Modifying skill rank rules

[Tovec]

Because, for one thing, multiclassing consists of delaying access to future levels (and class features) of your primary class to gain access to low-level features of one or more other classes, whether by taking only a few levels in a secondary class or by leveling up all classes at the same rate. This is a net decrease in power for multiclassed characters compared to single-classed ones.

Ideally, when I am making up a character, I want to be able to approach the option of multiclassing not as a problem I have to accept of sacrificing power for versatility but as an alternative build that will still compete pretty well with the single-classed PCs (or NPCs) in the campaign. There is also a goal held by some players to level-up their characters as fast as possible up to the limit given by the GM or the ruleset and multiclassing should provide incentives to be competitive with that mindset as well.

Here is a litmus test: Applying the rules you are using with multiclassing, propose to the players in a group that half the PCs must dual-class at 10 and 5 levels respectively and the other can be single-classed with 15 levels. If you encounter a certain amount of argument or complaints then multiclassing just isn't good enough yet to compete with the attractiveness of "level-grinding" and of getting the full benefit of sticking with a single class for the entire campaign.

We can also compare multiclassing with taking levels in a prestige class. Prestiges can give you some weird wild powers that you normally can't find in a standard class, and prestige features can provide interesting alternatives to the class features of the class/es you're already playing, access to which you are delaying in favor of prestige-class levels. You are delaying access to future class features of your primary class but the prestige class makes up for this with the powerful abilities it provides. Multiclassing, however, doesn't measure up quite the same way because you have to start at the ground floor of the secondary class, which doesn't grant you anything exactly spectacular. What is more, the higher the level you begin multiclassing, the greater the cost in the delay.

Granting a +1 "synergy bonus" for shared skills wouldn't and isn't meant to solve this problem by itself, but in combination with other bonuses built-in to multiclassing, we could make single-classing vs. multiclassing less of a false dilemma when it comes to creating competitive characters.

If the sole intent is to make multiclassing more attractive then this variant simply doesn't do that. It doesn't make me want to take more than 1 class at a time even with the toned down (from +3 to +2) class-skill bonus.

As far as the "prestige class" argument, well, prestige classes have 2 things going for them that multiclassing never has. The first, prestige classes often gain the bonuses from 2 different base classes and make them better. For example giving spellcasting and sneak attack. The second, prestige classes give new abilities or faster access to abilities compared to base classes, when multiclassing. Even in 3.5 (compared to PF), multiclassing was less often an end result and more often a means to an end in order to get prerequisites for a prestige.

Like I said, though, this isn't something that makes me want to lose the keystone abilities of single classing, nor wanting to take a hit in my primary abilities of a single class. All it does is change the +3 into a +2 for single classing, its not great enough to make me want to multiclass or to even "level out" multiclassing vs single classing.

And as others have said, it does add more bookkeeping on something that is pretty minor and would likely be disregarded in favour of ease of use.

 

[Matthias]

It isn't meant to make multiclassing competitive by itsef, but an idea of the things that could be done toward that end.