Favored Class alternative

[Thanee]

Since I like the idea...

They should have made a cumulative 5% XP penalty for each class obtained after the first, not counting the favored class (humans and half-elves count any one base class as favored (their choice); prestige classes should list a base class or a few, which they count as to figure out, whether they count as favored as well, or not).

What do you think about that?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nifft]

Yeah, because D&D is about punishment, not options.

-- N

 

[Andre]

What do you think about that?

I think this preferable to the flat 20% xp penalty in the core rules. That said, I don't like multiclassing xp penalties and never use them - if I want to encourage players to stick to particular stereotypes, I'll offer some kind of incentive instead.

 

[Ibram]

Yeah, because D&D is about punishment, not options.

-- N

thats why I love the crossclass system in Conan d20. there you get a bonus feat every 4 levels you have in your favored class instead of a penalty.

 

[GreatLemur]

Personally, I think favored classes were a bad idea from the start. I have no interest in encouraging players to stick to traditional fantasy archetypes.

 

[Storyteller01]

I think this preferable to the flat 20% xp penalty in the core rules. That said, I don't like multiclassing xp penalties and never use them - if I want to encourage players to stick to particular stereotypes, I'll offer some kind of incentive instead.

HERE HER AND AMEN!!

I give skill points. With all of the OGL material I've accumulated, my players have enough to spend their exp on.

 

[Storyteller01]

Personally, I think favored classes were a bad idea from the start. I have no interest in encouraging players to stick to traditional fantasy archetypes.

I like the idea myself (the house ruled version anyay). If the favored class doesn't fit what I belive is culturally sound for the current campiagn, I change it.

 

[ARandomGod]

Well, the proposed favored class rule would certainly be more effective in making multiclassing less available. On the other hand, I'd personally rather a flat fiat ruling that "You Cannot Do This" rather than an XP penalty.

Personally, I think favored classes were a bad idea from the start. I have no interest in encouraging players to stick to traditional fantasy archetypes.

And this is one of my main reasons. I don't like the favored class at all. If you think taking that monopoly away from the humans/elves is an effective penalty, then I say give them a boost to compensate, and let me play a half-orc wizard/thief if I want to. (Or, more likely for me, let me play one of my favored classes (the Arcane Trickster) with whatever race I'd prefer to use.)

However I will point out here that the only way I've even been tempted to play a non-caster base class was with massive multiclassing. I don't have a problem taking only a couple of levels in each. If they had ten good full BAB classes, I'd take two levels in all of them!

 

[Li Shenron]

Since I like the idea...



What do you think about that?

Bye
Thanee

I suggested something similar a couple of years ago, but no one seemed to like it
I think I was even more strict and suggested 5% each base class except the favourite + 10% each prestige class except the first one.

The idea is good (of course, since I had it myself before ), to make the penalty smaller, because then it becomes an acceptable cost: most players wouldn't bother a -5% or even a -10%, but -20% is effectively already too much.

Nonetheless, it's true that the whole penalties for non-favored classes were a bad concept since the start, and there should have been instead a benefit from being of your favoured class.

 

[Li Shenron]

Yeah, because D&D is about punishment, not options.

-- N

I hope you at least noticed that Thanee's HR is about reducing that punishment