How do you handle LA (as DM)?

[Frog Dragon]

I've noticed that LA's are usually constrcted so that you won't be able to get abilities by taking races at an earlier level than when the party might be able to get them anyway.
Thus a creature which gets a dominate SLA will probably be Racial HD:ed and LA:ed so you won't be able to take it before level 7. This has the side effect of making the monster suck wookiees as a player race. Now I haven't really figured out the point of doing so. Why not just put a 'you may not be a member of this race unless you start at lvl x or higher.'
On how I myself handle them. I often halve level adjustments (hasn't lead to any borken with me.) and otherwise redce them and in some cases just cut the LA:s.
Example: We've been thinking about starting a level 9 eberron campaign and one of the player's decided he wanted to be a doppelganger. Now he would have been able to be a doppelganger anyway since you normally need eight levels for the doppelganger. Now this would have made him suck so I just told him to take the 4 racial HD and move onto classes (in this case, factotum.). How do you deal with LA?

[Kobold-Bard]

Only discovered it yesterday (and as such have no idea how effective it is) but Races of War Method 1 (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Races_of_War_(3.5e_Sourcebook)/Playing_Unusual_Races#Method_1:_The_Easy_Way) seems like a good idea for dealing with powerful races.

As I said, no idea if it's useful, or even applicable to you, but there it is.

[alchemyprime]

Level adjustments... something I'm trying to destroy in Prime20, but in normal d20...

2 LA or 1 LA and 1 Racial HD is equal to a level to me. If they only have 1 LA, I give them 1 HD. If they have 1 HD, well, they can trade that for a level anyway, as per the MM.

If they more Racial HD than levels, I will let them either pik off a list of abilities (one point per HD, each ability has a cost) or let them trade them in at 2 HD per level, rounding odd numbers up.

[Fhaolan]

Every time a player wants to make a character of a race that has LA or more than 1 HD, I quickly make up a Savage Species-style race-as-a-class progression table. In doing so I usually find that the stated LA is too high relative to other classes at the same ECL when doing this, and I futz with the progression table to rebalance it a bit.

Savage Species states that you have to take all the racial levels before you can multiclass into any other class. I threw that one out, and allow them to multiclass freely.

Of course, for races that have just 1 HD, I also allow people to take that one level of racial 'class' as well whenever they want (equivalent of a level of commoner or warrior in most cases). Nobody's ever taken me up on it, but it's there if anyone *really* wants to.

[pres_man]

For each LA, I give the character:
1d4+con hp
1/2BA
1/3Saves
2+Int skill points

Basically, it is like they take levels in commoner for each LA they have. The advantage is this makes them a little less squishy. It also makes ECL = Total HD, which is just easier to deal with calculating things like feats and ability adjustments.

If a player wants to start at a lower level, I make them take the racial HD and the LA before the class levels (ala savage species progression), except I have them act as an apprentice (as per the 3e DMG) in their first (N)PC class until they can gain a full class level. Things fixes strange things like not having the correct weapon proficiencies until that time or not owning a spellbook until then.

[Sir.Swindle]

I've always just made them suck it up and take it. Has worked just fine. I ran an Anthropomorphic gestalt game a while back (lots of LA), I cut LA's in half and count as both sides to account for the gestalt and to keep their class levels even. People seemed satisfied.

Since when has trading durability for sweet powers been an issue (Glares at the full casters knowingly)

[Sleepingbear]

The first question for me as a DM is if I'm allowing the creature in question as a playable race in the campaign.

If yes, then this is how I do it.

Level adjustment remains as per the race but can be bought off as per the Unearthed Arcana option.

For intelligent humanoids of all sorts I ignore racial hit dice and trade them for class levels (my bad guys are made this way as well). A minotaur barbarian was the test for this and worked just fine.

It can be somewhat variable for other types of monsters. Centaurs for example, I treat as humanoids. Dragons on the other hand, I make players use the hit dice for the first age category plus one hit dice per age category there after. The remainder hit dice can be traded for class levels or kept as is.

[drengnikrafe]

I have never, ever, ever had someone successfully role-play a +LA race. So, until I have someone do so, I just make them take it as is. If one of them brought up LA buyoff, I'd probably give it to him, but I won't bring it up myself (mostly because I haven't actually read through Unearthed Arcana).

[Zaydos]

I used to just use it as normal, but after looking at dragons (a strong monster for their HD) and comparing them at -3 LA to a dwarf crusader I am definitely modifying it. Mine would be eyeball it, "is the LA worth it?" and if it is keep it or more likely lower it. Minotaur probably drop entirely, troll might just keep the same (regen is good) or lower 1 or 2. Dragons... well reds get the most bang for their buck and are worse as melee combatants with LA +1 but they have other stuff worth the lost (flight, blindsense, excellent skills and saves, easier to optimize AC, etc) so I'd probably leave 1 LA on wyrmlings but not the full +4 (this was inspired by the dragon cohort feat).

