3E and Multiclassing

[Albromor]

I want you guys and gals to know that I did a search before asking these questions. Though there was a good number of threads avaliable, what I was looking for really wasn't answered. I'm not sure if this is where I should ask but my inquiry didn't seem to fit either Miscellaneous Gaming or General Discussion.

My problem is that I am a long time player of D&D from the 1st Edition rules. By the time 2E came along my life and many of my buddies' lives were changing and so we never got into 2E. When I finally picked up BG1 in the late 90s playing it wasn't difficult at all becsause the jumpt from 1E to 2E isn't that much of a deal. But now we have 3E and the d20 system. Sheesh! Don't get me wrong, I really like the new changes but I am learning very slowly. One has to unlearn a lot in order to learn.

Anyway, I understand that the old multiclassing and dual classing are no more. I also understand that you can only gain experience in one class with the flexibility being that you continue on through several levels before declaring you want to try another class. This is where I get confused.

I will be purchasing NWN in a couple of weeks. Say I start out as a Fighter and remain so for 5 levels, but then I decide I want to take on a Rogue class. This is where I start getting confused.

1. Does this mean for gaming purposes I am now considered a 1st level character? How do the Fighter levels and hit points figure in?

2. If at anytime I revert to a Fighter when I declared Rogue what happens to the experience points at this juncture? I was told that if you switch class in the middle you lose XP. Is this correct?

3. Can you jump back and forth in classes, i.e., 5 F, then declare Rogue and level for 3 and then decide to switch to F for a few more levels?

This was longer than I anticipated, so if you read through it is really appreciated! Clarification is needed, as you can tell, so anything you see that I need to understand please add it in. Thanks a lot.

[ 07-15-2003, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: Albromor ]

[Micah Foehammer]

Let me see if I can clear this up.

1) No, you won't become first level again. In 3E, ALL of your levels from all classes will stack to determine your character level. A 5th level fighter with 2 levels of rogue is a 7th level character. Your abilities, including skills, feats, saving throws, attack bonuses and special class abilities will all stack together. None of this silly, "you have to become THIS level in order to regain your old abilities".

2) XP is cumulative for all classes. You don't lose xp just by switching. You CAN however suffer XP penalties depending on your race and the combination of classes you take levels in. It can get very complicated to explain. [img]smile.gif[/img]

3) Yes. You can switch in and out of classes, adding levels in two classes at alternate levels. In fact, that is required in certain classes combinations to avoid the XP mentioned in 2 above. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[philip]

Originally posted by Micah Foehammer: You CAN however suffer XP penalties depending on your race and the combination of classes you take levels in. It can get very complicated to explain. [img]smile.gif[/img]

most races have a favourite class, a class many people of that race have. i don't know exactly which race has which.

for a dual or triple class character, if there's a difference between the classes of more than one level (like lvl 1 first class/level 3 second class) and one of the levels in a class isn't the favourite class of the race you get 80% of the XP you'd normally gain.

i think this is all, at least as far as i read in the guide and from 3e p&p

[Micah Foehammer]

nice summary, phillip. [img]smile.gif[/img]

The only addition is that some races (like humans and half-elves) have NO favoured class. For those characters, the HIGHEST level class is assumed to be the "favoured class" for purposes of determining whether the XP penalty applies. So a human fighter 7 / rogue 1 would NOT suffer an XP penalty as the fighter class is assumed to be the favoured class. However, a human Fighter7 / Rogue 4 / Cleric 1 WOULD suffer a 20% penalty as the rogue and cleric class are more than 1 level apart.

[Albromor]

Okay, let's see if I got you guys correctly. I can start out and play a fighter and if I want to I can then decide to play a rogue, BUT I don't have to wait until my rogue levels reach and surpass by one my fighter levels to be able to use what the Fighter levels got me, i.e., feats and skills, etc. Correct? It also seems that though you can be a 3 class character the possible penalties to experience points would not necessarily be all that attractive, so if you want to be multiclass keeping it to two classes seems to be best. Correct?

I still need some clarification but you two have helped a lot. Lets go back to me being a fighter. He is human. I gain 5 levels as a fighter. I now want to be a rogue because finding traps and hiding in shadows sure could be useful (by the way, under the old 1E I loved playing a Gnome F/T).

a. When in the game do I make my intentions known that I want to work on a Rogue class?

b. If I operate as a rogue but suddenly I am in a fight, I assume I'll fight as a 5th level Fighter. How does this affect experience points and their application?

Micah and philip thanks for your patience and time.

[Micah Foehammer]

Not a problem, this can be a little confusing the first time through.

Okay, basically every time you gain enough experience points to level up, the FIRST option you get is which class to level in. Your character portrait will change to a bluish-green figure and your character sheet will show a "Click here to level up" tag.

After you pick which class to level in, you will see in sequence, the add stat page (if you qualify), the assign skill page, and finally the pick feat page.

Actually, if you have levels in both rogue and fighter classes, your fighting skills will be based on the COMBINED levels of both. In your example, the fifth level fighter has a base attack bonus of 5 and a third level rogue has a base attack bonus of 3 i think, so the total base attack bonus for that character will be 8, not 5 or 3. [img]smile.gif[/img] In addition, any skill points you assign while as a rogue will combine with skill points as a fighter. Your skills are not separated by class, but a total of all skills etc are shown for the character.

Think of your character as having complete access to the total of all accumulated knowledge he has gained through his experiences and forget the old multi- and dual- class ideas. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Albromor]

I like it! I like it! It should be interesting to see how this plays out. 3E sure seems a whole lot more "realistic" than the restrictions of the old 1E.

[Micah Foehammer]

I like the system. [img]smile.gif[/img] I think it gives you a LOT of flexibility in crafting a character the way you want to. Makes it a LOT more fun, imho. [img]smile.gif[/img]