Pixies Lvl 1 [Archive] - Wizards Community

Pixies Lvl 1 [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Leeroy
07-04-07, 03:02 PM we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right?
some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable?

also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow?
my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16
Platstud
07-04-07, 04:03 PM I'm not sure what the LA on pixies is, but let us assume that it is +4(I think that's what you're saying). According to the rules, you would start out at Character Level(CL) 1 and Effective Character Level(ECL) 5(1+4). In order to advance to ECL 6, you need 15,000xp. So you would remain level 1 until you have 15,000xp at which point you would go up to CL2(ECL 6). Also, you would get less xp than the other characters because your ECL is higher than their's. Generally, it's a bad idea to play a character with anything higher than LA+1 if you are starting at first level(if I were your DM, I wouldn't allow it).

Edit: You would have all of your abilities right from the start, but all your companions would be increasing in level as you stagnated. You would start out be WAY overpowered and end up being a little underpowered.
BW0222
07-04-07, 06:46 PM Leeroy,

we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right?

No. A pixie is a LA +4 creature, so a 1st-level pixie character is only suitable to adventure with a 5th-level party.

If your DM permits it, all other players would need to make up 5th-level characters, with 10,000xp and appropriate equipment. You also begin with 10,000xp, and upon gaining 5,000xp more (15,000xp total) you gain your second level - while they gain their 6th.

some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable?

No. You begin with whatever skill points, feats, and abilities your class gives you. With the pixie's DR, SR, greater invisibility, flying, racial bonuses, etc. you simply can't adventure with 1st-level characters. You are virtually immortal at those levels -- orcs suitable for ECL 1 encounters simply can't hit invisible flying creatures with DR 10/cold iron.

also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow?
my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16

Spellcasters do not work well on high LA characters. You'll have 1st-level spells when folks are tossing 3rd-level spells at you. By the time you get 3rd-level spells, they'll be tossing 6th-level spells.

Classes which you might wish to consider...

1. Rogue. Improved invisibility, high dex, and flying make sneak attacking easy. You could also use the skill points.

2. Druid. While primary spell casting classes aren't ideal, the hit points, healing, and spells of the druid aren't bad. By the time you get to higher levels, the wildshape might actually allow you to survive a fight or two.

3. Bard. Not ideal for spellcasting, but your high Charisma helps this class a lot and the skills and buffing are always welcome.

4. Paladin. Might be a bit strange, but the high Charisma helps with saves, and some healing. Detect evil can be useful while invisible and the hit points, smite, and mount might be useful. Although there is someone wrong with a lawful pixie!
penchant
07-04-07, 07:33 PM While a pixie has a LA of +4 it is always an ECL 5 creature since it has a monster hit die. The difference is that that monster hit die is replaced by any class level.

The idea of dividing the bonuses and abilities by your LA is referring to the Savage Species progression. Essentially you can divide out your bonues across your total ECL, though most of the examples in that book include racial hit dice as well.

If you have the MMIII then I would recommend the Petal as it is similar to the pixie but without the invisibility and is only a LA of +2. This is much easier to play in a 1st level game and has more options in spell casting. If you are set on Pixie, I would take the petal stats at first and then buy the pixie abilities as you go along so when you reach 4th level, then you get the pixie stuff. Then when you get to 5th you can pick up your first class level (you trade your 1 monster hit die for the class level).

The high ECL does make some spell casting difficult but it is made up for with the extreme bonuses to stats. You can get by with lower level spells when you depend on spells with saving throws rather than damage dice. Enchantment spells, illusions and save or die stuff become really useful when you have such high stats, that having a low caster level means less. Just be intelligent about how you choose your spells and find things that are all or nothing gambits. When a pixie casts phantasmal killer, even Monks worry.
Thomar_of_Uointer
07-04-07, 10:40 PM we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right?
some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable?

also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow?
my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16

Okay, first off...

No, wait, first off, quit using chatspeak. You're on a forum, it's common practice to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation here. It makes it easier for others to read your posts, and encourages them to respond in a polite and cogent manner.

Okay, second off, go read all of the rules pertinent to your question:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm

Now that you've done that, I'll explain it to you for confirmation. A level 1 pixie is a level 5 character. Challenge rating has nothing to do with this, as you're a PC (challenge rating only determines how NPCs and monsters stack up with a party, we're dealing with effective character level). As a pixie PC loses his racial Hit Dice (by most interpretations of the rules), you need to start with a class level from the beginning.

