Would you play a Class with an XP adjustment?

[TheAuldGrump]

A better poll might have been:
1: No

2: Hell, no.

If you want it to be powerful make it a prestige class that requires a high level to enter. And balance it with other characters of the same character level.

The Auld Grump

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Thought I understood the question before I voted. I voted yes, but now that I understand it better, no.

 

[jgbrowning]

There is an actual example of this: the Guild Wizard of Waterdeep prestige class in Magic of Faerun has a 10% XP penalty.

Rassilon.

As do, I believe, any multiclasses that are more than a level apart if not the races favored class.

joe b.

 

[jgbrowning]

Thus say a 4th level Swordsman would be balanced against a 2nd level Mage, or the like.

I have to ask however, why just not play a 4th level mage then? I guess, if you're trying to achieve a balance for unbalanced style play I just don't get it.

joe b.

 

[Bront]

Why do that? If there is a penalty to balance it out, then it's still balanced eventualy, and why not just spread the abilities out over more levels than giving them all at once?

Generaly, I found that the fun tends to trump over balance, and players would rather feel like they can be interesting and usefull rather than balanced, and sometimes non-combat usefullness balances out combat usefullness. If I have to play a little unbalanced to make things fun for all, what's the harm?

 

[Starglim]

Properly designed 3e classes already have an XP penalty. It's called "taking more levels to get the things you want".

 

[MonsterMash]

Not in 3e, as has already been pointed out it breaks down the claimed balance and makes tools like CR and EL even less reliable, especially as it would tend to break those at the low levels where they are reasonably effective.

 

[Li Shenron]

I wouldn't mind per se to play such a character, but I would decline anyway, because it is completely unnecessary to have such a class. You can probably just break down its abilities in more levels, getting about the same result without the need for penalties.

If it was in a published book, it would fall into the old commercial trick "look what powerful character you can play if you buy me", only to balance it out again.

 

[MerricB]

There is an actual example of this: the Guild Wizard of Waterdeep prestige class in Magic of Faerun has a 10% XP penalty.

There is? Who was the developer who let that by?

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

As do, I believe, any multiclasses that are more than a level apart if not the races favored class.

Indeed. Although, that's not strictly a penalty for balance, but more a "don't do this" sort of thing.

With 3.5e experience being calculated *individually* for each character based on their current level, any XP penalty system doesn't work very well.

For instance, if a party of one 10th level PC, one 11th level PC and two 12th level PCs defeat a CR 12 monster, how much XP does each get?

10th: 1,500 XP
11th: 1,240 XP
12th: 900 XP

At a 20% penalty, the 10th level character is still gaining 1,200 XP and catching up.
At a 20% penalty, the 11th level character gains about 1,000 XP and is similarly catching up.

The effective thing about Level Adjustments is they eliminate that feature.

Cheers!