Leveling up?


Advice


Question -

As a halfling bard I get roughly 7 skill points to rank up my skills every time I level, correct? I'm confused then by the "extra skill rank or hit point" for favored class... Can someone explain favored class? Of course the class I choose would be my favored class, so I'm sort of thrown off here...

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/character-advancement


Your favored class is normally the one you chose at first level and there are some that can have two favored classes. Also, you could decide to take a level in a multi class and only have chosen one for your favored.

Scarab Sages

It depends on your Intelligence modifier. Yes, for the most part, EVERYONE will choose their one class as their favored class, and get to choose between a single hit point or skill rank as a bonus at every level.

Characters that wish to multiclass, however, or plan on taking a prestige class, don't get this benefit. An Eldritch Knight will only get that benefit for his caster or martial levels, unless he's a half-elf, in which case he gets it for both, but not his prestige class levels.


Favored class is a bonus you get every time you increase your level in your selected class. If you started to multi-class, you would stop getting that bonus, except when you put a level back into bard. So, if you were a bard 5/fighter 9, and bard was your favored class, you'd only have 5 levels worth of favored class bonus.

Assuming you go from 1-20 as just a bard, and that's your favored class, you would continue to get 1 HP or skill rank each level, ending up with +20. Every level you can either get +1 HP (amounting to basically having Toughness for free), or get an extra skill rank (as if you had another 2 int).

There are also other options for favored class, which are sometimes useful and sometimes not. As a halfling bard, you could take this: Add +1/2 on Bluff checks to pass secret messages, +1/2 on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and +1/2 on Disguise checks to appear as an elven, half-elven, or human child.

Since this bonus is only 1/2, that means you only see a bonus every two levels of taking this (since you always round down).

Also of note, prestige classes can never be your favored class.

Sovereign Court

you can only choose one class as your favored class, this favored class can get an extra skill rank or hit point. Some races have also alternate favored class bonuses.

Favored class is mostly there to encourage people to stick to one class. If you were multiclassing, taking two different classes or more for example, only your favored class would benefits from the extra hit point or skill rank.


Bards gets 6 + INT modifier skill points every level. So if your INT is 12 or 13, you have a INT modifier of 1, making it 7 skill ranks each level.

Favoured Class is something you choose when you create the character. Most characters can only have 1 Favoured Class. When you level up in the favoured class, you gain a Favoured Class Bonus.
You don't gain the Favoured Class Bonus when you put a level in another class other than your favoured class (If your favoured class is Bard, you only get the favoured class bonus when you take levels in Bard).
You can still take levels in other classes (multi-classing).

The Favoured Class Bonus can then be used in one of three choices:

  • One extra hp
  • One extra skill rank (if you pick this, you get 8 skill ranks in total that level)
  • Race specific favoured class bonus. For halfling bards it's
    Halfling Bard Favoured Class Bonus wrote:
    Add +1/2 on Bluff checks to pass secret messages, +1/2 on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and +1/2 on Disguise checks to appear as an elven, half-elven, or human child.

    Meaning you have to pick it at two levels to get the benefit of +1 to each skill it mentions during the right circumstances.


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    When you gain a Bard level, you gain 6 + your Intelligence modifier skill points.

    The Favored Class bonus - every time you gain a level in your favored class, you get an additional minor benefit. Once you choose your favored class, you can not change it. You could choose to receive an extra skill point that level, or an extra hit point. Or some other minor benefit, depending on your race and favored class. You can even choose to gain the extra skill point one level, then get the extra hit point next level. You get to choose each time you level up in your favored class.

    So if you chose Bard as your favored class, each time you gain a level in Bard you get an extra minor benefit. If you instead take a level of another class, like fighter, you don't get any extra benefit because that other class is not your favored class.


    What Jeraa said.

    About favored class:
    You do not have to take the class you start with or which you are playing as your favored class, it just makes more sense usually.
    You could play a wizard for several levels and have chosen Mystic Theurge as your favored class, because you plan on taking that later on for 10 levels and would get the most out of the favored class bonuses that way.

    About Half-Elves:
    That race gets to pick two favored classes and have therefore a bonus compared to others when multiclassing. A half-elven fighter/rogue 6/4 would have 10 picks of favored class bonuses compared to a human, who could have either 6 (having taken fighter as favored) or 4 (same with the rogue).

    The point about favored classes is that the bonus is another incentive to stay in class instead of going on a multiclass rampage.

    Grand Lodge

    I don't think you can choose a Prestige Class as a favored class.

    Humans get a couple of oddball feats that can change how they work with Favored Class.
    Eclectic is a feat that gives them the ability to have two Favored Classes.
    Fast Learner is a feat that gives them both the hit point and the skill point for each level in their favored class.


    kinevon wrote:
    I don't think you can choose a Prestige Class as a favored class.

    Correct. Only base classes can be a favored class.

    Quote:
    Each character begins play with a single favored class of his choosing—typically, this is the same class as the one he chooses at 1st level. Whenever a character gains a level in his favored class, he receives either + 1 hit point or + 1 skill rank. The choice of favored class cannot be changed once the character is created, and the choice of gaining a hit point or a skill rank each time a character gains a level (including his first level) cannot be changed once made for a particular level. Prestige classes (see Prestige Classes) can never be a favored class.

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