Kayless’ Guide to Multi-Classing

[ironwolf56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onyx well, the idea was that if your are cleric, and have a good charisma too, then why not also take some level in sorcerer, maybe 2,3 even 4, not more, 'cause there are some low level spells a cleric can find usefull, like armor or shield type spells. Also identify, burning hands and so on. A cleric at low levels does not have many offensive spells. So imagine later on when you cleric is level 7 or 8, and you wish you had shield, or mage armor or whatever. Just 2 or 3 levels in sorcery could help. That's all.

No I wouldn't recommend it either; I tried that build (a few Sorc levels on a Cleric) and he got stomped.

[taelon]

Hey all, Atm I'm enjoying Icewind dale 2 a lott and am at the goblin warren. Im now on the splitting where i have to decide which weapons my heroes will be profinced in? (there lvl 6 now). This connected with the best weapons you get in the game :P. With 3 chars ive already decided but the rest are pretty much open.
I was planning to make my bard an expert in bow. But since the bard doesnt have one point in it standard i thought of giving 1lvl multiclassing or so. But to which class? Barbarian, ranger or Fighter (maybe even 4 lvls fighter for specilization). Oh and Kayless i wont change my bard for a diffrent class :P. Hes my talking man :P.

Importent for my party is, that i will be able to do almost everything possible storywise. I'm only missing a druid you could say. Besides that i want them to be powerfull ofcourse.

Here is my party:
Taelon Artery, Human, BardXX, ??
12/18/10/12/10/15+
Job: The one that does most of the talking.
Weapon feats:Took precise shot already

Bloodcast, Half-orc, BarbarianXX, 1lvl fighter
21+/12/16/10/8/8
job: Being a tank a big dmg dealer
Weapon feats: I already have 2 points in martial weapon, Axe. Sometimes hes soing onehnaded axe sometimes handed.

Asigar Sunwell, Aasimar, Paladin of helmXX
18/12/17+/10/14/10
Job: Being a tank with some healing spells.
Weapon feats: Took 1 point in exotic weapon, Bastard sword. Still wondering though which weapon is best for him.

Lithana Moonnight, Moon Elf, PriestXX
14/10/12/8/19+/14
Job: Being the main healer and if needed the third tank. She's also thee for turn undead.
Weapon feats: Have 2 points in Simple weapon, Mace. This way i also have one that deals bludgeon dmg.

Tharana Fanglair, Strongheart Halfling, Rogue XX, Ranger 1
12/21+/16/14/8/6
Job: To plunder people, to find and disable devices/traps, thats her job. Besides that she's also there for backstabing and if too wounded go in the back with a bow. (not sure if it should be a bow or what weapon?)
Weapon feats: Simple Weapon, Small blades: 2

Maddar Dabbletea, Rock Gnome, Wizard XX
10/14/14/19+/10/10
Job: Hes the one with alchemy skill, spellcasting and knowledge. Besides that he does the big bad spells and talks where int is needed. When hes not casting spells hell be at range ofcourse. Atm hes using a crossbow.
Weapon feats: none so far.

[Ulfgar Prigor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dostari Lay on hands is level dependent, correct? IE, you get 2x char level heal pts, iirc. Question is, even with only 3 pal levels, lay on hands (and other level dependent spells) takes total *char* level, not just pal levels, right?

That is incorrect. Only Paladin levels count towards a character's Lay on Hands ability. My Pal 1 / Sor 6 with 18 charisma heals 4 HP once per day. Not 28 HP.

And he only gets three missiles when he casts Magic Missile, not four.

[Artemis458]

What about combining rogues with other classes? I was thinking of adding a few fighter levels to my rogue to beef him up, or maybe ranger but are rangers any good really? I mean whats with that animal tracking business, worth it? or better to go fighter and get more feats... or what about barbarian/rogue combo?

Also regardign barbarians, do they still keep their speed bonus when they are multi class? I multied one before and he seemed to revert to the normal walking speed of the party although I couldnt be sure. Thanks.

[Lightning 14]

Barbarians are good so are fighters i wuld go with barbarian more HP for your rouge.

[BlackSheep]

is it ever to late to multiclass?
all my charcters are over lvl 10.

[Lightning 14]

Yes it might be too late for u. Multyclass at the begening to not have XP efects on your charicters.

[Crucis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artemis458 What about combining rogues with other classes? I was thinking of adding a few fighter levels to my rogue to beef him up, or maybe ranger but are rangers any good really? I mean whats with that animal tracking business, worth it? or better to go fighter and get more feats... or what about barbarian/rogue combo? Also regarding barbarians, do they still keep their speed bonus when they are multi class? I multied one before and he seemed to revert to the normal walking speed of the party although I couldn't be sure. Thanks.

Obviously a late reply, but I'll still do it for the benefit of anyone else that reads this thread...


I think that the answer depends on what you're intending to do with your rogue.

If you want a rogue that maximizes his skills and sneak attacking potential, stay with a pure rogue. However, if you don't care much about sneak attacking and want a rogue that is a little better in standard combat, then perhaps take some fighter levels. Or if you'd like your rogue to try to maintain his skills, but still be better in standard combat, then perhaps ranger levels are better, since you'll be able to put plenty of points into the stealthy skills and search, while still getting the HP and BAB of a warrior class.

Taking barbarian levels might be a bit similar to taking fighter levels. You won't be able to take all that many useful (rogue) skills when taking a barb level, but you'll get the barb HP and BAB. After taking the first barb level, where you'll get your first daily usage of Rage, you won't get another one until the 5th barb level. So, I'm not sure if there's all that much value in taking any more than one level of barb. Personally, I'm not sure that barbarian is such a useful multiclass mix-in for a MC rogue, but tastes vary.


On the flip side, an interesting multiclass combo that I've enjoyed is a mostly pure fighter that takes a couple levels of rogue. The purpose here is to have a mostly pure fighter with all the normal benefits of a fighter, but with some stealth and the evasion ability. Of course, to get the benefits of stealth and evasion, such a build should have at least a DEX of 14, and probably wear chain armor (and it might be a good idea to take the lightning reflexes feat as well to improve the reflex save roll). And it'll need to have a decent INT to get some skill points. With such a build, I'd suggest starting as a rogue for the initial burst of SP's at creation, then go pure fighter for a few levels before taking the second level.

Another benefit of this build is that it can be the party's diplomat, if you want someone different doing the talking other than the usual candidates. Of course, you would need to keep the CHA at a decent level and you might want to put some SP into talking skills when taking rogue levels.

While it's not a powergaming build by any stretch of the imagination, it can be a very fun build to play in a more role-playing style of party. And 2-3 levels of rogue really won't kill a nearly pure fighter's usefulness in combat.