Alien Levels

[cphonx2]

I know alien levels are designed to make it more difficult to level a powerful alien vs. a normal human, but to those levels count anywhere else. For example, to alien levels raise the skill cap?

 

[Kordeth]

Since "alien level" is basically a discreet reference to the non-Open Content Effective Character Level rules from D&D, the answer is no. Your alien level is only used to factor the XP you require to level and your approximate power level compared to normal characters.

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by Kordeth:
Since "alien level" is basically a discreet reference to the non-Open Content Effective Character Level rules from D&D, the answer is no. Your alien level is only used to factor the XP you require to level and your approximate power level compared to normal characters.

Let's look at an actual example.
Ursa character. They start at Level 2, there class level & their Alien level, with 1000 XP.
So...Say they started as a Barbarian.
So are they a second level character, with two levels in Barbarian, or are they a second level character with one level in Ursa and one in Barbarian?

 

[justacaveman]

They're a 2nd level character with 1 level in Barbarian. The alien level isn't an actual class level, and can't be increased. Basically it's an experience point penalty of 1000 points.

Most D20 games also limit the Character Level to 20, and the alien level would count, limiting the character to 19 levels in other classes.

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by LordRhys:
They're a 2nd level character with 1 level in Barbarian. The alien level isn't an actual class level, and can't be increased. Basically it's an experience point penalty of 1000 points.

Most D20 games also limit the Character Level to 20, and the alien level would count, limiting the character to 19 levels in other classes.

Ok, so the Ursa would still get x4 multipliers for skills starting out, right?
I'm gonna have to go back an re-read this section....