D&D 3E/3.5 3e style multiclassing in 4e

[Marshall]

What would be the issues with implementing 3e style side-by-side multiclassing in a 4e environment?

With the dearth of class abilities you dont have a huge number of points for odd synergies.
AB, Defenses, feats and abilities would still follow the generic progression based on character level.
Tho you would end up with an increase in powers known at lower levels, they'd stay lower level abilites based on class levels and you'd have to lose the whole Paragon Path idea.

Would this concept be feasible or is there some catch hiding beneath the leaves?

 

[BarkingDeathSquirrel]

Yes, there is a pretty big problem. 2nd level. If you multiclass using 3e-style multiclassing, you gain 2 at-wills, 1 encounter, and 1 daily power in your new class plus all your new class's class features.

If you take the second level in your own class you get... a single Utility power.

Which seems better to you? 4e classes are very, very heavily front-loaded. It only works because there isn't a 3e-style multiclassing.

 

[abyssaldeath]

The amount of powers you can use are dictated by character level not by class. The only way I can think to do it would be to duel-class. You would be 2 classes at once. You would still have the same amount of powers for your level except you would get to choose between both classes for what powers you wanted to learn. The main, but not the only, unbalancing issue would be all the class features you would get if you did multi-classing in a 3e style.

You could probably minimize the unbalancing by only allowing players to pick one class feature from each class. If you had a second level multi-class it would be fighter/wizard2 not fighter 2 wizard 2.

 

[Raith5]

I would really like to see this work but I am not sure it is feasible.

For one thing you could not give the normal 2 at-wills, 1 encounter, and 1 daily power when taking on a second class, may be 'just' add the class features and one additional at will and one encounter power.

There would also need to be a cost to Dual Class - maybe all all attacks and defenses could go up by one every 3 levels (rather than 2) to reflect the broadening out that the PC is doing or perhaps an XP penalty...