|
Howdy all,
I have a player who has a Magus. Their PC's race is of the +1 LA variety but no racial die so they started at 2nd level character but only 1st level Magus with a +1 LA
Now at 5th level character, 4th Magus/+1 LA, they want to take a Template to add to their character. The Template is layered, +1 LA for HD 1-5/ +2 LA for 6-10 HD/ +3 LA and 11+ HD
Just checking how this would work:
Should there be an "Experience Point Debt" to pay off
OR
Should I have them "level up" into the Template though there are no levels?
I can see where there is really no difference but the latter introduces the "4th level character but needs to make it to 7th level to level up"
That will get confusing
|
|
Probably as clear as mud, so let me try again:
How does one handle taking a template AFTER first level?
If I have a character, a Fighter 4th level who has a +1 CR for race, and I want to take the Half-Celestial before 5th level Fighter, what happens? How do I "pay" for the +1 CR that the Half-Celestial?
Then how ever it's done, I'd have a 4th level character with 4 class levels, 4 HD but +2 CR to them. IOW my character be the equal of a 6th class level character thought they would still be only a 4 HD character.
Is that correct?
Going on with that being correct, my character becomes 5th level Fighter, 5 HD, CR=6 (same as a 7th level character with no LA)
Now it's time to go to 6th level, 6 HD. But here's the kicker, a Half-Celestial from 6 to 11 HD is CR +2. Do I need to:
Raise to 6th level, 6 HD Fighter first then do the same as I did taking my first step as a CR +1 Half-Celestial
Raise to the +2 CR Half-Celestial then get the character's 6th level/HD?
Get them both and go into a "negative EXP Hole" for the difference between some levels?
Thanks
|
stuff
I'm gonna go ahead and reference the Bestiary on this one, because, really, it's the best explanation I've seen.
When you don't have Racial HD, those level penalties are PAINFUL. Yeah, playing a Tiefling might SEEM cool at the time, but the bonuses you get just don't outweigh the benefits of a full level.
After about 3 levels, any +1 LA templates or races should really just be rolled into the character, bumping the character up to 4th level and disregarding level adjustment. Again, the Bestiary gives an excellent example with a Minotaur with Barbarian levels as a PC.
Essentially, every 3 levels or so, you should disregard a single level increase brought upon by CR (aka, Level Adjustment). So:
Level 3: +1
Level 6: +2
Level 9: +3
etc...
Honestly, I would REALLY caution against adding any template that increases LA by more than 2. It can REALLY break characters.
Most of all, remember that templates matter less and less the higher a character's level is. After a while, the bonuses are fairly moot for most simple templates. Just be cautious with how powerful your party is getting.
Working with templates for PC, in my experience, is unfortunate and awkward. Pathfinder did away with the LA, and ECL system of 3.5 templates, and with that ultimately CR will not equate to ECL etc., so there is no simple system for adjucating things like that. It appears to me that Paizo doesn't intend the use of the templates with PCs, but that isn't to sya you can't do what you'd like, just not to expect very clear cut answers on the matter
If you look through the books the closest you'll find to assisting you in this is an entry in the bestiary for mixed groups with monsters as PCs, alas nothing on templates, so really as the GM you'll have to kind of wing it. This is made even more difficult because of the type of template (CR variable) that you wish to apply. With that in mind you may find these Discussion on generally applying a template, Discussion on applying the half-celestial template specifically helpful.
Sorry if this wasn't exactly what you were looking for in a response, and hey if you find anything to contradict my suppositions I'd be very curious to see.
|
|
stuffI'm gonna go ahead and reference the Bestiary on this one, because, really, it's the best explanation I've seen.
When you don't have Racial HD, those level penalties are PAINFUL. Yeah, playing a Tiefling might SEEM cool at the time, but the bonuses you get just don't outweigh the benefits of a full level.
After about 3 levels, any +1 LA templates or races should really just be rolled into the character, bumping the character up to 4th level and disregarding level adjustment. Again, the Bestiary gives an excellent example with a Minotaur with Barbarian levels as a PC.
Essentially, every 3 levels or so, you should disregard a single level increase brought upon by CR (aka, Level Adjustment). So:
Level 3: +1
Level 6: +2
Level 9: +3
etc...Honestly, I would REALLY caution against adding any template that increases LA by more than 2. It can REALLY break characters.
Most of all, remember that templates matter less and less the higher a character's level is. After a while, the bonuses are fairly moot for most simple templates. Just be cautious with how powerful your party is getting.
Thank You,
Oh, trust me, I'm the DM and I'm letting players "play" and see what happens. I'm not a fan of Templates but before I really strangle the idea of templates, I'd like to let the rope out to see how bad they hang themselves
Thanks
I would recommend that you look at the templates directly and see what they do. On the one hand, there are extremely broken templates that are ridiculously powerful, while there are others that will gimp your players in the long run.
There's always the option for them to take back their choice and choose another level for their class.