Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Devil Gnasher 08-06-07, 07:59 PM	How do you assign LA? Please just tell me if you know how. I'm new to making races, so please help.
Reyemile 08-06-07, 09:35 PM	There are actually a few dozen methods, including any number of houserules, the official rules, and the rules that Wizards actually follow when they are ignoring their own published rules. NONE of them work. To assign LA, ask yourself, "will a 5th level mage/fighter/rogue (based on what the template is best at) be comparable to a 7th level mage/fighter/rogue without the template? How about 6th? 8th? Then, if you're wrong (you probably will be, your first few tries), be prepared to change the template or the LA mid game. Of course, it's not that simple--there are some creatures that are extremely difficult or impossible to properly LA. For some explanations of why, see my thesis here. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=830551)
Thomar_of_Uointer 08-06-07, 10:09 PM	How do you assign LA? Please just tell me if you know how. I'm new to making races, so please help. I'd recommend the acid test. It requires more work for the end user, but has better results than nearly anything else. What you do is take a level 1 character of your race (this should be a level in the race's favored class, which should be the class that best plays to the race's strengths), and a level 1 human of the same class and/or general build (thus, if your race is a multi-limbed warrior type, the human should be a Two-Weapon Fighting fighter or ranger). You then compare the two with a greedy (min-maxxing and powergaming) eye, to see if the human is less desireable than the other character. If so, add a level to the human and repeat the process. If not, subtract one from the human's level and that's your race's ECL adjustment. And to actually find Level Adjustment (in the cases where your race has Hit Dice), you subtract the race's Hit Dice from its ECL. Remember that Hit Dice count as class levels for ECL.
Devil Gnasher 08-06-07, 10:30 PM	I'd recommend the acid test. It requires more work for the end user, but has better results than nearly anything else. What you do is take a level 1 character of your race (this should be a level in the race's favored class, which should be the class that best plays to the race's strengths), and a level 1 human of the same class and/or general build (thus, if your race is a multi-limbed warrior type, the human should be a Two-Weapon Fighting fighter or ranger). You then compare the two with a greedy (min-maxxing and powergaming) eye, to see if the human is less desireable than the other character. If so, add a level to the human and repeat the process. If not, subtract one from the human's level and that's your race's ECL adjustment. And to actually find Level Adjustment (in the cases where your race has Hit Dice), you subtract the race's Hit Dice from its ECL. Remember that Hit Dice count as class levels for ECL. That sounds like a good idea. Thank you, I'll try it out.
Spikes01k 08-07-07, 12:49 PM	I'd recommend the acid test. It requires more work for the end user, but has better results than nearly anything else. What you do is take a level 1 character of your race (this should be a level in the race's favored class, which should be the class that best plays to the race's strengths), and a level 1 human of the same class and/or general build (thus, if your race is a multi-limbed warrior type, the human should be a Two-Weapon Fighting fighter or ranger). You then compare the two with a greedy (min-maxxing and powergaming) eye, to see if the human is less desireable than the other character. If so, add a level to the human and repeat the process. If not, subtract one from the human's level and that's your race's ECL adjustment. And to actually find Level Adjustment (in the cases where your race has Hit Dice), you subtract the race's Hit Dice from its ECL. Remember that Hit Dice count as class levels for ECL. Would this include equipping your human with the proper weapon to take advantage of the race it's fighting, such as a giving your human weapons to fight a creature with silver weakness?
Genetic 08-07-07, 01:40 PM	You may also want to work with FeaturePoints. They seem to be pretty accurate.
Thomar_of_Uointer 08-07-07, 08:29 PM	Would this include equipping your human with the proper weapon to take advantage of the race it's fighting, such as a giving your human weapons to fight a creature with silver weakness? Hehe. Ideally, your two races would have identical equipment appropriate for the human's level (this might not be possible if the race is unusual, like having multiple limbs), you can just use the NPC charts for this. As such, things like DR/silver and DR/cold iron, which are highly beneficial to PCs because very few enemies carry the appropriate weapons, are counted accurately. I find that it's actually easier to ignore equipment altogether, as two characters of the same ECL should already have equal equipment. Racial features like unusual body shape are counted just as abilities, not as penalties to total equipment value. This way, you can't write off 30' movement with a pair of boots of striding and springing, because the race will usually also be able to benefit from them.
Spikes01k 08-08-07, 08:46 AM	Hehe. Ideally, your two races would have identical equipment appropriate for the human's level (this might not be possible if the race is unusual, like having multiple limbs), you can just use the NPC charts for this. As such, things like DR/silver and DR/cold iron, which are highly beneficial to PCs because very few enemies carry the appropriate weapons, are counted accurately. I find that it's actually easier to ignore equipment altogether, as two characters of the same ECL should already have equal equipment. Racial features like unusual body shape are counted just as abilities, not as penalties to total equipment value. This way, you can't write off 30' movement with a pair of boots of striding and springing, because the race will usually also be able to benefit from them. OK thank you.