HackMaster 4.0: A Day in The Life and Level Advancement

[tmjva]

A Player came up with an idea.  Looking for answers to nullify this.

In HackMaster (as well as 1st Ed AD&D) racial limits are hard limits for advancement.  So if your an Elf, you can't go beyond level 12 as a Thief (2 more if your not multi-classed).

However in the Spellslinger's guide there is this spell called "A Day In the Life", which means you can have all the attributes of another race for 24 hours, such an Elf could opt to be Human for a day.  Still, it takes weeks to train for leveling so this would normally be negated.

If you mix the "Exception to Formal Training Requirement", which cancels the schooling, such a character does NOT need to spend weeks in training, leveling is immediate.

Therefore the Race Limitation to Levels is hereby negated by Player manipulating the rules and this spell.

Does anyone have a counter-argument to this munchkin?

[Oedipussy Rex]

Why bother? A human that took on attributes of an elf no longer has infravision, and an elf that became human would no longer have unlimited levels. Also, it's clearly stated in the errata you can't keep extra levels:

The spell A Day in the Life allows one to do everything that a member of the new race would be allowed to do, but any skills, talents, levels and experience only translate to the old character if the old race would allow such developments. For example, an elf character could cast the spell and turn themselves into a human. If they continued casting the spell, they could exceed the normal level limitations for being an elf, but upon returning to elf form, they would lose all levels that exceeded their allowed limit. (They could still keep all experience earned).

[tmjva]

Sames as I got on the Kenzerco forums, except that one said as long as one recast the spell, before it expires every day, one can keep it up.

And can it be maintained by a Permanency spell?

[Kersus]

Sames as I got on the Kenzerco forums, except that one said as long as one recast the spell, before it expires every day, one can keep it up.  

And can it be maintained by a Permanency spell?

I'd probably say the spell would have to expire before it was recast however while level limits serve a great purpose, I believe the original thought was that there would always be exceptions like Hobbit Bards (1e) and such generally requiring great quests for items of power that would allow such exceptional characters. If a player wants to put in the work, I'd let them take on an exception although I'd generally also require a quirk to come into play. Anyone who spends so much time trying to be 'different' will also be quirky.

One could also maintain a balance where such creatures become the target of new enemies. Archmage who comes for those who defy natural laws.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Sames as I got on the Kenzerco forums, except that one said as long as one recast the spell, before it expires every day, one can keep it up.  

And can it be maintained by a Permanency spell?

Second point first: Casting the Permanency spell on living targets costs the caster a point in Con, so there's that, and is only affective for certain spells. Has A Day in the Life been added to the list?

And first point second: A Day in the Life allows a character to become a different race for 24 hours. It does not allow a character to become the same race. An Elf cum Human is a Human. An Arrow of Elf Slaying has no affect on such a character (beyond being shot by an arrow). Because he is not an Elf. He is a Human. That's what the spell does. Recasting it before the 24 hours are up means having to become something other than Human.