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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9122065" data-attributes="member: 7026594">I don't think either of those guesses gets near the mark.We do have examples in the source fiction of characters who started out as one thing and switched, albeit usually it's in their backstory.&nbsp; The Grey Mouser is a prominent example.I think your guess that it may have also been there to serve players who wanted to change class but didn't want to make a whole new character is plausible, though.&nbsp; That Gamist purpose would make some sense, and I could certainly see Gary wanting to give people such an option but gating it behind high ability scores like he did so many things. And demihuman multi-classing definitely isn't meant to &quot;solve&quot; the issue of level caps.&nbsp; Multiclassing in rudimentary form existed for elves in the original 1974 rules, and in pretty near full-AD&amp;D form in 1975's Greyhawk supplement.&nbsp; Gary was still very much attached to level caps as a way to balance demihumans and keep humans the dominant rulers of the (humanocentric) setting and defending that concept 5 years later when the DMG came out.&nbsp; And the way the xp charts work, having two classes usually just means you're 1 level behind the single classed characters, and being triple-classed means you're usually two levels behind.&nbsp; Even if Gary did want the demihumans to keep up at high level, multi-classing would at best patch the issue of level caps for a short while.&nbsp; Or partially, in the case of multi-classed thieves, who get to advance infinitely high, albeit very slowly, with their xp still being divided between Thief and their other class or classes despite those latter being capped.I think multi-classing exists for demihumans because of books like Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword, and Tolkien's LotR. Because elves in those stories are frequently both powerful warriors and users of magic.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 9122065, member: 7026594"] I don't think either of those guesses gets near the mark. We do have examples in the source fiction of characters who started out as one thing and switched, albeit usually it's in their backstory. The Grey Mouser is a prominent example. I think your guess that it may have also been there to serve players who wanted to change class but didn't want to make a whole new character is plausible, though. That Gamist purpose would make some sense, and I could certainly see Gary wanting to give people such an option but gating it behind high ability scores like he did so many things. And demihuman multi-classing definitely isn't meant to "solve" the issue of level caps. Multiclassing in rudimentary form existed for elves in the original 1974 rules, and in pretty near full-AD&D form in 1975's Greyhawk supplement. Gary was still very much attached to level caps as a way to balance demihumans and keep humans the dominant rulers of the (humanocentric) setting and defending that concept 5 years later when the DMG came out. And the way the xp charts work, having two classes usually just means you're 1 level behind the single classed characters, and being triple-classed means you're usually two levels behind. Even if Gary did want the demihumans to keep up at high level, multi-classing would at best patch the issue of level caps for a short while. Or partially, in the case of multi-classed thieves, who get to advance infinitely high, albeit very slowly, with their xp still being divided between Thief and their other class or classes despite those latter being capped. I think multi-classing exists for demihumans because of books like Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword, and Tolkien's LotR. Because elves in those stories are frequently both powerful warriors and users of magic. [/QUOTE]

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