If your DM won't allow you to play a level 5 character in a level 1 party (and he's totally within his bounds doing this), you can try making your own progression (though I'd recommend using the board's Search tool to find one somebody else has already made). The basic rules for progressions are found in the book Savage Species. Here's an excerpt that shows the basic idea:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030202
RobbyPants
07-04-07, 10:57 PM As BWO222 said, I'd recommend playing a rogue. It's generally a good idea to avoid a level adjustment (especially one this high) with a primary caster. Now, if you really have your heart set on war mage, by all means, go ahead. I just want to warn you so you don't feel upset when you aren't able to keep up with your party.
ArcanaMaster
07-04-07, 11:13 PM The basic rules for progressions are found in the book Savage Species.In fact, the progression for a Pixie is right there on page 190.
Leeroy
07-04-07, 11:34 PM hey thank you to every one who responded, doesn't sound like such a good idea with the fact in front of me, which is what i was after
cheers

im sorry if i use "chat speak" but im not sure why as i do not chat, i don't type very often so i guess it slips my mind but cheers again
Meep326
07-04-07, 11:44 PM we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right?
some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable?

also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow?
my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16
I started reading this, and the first two posts are wrong, if you're using any other books other than the PHB, DMG, and MM, some examples of what you want to do are in the Races books. And actually as I pulled it out and looked, it has one writen up. So there you go, it's 4 LA and 1 HD, so a +5 ECL.
ArochanoX
07-05-07, 12:50 AM Monster manual states that only humanoids swap their only racial hit die for a class level hit die, but since there are numerous races, that have other types than humanoid and no racial HD. (Elan, Gith, Dromite, Killoren...) So pixie has LA of +4 and swaps his sole hit die for a class level. So LA +4 creature making a pixie rogue 1 a ECL 5 character.

You should make a savage progression of the pixie or look for an already made one, like the one found in savage species book (note that SS is a 3.0 source book and there may be some differences to the 3.5 monster manual: especially skills and damage reduction).

The savage progression means that at level 1, you gain only minor racial bonuses of the pixie and all the racial penalties. At level 1, you'll also gain all the benefits of your first class level.
At levels 2-5 you "pay" your hit dice (base attack bonus, skill ranks, saving throw progressions and other class abiulities) to get the nice bonuses of the pixie. Like invisibility, ability bonuses, fly speed etc etc. During these levels you level up as normal, bu you don't get any hit points and you can't take class levels.
At levels 6+, you can take levels normally as if you were any character of your level.
Polop
07-05-07, 05:59 AM There is already a progression for pixies in Savage Species. It's quite broken,and stat dependant for spell like abilities but with your roll you would get Otto's dance. which is a horribly broken power to have at low levels...

I would play something more reasonable like winged feral gnomes...+2 LA...
tui
07-06-07, 03:09 PM I would play something more reasonable like winged feral gnomes...+2 LA...
Actually, I do believe Winged alone is a +2 LA, so with Feral (+1), a Winged Feral Gnome would be +3.

