I don't know if I have this right.One of my characters has become a barbarian to learn thief skills.I'd planned for his next change to be to ninja but from what I've read here this will take some time, during which he is likely to gain several levels as a barbarian.
If I've understood the manual correctly he will not be able to gain stats and will gain few ability points as a ninja,until he has reached the same level as he was a barbarian.Does this mean that you are better off having your characters change class frequently or have I got it wrong (again!)?

Partly right:

As a ninja, you will probably only get 1 point to put in skill until you get to the same level that you were at as a barbarian. You will also only gain 1 HP per level until you reach the median barbarian of low level / ninja of high level. In other words, if you are a barbarian of level 13, you'll only get 1 skill point until you hit level 12 as a ninja. Starting at level 13, you'll get 1/4 of your intelligence score to put in skills. HP will be somewhat different, you might have to wait until you reach level 22 (arbitrary) before you start gaining more than 1 HP per level.

The good news: East of Ishad N'Ha you'll gain XP much quicker than in the Valeia region (with the exeption of the Spirit of Rumphy... hint). So, by the time you get to the Brimloch, you might have surpassed your barbarian level.

Good luck

Thanks very much,just what I wanted to know.

Everything Ryan said is correct. I would also like to add a bit.

If you are a Paladin and pick up the Gallantry skill (to skill level 1), then change roles to Ranger or whatever, upon your next levelup as a Ranger, you may attribute skill points to Gallantry, even though Gallantry is not a Ranger skill.

Furthermore, it is almost always beneficial to change roles, as opposed to remaining 1 role forever. The only reason to remain a certain class is to gain all the spells that that class offers, like Spiritcraft spells for Paladins. The best example I can think of to convey this point is my Paladin/Ranger/Samurai example. I had a Paladin, maxed out his Spiritcraft spells, then became Ranger L1. Gained 1 level to pick up the Fletchery trait, then I moved on to Samurai. NOTE: This was possible because I was already Guild Level 5 in the Warriors Guild, it had nothing to do with my Ranger Level.

I was always hesitant to leave a role, fearing that I was going to forego some cool trait or skill, but this is not the case. Most all traits and skills are accessible because of guild membership, NOT because of what role you are currently in.

Detah

[ 02-13-2002: Message edited by: Detah ]</p>

I can't believe the quality and detail of the answers you get on this board!!!Again,many thanks,most enlightening,Detah.When I get to the stage where I can post answers instead of questions I will try to be as helpful,despite typing at the pace of an arthritic tortoise! GRIN.

Izzatso, Ryanamur? *scratches head*

In the games I've played, I know that after changing classes, I went to 1 HP and no attribute points upon leveling up until I had reached the previous level. After that, HP and AP accrued like normal.

IOW, I haven't seen the delay you mention from level 13 to 22 before HP start to rise. They've risen with the first unachieved level.

I wonder if you may have seen some of the "normalization" that takes place. As I understand it, when you level up, your HP are re-rolled for your class. If the re-roll is higher than your current HP, you get more. If it's less, you get one (or some piddly amount). That means you can save and reload before gaining a level to try to get a decent number, but it eventually won't really pay off.