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

[hammymchamham]

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

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

DM: Ok, everyone gets 5000 XP
PC1: Dude! We leveled up! I'm getting a level of fighter so I can use that intellegent raiper of Mystra! Who I just so happen to worship.
PC2: Awesome, hey wait, isn't the big bad guy going to kill your wife in 3 days?
PC1: Oh yeah, and we have a minumum of 1 week training to get a level in a new class. Guess I'll just take another level of Wizard.



Their's a time critical quest.

 

[Darklone]

OMG. That's probably how I always wanted to play

 

[RigaMortus]

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

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.

Not quite sure I follow what you are suggesting here? Earlier in the post you said that:

I don't let anyone level up in the middle of an adventure. That is why I -- the GM -- reward XP at the END of the adventure.

Are you suggesting that you would tailor the adventure (in this case, the entire LotR TRILOGY) to the characters? Since you don't give exp until the end of the adventure (ie the TRILOGY), I assume you are suggesting that it would indeed be possible for a Level 1 Halfling Rogue named Frodo to take the UBER-RING he inherited all the way to Mount Doom (a 1 year journey) all at level 1, and upon destroying it he would receeve all that "built up" experience and can then take the next few months off to level to level 15 (or whatever)? Is that what you are stating or am I off here?

If you are suggesting this, then creatures such as Trolls and the Shelob would be around level (or CR) 1 or 2 as anything higher would be too tough for a level 1 party.

Do you ever intermingle epic NPCs (Eliminster for example) with low characters? In our world, it is entirely possible for our level 1 characters to run into the level 30 evil Wizard who plans on destroying the world. Since we are little peons to him (and the DM doesn't want to ruin the campaign) he will more or less leave us alone. If we are actually foolish enough to try and attack him, well, we'd get what we deserve. Our games are completely openended and we can run into those level 1 peasants or level 30 Wizards at anytime.

From what I gather (and again, I might be misunderstanding you), you seem to tailor the adventure to the level of the players. So they would never have them encounter something that is too high for them (whether it be a good or bad encounter). Then once the adventure is over, they take time to train and level up, and then suddenly the encounters from then on are tailored to their new levels.

If this is so, we really do have different play styles. I can see where your rationale is with taking weeks off to train is coming into play. Please correct any misunderstandings I may have stated here. I'd really like to understand your (and other player's) play styles.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

OMG. That's probably how I always wanted to play

Unless its like that for only short parts of the campaign I wouldn't want to play a time sensitive game. I hate entire campaigns that are time sensitive. Wizards just suck since they don't have time to craft or enter spells into their spellbook, and a lot of other classes lose their depth in what skills they can use.

 

[MerakSpielman]

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

Chacal

This makes perfect sense to me... You could even be more harsh and rule that they only get the sneak attack damage for multiple attacks if their rogue levels provide the additional attacks (I.e., a 16th level fighter who takes a level of rogue only gets a sneak attack with his first attack, but a 8th level fighter/8th level rogue gets the sneak attack with the first 2 attacks.)

Also, remember when people grab the level of ranger, that they only get their free ranger feats in light or no armor. Sometimes munchkin fighter-tanks forget this minor detail.

 

[RigaMortus]

Unless its like that for only short parts of the campaign I wouldn't want to play a time sensitive game. I hate entire campaigns that are time sensitive. Wizards just suck since they don't have time to craft or enter spells into their spellbook, and a lot of other classes lose their depth in what skills they can use.

That is pretty much how we play, at least at the moment. The problem is, we have so many people playing (9 players) that it takes for ever to do anything. Luckily we are on the last few hours of the "apocolyps", and if we can save the world in time (I am embelishing a little bit here) then hopefully we'll be able to take some in-game weeks off to train and whatever.

But as it is right now, every second counts. This has it's good and bad points. Every decission we make is important. Do we talk with X NPC that is a few miles away and try to get his support, wasting valueable time, or do we try and locate Y Magic Item which is prophicied to stop the "apocolypse"? The game can get very intense as you get down to the wire.

The bad side, as you mentioned, is that Item Creation Feats almost become useless. I say almost because if your current character dies, you can make a new character with half your current exp. If you make that character a Wizard and take an item creation feat, our DM allows you to purchase magic items at the same cost in GP and XP as if you created the item (assuming it is one that can be made with that feat, and you have the correct spells for it). So you can end up getting a few more items from your starting Character Wealth then you normally would be able to (because you created the items). I am hoping these feats will become more useful once our current quest is over.

 

[MerakSpielman]

You can let them craft while traveling (around the campfire...). I do this: make them pay the gp cost up front for the supplies they need. Double the amount of time it will take to craft the item. Any day that there is a significant inturuption, like a combat where they cast spells, then that day doesn't count. They can continue a crafting project with no penalties (other than the delay) if they get back to it within three days.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

That is pretty much how we play, at least at the moment. The problem is, we have so many people playing (9 players) that it takes for ever to do anything.

Gah 9 people, I'd go insane trying to run that. For me no downtime games come to a matter of scale. On the bad side of the scale, I ran in one game where I made a wizard with lots of item creation feats, we were constantly on the move for 1.5 freakin years of real time. We played with a slower XP advancement so we hit like 15th level after at that time of solidly playing once a week. And we didn't have one time until we hit 15th level to take a break. My spellbook only had my free 2 spells from every level, it just sucked. If I had known the game was like this i'd of played a fighter or sorcerer or something.

If you know what your getting into in advance it aint that bad, but artificers are my favorite theme so it isn't to my style of play. And as a GM it requires too much work to tie in an adventure of that size and keep in running full steam every session.

Still I prefer like maybe a month of real time gaming once a week of constant on the go, then a few months where you have the oportunity of downtime. Then go back to a low downtime adventure etc.

 

[Ranger REG]

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

Not quite sure I follow what you are suggesting here?

Are you suggesting that you would tailor the adventure (in this case, the entire LotR TRILOGY) to the characters? Since you don't give exp until the end of the adventure (ie the TRILOGY), I assume you are suggesting that it would indeed be possible for a Level 1 Halfling Rogue named Frodo to take the UBER-RING he inherited all the way to Mount Doom (a 1 year journey) all at level 1, and upon destroying it he would receeve all that "built up" experience and can then take the next few months off to level to level 15 (or whatever)? Is that what you are stating or am I off here?

While I won't give him that much XP to level up 14 new levels, but making the Trilogy one big adventure scenario and reward him at the end, yes.

Like I said, I don't think I play or run that type of adventure. And if I do, then I'll just suspend multiclassing for the duration of this time-critical mega-adventure because there is no roleplaying opportunity to do so.

Sheesh! Suddenly my GM skills are being put on the spotlight here.

Your Campaign, Your Rules.

 

[melkoriii]

This makes perfect sense to me... You could even be more harsh and rule that they only get the sneak attack damage for multiple attacks if their rogue levels provide the additional attacks (I.e., a 16th level fighter who takes a level of rogue only gets a sneak attack with his first attack, but a 8th level fighter/8th level rogue gets the sneak attack with the first 2 attacks.)

Also, remember when people grab the level of ranger, that they only get their free ranger feats in light or no armor. Sometimes munchkin fighter-tanks forget this minor detail.

Why change the rules soooo much and really take away the one way a Rogue can do melee damage?

Have you played a rogue? Its not so simple to sneak attack things as most seem to think.