So you want to try your hand at a level adjusted character? Maybe spend some of that hard earned REP on a template or a special character race? Well great! As long as you are happy with it!
With that said, there are some things to keep in mind with how we deal with level adjusted characters in Therafim's setting. These rules are subject to discussion and change.
How does Level Adjustment work?: The way Level adjustment works is as follows. Your character starts off with 1 class level, but their Estimated Character Level (Or ECL for Short) is your class level + your level adjustment.
As it stands we currently only have a few things with actual level adjustments:
Half-Dragon, and Half-Fey: Both of these templates come with a +2 Level Adjustment.
This means that any character created with either of these templates (and with the necessary spent REP) begins the game with an ECL of 3 (and your character should be marked as such on the REP and XP list. If it is not marked as ECL X under where it says "New Level" let an op know and we can change it for you, in addition, "Current Level" should be marked with Character Level + Level Adjustment for extra clarification.
Now as this stands, your character when created is techincally as strong as a normal character equal to your ECL. This means that in our setting, a 1st level Half-Fey or Half-Dragon character is about as strong as a 3rd level normal character without those templates.
This means you have a little extra work to do in order for your character to actually level up.
Starting XP: 0 (just because your character is as strong as a 3rd level character doesnt mean you get the XP to match it)
Starting GP: 250 (it also means you dont get any extra gold to start with extra stuff)
Magic Item Limitation: Based on ECL.
Skill Point Limitation: Based on class level, -not- your ECL
Feats: Also based on class level, -not- your ECL.
Attribute Points: Those points you gain every 4 levels? Those are tied to your class level, not your ECL.
Gaining XP/Treasure on quests: Your character will gain XP and Treasure according to their ECL. DM's this means you do not take their class levels, but their -ECL- into effect when figuring this all out. Players, this means that you are able to take part in quests according to your ECL.
XP required for next level: This is also based on ECL. This means that if your character starts with an ECL of 3, to reach an ECL of 4 (2 class levels + 2 Level Adjustment) it requires you to have enough XP to reach 4th level, in this case, 6,000 xp)
Gaining XP/GP via UP spent on character This is also based on ECL rather than character level.
<Jimmy> "Wow Mr. DM, that sounds like a lot of penalties! What exactly am I getting in return for having to deal with such a penalty?"
Well Jimmy, its actually pretty simple. These templates have quite a bit of power behind them, with massive stat increases ( 6 total stat increases (thats worth 120 rep people) for half-fey, and a whopping 18 stat increases (Worth -360- REP!) for half-dragon) to include immunities to certain things (Enchantment spells/effects for half-fey, immunities to certain types of energy for half-dragons (dependent on what kind of dragon), potential extra attacks, flight, and a whole host of other things, all for a level 1 character! Amazing right?
Reducing Level Adjustments
We are keeping this quite simple:
If you have a +2 LA, you are able to buy off 1 LA (reducing your LA to +1) when you have enough XP to reach ECL 10 and again when you have enough XP to reach ECL 15 (at your new LA of +1).
For this particular instance, when you reach a total of 45,000 xp (ECL 10 (Class Level 8 + 2 LA) you then, at that point can choose to immediately spend 9,000 xp (dropping you down to 36,000 xp and a +1 LA, leaving you at ECL 9 (Class Level 8 + 1 LA). Then when you reach 105,000 xp (ECL 15 - Class Level 14 + 1 LA) you then, can choose to immediately spend 14,000 xp to buy off the last level adjustment, leaving your character at 91,000 xp and ECL 14 (Class Level 14 + 0 LA)
In the event of a template with a +1 LA, the first buyoff is at 45,000 xp (ECL 10)
Clarification: If you choose -not- to spend XP at a LA buyoff point, you can not buyoff a Level Adjustment at a later point in time and must wait for the next Level Adjustment point to come around.
