[3.5] Tome of Battle and multiclassing

[Laniius]

I'm throwing in 2 levels of rogue for rp reasons. I'm a level 10 character, 2 rogue and 8 swordsage. How many stances of what level, and how many manuevers of what level will I know?

[sonofzeal]

It depends. Were your Rogue levels before or after your Swordsage levels? Yes, it matters...

[Bakkan]

Assuming the two levels of Rogue are first (as they should be, for 8 more skill points and better maneuver progression while losing only 2 HP), then when you take your first Swordsage level you will have an Initiator Level (IL) of 2, qualifying you for 1st-level maneuvers and stances. So you'll have 6 maneuvers and 1 stance that have to be of 1st level.

For Swordsage 2 and 3 you have an IL of 3 and 4, qualifying you for 2nd-level maneuvers. So you'll have 2 second-level maneuvers and 1 2nd-level stance (except that there are no 2nd-level stances in the book, so you'll have to choose a 1st-level stance unlessyou're using homebrew).

For Swordsage 4 and 5 you'll have an IL of 5 and 6, qualifying you for 2 3rd-level maneuvers and 1 3rd-level stance.

For Swordsage 6 and 7 you'll have an IL of 7 and 8, qualifying you for 2 4th-level maneuvers.

Finally, for Swordsage 8 you'll have an IL of 9, qualifying you for a single 5th-level maneuver.

So, you'll have 2 1st-level stances and 1 3rd-level stance, 4 1st-level maneuvers, 2 2nd-level maneuvers, 2 3rd-level maneuvers, 2 4th-level maneuvers, and 1 5th-level maneuver.

But wait! We forgot that we can switch out maneuvers at 4th, 6th, and 8th Swordsage level. We'll switch out a 1st-level maneuver each time for the highest-level maneuver we can use. So at 4th level, we get a new 3rd-level maneuver, at 6th level we get a new 4th-level maneuver, and at 8th level we get a new 5th-level maneuver.

So, out final selection is thus:
One 1st-level stance, one 2nd-level stance (actually 1st since no 2nd-level stances exist), one third-level stance;
One 1st-level maneuver;
Two 2nd-level maneuvers;
Three 3rd-level maneuvers;
Three 4th-level maneuvers;
Two 5th-level maneuvers.

Happy Swordsaging!

[Starbuck_II]

I'm throwing in 2 levels of rogue for rp reasons. I'm a level 10 character, 2 rogue and 8 swordsage. How many stances of what level, and how many manuevers of what level will I know?
Assuming Rogue 2 before Swordsage:
Well, at level 3, 1st Swordsage you always get a level 1 stance (it says so in the class). No choice.
At level 4, 2nd level swordsage you get a 2nd level stance (but there are none) or a 1st.
At level 7, 5th level Swordsage you get a 3rd level stance or 2nd or 1st.
Max Stances still 3. Up to 1 3rd, 2 1st. Or 3 1st. Really your choice (you can always take lower level stance).

You know max maneuvers: 13. Assuming you always pick highest lv choice:
6 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 4th, 1 5th.
Your Initator level is 9.

[Coidzor]

It depends. Were your Rogue levels before or after your Swordsage levels? Yes, it matters...

Or were they in the middle!?

[Laniius]

Haha. Rogue levels first, as I am maxing those sweet sweet skillpoints, and rocking able learner. Thanks all.

While I have you here, does the extra damage from Craven multiply on a crit? Or when I'm using Ruby Nightmare Blade? For those who don't know, Craven adds 1 point per character level to my sneak attacks. So it keys off of sneak attack (which doesn't multiply) but is constant damage (which does?)

[Bakkan]

Most people I've heard have said that the bonus damage form Craven multiplies on a crit since it's not bonus dice, but straight bonus damage.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Most people I've heard have said that the bonus damage form Craven multiplies on a crit since it's not bonus dice, but straight bonus damage.

BUT not everyone agrees, so ask your DM before you center your build on it, or anything.