Post/Author/DateTime

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BarbeChenue 10-06-06, 12:39 PM

I really like the idea behind level adjustment buyoff, but depite this fact, I think the rules for it are flawed. XP is a fickle thing, it can be scarce, plentiful, but most of all, it can be exploited. I've done it with some characters, completely buying off several LAs by applying templates in the right order, or other such crazyness. Cash on the other hand is a bit different. It's 100% DM controlled. If you have a lot of cash, you can purchase a lot of great items. Save for their vulnerability to Mordenkainen, magic items are like Supernatural Abilities in that most of them are always active, and that they significantly improve your character. (Some people might point out that DMs hand out $ in wildly varying ways. Well, if they do, that's fine with that system since power from items will be balanced with power from powerful races and templates!) Now, if cash can improve your character, so could Templates or Powerful races. Now, if a Template's LA could be bought back at a later time in exchange for cash (picture yourself a costly ritual involving a quest, or something like that), then this could make LA Buyoff much more balanced. Now, let's admit it, if we want to do that, we have to find the value of a single LA. I know this kind of translation cannot be perfect, but at least we'd get somewhere. A LA can be compared to a level, now lets say you need to pay in cash 5 times the XP cost for the buyoff during the exercice. And let's say we give ourselves another Level Adjustment Buyoff formula (one that doesn't penalize higher LAs more than smaller ones, which makes little sense). Then a 6000 XP buyoff would incur a 30 000 gp cost as well. This character might have bought that Template/LA-Race off, but it doesn't mean he won't retain the benefits of the original creature! What do you think?