Unearthed Arcana, Level Adjustment Buy-off, and Multiple LA sources

[EmperorNortonII]

So, in an upcoming game, I'm going to be playing a Dread Necromancer. Playing a necromancer for more than a single session's been a dream ever since my very first D&D game, 12 years ago, when I played a Halloween game as my very first tabletop game session ever. Needless to say, I'm excited. Also, as I mentioned in my last thread, it's been at last 5 years since I last played D&D.

So, while I initially decided human would be my best bet for a race that wasn't short (intolerable!!!), my ST actually suggested that I play a drow when I pointed out there wasn't a race (in a book I own) without a LA I could justify taking. Then, came the ST suggestion, and the lack of sweet, sweet 3rd level spells at start (mostly Vampiric Touch, for the extra HP, albeit temporary, since I am fragile like a talcum vase). SR is tempting, since my saves are largely junk, and a 7d6 Fireball (my level, and fair game from an encounter with a wizard) will likely kill me. False Life's not bad, but has a small upper limit.

At any rate, going with this suggestion could have me starting as drow, buying off the LA, getting new LA at 11th or so when I decide I want to be a lich, and getting a new LA. Now, I don't see anything in Unearthed Arcana which prevents a buy-off in a second LA race/template (in this case, at 12th or when I get the template, though I'd like to pull it off at 11th). I could be missing something, which is why I'm asking y'all. It seems kinda cheesy to begin with, but it's also 1) perfectly reasonable RP-wise, 2) partially ST-suggested (I want to end in lichdom), and 3) still would leave me behind your typical wizard, cleric, or druid in terms of power, so far as I can see.

Can I do this, RAW? Does anyone else think it's as twinky as it initially seems to me, or is the lack of getting higher-level spells ASAP balancing enough to make it reasonable?

[tyckspoon]

Originally Posted by EmperorNortonII

Can I do this, RAW? Does anyone else think it's as twinky as it initially seems to me, or is the lack of getting higher-level spells ASAP balancing enough to make it reasonable?

I don't really see a problem. Being a Drow honestly isn't worth all that much, and there's no reasonable way to buyoff the LA of a Lich anyway; if you go by the printed rules for it, you only get opportunities every [current LA x 3] character levels. You'd only get to buyoff 1 LA of the Lich template pre-epic, and that's if your DM let you count your existing character levels toward the first buyoff point instead of making you start counting from the level you acquired the LA at.

(That is, at level 12 you'd have an opportunity to buyoff one point, and then the next chance wouldn't be until Character level 21/ECL 24. You'd still be dealing with a highly inflated ECL relative to what you could actually do.)

[EmperorNortonII]

Originally Posted by tyckspoon

I don't really see a problem. Being a Drow honestly isn't worth all that much, and there's no reasonable way to buyoff the LA of a Lich anyway; if you go by the printed rules for it, you only get opportunities every [current LA x 3] character levels. You'd only get to buyoff 1 LA of the Lich template pre-epic, and that's if your DM let you count your existing character levels toward the first buyoff point instead of making you start counting from the level you acquired the LA at.

(That is, at level 12 you'd have an opportunity to buyoff one point, and then the next chance wouldn't be until Character level 21/ECL 24. You'd still be dealing with a highly inflated ECL relative to what you could actually do.)

"The game's not going to 20th" is a quote from his mouth, so buying off anything but at 12th is to be expected for the lich.