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    Canonfire :: View topic - Multi-classing
    Canonfire Forum Index -> Greyhawk- AD&D 2nd Edition
    Multi-classing
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    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Sep 20, 2004
    Posts: 580
    From: British Isles

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    Thu May 23, 2019 3:18 am  
    Multi-classing

    So, one of my players is a multi-classed halfling and has inevitably reached the level cap of his priest class. I allow the optional rule of continuing to gain XP but at half the rate.

    The player now wants to stop advancing in priest and single class in his other class (riddlemaster demi-bard). Aside from the obvious issues of deciding to stop studying the tenets of your deity how do you all feel about allowing mutli-class characters to become single-class. Is this something you have encountered before? Could a priest choose to cease progressing as such but retain their powers and connection to their god (in this case, Zagyg).

    Any thoughts most welcome!
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Thu May 23, 2019 9:21 pm  

    Sounds like your player is a pain in the butt whiner! Laughing

    If you actually want to (mostly) stick to the rules, then no, the character is stuck. See, the player wants all of the benefits of multi-classing, even though it is limited level-wise. And yet, once the character reached the limiting factor, which the player obviously knew about when creating the character, now they don't want to be limited by it. And you already allow for further progression to begin with. I'd call that player a whiner. The character would seem to now be at the point level-wise where it requires some wish magic to come into play to fundamentally break the rules in their favor.

    For example, we had one non-human character who made a wish to be able to dual-class as a wizard, even though he was a half-orc (who cannot be wizards) and didn't have an intelligence of 17 (required prime stat for the new class).

    A wish could be used to alter how XP works with regard to advancement for this character, or it could be used to allow further advancement in the cleric class so XP are not wasted. You could also simply rule that XP is no longer divided when a character maxes out in a limited class; it all only going to the class still advancing. Or, you could require that, to not have the XP divided, the character must forgo using cleric abilities while advancing in this manner. This would be similar to how a dual-classed character doesn't get to use any of their initial class abilities until they advance beyond the level of that class in their new class. If the character does use any cleric abilities during an adventure, even just once, the XP for the whole adventure is divided - I wouldn't let them finagle any fudgery, especially as they are asking for something that they know is literally against the rules that they chose to sign up for in the first place.

    Those are just suggestions. Personally I would not allow this sort of avoidance of core rules stucture, except by wish magic.
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    Last edited by Cebrion on Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:54 am; edited 1 time in total
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Sep 20, 2004
    Posts: 580
    From: British Isles

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    Fri May 24, 2019 11:39 pm  

    Thanks for your feedback Cebrion, your advice was very helpful and I'm on the same page. It is definitely a case of whining! As you say the player was fully aware of level limits when he chose his race and classes.

    I think the dual-classing or wish approaches make good sense.
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 29, 2006
    Posts: 494
    From: Dantredun, MN

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    Wed May 29, 2019 10:42 am  

    I like level limits so much, I use the original ones from the 1e PHB in my 2e campaign (Unearthed Arcana and the 2e DMG kept raising them).

    Demihumans are meant to multiclass and they're meant to hit limits. It keeps the munchkins in line. By the time campaigns reach around 8th level everyone is advancing so slow it's barely noticeable that the demihumans are losing half their XP to a maxed-out class. Furthermore, the class they can still advance in is almost always a rouge and multiclass rouges keep pace with warriors and wizards even if they're paying double to gain a level.

    If he wants to stopping paying the priest XP, tell him to give up his followers and spells.
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    From: So. Cal

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    Wed May 29, 2019 11:48 pm  

    Hmmm. Pariah of the faith. Not a bad idea, abandonment of the faith. Or...

    "Halflings have no level limits in the cleric class here AT THE TEMPLE OF ORCUS!!!

    Oooo, the temptation... Evil Grin Laughing
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    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jan 11, 2009
    Posts: 228
    From: Gulf Breeze, Florida

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    Wed Jul 10, 2019 2:57 pm  

    I like the level limits put on demi-humans to keep the game balanced, but for higher level games I also favor using the optional rules allowing PCs with high ability scores to gain a few additional levels past the standard limit. I've never used the slow advancement optional rule, but I think that's a good option as well.
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Sep 20, 2004
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    From: British Isles

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    Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:37 pm  

    I realised I never followed up on this thread ...

    Previously I usually used the double xp to attain each level above the racial cap option. However, in my last campaign I introduced the use of character points that were included as an option in the 2e Players Options books.

    I didn't use them exactly as written, perhaps something for a different topic, but in a nutshell I allowed demihuman PCs that had reached their level cap to forgo the three points they gain each new level to instead allow themselves to only require the standard amount of XP to attain the next level rather than double. That way there was still a sacrifice that had to be made but generally was considered preferential to painfully slow character levelling.

    I felt that it was a fair compromise, I'm not 100% sure that I'd use it again next campaign I run but I'll definitely consider it again as an option.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Nov 19, 2020
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    Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:42 pm  
    Re: Multi-classing

    Wolfling wrote:
    So, one of my players is a multi-classed halfling and has inevitably reached the level cap of his priest class. I allow the optional rule of continuing to gain XP but at half the rate.

    The player now wants to stop advancing in priest and single class in his other class (riddlemaster demi-bard). Aside from the obvious issues of deciding to stop studying the tenets of your deity how do you all feel about allowing mutli-class characters to become single-class. Is this something you have encountered before? Could a priest choose to cease progressing as such but retain their powers and connection to their god (in this case, Zagyg).

    Any thoughts most welcome!


    Become single-class?
    Sure, with a wish spell. And he'd lose all priest levels.
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