Level adjustments have existed for a long time in D&D, and for good reason. A drow should not be treated as an equal creature to any other elf; their darkvision, +2 dex/int/cha and innate spell resistance makes them a far superior creature to anyone of the basic races. While these advantages are obvious, the disadvantage of playing a race that has its ECL increased by 2 does hurt. This is where D&D's creators came up with the solution: buying off your LA with XP~
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htmThere comes a point in a character's life where their
LA is nothing but a harsh debuff. There are some exceptions - one being my character Erin, whose bonuses benefit a paladin so perfectly that she more or less matches her ECL+2 penalty (but still feels more like a +1.5). Any non-paladin Aasimar is doomed to be inferior to a same-level character regardless of class, and this is where Level Adjustments are a real problem.
There is no reward other than the prestige of playing a special character. And while I absolutely love that players can choose to be a unique race, it is a bit unfair that an inherently superior race is in fact weaker. An example of this is Tiefling. Their +2 intelligence makes them a far better wizard, but they will be 2, 3, 4 levels behind to an actual wizard. After level 5, their bonuses do nothing to make them a stronger class. Drow are much the same, since their intelligence and charisma never quite mix into any one class.
The idea is to soften the penalty. It's not my hope to see the inherently stronger races come out on top: I want them
to be able to match their non-level-adjusted counterparts. Being able to
bring a penalty down from 2 to 1 is a HUGE bonus that does a lot to equalize the balance.
That was the hope and idea, anyway. Make a race that is request-only, able to match non ECL+X races by considering their bonus stats.
Thanks!
I would also like to add some other considerations?
- Not every special race would/should play a class that reaps the rewards of their bonuses. Softening the penalty gives more incentive to play a tiefling or drow cleric, an aasimar wizard, etc.
- ECL+2 is harsh even in the early game. Your benefits are barely felt: +2 wisdom is an extra spell slot and a +1 DC, on a server where most things are about buffing. Even a drow's inherent Spell Resist has barely any function in PVE, where very few enemies care to cast spells. For minor bonuses you need to kill things that are two levels higher than what you'd normally fight. This is fair, it's tough, it's kind of cool. But there is never a reward, not even an equalizer.