&quot; time for them both.&nbsp; As for &quot;when is LA worth it&quot; ... that all depends on what sort of character you're building.&nbsp; While, yes, most 'casters want to avoid most LA races ... that's not always the case.&nbsp; For example, the Nixie, right from the MM1, is a +2 LA race that I think is the single best core-rules race for Sorcerors.&nbsp; They're amphibious, they're small (harder to hit, and a key +1 to hit bonus which any 'caster will appreciate), and they're much more likely to survive a melee whack or two, with their DR of &quot;5/cold iron&quot;.&nbsp; Most importantly, though, is their racial Charisma modifier of +6 ...!!&nbsp; Taken with the DR, being amphibious, an the incidentl benefits of being Small, that makes them a +2 LA race that any sorceror can live with taking.&nbsp; Yes, you'll be an extra spell level behind ... but, you'll also be more able to survive due to the uncommon-to-PC-races DR type, and ... what spells you DO have, will be all the better (+3 save DC, and significantly more bonus spells).&nbsp; So, it's all a matter of looking at what you're trying to build, and comparing the costs with the benefits ... and then making the call yourself. ^_^</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pax, post: 1516364, member: 6875"] You should have followed the same rule I now [b]impose[/b] on characters made for any game I ever run, based on my g/f's experience with exactly the sort of character you describe - an ECL(4) half-dragon, with only one hit die. And she was in a part of only [b]third[/b] level characters (her XP was the same as theirs, it would've just been that much longer before she levelled up - I was treating her as ECL3 for the time being). She was literally a paper tiger; she had NO staying power in combat. A party of five characters, and she was the "frontline fighter" ... yet she had to fall back out of combat after two rounds, in serious danger of being dropped well below 0 with the next hit. Against nothing more than three 1st-level-warrior drow (and their third-level cleric leader, who bailed after only one round of combat). So. The rule I now use, universally, is: no more than havle your ECL may come from LA; the other half MUST come from actual hit dice (racial or class based, doesn't matter ... HD are HD). So, I don't allow starting Halfdragons at less than ECL6 .. which is enough for them to have three hit dice. Level Adjustment's "increasing slope of difference" effect can be ameliorated partly by using the "Reducing Level Adjustmen" variant in Unearthed Arcana. I'll definitely be offering that option for my face-to-face game when we get together tomorrow. Two of them are Genasi, and everyone is ECL4 (making them third-level characters, LA aside), so now is "do or die" time for them both. As for "when is LA worth it" ... that all depends on what sort of character you're building. While, yes, most 'casters want to avoid most LA races ... that's not always the case. For example, the [i]Nixie[/i], right from the MM1, is a +2 LA race that I think is [b]the[/b] single best core-rules race for Sorcerors. They're amphibious, they're small (harder to hit, and a key +1 to hit bonus which any 'caster will appreciate), and they're much more likely to survive a melee whack or two, with their DR of "5/cold iron". Most importantly, though, is their racial Charisma modifier of [b]+6[/b] ...!! Taken with the DR, being amphibious, an the incidentl benefits of being Small, that makes them a +2 LA race that any sorceror can live with taking. Yes, you'll be an extra spell level behind ... but, you'll also be more able to survive due to the uncommon-to-PC-races DR type, and ... what spells you DO have, will be all the better (+3 save DC, and significantly more bonus spells). So, it's all a matter of looking at what you're trying to build, and comparing the costs with the benefits ... and then making the call yourself. ^_^ [/QUOTE]

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