Yuan Ti Player Character - ECL?

[ashockney]

Ok, so I'm letting players play monstrous characters in this campaign. Basically, I'm shooting for anything with a level adjustment of +2 or less. One of my characters comes back with the pureblood Yuan-ti. By all appearances in the Serpent Kingdoms sourcebook and the Monster Manual, these Yuan-ti are a +2 ECL.

The question is: what do you get for a +2 ECL?

Does the 4HD from Yuan-ti come in that, or is it just the other abilities, and if so, which ones?

 

[gfunk]

If you start as a Pureblood Yuan-Ti then you need to start at least at 6th level. 4 HD + 2 ECL. The ECL includes all of the special abilities and ability modifiers descrbied in the monster block.

This is unlike races (not monsters) with ECL adjustments. For instance Drow (+2 ECL) can start off at 3rd level.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

The Effective Character Level of any creature is equal to its hit dice plus its challenge rating. A Yuan-Ti pureblood with any core class would make it the equivalent of an 8th level character (4 racial hit dice + class hit hie + 3 for challenge rating).

 

[Scion]

No, it is Hd+LA. You dont even have to be a first level anything to start. And with savage progression you could start at level 1 in all likelyhood.

 

[gfunk]

The Effective Character Level of any creature is equal to its hit dice plus its challenge rating.

Huh? Where did you get this forumula? CR is not included AFAIK.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Well, dang I've been put in my place yet again. A character's ECL is the sum of its level adjustment, Hit Dice and class levels.

So a Yuan-Ti Pureblood with a level in any core class would be the equivalent of a 7th level character.

 

[Sejs]

Pureblood Yuan-ti are ECL 6: 4 racial hit dice and a +2 level adjustment.


Were you looking to restrict monsterous characters to a max +2 ECL or a max +2 LA?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Pureblood Yuan-ti are ECL 6: 4 racial hit dice and a +2 level adjustment.

Add 1 level of any class and its ECL becomes 7. I fyou don't believe the formula I wrote above, check in Savage Species. Page 5, Paragraph 8, Sentence 1.

 

[ashockney]

How about a 3.5Ed reference for this?

I'm trying to limit to +2 LA. If he wanted to be a lvl 7 Psy War (9th ECL) w/no bonus HD, what do you think he would get in benefit from the race for those two levels lost?

 

[Scion]

you cant really play this guy without his racial hd.

I would suggest, if you are looking for someone with no racial hd, to limit the people to a total of +2 (ie 2hd +0LA, 1hd+1LA, 0hd+2LA) and nothing else.

Creatures with hd built in and some LA are always very hard to adjucate properly.

As a level 9 character of this race he can be: 4 racial hd +2 LA +3 levels of psychic warrior and that is about it.

Trading in racial hd for class levels might work as a houserule, but it would take a lot of work to get it right (then again though, just useing the guy as written will take a lot of work to get right, so take that as you will).