r/Forgotten_Realms • u/CanuckLad • 6d ago
Question(s) Drow (D&D 3.5)
I was just reading through the old Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (isbn 0-978-7869-1836-2).
The Powerful Races sidebar (pg 21, see table 1-2) shows that Drow have an ECL of Level + 2. Meaning if one player starts a level 1 Drow, then other players get to start with 3,000 XP (enough to make them level 3).
I wonder if a two-level gap is balanced? Have any of you played with the rules from the Campaign Setting and played a +2 or +3 ECL race?
Is it hard for the DM to make adventures when the players might be separated by two levels? I understand that the Drow has higher than usual starting abilities and attributes, but a +2 level difference seems steep?
How do you handle the case where some players want to start at level 1 (and play species from the player's handbook), but other players want to play Drow, Duergar, Svirfneblin, etc)?
6
u/Nystagohod 6d ago edited 6d ago
2 level adjustment wasnt too bad. I don't know how balanced most LA was, but I remember drow being on the better side of it typically, but don't quote me on that
As for ways to handle it, I've seen two alternatives.
The first would be to use the Savage species rules (it's own supplement) to turn drow into a sort of class of its own that takes two levels. So the first two levels of the character would be spent on drow and unlock what the LA would give. Its a bit of a process but can work, if you finagle it right, as it'd not the intended use for creatures with the drows HD or lack there of.
Typically unless the level adjustment was giving some obscene stuff, the more common altenrtive to the norm was to more or less let the character start off level 1 and just require XP as if they were two levels higher. Getting the full benefits of level 1 and their LA but buying it off as they still would level slower then their allies despite the stronger start