[Another_Poet]

Sadly my players never want to play monsters (*sigh*) but if they did I would eyeball it and adjust it down.

Generally either the LA or the HD counted against their ECL would be plenty; adding the two, as per RAW results in a weak character.

I would say that unless a monster comes with an effective caster level AND you let it stack with actual caster levels, the LA is too high. And sometimes even then.

The exception is LA+1, 1 HD races.

[dsmiles]

The first question for me as a DM is if I'm allowing the creature in question as a playable race in the campaign.

If yes, then this is how I do it.

Level adjustment remains as per the race but can be bought off as per the Unearthed Arcana option.


This. LA buy-off works very well, especially for templated characters. I've never bought off a racial LA, though.

[pres_man]

I have never, ever, ever had someone successfully role-play a +LA race. So, until I have someone do so, I just make them take it as is. If one of them brought up LA buyoff, I'd probably give it to him, but I won't bring it up myself (mostly because I haven't actually read through Unearthed Arcana).

If you are interested in reading the rules they can be found here.
Reducing Level Adjustments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingleveladjustments.htm)

[bosssmiley]

Defenestrate it and use the Tome Series Races of War monster progressions guidelines instead.

LA as written is nothing but hatred of your players made manifest. It actively punishes anyone who elects to play something other than one of the bog-standard Tolkienian races. Limitless worlds of fantasy and imagination, right up until Buzz "LA" Killington arrives and puts you all back in the playpen.
LA is even more b0rked than the CR system (whose horrid abortion it is). :smallannoyed:

LA hates you and your game like Skip hates sorcerers, or like Edison hate future (http://twominutestobelgium.com/edison/edison.html)! :smallamused:

[9mm]

I treat LA as an adjustment of ECL; and assign exp to you at that ecl... you'll level more slowly, but you'll be reletively comparable to the rest of the party.

[Grumman]

In normal games, I use LA buyoff. In Gestalt games, LA and RHD only take up one side of the progression, but can't be bought off (not that you'd want to, anyway).

[Milskidasith]

I treat LA as an adjustment of ECL; and assign exp to you at that ecl... you'll level more slowly, but you'll be reletively comparable to the rest of the party.

Wouldn't EXP at a higher ECL mean you'd actually get farther behind the party until you reached the normal LA value anyway?

[Starbuck_II]

I've noticed that LA's are usually constrcted so that you won't be able to get abilities by taking races at an earlier level than when the party might be able to get them anyway.
Thus a creature which gets a dominate SLA will probably be Racial HD:ed and LA:ed so you won't be able to take it before level 7. This has the side effect of making the monster suck wookiees as a player race. Now I haven't really figured out the point of doing so. Why not just put a 'you may not be a member of this race unless you start at lvl x or higher.'

You could make the creature only get the ability till character level is higher. Like Raptorans can't fly (only glide) at first allowing them lower LA.


Sadly my players never want to play monsters (*sigh*) but if they did I would eyeball it and adjust it down.

Generally either the LA or the HD counted against their ECL would be plenty; adding the two, as per RAW results in a weak character.

I would say that unless a monster comes with an effective caster level AND you let it stack with actual caster levels, the LA is too high. And sometimes even then.

The exception is LA+1, 1 HD races.


Wow, do your players know how nice you are about LA?

[jiriku]

I make the buyoff rules available, but only situationally allow LA races if they make sense in the context of the setting (which they rarely do). I am not a fan of the freakshow adventuring party -- if people would pay to gawk at you and your friends in a menagerie, then no way are the leaders of the kingdom going to consider you as a serious option when they're looking for help with their problems.

[tyckspoon]

Wouldn't EXP at a higher ECL mean you'd actually get farther behind the party until you reached the normal LA value anyway?

I was gonna say.. that sounds a lot like how the rules work normally.

[Starbuck_II]

Yeah, so basically, in his way: you start at same class level, but slowly the LA makes you level slower.
Although, LA buyoff migh help a little.

[9mm]

Wouldn't EXP at a higher ECL mean you'd actually get farther behind the party until you reached the normal LA value anyway?

not really, most players don't go past LA+1 unless the party is already at ECL 3+, at which point they level at the same speed as everyone else anyway. the non-la's tend to be ahead in class levels but you level as though you had no LA, so jumping to level 2 is still just 1000 xp ect. Though I admit this method was developed to not gimp two players who decided they wanted to become werewolves.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

from my 339 thread: make ECL=class levels + LA + |Floor[RHD-2*LA]|

also institute common sense things like 'no RHD counting as psuedo class levels'