Unified Progression - why level/2?

[BASHMAN]

Level / 2 = max of +15. This prevents you from "outstripping" a d20. A character with +30 makes rolling a d20 totally irrelivant unless the opponent has an AC above 32--- whcih means that all the other players with +20 or less cannot even hit the guy at all, and just play videogames while the one person who can do anything fights... Probably the same reason they're seriously limiting darkvision, flight, etc-- to prevent issues where only one person can do something while everyone else stands around.

 

[Darrin Drader]

My guess is that it had to do with the point where BAB started screwing with the "sweet spot." One of the features of the so-called "Sweet Spot" (Levels 5-12) is that attack bonuses for the various classes are more "in-line." Trying to keep that mathematical relationship throughout the game would lead to some potentially very interesting changes.

That's what I was going to say. I was actually planning to experiment with a delayed progression in 3.5 in order to keep character power at a managable level. I never got around to it, and I think what I had in mind was just a little more extreme than what they're actually doing, but it's good to see that the issue is being addressed.

 

[nightspaladin]

I think we need to remember that the attack rolls of a class have been geared to the assumed primary attribute of the class. The fact that most of a wizard's spells are going to be Bab + int mod, means that they will be hitting with their spells. And the bonuses that a class get may be on attacks based on a certain type. For example a fighter may get +5 to hit with all weapons, but the wizard may get +5 to hit with all int based attacks, or all spells/powers.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Actually, from what I've been able to determine, that isn't the case. The character uses the current class bonus (i.e., the one the latest level was taken in), and not the best of the two.

I reverse-engineered the stats in the back for Luke, Han, and other movie characters. IIRC, Luke only had a +2 to his Defenses across the board. If he "kept the best and ignored the rest," then he would've had a +4 in one of the stats (due to the levels in Ace Pilot) instead of just the +2 for Jedi Knight (I think Reflex, but I can't recall which for certain).

Bluenose is right.

If you read the multiclassing rules on p55 it makes it clear that when the 4th level noble takes their 5th level as solider they get the soldiers +2 fort bonus but doesn't lose the nobles Ref and Will bonus (if he were to lose it, this is the place it would be mentioned, since they are explaining how multiclassing works. No mention of 'only keeping most recent' so it isn't the way they intend it to be played)

The stats for the movie characters might not reflect this, but if they don't the problem lies with those stats.

As ancilliary evidence, the 'overlapping of best defence bonus' is probably (IMO) why the prestige classes often have a +4 bonus to one ability - to make it a good deal no matter what class you were originally in.

Cheers

 

[Steely Dan]

To use this rule in 3.5 you can obviously:


Full BAB = half character level +1 per 2 levels (20th level fighter +10 +10 = +20)

3/4 BAB = half character level +1 per 4 levels (20th level cleric +10 +5 = +15)

1/2 BAB = half character level

So pretty much six half or one dozen action.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

To use this rule in 3.5 you can obviously:


Full BAB = half character level +1 per 2 levels (20th level fighter +10 +10 = +20)

3/4 BAB = half character level +1 per 4 levels (20th level cleric +10 +5 = +15)

1/2 BAB = half character level

So pretty much six half or one dozen action.

I first wanted to comment that this was rather pointless, but then I noticed that it wasn't if you multiclassed a lot - in that case, at least lower BAB classes wouldn't get gimped as much as they do now.
You could also apply the same rule to caster level.

 

[Steely Dan]

I first wanted to comment that this was rather pointless, but then I noticed that it wasn't if you multiclassed a lot - in that case, at least lower BAB classes wouldn't get gimped as much as they do now.

Ah, yeah, didn't think about the shafting that multi-classing can bring on – good catch.

 

[glass]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, let's say a fighter gets a +5 BAB and a wizard gets a +0. At level one the wizard would have +1 and the fighter would have +6, while at level 20 the wizard would have +10 and the fighter would have +15? Is that correct or am I way off?

Pretty much. Although I'd say that the fighter gets +15 with the stuff he specialises in while the wizard get the +15 with the attacks she specialises in, ie spells.

EDIT: Or what Remathilis said.


glass.