I have to be honest with you. I think multiclassing should be fun and done more often then I see, other then just lvl dipping for lvl 1 and 2 bonuses. However I don't like the idea of being underpowered. Do you think multiclassing is underpowered. Especially if main stats for the classes differ? If so I was thinking of a solution, and the best way I can develop something is if I hear ppls opinions. so here it goes....
What if for every new class, or ones where "main stats" atleast, the amount of experience to lvl up restarts at 1 for that class.
An example I am a 4th lvl cleric, and would like to take a lvl in ranger( medium experience advancement). All I would need is 1000exp to take a lvl in ranger, and then a total of 2k to hit lvl 2 in my ranger set. But then I would like my next lvl to be in cleric, so I would need to go from 9k to 15k in my cleric set.
What do you think of this idea? This way a single lvl 5 char would have the same amount of experience and in theory be at the same playing field as a char with 3 3rd lvl classes.( at first this seems unfair to the monoclass char but then again, the monoclass would have his stats better invested where as for 3-class-char would have standard stats all around or substandard stats with decent stats(a sorc with 18 cha and 16 dex would have a poor str and con associated with 3 lvls of barb or fighter.)
I'm not sure how well-balanced it would be, unless you were to perhaps incorporate some extra rules.
If all else fails, you can always try running a gestalt game.
Wizard/Magus/Rogue is a 3/3/3 level character, in a party of 5th level characters, with the health of a 9th level character?
It doesn't seem like you thought this through very well.
Wizard/Magus/Rogue is a 3/3/3 level character, in a party of 5th level characters, with the health of a 9th level character?
It doesn't seem like you thought this through very well.
Now, if you were to incorporate some of those gestalt rules to say, like, 'You get the best outta five for each thing', that might help balance.
What if you made it so you gain levels in Warrior, Mage, Priest, and Thief all independent of each other and then slotted all of the other classes into one (or more) of these....
For example...you take a level in Warrior at the start, which you dedicate to the Fighter subclass. Later, after earning the appropriate XP you could take a level in Thief (and dedicate that to Rogue). If you then wanted to take a level in, let's say ranger (part of the Warrior group) you'd have to earn enough XP for level 2 Warrior ...at which point you dedicate the level to ranger.
A class that belongs to more than one of your primary groups would require the highest amount of XP to level it. Say a bard is both in the thief and mage group and your first level is in thief/rogue...you would then need to get to level 2 thief to get one level in bard (this avoid leveling your hybrids by alternating "primary" levels). Alternatively...once you level a hybrid using a primary it's locked into that primary for leveling purposes, but that requires even more tracking...
Not sure how the math on that works out...just wanted to reply to what I seen here :D
In my experience multiclassing is either a really bad idea (most of the time) or incredibly broken (in the case of specific, niche builds). I've never heard of, or seen, a multiclass build that was a purely lateral move.
I'm actually against multiclassing, although it's much easier for me to make that call since characters at my table advance at the most 5 levels total (the longest running adventure I've had, in terms of how many played sessions there were, was four months of weekly sessions). So far I haven't run a game where players were both at the level where PrCs enter the picture and had any desire to multiclass to get into one.
Kjeldor, I'm afraid that would be very bad. Because exp scales so fast, it will always be much better to multiclass.
Why would I ever be a fighter 5 when I could instead be a fighter 2/ranger 2/cavalier 2/paladin 2/evangelist cleric 2/battle herald 2/holy vindicator 2/vivisectionist alchemist 1?
I prefer to do this:
Fractional Save Bonuses: You get ½ a point of base save per level for good saves and ⅓ of point per level for bad saves. Keep the fractions for tracking your advancement, but round off when you actually use your bonus. Heroic base classes grant a +2 Class bonus to all their good saves at 1st level. Class bonuses do not stack.
Fractional BAB: Full BAB classes get 1 BAB per level, average BAB classes get ¾ per level and low BAB classes get ½ per level. Keep the fractions for tracking your advancement, but round off when you actually use your bonus.
Multiclass Spellcasting: For each of your spellcasting classes, you gain one bonus level of spellcasting for every two levels you have in other classes. This works like advancing your spellcasting with a prestige class, with two exceptions:
First, you can only benefit from a number of bonus levels of spellcasting in each class up to your normal levels of spellcasting from that class.
Second, bonus levels of spellcasting do not stack with levels of spellcasting advancement from prestige classes.
This prevents multiclass characters from having ridiculously unbalanced saves, gives them a higher base attack bonus and makes multiclassing with spellcasting classes much, much more powerful.
Of course, if you really want to encourage multiclassing, you can give everybody unlimited favoured classes and make the half-elves swap out their multitalented racial trait.
Looking back that broken build example I gave isn't fair. Obviously you don't intend it to work with prestige classes. let's go for this instead:
Fighter 2/ranger 2/cavalier 2/anti-paladin 2/barbarian 2/oracle 2/Mysterious stranger or gun tank gunslinger 2/vivisectionist alchemist 1.
Lore-Warden Fighter 2/Kensai Magus 2/Sword Saint Samurai 2/Urban Ranger 2/Gunslinger 2/Monk 2/Ninja 1 looks good too.