D&D 2E 2e Fighter vs Fighter/Thief vs Thief Play Balance

[James Gasik]

Level limits kick in for Halflings starting at level 8, unless your DM uses the optional rule where high ability scores let you exceed your cap. Gnomes only go up to 9 as Clerics. Just about everything else is a minimum of level 12, I want to say, which means you're probably fine.

Hit points will be a mess, but if you're a Cleric/Thief or Fighter/Thief, I think they should catch up, depending on how your group calculates them. I use fractional hit points, so if you go up a level of Fighter and you get half a d10 and you roll a 9, I'll have you note you actually got 4.5 hit points at that level. Just so you don't get math screwed by rounding everything down.

Other DM's may not do this! I've run into some contention about how bonus hit points from Constitution should be handled- some of the DM's I've talked to have had very restrictive systems because they thing multiclassed characters are too good.

If you have the ability scores for it, another option is dual-classing. A few levels of Fighter to get stronger hit point totals, then switch to Thief. It will still take you awhile to get useful, but you'll be more likely to survive.

 

[Voadam]

Well the issue with those multiclasses is they do take a little bit to get off the ground, as it were. But yeah, in the long run, a multiclassed character is ALWAYS better than a single classed character*, as, if you look at the xp tables, they generally only end up a level behind a single classed character. Fighter Multiclasses are probably better off ignoring their "other half" at first, in which case, they are basically Fighters with less hit points, but hey, a bow fires 2 shots a round (and Elves get some of the better multiclass combinations).

***

*Subject to level limits; a few other factors have to be taken into account, like the ability to wear armor, and what weapons you can use. Triple Classes compound these problems as well, but do grant a broad base of abilities at high levels- that having been said, you can still only do one thing a turn, so combining, say, Fighter and Cleric/Mage (or all three, in the case of Half-Elves) may not always feel like it's worth it, YMMV. You really need to be in a game likely to reach levels beyond 5-7 for this to pay off.

I'd disagree that it is always better than a single classed character.

Being down a comparative level often means being down THAC0, hp, and saves depending on the level break and the class.

For spellcasters it means being down a top level spell slot half the time and down spell slots and caster level all the time.

For Fighters it not only impacts the combat stats of hp, THAC0, and saves, but it also precludes them from weapon specialization which is further attack and damage bonuses and the big one of extra attacks.

For thieves it means being down a level on thief skills.

Of course all of this but weapon specialization goes away once you hit level limits and the multiclassed demihumans have caught up with the single classed ones. The unlimited humans and half-elf bards will continue to generally stay at least a comparative level ahead though.

 

[James Gasik]

Well the thing to remember is how terribly Thief Thac0 progresses. I did a level 10 comparison upthread (single-classed Thief 10 vs. Fighter 8). Now let's compare those to a Fighter/Thief:

10 levels of Thief is 160,000 xp. You got an average of 35 hit points and a Thac0 of 16.

That same xp total gets you an 8th level Fighter with an average of 44 hit points, a Thac0 of 13 and 3/2 attacks per round (2/1 with weapon specialization), plus better armor.

And now, the same xp total gets you a 7th level Fighter/8th level Thief. So you have an average of 33 hit points (2 less than the single-classed Thief), a Thac0 of 14, and 3/2 attacks per round. Armor is the same as the Thief 10. You can't use scrolls yet, and you're down 60 discretionary points, but really, by level 8, a Thief should have the most important abilities (Open Locks, Find/Remove Traps, Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Climb Walls, and Detect Noise) with very high percentages, as you've had 270 points to divvy up among them.

As a possible side benefit, you also can have Exceptional Strength and higher Constitution bonuses, but since you probably wanted a high stat in Dexterity, that's probably not super relevant.