Multi-Classing Pro's and Con's

[Necromedon]

I like being a barbarian.  I'm sort of gimped as one, but I like being a barbarian.  When I submitted my character I wanted to turn my barbarian into a bard, and perhaps later a skald.  However.  I'm not sure.  To me it's a rather frighting prospect.  I mean, even though I am not powerlvling (in fact I spend most of my time talking to people and RPing) I still like the satisfaction of going in and kicking some butt.  

However, I'm worried, what happens if I do turn into a bard.  Right now my barbarian is sort of gimped because I created him with a high charisma and rather low constitution and strength and such.  I've looked around at the Server Status and most people seem to stick with one class.  The reason that I am somewhat miffed about going towards another class, is because it feels like each lvl will cost more xp to get to the next one.  And if I switch to a bard at lets say lvl 6, its almost like I would be starting over.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I could still fight at the same lvl as before, but I couldn't really advance with my friends right?  I wouldn't be able to handle the mobs that they would because I decided to change classes.  

I guess, I'm really just looking for advice.  I want to see what others have found about multiclassing.  I rarely see anyone with three classes, so, I'm not sure how far I should take it with that.  If you have mulitclassed, I would like to hear why you chose to.  And I understand that the rp aspect of it could have been a large role in that decision.  If you haven't multiclassed I would also like to hear it, and why.  I there are people here who are confused like me, give a shout out! HEY!!!  

Anyway, thanks, and, I hope this helps anyone else who has this dilema.  And if I'm the only one, I hope it helps me out.

Necromedon

[Necromedon]

I would like to add a slight thing to the previous part.  i would like to hear from any bards.  This is my first barbarian.  When I played the NWN2 campaign, I was a druid.  So, I have never played a bard before.  I would like to know if they find the character fun to play.  I don't see many around, and I would like to know peoples feelings on different classes that they have seen and that they have played so that I can understand a little bit about them before diving into the dark.

Again, thanks!

Necromedon

[silverblades]

hm..well your right mulitclass has its drawbacks when it comes to leveling. I have a tough time realizing that I will leave a class behind (ranger) and advancing all I can in sorcerer. I still have to spend a level in ranger before I can do that, ugh..
Hit points arent that good either...(well spellcasters are notiorious for that)
..but Im here for the RP..Looks cool when you can put on heavy armor and still cast spells..

Guess the reason Im here is the simple fact that you can do something here that you cant do playing adventure games...and going through the dialog of it all..Here you can flesh out a real live person...(well almost)..and how you act has an effect on the others around you, and possibly the story as a whole..

[Talan Va'lash]

I have three classes.

Things like base attack are cumulative so, a level 5 ftr/2 sorc will have a base attack of 6 not 5 since the two sorc levels add +1 to base attack.

Saves from different classes are cumulative as well.

So its not like your basic things like that wont start improving untill they surpass your first class (if that makes sense)

As a multiclass caster, your spell durations will likely be quite bad, and at the point you get a lot of spells they wont have much effect.  ex: sleep a first level spell wont help you much past level... oh, 5 since creatures with more than 4HD are unaffected i believe.  Stoneskin if you get it too late will be ignored as most of your enemies have +1 weapons and even with an even split between two classes by the time you get the +2 stoneskin you'd be epic... and most thing that would be difficult then will have +2 weapons.

But, if your char is a barbarian bard, then make him one.  However you can still be a goodlooking barbarian who sings to his god in battle without being a bard.  Its really a character choice.

Multiclassing bards is hard.  From a "kicking butt" perspective as you stated, multiclass bards struggle a good bit until very high levels, at which they are the basis for many 'competitive' builds.  Though the 'bardbarian' is a fun combination.  Especially in epic levels.  For example, terrifying rage works off intimidation checks, and is an epic feat you can get at only lvl 15 barbarian (as an epic multiclassed character that is).  Intimidation modifiers are based off charisma, so it's actually a fun coupling.  Though we're talking epic levels here, which is not exactly the bread and butter of fun on Layo.  Anyhow, back to the point, they can be fun, and Layo monsters aren't exactly powered out, so honestly - do what you think will be fun for your character.  Yeah, low level bards will struggle a bit to find their place.  Their songs will be short, their spells not so grand.  But if you focus a good bit on bard from this point on, and let's say you fully concentrate on it... then from a butt kicking perspective as a 6 barb/ 14 bard you will be quite helpful in your group, almost full spells for buffing folks up, you'll have your 4 base attacks per round (maybe even 6 base if you went dexterity dualing based since bards, and ethically barbarians, have that heavy armor problem and it joins up nicely).  But technically you won't really be getting much from that multiclass, your barbarian attributes will lack - and from the numbers standpoint you will basically be a fighter/ bard mix without as many feats.  But it will be fun.  Again, you mentioned kicking butt, which is in fact more fun to do then the inverse, and in this case I'd point out the benefits to putting at least 10 levels in bard pre-epic.  Again, Layo isn't really set up in a manner where you need to worry too much about that.  You will do just fine with whatever mix floats your boat as a character.  Have fun.

[Talan Va'lash]

howdy noob!

[Lalaith Va'lash]

Hi there,
  I play a multiclassed Bard/Rogue. Essentially I added the Rogue skills because I wanted her to be more of a gypsy than a pure bard, and there are some class skills from rogue that make rp sense for a gypsy.  What Talan said about magic as a caster is true, however I have found that even the low level magic was handy to have, and if you take feats like extra music..  it doesn't matter if your bard song is all that short since you can always sing again   (I've never really run out of songs in battle)
  But honestly, she is a bit weaker than a pure bard or a pure rogue (of course) would be when it comes to fighting.. but what she lacks in that has been made up for in the rp 10 fold.  So its a matter really of what you want for your character.  I think the concept sounds intersting myself...
  Another thing people consider when multiclassing, that you may have thought of (can't remeber if you said it), is if one classes is not your favored class and the levels are too far apart, you will get an xp penelty (I think 20%).  But since most of the xp here comes from quests, and I am pretty sure that penalty isn't calulated into the xp reward, there really isn't that issue. 
  So really I say do what you feel is right for your character..  Kali is my first bard ever and I am still figuring out how how I play a bard, but its been a lot of fun so far.
  Hope that helps.
  (Oh... and I can name at least 10 or so bards, they are really not that uncommon, I know more bards in game than I know.. barbarians )

[Varnart]

not to mention that the most powerful character in the server is a bard

[deagle]

I also have three classes.

I looked at more of a rp reason when I created the character. His race tends to dabble in the arcane arts, especially illusion, and they have natural gifts for hiding, which is a dire need in their realm. Being an escapee, he needed to learn how to defend himself with weapon and shield. Granted, I am not going for any prestige classes, but all in all I have a lot of fun with this combo and it has developed into a great character.
Sure, he has a +3 ECL and his other stats as far as hp, saves, # of spells, etc. aren't as good as others of the equivalent level. But he is a lot of fun to role play and if you put the combo together right he is quite capable of holding his own.

Basically, look at what you want to acheive as a character and how you want to have fun with it. Remember, the key is having fun.

[LoganGrimnar]

yea, level 28 or so... he is like 5 levels ahead of the next lowest which is the drid guy, or that pally guy..

[regnus]

Isn't Reventage level 27 or something and part bard?

I play a pure bard and I can tell you that I love playing him, but there are a few times when I wish he had a fighting class to fall back on.  Owen is strictly part of the supporting cast right now, but that is the way I planned him to be anyway.  I loaded him up with the Parry skill so if I did end up in combat I could hold something off until the big burly fighter types could take it out.  You having barbarian levels might give you a little more advantage in combat though.  

[Rayenoir]

Your d12 and d6 hit dice give you more hps at least than a given Fighter/Wizard combo.  Not as many feats or as much versatility, but you can take a few more hits.

[Diamondedge]

I personally dislike Multi-Classing to a certain extent. It can create very unique characters, and that is wonderful and amazing for RP worlds like Layonara, but sometimes, it can get a little... bad.

There is nothing in all of D&D more powerful than a pure leveled, epic wizard. Except, perhaps two of them. Or a very, very irate one.

Creating a simplistic character, with only one class, has many pro's and fewer con's than a multi-classed character. For starters, the single-classed character will be more focused in his/her particular niche, which is great for playing a character training to become the best ______, or most renowned ______ in all of Pranzis.

A huge pro, statistically speaking, is that the one-class will fit well into an adventuring party doing whatever. A level 15 monk, for example, will be more powerful than a level 15 (5 fighter, 5 wizard and 5 rogue) because the level 15 monk is focused at her hand-to-hand combat, while the multi-class 'adventurer' is a jack of all trades, and master of none.

However, the 'adventurer' is probably a lot more fun to RP, because 'Well, I spent three years in Pranzis, leaping from roof top to roof top, swinging into peoples' houses and robbing 'em blind while they slept. THen I spent about five years as a body guard, protecting a rather rich wizard. He taught me a couple cantrips, nothing to crazy, just a little something to enhance my 'trade'.' The monk? 'I've lived on a mountain all my life, training.' That would be, y'know, standard. So, you can see, the upside and downside to RPing a multiclass and singleclass.

Okay. The statistical upside, from a purely powergaming sort of idea, for the 'Adventurer' is the massive, MASSIVE AC he/she can have. Shield, Mage Armor, Ghostly Visage... There's an extra, like, 6 AC points with 10% cover, 5/- damage reduction and spell immunity for all 1st level spells. Put on some full plate and a shield after casting that, and you're a tank.

So you're protected now, and if the enemy is attacking someone else, you get a huge sneak attack bonus to your strike. So statistically, the MC can be better this way. But a level 15 anything is more focused, and therefore isn't all over these crazy roles. A level 15 fighter will have his AC increased by a level 15 spellcaster, so that he can tank and will still do massive damage. A level 15 wizard can bring down about 20 'challenging' giants with three spells. A level 15 rogue can hide past any of these giants, or, when in a party, hit the giants for a huge sneak attack bonus. A level 15 **** can do whatever it is their class was designed to do in a party, very effectively.

Now I'm just rambling, so I'll stop here... I highly doubt I covered everything. Anywho... Yay.

Oh, by the way, if you're a level 28 bard, you'll be feared all across the lands. If you're a level 14 barbarian and a level 14 bard... not so much!

[SquareKnot]

I play a multiclassed bard. As others have mentioned, if you play a multiclassed character, your abilities are somewhat diffused. You end up being a jack of several trades and master of none. And that's particularly true with bards. Why? Because a bard is already a multiclassed character for most intents and purposes. A bard is really 1/3 rogue, 1/3 sorcerer, and 1/3 "bard specific". If you then mix in another class with that, you end up spread too thin to do anything useful. You end up needing high dex, high charisma, high strength, high everything. You've already noticed that you're "gimped" as a barbarian because you set your stats to support a bard route later. It only gets worse as you go along the path.

If you want to play a bard character, then by all means do it. It's a lot of fun. But understand that you have to do it for the roleplay. You'll be in a support role in a party, and won't be able to solo anywhere difficult until you're quite high level. I'd never played a bard, because in single player it's not the mathematically correct choice. On a RP server, it's been a good growing opportunity for me to develop better RP skills.

[lonnarin]

I actually very much enjoy bardarians and skalds, those better weapons they use are worth singing about rather than the standard flail or rapier bard.  Also, many of the spells a bard can cast can be RPed akin to a musical rage, things like bulls strength, magic weapon and the like.  The RP of it if somewhat like a savage spellsword or shamanic fighter, and the gameply is a little more fun with being able to hang up front with the fighters, albeit usually at the flank of foes.

It's certainly a noble profession, and your allies may appreciate a frontliner with a rallying tune on his lips.  One downside of it is the arcane spell failure, so you may be ostracized for constantly getting naked to cast spells in between battles unless you bring along some spare robes.

Right noe I have a skald, used to also have a flat barbarian/bard that worked out pretty well too.  Sure you don't get as powerful spells or powers that a pure bard does, but getting to sing about yourself in the frontline never gets old...

[Dorganath]

In my opinion, if you want to multiclass your character then do so.

It is true that the strongest characters are the ones that maintain a single class throughout.  If you're trying to build the strongest character possible, then you shouldn't even go near a second class. It's true that a 20th level pure character of any class will pretty much always beat a 10/10 split, but then the question becomes: for what purpose are you building your character?

Another question is: Does multi-classing make sense for your character's development?

My character, Connor, is a Sorcerer/Fighter.  I RP him as a sorcerer who learned to fight.  And actually, there's been times he's been asked what his "profession" is and he's answered: Alchemist.  In my own opinion, a second (or third) class does "weaken" a character somewhat in that a 10/10 level character cannot always do things and go places that a straight 20 level character can go.  As such, multi-classed characters (until they start hitting some high levels, that is) are generally best as part of a party rather than solo.  However, I think that multiple classes do add to the depth of the character AND makes that same character more versatile within the party.

So, as I said at the top of this post, if you want to multi-class your character (and he gets approved for it, of course) then do it.