D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5e] A fix for free weapons from multiclassing?

[Saeviomagy]

Hands up if your character ever uses more than three weapons in a given day.

Hands up if your character casts more than three different spells in a given day.

Now which is ridiculous? The wizard learning to use three weapons properly, or the fighter suddenly learning how to do any magic at all, and then learning his int bonus + 3 spells?

Although I probably agree that giving fighters "all martial weapons" when the alternative is spending a feat to learn just one is a bit of a problem (does anyone ever spend a feat to learn a single martial proficiency, or does everyone just multiclass or learn exotic weapons?). I'm hoping that 3.5 has weapon proficiency groups for just that reason.

As for "no levelling up until the end of the adventure" rule... Can't say I like it. To my mind, it really promotes the mindset of "Here's my character, preconstructed to level 20 for maximum efficiency" over "You know - last week I got stranded on my own with no spellbook, and nothing but a rusty longsword and a suit of armour. I think I might try to learn how to use those in case it ever happens again".

Oh, and "no training" avoids every character on the surface of the planet knowing exactly what their level is in numerical terms - "Hey dude - how many times have you trained? 4 times! Wow, you're 5th level!"

 

[Psyckosama]

With training I run a happy medium. To multi class in a class that's very diffrent from your own (Mage to Fighter for example) you have to train, but to go up a level in your own class you don't because you already know the basics and are just getting better at what you know.

 

[Ranger REG]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: [3.5e] A fix for free weapons from multiclassing?

I agree with you here, we don't play that way either. We used to play it took 1 week to train, but that just got in the way of time critical quests. So we currently play, when you have enough exp to level up all you get is your new Hit Points, and all other new class features you get the next day.

What the hell is a "time critical quest"? Guess I don't play that type of adventures, I think.

Now this is something I would disagree with, for MY game anyway. Imagine Frodo, trying to get the One Ring to Mount Doom all at level 1? It would be impossible to do. And if he stopped his quest for a few weeks every time he went to train and "level up", the Dark Lord's minsions would have caught him for sure.

Then I make the adventure equivalent to the entire TRILOGY.

After that, then and only then do I give them XP reward.

If not, then I will suspend multiclassing. They can improve their current class(es) but cannot learn any new class.

I am going off on a bit of a tangent here.

A bit off?

My point is, you can't ALWAYS just speed things up.

Not always, but then I never use "time critical quests." If I have a long adventure that requires two or more game sessions (most I did is a four-session adventure), then I won't reward them until the end of the last session.

 

[Pagan priest]

There is one point that I think has been overlooked. Why are you all assuming that the wizard spent all 10 years learning to cast those 3 spells? Maybe his teacher lived in an area where all males over 15 had to spend every other weekend drilling with the militia. Once our young first level wizard goes off adventuring, some of that militia training begins to make sense like it never had before.

Suddenly, it's not just "Eyes front! Dress that Line! Get that sword out of the mud! You think you're here to hoe weeds?" any more. There are goblins and such, and they are all trying to kill our young wizard!

It can easily go the other way too. The fighter could have spent his evenings in the barracks, trying to remember not to move his lips as he attempts to figure out the arcane syllables in his wizard's home study course.

Options, not restrictions!

 

[Darklone]

Sometimes traveling can be considered training too, ==> LotR. The hobbits learn how to wave their puny little daggers around with Boromir.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think the problem is: What Roleplaying reason has your character to suddenly go from Wizard to Fighter?

I see the training presented within the Experience Points a character gains.
Real Encounters train a character more than going into a safe training room...

But if your wizards only casts his spells and never used his sword, club, quarterstaff or whatever else he had, there is no real reason for him to gain a Fighter level, so the player simply doesn`t give his character this level, because he prefers roleplaying...

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Darklone]

I'd say, even a wizard who does not attack with his staff or so is attacked in melee now and then. This means he HAS to fight. (D&D abstraction of combat)

 

[Chacal]

They are not?

I know enough rogues who multiclassed into one or two or four levels of fighter or barbarian and it increased their fighting power enourmously.

A common house rule is limiting the sneak attack ability to rogue weapons. It might help in this case.

Chacal

 

[Darklone]

Right, Chacal, but it's not so bad... They are still worse than singleclass fighters hitpoint wise and still worse than most rogues concerning sneak attack and other roguish skills.

And I don't have to worry so much about flatfooted smackdowns

 

[Chacal]

A rogueX/ftr 1 does not compare well to a fighter, but it's still very close from a Rogue X+1 for X > 3.
Not that the "all proficiencies for just one level" has been an issue IMC.

Chacal