Black Pits (minor spoiler) DRAIN

[samite_alchemist]

The Ogre Mage does a LEVEL DRAIN that really messes up a character. I thought Level Drain would simply take a character down to the middle of the previous level, so you could level back up. But noooo, this Drain means your character can never ever earn XP any more. The lines with XP and next level are replaced by the phrase LEVEL DRAIN.

In the box with Status effects, it says ENERGY DRAIN.

Haven't been able to find any mention of this in guides or discussions. Is this how it is supposed to work, or is it bugged?

[N0P3]

sounds like you will have to get a curse lifted perhaps --that's gonna cost!
hopefully one of the temples can rip that cr4p off your character and get you rollin out again.
best wishes at any rate.
let us know if you find resolution regarding your affliction.

[samite_alchemist]

In The Black Pits, there are no temples, just vendors. Normally each character is automatically healed to full hp and all negative effects are cleared. (Although sometimes Slowed chars remain Slow.) Each round gains you XP and Gold so you can level up and buy better equipment. Haven't found any vendor that can remove this. Maybe there is a cleric spell?

[Auve]

There is a cleric spell called "Lesser Restoration" that a pure cleric will learn during BP1 (level 4 spell).

It removes the debuff - unlike Negative Plane Protection, which only prevents the debuff from applying.

That's really weird though, I've played through Black Pits 20-30 times and have never seen the Ogre Mage do a level drain.

[samite_alchemist]

Yep, Level 4 Cleric spell LESSER RESTORATION.