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View Full Version : [4e] More versatile multiclassing: playin' it loose



Erk
2008-10-18, 01:06 PM
Disclaimer: I don't dislike the way fourth edition handles multiclassing. However, I want my players to have the option of pursuing two classes entirely should they so desire. It allows them to entertain more complicated roles and player concepts, for one thing, such as the warlord with paladin tendencies in my game. As well, I find the "power exchange" feats to be too draconian. Exchanging an encounter ability for a more or less equivalent ability from another class does not really give any large advantage, most of the time; few powers are so massively amazing that another class would gain a feat's worth of advantage for taking them.

Erk's Rule
First Multiclass Feat
The first multiclass feat you take is one of the ones out of RAW.
Second Multiclass Feat
After you have a basic multiclass feat, you can gain "half" of a class feature from your multiclass by expending another feat. By "half", I mean you gain the ability but the usage is knocked up one level: eg, an at-will class feature becomes per-encounter, a per-encounter feature becomes per-day. If the class feature is daily already, the GM will have to think of a way to knock it back (lower the power level or further limit it).

note that from the first multiclass feat you took, you already have half of at least one class feature. For example, Rogue Multiclass grants 1/2 of the Sneak Attack class feature. Thus, for your second multiclass, you cannot take Sneak Attack again.
Third Multiclass Feat
You may select half of another class feature, or you may select the second half of one of the features you already have, gaining it at the same utility the main class has.
Once you have three multiclass feats, you are able to take encounter abilities (spells, exploits, prayers, etc) from your second class whenever you gain access to a new abilities. However, you may not take more abilities from your second class than you have from your primary at any given level.
For example, a Fighter with 3 Rogue multiclass feats could, at third level, take a rogue 1st level encounter ability as her new encounter ability (as she already has a 1st level fighter encounter ability). Since she doesn't already have a 3rd level fighter encounter ability, she could not take a 3rd level rogue one.
At-will exchange
After you gain your 3rd mutliclass feat, you may if you wish expend a feat to trade one of your main class at-will abilities for one from your multiclass. You may never have more than one at-will from your multiclass.
More multiclassing
After your 3rd multiclass feat, you may continue to expend feats, gaining 1/2 of a class ability from your multiclass every time.
To gain utility abilities from your multiclass, you must have 4 multiclass feats. To gain daily abilities, you must have 5 multiclass feats and be Paragon tier.



Effect
Feat cost is still high, and it has the old 2e/3e multiclass effect of making true multiclassers pay by not having as high level of abilities: the fighter/rogue in the example sacrifices her 3rd level fighter exploit to instead have the versatility of having rogue exploits as well, but at a lower level. Unlike the RAW method, though, once the character passes the required feat expenditure (not insignificant, at 3 feats just for encounter abilities) s/he can more or less freely multiclass.