As a handy reference, there's the Master Template List (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=854328) that Tigurius maintains.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Leeroy 07-04-07, 03:02 PM	we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right? some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable? also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow? my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16
Platstud 07-04-07, 04:03 PM	I'm not sure what the LA on pixies is, but let us assume that it is +4(I think that's what you're saying). According to the rules, you would start out at Character Level(CL) 1 and Effective Character Level(ECL) 5(1+4). In order to advance to ECL 6, you need 15,000xp. So you would remain level 1 until you have 15,000xp at which point you would go up to CL2(ECL 6). Also, you would get less xp than the other characters because your ECL is higher than their's. Generally, it's a bad idea to play a character with anything higher than LA+1 if you are starting at first level(if I were your DM, I wouldn't allow it). Edit: You would have all of your abilities right from the start, but all your companions would be increasing in level as you stagnated. You would start out be WAY overpowered and end up being a little underpowered.
BW0222 07-04-07, 06:46 PM	Leeroy, we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right? No. A pixie is a LA +4 creature, so a 1st-level pixie character is only suitable to adventure with a 5th-level party. If your DM permits it, all other players would need to make up 5th-level characters, with 10,000xp and appropriate equipment. You also begin with 10,000xp, and upon gaining 5,000xp more (15,000xp total) you gain your second level - while they gain their 6th. some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable? No. You begin with whatever skill points, feats, and abilities your class gives you. With the pixie's DR, SR, greater invisibility, flying, racial bonuses, etc. you simply can't adventure with 1st-level characters. You are virtually immortal at those levels -- orcs suitable for ECL 1 encounters simply can't hit invisible flying creatures with DR 10/cold iron. also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow? my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16 Spellcasters do not work well on high LA characters. You'll have 1st-level spells when folks are tossing 3rd-level spells at you. By the time you get 3rd-level spells, they'll be tossing 6th-level spells. Classes which you might wish to consider... 1. Rogue. Improved invisibility, high dex, and flying make sneak attacking easy. You could also use the skill points. 2. Druid. While primary spell casting classes aren't ideal, the hit points, healing, and spells of the druid aren't bad. By the time you get to higher levels, the wildshape might actually allow you to survive a fight or two. 3. Bard. Not ideal for spellcasting, but your high Charisma helps this class a lot and the skills and buffing are always welcome. 4. Paladin. Might be a bit strange, but the high Charisma helps with saves, and some healing. Detect evil can be useful while invisible and the hit points, smite, and mount might be useful. Although there is someone wrong with a lawful pixie!
penchant 07-04-07, 07:33 PM	While a pixie has a LA of +4 it is always an ECL 5 creature since it has a monster hit die. The difference is that that monster hit die is replaced by any class level. The idea of dividing the bonuses and abilities by your LA is referring to the Savage Species progression. Essentially you can divide out your bonues across your total ECL, though most of the examples in that book include racial hit dice as well. If you have the MMIII then I would recommend the Petal as it is similar to the pixie but without the invisibility and is only a LA of +2. This is much easier to play in a 1st level game and has more options in spell casting. If you are set on Pixie, I would take the petal stats at first and then buy the pixie abilities as you go along so when you reach 4th level, then you get the pixie stuff. Then when you get to 5th you can pick up your first class level (you trade your 1 monster hit die for the class level). The high ECL does make some spell casting difficult but it is made up for with the extreme bonuses to stats. You can get by with lower level spells when you depend on spells with saving throws rather than damage dice. Enchantment spells, illusions and save or die stuff become really useful when you have such high stats, that having a low caster level means less. Just be intelligent about how you choose your spells and find things that are all or nothing gambits. When a pixie casts phantasmal killer, even Monks worry.
Thomar_of_Uointer 07-04-07, 10:40 PM	we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right? some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable? also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow? my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16 Okay, first off... No, wait, first off, quit using chatspeak. You're on a forum, it's common practice to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation here. It makes it easier for others to read your posts, and encourages them to respond in a polite and cogent manner. Okay, second off, go read all of the rules pertinent to your question: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monstersAsRaces.htm Now that you've done that, I'll explain it to you for confirmation. A level 1 pixie is a level 5 character. Challenge rating has nothing to do with this, as you're a PC (challenge rating only determines how NPCs and monsters stack up with a party, we're dealing with effective character level). As a pixie PC loses his racial Hit Dice (by most interpretations of the rules), you need to start with a class level from the beginning. If your DM won't allow you to play a level 5 character in a level 1 party (and he's totally within his bounds doing this), you can try making your own progression (though I'd recommend using the board's Search tool to find one somebody else has already made). The basic rules for progressions are found in the book Savage Species. Here's an excerpt that shows the basic idea: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030202
RobbyPants 07-04-07, 10:57 PM	As BWO222 said, I'd recommend playing a rogue. It's generally a good idea to avoid a level adjustment (especially one this high) with a primary caster. Now, if you really have your heart set on war mage, by all means, go ahead. I just want to warn you so you don't feel upset when you aren't able to keep up with your party.
ArcanaMaster 07-04-07, 11:13 PM	The basic rules for progressions are found in the book Savage Species.In fact, the progression for a Pixie is right there on page 190.
Leeroy 07-04-07, 11:34 PM	hey thank you to every one who responded, doesn't sound like such a good idea with the fact in front of me, which is what i was after cheers im sorry if i use "chat speak" but im not sure why as i do not chat, i don't type very often so i guess it slips my mind but cheers again
Meep326 07-04-07, 11:44 PM	we are starting a campaign and i was wanting to use a pixie, now we are undecided and confused as to what happens in this situation, obiously (ithink) i need to get enough xp to be lvl 4? then i can take the first class lvl...as it is a cr4 or lvl adj4...is this right? some one said divide all the atribute bonuses and skills by 4 and each lvl i get a 1/4 of them but no invis till lvl 4 is this feasable? also any ideas as to what i could be doing b4 i get a class? planning to be war mage with obviously a low str i cant think of much but weild a cross bow? my rolls are as follow...18 16 12 14 14 16 I started reading this, and the first two posts are wrong, if you're using any other books other than the PHB, DMG, and MM, some examples of what you want to do are in the Races books. And actually as I pulled it out and looked, it has one writen up. So there you go, it's 4 LA and 1 HD, so a +5 ECL.
ArochanoX 07-05-07, 12:50 AM	Monster manual states that only humanoids swap their only racial hit die for a class level hit die, but since there are numerous races, that have other types than humanoid and no racial HD. (Elan, Gith, Dromite, Killoren...) So pixie has LA of +4 and swaps his sole hit die for a class level. So LA +4 creature making a pixie rogue 1 a ECL 5 character. You should make a savage progression of the pixie or look for an already made one, like the one found in savage species book (note that SS is a 3.0 source book and there may be some differences to the 3.5 monster manual: especially skills and damage reduction). The savage progression means that at level 1, you gain only minor racial bonuses of the pixie and all the racial penalties. At level 1, you'll also gain all the benefits of your first class level. At levels 2-5 you "pay" your hit dice (base attack bonus, skill ranks, saving throw progressions and other class abiulities) to get the nice bonuses of the pixie. Like invisibility, ability bonuses, fly speed etc etc. During these levels you level up as normal, bu you don't get any hit points and you can't take class levels. At levels 6+, you can take levels normally as if you were any character of your level.
Polop 07-05-07, 05:59 AM	There is already a progression for pixies in Savage Species. It's quite broken,and stat dependant for spell like abilities but with your roll you would get Otto's dance. which is a horribly broken power to have at low levels... I would play something more reasonable like winged feral gnomes...+2 LA...
tui 07-06-07, 03:09 PM	I would play something more reasonable like winged feral gnomes...+2 LA... Actually, I do believe Winged alone is a +2 LA, so with Feral (+1), a Winged Feral Gnome would be +3. As a handy reference, there's the Master Template List (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=854328) that Tigurius maintains.