D&D 5E A Thought about 5e Multi-classing...

[BobTheNob]

3e multi classing was the biggest problem of that edition, I remember sitting around a table with guys who had characters with FIVE! different classes roles into their characters... FIVE! I kid you not. And it lead to so much headaches and cookie cutter behavior that it rendered the game unfun to me.

My favorite multi classing system is 2e, I loved playing elven fighter/Mage or Dwarven cleric/rouge it also left my character grounded in itself and I couldn't just grab levels from any class that I want (regardless of how I got that level) just because some of its abilities caught my eye.

Warder

Cant XP ya soz. Ah well...

This is my experience as well exactly. I actually pulled out some video of when I was a younger man around the time 3e first came out. Sure enough, me an my friends sitting at the table, with me going on about 3e multiclassing as if it was the best thing to happen to RPG design ever.

Here I am now, 12 years later, and Im eating my words. Im so over it. It never got back to that really cool multiclass feel we got from out 2e campaign. In the end, it was just another power option tool to be abused, and abused it got.

No-one multiclassed because they wanted the character to feel a certain way...they just multiclassed to access a certain feat, or spell, or bonus, or prestige class. It never in all our play worked as a tool to reflect intention, it was just a min/max mechanism.

Multiclassing has never been perfect, but (for me at least) 2e was where it best reflected intention.

 

[steeldragons]

The editions before didn't have 'problems' with multiclassing frontloaded classes, because there was a limit on how many classes you can dip into (3 at most I think) and mutliclassing 3 classes got other limits.

Yeh. You leveled slower. And this was bad...becauuuuse why? We need to "fix" this because why?

PS: Thank you for explaining front-loaded classes to me.

--SD

 

[Blackwarder]

Yeh. You leveled slower. And this was bad...becauuuuse why? We need to "fix" this because why?

PS: Thank you for explaining front-loaded classes to me.

--SD

I think that having some downsizes for multiclassing is a good things, and considering that WotC intend to make 5e math flatter having characters in the group level at different rates won't be such a big penalty, especially considering that a multiclassing character got two or three skill sets to play with, I'm talking about 2e multiclassing, latter editions where just meh...

Warder

 

[Steely_Dan]

I dig the concept of the 3rd Ed multi-classing system, the problem was the front-loaded and cherry-picking action.

Elric still felt like Elric, despite being an Assassin/Cleric/Druid/Fighter/Illusionist/Magic-User (and I think another one or two; sorry, my favourite, most beloved D&D book, the 1st Ed Deities & Demigods is packed away).

 

[Starbuck_II]

3e multi classing was the biggest problem of that edition, I remember sitting around a table with guys who had characters with FIVE! different classes roles into their characters... FIVE! I kid you not. And it lead to so much headaches and cookie cutter behavior that it rendered the game unfun to me.
Warder

So, you had a issue if other players had more classes than you?
It doesn't sound like it would be cookie cutter as they had different classes. Why would it be headaches?

 

[Blackwarder]

So, you had a issue if other players had more classes than you?
It doesn't sound like it would be cookie cutter as they had different classes. Why would it be headaches?

I had no problem with them having more classes than me, I had a problem with the fact that the synergy between those classes and the abilities that those characters had were a. completely game breaking and more importantly b. took a lot of DM time to resolve.

And in the end I still can't tell you what that character was because beside being able to rule lawyer her way to victory it was only a complex constructs of attack bonuses and special circumstance feat and abilities...

Warder

 

[Janaxstrus]

I had no problem with them having more classes than me, I had a problem with the fact that the synergy between those classes and the abilities that those characters had were a. completely game breaking and more importantly b. took a lot of DM time to resolve.

And in the end I still can't tell you what that character was because beside being able to rule lawyer her way to victory it was only a complex constructs of attack bonuses and special circumstance feat and abilities...

Warder

So...something that could easily be fixed by removing front loading of classes OR requiring that someone take X levels of a class before switching.

Just because some people did it to power their character up, doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. I would guess Conan has at least 3 classes(Barb, Fighter, Rogue), doesn't make him a series of numbers, it's all in how you play the character.

 

[Steely_Dan]

I had no problem with them having more classes than me, I had a problem with the fact that the synergy between those classes and the abilities that those characters had were a. completely game breaking and more importantly b. took a lot of DM time to resolve.

And in the end I still can't tell you what that character was because beside being able to rule lawyer her way to victory it was only a complex constructs of attack bonuses and special circumstance feat and abilities...

Yep, I do understand that the Gold Dwarf Fighter 1/Divine Bard 4/Battlesmith 1/Deepwarden 2/Dwarf Paragon 1/Hammer of Moradin 5 was a bit much (in context).