Level Drained

Remove all ads!

I just realized that both Yoshimo and Aerie show "level drained" in their profiles. What does this mean? How do I fix this?

 

"Level drained" means that a character's level is currently lower than the level it currently is. This is caused by undead, and it lowers saving throws and Thac0. Just cast Restoration (or visit a temple) and everything'll be back to normal

 

#2 ftw, it also lowers HP and I think spells slots.

 

Restoration spell or scroll; just about every temple sells Restoration scrolls. Do it as soon as you can so you can start gaining levels again. Beware, though, as it will make the casting character fatigued.

 

Level drained characters actually keep gaining exp "behind the scenes", so you won't loose any exp no matter how long you wait until you get the levels restored. It's even possible to get a level up when the Restoration kicks in. The really nasty part about level drain is that it indeed lowers the character's number of memorized spells, and Restoration only brings back empty slots. So with spell casters, all the damage is undone only once you rest.

 

Some nasty undead creatures like vampires, wraights, wights etc. have a deep connection to negative energy plane that they can take the life force from their victims, efectively draining them of levels.

Say, you are a level 9 mage, with 5th level spells. If a vampire attacks you and sucks your blood, effectively draining 2 level, you are now a level 7 mage, lost your 5th level spell slots, HP, THAC0 and saving throw bonuses of a 9th level mage. You are now identically a level 7 mage, but can not level up until you are restored(you continue to gain XP however)

If one victim is reduced to 0 level via draining, they die, and according to pen&paper they become one of the undead which killed them. IE: If a vampire klls a victim by level draining,(NOT other damage form) he/she will be a vampire in a few nights until some countermeasures are taken.

In BG2, however, if you are drained to 0 level you just die, sometimes irreversibly (vanishes into nothingness as all of your life force is transferred to negative plane, this happened to Minsc when Shadow Dragon breathed on him and he failed a saving throw, drained of 10 levels and he dissapeared into a black mist of nothingness.)

To be protected, you need to cast priest spell Negative Plane Protection, be careful though, it lasts too short (5 rounds=app.30 sec.) but during that time you are immune to lvl draining.

To cure it, you mast cast Restoration by a cleric (and cleric only) or Greater Restoration (cleric only) There are also alternatives of scrolls sold in temples which can be used by nearly everyone, and temples will cast it too. But the caster (or the recipient incase of the temple healing) will be fatigued greatly as it is a very hard and drainig spell to cast, taking the life force of the victim back from negative energy plane is a hard job indeed.

When cured, spellcasters must re-memorize any lost spells so it is fair to say that level draining is most dangerous to casters.

 

The fatigue only happens in case of Greater Restoration. If simply Restored at the temple, the recepient does not get fatigued.

Restoration simply removes the level drain making your max HP, THAC0, etc, return to normal. Greater Restoration works as Restoration + Heal. However neither will make your lost spells/traps to return.

 

If you are really broke you can get Lesser Restored for free when you kill Neb the child killer from BG, though you still get fatigued. The Child Spirits that he invokes are probably vampiric because they level drain. This quest is also connected to the negative plane as the Illithium Ore he carries is necessary for the forging of the Improved Mace of Disruption

[ October 01, 2005, 02:25: Message edited by: Phase Demon ]

 

Which is a pain in the arse, especially when you are at higher levels and have to re-allocate 7+ spells back into the correct places. And when you have 4 such characters...

Needless to say, I usually let my summons get level drained.

 

Level drain can begin to become a pain after a while and Negative Plane Protection only lasts so long ... especially when you're fighting multiple level draining monsters (how annoying are vampires especially more than 1!) but after you get the protective necklace in Chap. 2 (I'm not going to spoil it for you if you haven't got it already), it should really help!