Quote Originally Posted by dmhelp View Post
I want similarly themed characters to be comparable. So my problems are when fighter 11/barb 9 >> barb 20 or Ranger 5/rogue 15 >> rogue 20. Etc. At level 20 that also includes some caster splashes.

The limitation is a lot cleaner/simpler than rewriting all of the capstones/high level progression.

I think caster martial balance can be addressed by magic item selection & custom magic items, just how it was handled in ad&d/1e. So I’m not concerned w wiz 20 vs fighter 11/x 9, only vs the similarly themed character (wiz 20 vs wiz 19/cle 1).
I mean, if you're willing to hand out custom magic items to ensure the barb20 is as good as the wiz20, why can't you hand out custom items to ensure the barb20 is as good as the barb9/fighter11? (Just a weapon with expanded crit range would go a long way here.)

This is especially evident if at level 9 you were an eldritch knight 4/bladesinger 5 (who normally still would not have extra attack) or you could be a 3/3 split who still didn’t have the option for a feat until level 7. I want to play a ranger/rogue but I have to think up some reason why I’m going to suddenly go pure rogue from level 6 on.
I'm not saying this to be tendentious, but I really don't get your point here. In the current system, a fighter3/barbarian3 doesn't get a second attack, but he DOES get two subclasses, so he can use that hit to deal +2d6+5 damage every round (from zealot and battlemaster). Maybe not optimal, but certainly not disastrously weak. In your system, he gets all that PLUS a feat PLUS a second attack each round, making him WAY better than a single-class fighter or barbarian. But then, in your system he has to take at LEAST two levels of NOTHING, because he already got the level 4 and 5 features for both classes he's taking. How is that progression any less clunky?

Meanwhile, unless I'm missing something about your rules, the ranger/rogue is STILL going to have to take 5 levels of ranger, because rogue doesn't get Extra Attack and thus his rogue levels won't count towards that. And of course, it's not like the ranger doesn't get any class features after level 5! Heck, the level 6 class feature isn't bad at all with Tasha's.