| Effective Character Levels (ECLs) are a way to compensate for the traits of the more powerful races. The average Dark Elf, for example, has several powerful abilities that make them more powerful than Humans. To compensate for this, PnP use the concept of an ECL.ECL's “lag” your character behind by a certain number of levels, to compensate for your more powerful racial capabilities. If Dark Elves have an ECL of +2, that means that they are treated as level 3 characters at level 1. For example, a Human with 11000 XP would normally be level 4 and is treated as such; a Dark Elf with 11000 XP is only level 4, but it's treated as a level 6. |
