Section Two: The TheoryBased on the rules highlighted above, the following summation can be drawn:
- Qualifying leveled templates are gained the same as regular levels, by gaining enough xp to reach the next level.
- Gaining a template level increases your LA, but most likely does not increase HD, BAB, saves, feats, or skill points.
- If the given level of a template does not grant HD, then the LA can be bought off at the appropriate point.
- There is no restriction on when a template level can be taken, so long as any prerequisites (for inherited templates converted to leveled templates by these rules) are met. Templates that change type might invalidate taking other templates that have type-based entry requirements.
- Leveled templates must be taken in order from lowest to highest. (ie: 1st level of template, then 2nd level of template, then 3rd....)
- There is no requirement that all levels of a leveled template must be taken.
- The DM is supposed to veto anything that "does not make sense". The example given is taking a template that grants a type the character already possesses. (Taken to the logical conclusion, this rule would most likely invalidate the optimization concept in 99.9% of games out there.)
- The only rule regulating when the LA must be bought off is that when the character reaches the level that puts them at a character level to LA ratio of 3:1, that one level of the LA must immediately be bought off by spending (ECL-1)*1000 in xp.
- Furthermore, in the case where the starting LA is greater than 1, the text and table imply that the next LA buyoff is calculated from the starting point of the last LA buyoff. The best example of this is the drow example in the text, and the LA +3 line in the table.
The drow has an LA +2, so, 2*3 = 6, thus the first LA level you can buy off is at 6th level. The remaining LA +1 requires an additional 1*3 = 3 class levels before it can be bought off.
For the LA +3 line entry on the table: LA 3*3 = 9th level, LA 2*3 = another 6 levels or at 15th level, and LA 1*3 = another 3 levels or at 18th level. See the last paragraph in this post for a suggestion of combining this implied rule with the handbook concept of taking only one level adjustment at a time.
If this implied rule is taken as applicable to all LA buy-off, then a given character will be limited to 6 template levels taken one at a time in a 20 level build. Furthermore, the level at which the LA is gained, would become the starting point for counting levels for purposes of buy-off. See last paragraph this post for details.
According to these rules as written, one can start off as a 1st level character, take a single template level at 2nd level, and take two more character levels. The character has an ECL of 4, the xp of a 4th level character (6000), 3 class levels and +1 LA. According to the rules, one must now immediately buy off the +1 LA buy spending [ECL(4)-1=3]*1000 = 3000xp. This drops the character to 3000xp, the minimum needed for 3rd level, and removes the +1 LA.
The character is now a 3rd level character with 3000xp plus the abilities of the 1st level of the template. The rest of the party is now 4th level and has 6000xp.
The party continues the campaign (and for the purposes of simplicity) manages to gain another 3000xp. This places the party at 9000xp, and the example character at 6000xp. The player opts to add the second level of the template as per the gaining templates midcampaign rules. The template level adds +1 LA for a total of three character levels, one LA, and a total ECL of 4 at 6000xp.
Now, according to the buy-off rules, the character, being at a 3:1 ratio of character level to LA, must immediately spend (ECL-1)*1000 in xp, which again works out to 3000xp. This drops the character back to 3rd level, with a total of 3000xp. The character now has three class levels, no LA, and the abilities of two template levels.
From this point the potential progression is easily visible. In essence, each template level is costing 3000xp, so long as no more than one level is taken at a time, and a template level is taken every time the character levels up.
Assuming a 20th level party, and a flat xp progression (a DM who only grants evenly split up xp regardless of character level), the rest of the party will have a minimum of 190,000xp. Even if the example character takes 6 template levels as specified above for a total effective cost of 18,000xp behind the rest of the party, the character will have a total of 172,000xp, enough for 19th level, plus the abilities of 6 levels worth of templates.
If the DM uses the xp charts as written, then the player must be certain that the character never falls behind more than 8 levels calculated from the average party level at any given time as this would cause the character to "fall off" the xp chart. It could be argued RAW that they cannot gain xp for encounters that exceed the character level by more than 8.
One possible method of compromising with the DM regarding buying extra template levels cheaply, would be to only take +1 LA every three levels. In other words, take three class levels, then take a +1 LA. Buy off the LA. Take another class three levels and take another +1 LA. Buy off the LA. Repeat.
This will cause the LA to be more costly each time you take it, but will still allow you to fit a +1 LA at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18, for a total of 6 template levels bought off in a 20 level build.
This would cost 3000xp the first time, 6000xp the second time, 9000xp the third time, and so forth.
(Idea courtesy of Widow. Thank you.)