Brand new to C&C; Questions about Multi-classing Rules

[Warunsun]

Hello everyone.

My group is brand new to Castles & Crusades but I personally have been wanting to try this game for a long time. We just received from the Troll Lord our Player's Handbooks (fifth printing). Our group had had experience with playing both AD&D 1e & 2e but it has been a long while ago. While Castles & Crusades definitely isn't AD&D it does have that old school feel. In the back of the fifth printing of the Player's Handbook are rules for multi-classing.

My main question concerns armor restrictions.

Multi-class characters can use any armor from any of the combined classes' armor allowed list at however, they still suffer any penalties mentioned for a class ability such as with the rogue's pick pocket.

Rangers, rogues, assassins, barbarians, and druids are specifically called out with armor penalties to certain class abilities. Also in the main class sections for Wizards and Illusionists it mentions that they can't cast spells while wearing armor.

However, in the same Multi-class appendix under Class & 1/2 it says

Wizard or illusionist supported by an armor proficient class may cast spells while armored, however, any spells which allow a save are granted a bonus to the save equal to the base AC bonus of the spell-caster's armor. This principal also applies to druids who wear metal armor.

and

Wizard or illusionist supporting an armor proficient class cannot cast spells which directly cause damage, or allow a save, while wearing armor. This principal applies to druids wearing metal armor.

This information is all highly contradictory. If a traditional multi-classed Rogue/Illusionist paying full experience for both classes plus the extra can't cast spells in armor why would an Illusionist with 1/2 Rogue levels be allowed to and a Rogue with 1/2 Illusionist levels not be allowed to?

Anyone have any pointers, errata, suggestions?

I checked my old first edition books and it is certainly clear that Fighter/Magic-Users and Fighter/Illusionists can wear armor and cast spells in 1E AD&D. However, when I looked at my old second edition AD&D books it says the opposite: in 2E AD&D you couldn't do it.

Thanks.

 

[Troll Lord]

What yer looking at here are two different sets of rules for having the abilities of two classes, 1) the traditional multi-class and 2) class and a half. class and a half is a new idea, and is not, strictly speaking, multi-class.

the notion of class and a half is to have a character with the full abilities of a single class (the principle class) and some or all of the abilities of another class (the supporting class) at a lesser degree of skill. the character has more than one class but less than two, hence, class and a half. most of the time, the character would be played as a single class character of his principle class, but would have the abilities of the second class to support the first. think of fighter combined with wizard. in traditional m-c, he would be a fighter-wizard, depending on the skills of both classes equally.

with class and a half he would be either a wizard supporting a fighter or a wizard supported by fighter. in the first case, the character is really a fighter who can cast a few wizard spells, and would most likely use those spells which boost his fighting abilities, such as shield or enhance attribute. he's not meant to be throwing fireballs or hold person. in the second example, the character is a wizard who can use sword and shield and armor, so that when he runs out of spells, he's not entirely useless or defenseless. he wouldn't start out fighting in melee, but might finish that way.

It would probably have been better for us to say this:

"A wizard or illusionist supported by an armor proficient class may cast spells while armored, however, any spells which allow a save are granted a bonus to the save equal to the base AC bonus of the spell-caster's armor. This principal also applies to druids who wear metal armor."

"An armor proficient class supported by a wizard or illusionist cannot cast spells which directly cause damage, or allow a save, while wearing armor. This principal applies to druids wearing metal armor."

Mark

 

[Warunsun]

What yer looking at here are two different sets of rules for having the abilities of two classes...

Thanks for your post.

You consider them separate rule options which is OK. I personally looked at them and seen no reason to not allow both in the same campaign based on preference of the player. In a campaign where the DM/CK allowed both options it does create a problem on why some fighter/wizards can cast spells while wearing armor and others can't. This is both an in-character quandary and a game rules issue.

For it seems to me that the cheaper experience cost option provides much more powerful characters. I guess it is noted as a "more lenient" system.