Encouraging players to role-play multiclassing?

[Dr. Talos]

IMC I never start at 1st level. I always start at 2nd or 3rd level to allow someone to multiclass or pick a more powerful race. This way the character concept can be easily realized. If you are going to have a nimble fighter/rogue then it will easy to do.

If someone wants to pick up a second class down the road then I require some justification for adding a new class. Unless you can explain to me why your fighter who has lived in a city his whole life is now going to take a level of Barbarian then it probably will not be allowed. Of course a Barbarian picking up a level of fighter after living in civilization is a little easier to justify. I also follow this for prestige classes. They have to be roleplayed into the character.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

This player said fine, but that I as the DM MUST include the relevant NPC tutors for everybody, even if they would not normally be found in the area where the game takes place.

Personally, attitudes like that are shown the door. Whether the player stays or not is the player's choice.

 

[Barak]

Well, as a player, I only have one comment.

I hope you DMs out there who only allow some PrCs, and then again only those who have mentors available to train the PCs into it give the players an idea of which PrCs might be available.

There is a lot of PrCs out there, and given the fact that they -all- have pre-requisites that are sometimes pretty odd, if you want your players to have a chance to ever take one, they need to know it beforehand. You might not like players planning out their PCs' advancement, but if you'd like them to have a choice of taking up a PrC, they have no choice but to do so. After all, even a character whose mindset would be -perfect- for a Dwarven Defender will be unlikely to have the Toughness and Endurance feats, and probably Dodge. And if they only learn that that PrC is available at level 6, that means they couldn't take a level in the PrC until they reach level 13.

So fine, limit PrCs, but please let the players know what they are, unless you don't want them to take levels in them, and then you might as well just ban them.

 

[DragonLancer]

I always let my players know what PrC's are acceptable in my campaign, even they woud not be found in the area where the game starts. The game is based on what the characters want to do so if they move elsewhere there is the option to taking a PrC.

The player I mentioned above, even went so far as to say that my plot for the overall game was secondary, and if he wanted to go somewhere to get a PrC then that takes priority because its the players who are the most important part of the game.

 

[Hjorimir]

I am more of a jerk DM (and my players still keep coming back...go figure) and simply just lay down the law. If they want to multiclass they will have to demonstrate that via role-playing or I simply will deny them the option. The same holds true for PrCs (in addition to the standard requirements).

I also bar races (and classes in some instances) based on a number of factors. What you take out of the core rules defines a campaign as much (if not more) than you add in.

 

[Wolffenjugend]

The player I mentioned above, even went so far as to say that my plot for the overall game was secondary, and if he wanted to go somewhere to get a PrC then that takes priority because its the players who are the most important part of the game.

That's when you tell him that the prestige class he wants is on the other side of the world and it will take him 6 months to get there. Assure him not to worry and that you'll call him when his character gets there

 

[Arnwyn]

I am more of a jerk DM (and my players still keep coming back...go figure) and simply just lay down the law. If they want to multiclass they will have to demonstrate that via role-playing or I simply will deny them the option. The same holds true for PrCs (in addition to the standard requirements).

Damn straight. That's exactly how I run it, and it works very well for us. I made this a policy from day one, so as to not surprise any of my players.

This player said fine, but that I as the DM MUST include the relevant NPC tutors for everybody, even if they would not normally be found in the area where the game takes place.

Rayne strikes again! That guy kills me, man.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

I hope you DMs out there who only allow some PrCs, and then again only those who have mentors available to train the PCs into it give the players an idea of which PrCs might be available.

You mean a list? Nope. Prestige Classes are also learned about in-game through role-play.

Considering that Prestige Classes are optional and may even be used in the game for NPCs and never permitted to PCs (read that non-numeric part about them in the DMG, you'll see it's true), when/how/if the PCs learn of Prestige Classes is, and remains, entirely in the domain of the GM. If you've had a GM that didn't care how Prestige Classes were gained, well fine for you. However, just because some GMs don't care doesn't mean those GMs that do are wrong or tight fisted. If anything, it only means you've been pampered and expect every GM out there to be the same.

So fine, limit PrCs, but please let the players know what they are, unless you don't want them to take levels in them, and then you might as well just ban them.

Six out of eight PCs have Prestige Classes. One has three at 36th Level.

Guess you're wrong.

 

[Barak]

Six out of eight PCs have Prestige Classes. One has three at 36th Level.

Guess you're wrong.

Well I guess when in the average game your PCs go to level 36, things are different. Of course following the rules, if the PrC is gained at level 12 or after, they'd never reach the full 10 levels of the class. But why let little things like rules get in the way. I really love the "my way or the highway" DMs. They are those who make the stereotype of the power-hungry DM true. Me, I prefer to have fun with my friends, tell an interesting story, and have the DM and players in a non-confrontational relationship.

 

[BSF]

Barak, it sounds like you would hate my games on the conceptual level. Funny thing is that I haven't heard any of my players complain about actually playing in the game.

Why on earth would I tell my players that X, Y, and Z secret orders are the only place you can get such and such PrC? My players know that I don't like many of the PrC's out of the books because most of the PrC's are so lacking in flavor. I will usually tweak and rewrite some good PrC's that are usable for my campaigns, outright ignore others, and I will make up some that nobody has ever seen or heard of. My players also know that they should talk to me well in advance of even looking at a PrC. (Heck, one of my players even asked me if he could use something out the Complete Warrior earlier in this thread.)

I guess I am too confrontational for your style of play, that's fine.

I am baffled on why a character would not be able to take 10 levels of a PrC if they started out at level 12? If you are playing to Epic levels, then you would just finish it off at 22nd, at earliest. Of course, not all PrC's are 10 level PrC's, so you can max one of those out earlier.