Drow level cap

[Kaaurk]

I was wondering if this could be explained to me by someone who knows the answer. But why is there a cap on the a Drows level anyway?

[Selveem]

Because they're a stronger race. A Drow is really powerful when you include their racial abilities and spell resistance.

[Athon]

Drow are more powerful than standard races (+2 int, +2 cha; darkvision; spell resistance, and abilities). As such, they have a "level adjustment" meaning that a level 1 Human/dwarf/elf/etc. is equivalent to a level 3 drow. There are several races that this applies to, such as aasimar.

Check out http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#drow for the drow race. You'll see a level adjustment of +2.

2 levels in D&D is equivalent to 5 levels in FK and since the max level of a drow in D&D is 18, the max level of a drow in FK is 45.

[Selveem]

To be fair, the max level for a Drow is not 18. It's 20. There's a difference between monstrous levels and level adjustment. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I've always played it. They take the penalty on leveling as if they were higher level, but their max level was always 20 provided they didn't have any monstrous levels.

[Kaaurk]

Do drow in DnD lose the extra stat point and the HP from the last five levels like in FK?

[Selveem]

Again, FK plays differently than I would in D&D.

If it were house-ruled that level 20 is level 20, regardless of monstrous levels and level adjustments, yes.

It all depends on who's running the game, really. In this case, the final say would reside with Mask.

[Brar]

Their is a difference between character level and ECL (effective character level)

The max ECL in DnD is actually 40, 20 "normal levels" plus "20 Epic levels"

To get back FK, as we don't have Epic levels in FK (yet) then the max ECL is 20.

So your drow will be max 18 which effectively make them level 20 in redards to ECL which is the maximum possible before Epic levels.

If you add the 2.5 modifier we have for level, it makes your drow level 45 max. and they get to lose the 5 level of hp, stats, feats, spell slot that are compensated by innate and racial abilities.

You can see his ECL in the score sheet, next to your Character level.

That's how it works in the books, now of course you can "house-rule" whatever you want, that's the point of "house rules" to change the rules when you feel it and they don't suit your playing group.

What Athon said is true, but should be taken the other way for better and easier understanding.
It is not : "a level 1 Human/dwarf/elf/etc. is equivalent to a level 3 drow." but "a level 1 drow is equivalent to a level 3 human" and thus "a level 18 drow is equivalent to a level 20 human".
I think it is easier to understand it this way.

Brar

[Isolrem]

Like Selveem and contrary to Brar, my understanding of core DnD also dictates that ECL only affects rate of experience gain and not maximum level.

However obviously FK is not the same as DnD, and characters are often at odds instead of almost always in collaboration, which makes balancing a real issue. The level cap seems like a reasonable implementation.

[Brar]

Well, I think it is all a matter of interpretation.

That's the pro and con of DnD rules, there is so much rooms for interpretation on a lot of things

but then, we can allow drow to go up to level 20, but it means "normal races" have to go to level 22, hence epic level then to keep everyone fair and at the same effective level...

And it goes on and on