TooManySecrets
2013-08-07, 05:53 PM
What is Multi-Gestalt (MG) Leveling?
Multi-Gestalt Leveling (or MG Leveling for short) is an alternate system for gaining levels. It's a bit of a throwback to AD&D multi-classing/dual-classing with a bit of 3.5 gestalt rules. Characters spend their experience points purchasing levels and the character gets the highest base abilities of each class. It's a bit hard to explain in the abstract so here's an example:
Alice is a 3rd level Fighter. She gains enough experience points to purchase one level in Cleric. She is now a Fighter 3/Cleric 1. Fighter 3 has +3 BAB, +3 Fort, +1 Ref, and +1 Will. Cleric 1 has +0 BAB, +2 Fort, +0 Ref, and +2 Will. Alice gets the best of each, which means that she has +3 BAB, +3 Fort, +1 Ref, and +2 Will.
In normal D&D, levels are gained immediately on gaining enough experience points. In MG Leveling, a character spends experience points permanently to gain levels. Since this can play havoc with the ECL of characters and to promote smoother leveling, MG Leveling uses level-indepedent xp awards (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/UA:Level-Independent_XP_Awards). There is one additional change: it takes 500xp to buy the first level of a class beyond the starting class.
Bysshe is a 2nd level Monk. He had spent a total of 1,000xp to become a 2nd level Monk. After a couple of encounters, he now has 800xp. He spends 500 of that xp to gain a level in Ranger. Bysshe is now a Monk 2/Ranger 1 with 300 left-over xp.
Building a MG Leveling Character
Hit Dice
For each level, choose the largest hit die. Except for the first level (which is maximum), use half the hit die for your hit points.
Base Attack Bonus
Choose the highest current BAB out of all your classes.
Base Saving Throw Bonuses
For each save, choose the highest current base saving throw out of all your classes.
Class Skills
For each level, choose the highest amount of skill points. Consider any skill on any of your class lists as a class skill for the MG character. Do not re-allocate existing spent skills if you gain more total skill points but you can spend the difference.
Class Features
Your character gains the class features of all classes that it has levels in.
Important Note
Prestige classes follow the same exact rules as base classes (with the normal addition of having requirements to entry).
Step-By-Step Examples
Cheryl is a level 1 Wizard. She has all the normal abilities of a level 1 Wizard. She gains 500xp and decides to buy a level in Bard. She is now a Wizard 1/Bard 1. As a result, she now has the following abilities.
Hit Die: d6 (6 hp) (d4 vs d6)
BAB: +0 (+0 vs +0)
Fort: +0 (+0 vs +0)
Ref: +2 (+0 vs +2)
Will: +2 (+2 vs +2)
Skills: (6+Int mod) x 4 (2 vs 6)
Summon familiar, Scribe Scroll, 1st level Wizard casting, Bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1, 1st level Bard casting
Deathdrinker the Bloody is a Rogue 12/Barbarian 3. He has a BAB of +9 because even though the Barbarian has a better BAB progression, it only has a BAB of +3. Deathdrinker has +4 Fort, +8 Ref, and +4 Will because even though the Barbarian has a better Fortitude save progression (Barbarian 1 has a better Fort save than a Rogue 1 through 11), you only choose the highest. Deathdrinker has considers any skill in the Rogue or Barbarian skill list to be a class skill but, depending on how he gained his levels, he might have a different distribution. Let's say, for instance, that he gained 3 levels of Barbarian first than the levels in Rogue. When he gained the Rogue levels, he would gain 4 additional skill points (since Rogue gains 8 skill points a level and Barbarian gains 4 skill points a level) to put into Rogue or Barbarian skills. If, instead, he gained 3 levels of Rogue and then 3 levels of Barbarian, he would not gain any additional skill points to be placed with those 3 levels of Barbarian. Deathdrinker has, ignoring Constitution modifier, 56 hp (12 + 6.5*2 + 3.5*9).
Suggested Outside Variants
Magic Rating (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/UA:Magic_Rating): If the DM feels that MG Leveling caster characters are getting hurt too much by picking up additional classes, this variant might work. Just like BAB, the character picks the highest out of the Magic Ratings. For instance, a Paladin 10/Cleric 1 would cast Cleric spells as a 5th level caster because a 10th level Paladin has a MR of 5.
Retraining (PHBII): Retraining, especially skill retraining, can be important when building an MG Leveling character. As the example with Deathdrinker the Bloody shows, a character's skill distribution can change dramatically based on the order that a character chose their classes. If the DM wants to give their players a bit of freedom from getting classes in the "right" order, this variant might work.
Variant Variants
The base Multi-Gestalt Leveling rules puts no limit on the number of classes a character can take. This might work for some groups but others might want some limits. Listed below are some variants to use as a starting point.
Simple: Characters are limited to a certain number of classes.
Favored Class: Characters are limited to a certain number of classes, but can also get levels in one additional favored class.
AD&D style: The player, if they want to multi-class, picks 2 or 3 classes and must spend equal amounts of experience points in each throughout the course of the game.
Costly: Each additional class is hit with a penalty of effective levels. So, the 2nd class might cost 1 more level worth of experience, e.g. advancing from 2nd to 3rd costs as much as advancing from 3rd to 4th, the 3rd class might cost 2 more levels, etc.
Thanks for reading!
This is something that has been bopping around my head for a while now. I just wanted to get it written down somewhere. Undoubtedly, there is something hideously wrong (or just plain confusing) somewhere in the rules, so constructive criticism is very much appreciated!
