When i played with a lvl 2 sorcerer/ lvl 2 pale master i only got 17exp for killing a goblin. But when i played a lvl 4 sorcerer i got 75 exp for each goblin. (playing human both times).
Why/How does the XP penalty work? And which race is best to use for palemaster/monk/Sorcerer or wizard or cleric combo?

Up to level 14, some character classes "count as" being lower than their actual level. That means the opposition they face isn't as tough, and that the enemies the character fights give a better XP reward. Prestige classes don't get any of these benefits, but sorcerers do. So, at 4 levels of sorcerer you counted as being lower level than your 2/2 combination did, making the goblin "count as" a more difficult foe, and resulting in a greater reward.

The XP penalty works differently from this.
It applies whenever you have 2 or more classes which are more than 1 level apart from the other(s), and constitutes a 20% XP reduction.
Exceptions are made though. Prestige classes don't count towards the penalty. A race's favourite class doesn't either.
So an elven (favoured wizard) wizard/fighter/arcane archer wouldn't count wizard levels, nor AA levels, making him a pure fighter for purposes of the penalty check. He'd be fine.
An elven sorcerer/fighter though, would suffer the penalties unless levelling in both classes evenly (4/3 is fine, 3/4 is too, so is 4/4, but not 5/3 or 3/5).
For humans and half elves, the determination of the race's favourite class is a little different; the clas with the highest level doesn't count instead. That means that no matter what, they won't ever risk getting a penalty unless they have at least 3 classes, and none of them are prestige classes. So a 9/9/8 fighter/wizard/rogue wouldn't suffer penalties (9/8 is within the range), nor would a 10/9/8 (or 9/10/8), because the lower two classes are only 1 apart. The 10/10/8 would again though (10/8 is outside the range).

For the Wizard/Monk/PM combination, you'd want an elf or a gnome. For the other arcane classes (sorcerer or bard), it depends. If you take most your levels in Palemaster, it doesn't matter. Otherwise, Human and Half Elf would be best.

If you get a lvl upp and can you then hold the lvl up and still get more XP so you can get 2 levels at the same time?

LOL I tried that to get more XP quicker ... cant remember if it worked though [img]tongue.gif[/img] sorry [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

No that doesn't work sorry :)

Not in the OC anyway, in modules with a custom XP system, it might.

So if i make a human lvl 8 palemaster lvl 8 monk lvl 3 sorcerer, then i dont have to pay any XP penalty?

oh, and what about henchmans, summons, animal companions, familiars? Do they "steal" XP from your char?

You shouldn't get a penalty there, and yes, they do reduce your XP income.

No IIRC they level up according to your XP not their own.