"Playtest PH3 Dual Classing"


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Hmm. If this is like 1st and 2nd ed, a way in which you can stop advancing in your current class, and change your primary focus, while retaining some skills from your old class, I'll be very happy. That's one big hole in the current ruleset that really needs patching.
 


My only issue with the current system is the inability to access the basic abilities of a class, only the class' powers. For example, you can never get a wizard's cantrips unless you start as a wizard.

Still, this could easily be fixed with more mutliclass feats.
 

If they want to revise / extend the multi-classing rules for 4th edition, that may be a good thing. However, I think they should not have used the descriptor 'Dual Classing'. My only familiarity with any version of that system in was in 2nd edition, and quite frankly, it was pretty stupid.

The complaints about 4th Edition Multiclassing are that it is not really possible to create a character that can access abilities from more than one class at a time in a satisfying fashion. I suspect that the only solution that would be accepted (barring a brilliant idea unconnected to anything currently existing) is to give a legal means for characters of one class to gain abilities of another class at any given level instead of being limited to selections from the primary class, and the option to do this right from the start (so that someone can create a Rogue / Warlock with Eldritch Blast and Sly Flourish as at wills).

3rd Edition had a very intuitive system for multi-classing, though one that was prone to mechanical abuse via exploiting rounding errors, obtaining a 1 or 2 level dip into a front loaded class. It was also flawed in that it made it impractical to be a evenly split multi-classed primary caster. But it did let you pick up essentially whatever the hell you wanted.

Attempting to expand the current muti-classing system for 4th edition is probably worth trying. Replacing it outright will draw a great deal of nerdrage from the message boards due to publishing a badly broken subsystem that needed replacing in the first place; having said that, if the new system really does work, it is something that will be forgiven. Trying to add a whole new subsystem to exist alongside the first is really the worst of both worlds.

END COMMUNICATION
 

Hmm... You might be able to steal 3e's gestalt rules almost wholesale.

Pick two classes. Get all the abilities for both classes. Combine their power lists. Your character level is one more than usual. So a level 5 dual-classed would have as much experience as a level 6 character and require as much experience to level as a level 6 character would to reach level 7.
 

The gestalt rules my face-to-face game is using are:

Choose two classes (you can still multi into one more if desired)
Gain 4 class abilities (or all of one class's if you choose all four from the same class.)
Gain an extra At-will, encounter, daily and utility that can be retrained as you advance.
Take the best of class saves and hit points.

So far it is working well. I would strongly advise against giving characters all the class abilities of each class. With 4 choices, you have to make some hard choices, ad you cannot do it all.

As for the topic, I hope to see some dual-classing coming up. The system allows for it easily, perhaps taking all of your powers as, say fighter, until level 5, and then starting to choose from warden, or retrain out fighter powers at higher levels.

It could work pretty easily.
 

Huh. I'm not sure how this is going to work.

In general, I'm highly skeptical of attempts to create algorythms that permit the wholesale combination of two entire character classes. That's why the power swap works so well.

Maybe, instead of Dual Classing, they could just DO THE OBVIOUS THING and create a set of customized paragon paths for multiclassers. I know there's a combinatorial issue there, but that could be cut down on with intelligent design and some versatility.
 

its only one week till we see...

the system we have is much better than multiclass rules from 3rd edition... actually 3rd edition multiclass system was badly broken the way it was implemented and was fixed by *two* subsystems (feats and prestige classes).

One thing never fixed: any class/rogue was always worthless compared to rogue/any other class, because features were all gained, but not those skillpoints the rogue needed desperately to function...

And i like that they were much more conservative with multiclassing, but i really think its time paragon multiclassing gets extended by adding more class specific feats to get access to ap bonuses or class abilities.

Also a multiclass option from beginning would be nice (here it is important, that rogue/anything is equally viable as anything/rogue, which doesn´t mean, they must have the same features... but an equal amount of pros and cons)
 

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