Multi-Gestalt Leveling (or MG Leveling for short) is an alternate system for gaining levels. It's a bit of a throwback to AD&D multi-classing/dual-classing with a bit of 3.5 gestalt rules. Characters spend their experience points purchasing levels and the character gets the highest base abilities of each class. It's a bit hard to explain in the abstract so here's an example:
Alice is a 3rd level Fighter. She gains enough experience points to purchase one level in Cleric. She is now a Fighter 3/Cleric 1. Fighter 3 has +3 BAB, +3 Fort, +1 Ref, and +1 Will. Cleric 1 has +0 BAB, +2 Fort, +0 Ref, and +2 Will. Alice gets the best of each, which means that she has +3 BAB, +3 Fort, +1 Ref, and +2 Will.
In normal D&D, levels are gained immediately on gaining enough experience points. In MG Leveling, a character spends experience points permanently to gain levels. Since this can play havoc with the ECL of characters and to promote smoother leveling, MG Leveling uses level-indepedent xp awards (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/UA:Level-Independent_XP_Awards). There is one additional change: it takes 500xp to buy the first level of a class beyond the starting class.
Bysshe is a 2nd level Monk. He had spent a total of 1,000xp to become a 2nd level Monk. After a couple of encounters, he now has 800xp. He spends 500 of that xp to gain a level in Ranger. Bysshe is now a Monk 2/Ranger 1 with 300 left-over xp.
Building a MG Leveling Character
Hit Dice
For each level, choose the largest hit die. Except for the first level (which is maximum), use half the hit die for your hit points.
Base Attack Bonus
Choose the highest current BAB out of all your classes.
Base Saving Throw Bonuses
For each save, choose the highest current base saving throw out of all your classes.
Class Skills
For each level, choose the highest amount of skill points. Consider any skill on any of your class lists as a class skill for the MG character. Do not re-allocate existing spent skills if you gain more total skill points but you can spend the difference.
Class Features
Your character gains the class features of all classes that it has levels in.
Important Note
Prestige classes follow the same exact rules as base classes (with the normal addition of having requirements to entry).
Step-By-Step Examples
Cheryl is a level 1 Wizard. She has all the normal abilities of a level 1 Wizard. She gains 500xp and decides to buy a level in Bard. She is now a Wizard 1/Bard 1. As a result, she now has the following abilities.
Hit Die: d6 (6 hp) (d4 vs d6)
BAB: +0 (+0 vs +0)
Fort: +0 (+0 vs +0)
Ref: +2 (+0 vs +2)
Will: +2 (+2 vs +2)
Skills: (6+Int mod) x 4 (2 vs 6)
Summon familiar, Scribe Scroll, 1st level Wizard casting, Bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1, 1st level Bard casting
Deathdrinker the Bloody is a Rogue 12/Barbarian 3. He has a BAB of +9 because even though the Barbarian has a better BAB progression, it only has a BAB of +3. Deathdrinker has +4 Fort, +8 Ref, and +4 Will because even though the Barbarian has a better Fortitude save progression (Barbarian 1 has a better Fort save than a Rogue 1 through 11), you only choose the highest. Deathdrinker has considers any skill in the Rogue or Barbarian skill list to be a class skill but, depending on how he gained his levels, he might have a different distribution. Let's say, for instance, that he gained 3 levels of Barbarian first than the levels in Rogue. When he gained the Rogue levels, he would gain 4 additional skill points (since Rogue gains 8 skill points a level and Barbarian gains 4 skill points a level) to put into Rogue or Barbarian skills. If, instead, he gained 3 levels of Rogue and then 3 levels of Barbarian, he would not gain any additional skill points to be placed with those 3 levels of Barbarian. Deathdrinker has, ignoring Constitution modifier, 56 hp (12 + 6.5*2 + 3.5*9).
Suggested Outside Variants
Magic Rating (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/UA:Magic_Rating): If the DM feels that MG Leveling caster characters are getting hurt too much by picking up additional classes, this variant might work. Just like BAB, the character picks the highest out of the Magic Ratings. For instance, a Paladin 10/Cleric 1 would cast Cleric spells as a 5th level caster because a 10th level Paladin has a MR of 5.
Retraining (PHBII): Retraining, especially skill retraining, can be important when building an MG Leveling character. As the example with Deathdrinker the Bloody shows, a character's skill distribution can change dramatically based on the order that a character chose their classes. If the DM wants to give their players a bit of freedom from getting classes in the "right" order, this variant might work.
Variant Variants
The base Multi-Gestalt Leveling rules puts no limit on the number of classes a character can take. This might work for some groups but others might want some limits. Listed below are some variants to use as a starting point.
Simple: Characters are limited to a certain number of classes.
Favored Class: Characters are limited to a certain number of classes, but can also get levels in one additional favored class.
AD&D style: The player, if they want to multi-class, picks 2 or 3 classes and must spend equal amounts of experience points in each throughout the course of the game.
Costly: Each additional class is hit with a penalty of effective levels. So, the 2nd class might cost 1 more level worth of experience, e.g. advancing from 2nd to 3rd costs as much as advancing from 3rd to 4th, the 3rd class might cost 2 more levels, etc.
Thanks for reading!
This is something that has been bopping around my head for a while now. I just wanted to get it written down somewhere. Undoubtedly, there is something hideously wrong (or just plain confusing) somewhere in the rules, so constructive criticism is very much appreciated!