Level Adjustment? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Level Adjustment? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
vanquish3000
04-05-07, 05:47 PM How does level adjustment work?
Bladerock
04-05-07, 07:56 PM Level adjustment is added to any racial hit die and levels the character has. This will give you the character's "Effective Current Level" Or ECL.

You then use the character's ECL to determine how much XP the character gains in an encounter and how much he needs to level up.

Hope that answers the question.
rmccowen
04-05-07, 07:56 PM Every character has an Effective Character Level, or ECL. ECL is the sum of racial hit dice, level adjustment (LA), and character levels.

For example, lizardfolk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lizardfolk.htm) have 2 racial hit dice and an LA of +1. A lizardfolk Barbarian 3 PC has an ECL of 6, meaning he's the approximate equivalent of a human Fighter 6 in power (and should have the same average wealth). The lizardfolk barbarian has 5 total hit dice, which grant him 2 feats and mean he can have a maximum of 8 ranks in any class skill (4 for the 1st lizardfolk HD and 1 for each subsequent die).

The FAQ (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a) has a longer explanation of the potentially-confusing mix of HD, LA, ECL, and CR.
Nom
04-07-07, 02:35 AM Another way to think of LA is "handicap levels". They don't actually do anything for you (no hp, no HD, no feats, no skills), but they do count when considering XP. In theory, they are negative compensation for your special racial abilities.

The lizardfolk in the above example is ECL 6, so he needs at least 15,000 XP and gains a new level (7) at 21,000 XP, just like a level 6 human fighter. But when the fighter reaches level 7 he'll be fighter 7, while the lizardfolk will be humanoid 2 (racial HD), barbarian 4, and LA 1.
vanquish3000
04-07-07, 04:20 PM Another way to think of LA is "handicap levels". They don't actually do anything for you (no hp, no HD, no feats, no skills), but they do count when considering XP. In theory, they are negative compensation for your special racial abilities.

The lizardfolk in the above example is ECL 6, so he needs at least 15,000 XP and gains a new level (7) at 21,000 XP, just like a level 6 human fighter. But when the fighter reaches level 7 he'll be fighter 7, while the lizardfolk will be humanoid 2 (racial HD), barbarian 4, and LA 1.

Thanks, this make a lot of sense :cool:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
vanquish3000 04-05-07, 05:47 PM	How does level adjustment work?
Bladerock 04-05-07, 07:56 PM	Level adjustment is added to any racial hit die and levels the character has. This will give you the character's "Effective Current Level" Or ECL. You then use the character's ECL to determine how much XP the character gains in an encounter and how much he needs to level up. Hope that answers the question.
rmccowen 04-05-07, 07:56 PM	Every character has an Effective Character Level, or ECL. ECL is the sum of racial hit dice, level adjustment (LA), and character levels. For example, lizardfolk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lizardfolk.htm) have 2 racial hit dice and an LA of +1. A lizardfolk Barbarian 3 PC has an ECL of 6, meaning he's the approximate equivalent of a human Fighter 6 in power (and should have the same average wealth). The lizardfolk barbarian has 5 total hit dice, which grant him 2 feats and mean he can have a maximum of 8 ranks in any class skill (4 for the 1st lizardfolk HD and 1 for each subsequent die). The FAQ (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a) has a longer explanation of the potentially-confusing mix of HD, LA, ECL, and CR.
Nom 04-07-07, 02:35 AM	Another way to think of LA is "handicap levels". They don't actually do anything for you (no hp, no HD, no feats, no skills), but they do count when considering XP. In theory, they are negative compensation for your special racial abilities. The lizardfolk in the above example is ECL 6, so he needs at least 15,000 XP and gains a new level (7) at 21,000 XP, just like a level 6 human fighter. But when the fighter reaches level 7 he'll be fighter 7, while the lizardfolk will be humanoid 2 (racial HD), barbarian 4, and LA 1.
vanquish3000 04-07-07, 04:20 PM	Another way to think of LA is "handicap levels". They don't actually do anything for you (no hp, no HD, no feats, no skills), but they do count when considering XP. In theory, they are negative compensation for your special racial abilities. The lizardfolk in the above example is ECL 6, so he needs at least 15,000 XP and gains a new level (7) at 21,000 XP, just like a level 6 human fighter. But when the fighter reaches level 7 he'll be fighter 7, while the lizardfolk will be humanoid 2 (racial HD), barbarian 4, and LA 1. Thanks, this make a lot of sense :cool: