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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Will" data-source="post: 5033818" data-attributes="member: 5566">I hate LA. I don't like the weird effects it has (I'm 5 HD for sleep? Sigh. Ok), I don't like the effects at low level, where one level of HP represent a huge percentage, and so on.Well, after a lot of experimentation over the years... I think I have something viable.This takes a few clever handwaves, so ... bear with me:The first step:In chargen, stats start at 8 (as usual), but point costs are flat; an 18 costs 10 points. Maximum ability score is 18.36 points This is very generous, you can tweak, but gives more room to play. Racial modifiers apply to ability score maximum... but your starting score is still 8. It still takes 6 points to reach a score of 14, but for one character that might be a max. Cost after 18 is doubled. If your race has +4 Str, a 22 Str costs 18 points. You can lower a score below 8 to get extra points (and have to, if new maximum is below 8), but generally shouldn't lower it more than 8 + racial penalties. So a race with -4 Cha can lower Cha to 4, getting 4 points to spend elsewhere. Races with LA due to stats reduce LA (this reduction is tricky; more later)Why? If you are playing an ogre cleric with Str: 18, should you really pay LA for the advantage of +10 Str, when you aren't actually any better than a human cleric with Str: 18? If the stats are the same, the effect is the same. That seems more balanced than the attempt to embrace dice scaling and such in the core game.Second step:+1 Level Adjustment = 8 ability score points This principle means that the 'value' of a LA is judged to be (roughly) balanced with the value of 8 points of ability score. Based on that, races with LA can be changed to having a handicap; +2 LA becomes -16 ability score points. You are effectively taking about a -1 penalty on everything (attacks, saves, skills, hit points per level) in exchange for racial abilities.corollary: The doubling cost of ability scores above 18 become a self-policing LA; if your race has +8 Str, you pay the effective +1 LA (which equals 8 points) if and only if you actually bother to maximize Strength. The benefit builds on the earlier point about an ogre cleric; this gives you considerably more freedom to play something unusual without being ‘punished’ for it, and at the same time ensures that someone leveraging a high score pays for the privilege.To come... calculating what LA 'should' be and creating PC races out of monsters</blockquote>

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