Multiclassing

A character may add new classes as he or she progresses in level, thus becoming a multiclass character. The class abilities from a character’s different classes combine to determine a multiclass character’s overall abilities. Multiclassing improves a character’s versatility at the expense of focus.

ALL Prestige_classes are Multiclassing characters

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wizard level 3 + fighter level 5 = character level 8

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When a character with one class gains a level, he or she may choose to increase the level of his or her current class or pick up a new class at 1st level. (A character can’t gain 1st level in the same class more than once, even if this would allow him or her to select different class features, such as a different set of domains for a cleric.) The DM may restrict the choices available based on the way he or she handles classes, skills, experience, and training. For instance, the character may need to find a tutor to teach him or her the ways of the new class. Additionally, the DM may require the player to declare what class the character is “working on” before he or she makes the jump to the next level, so the character has time to practice new skills.

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Imagine the desert knife fighter, a fighter with a limited weapon selection but early specialization with a knife. Or a fire mage, a wizard with particularly potent fire spells but no access to any spell involving water, air, or earth. Or a warrior-priest who functions like a cleric, but with a fighter’s weapon selection and attack bonus, fewer spells per day, and no access to healing spells. If you’re like most DMs, the character classes in the Player ’s Handbook are flexible and varied enough to fit most any niche or need, particularly with the possibilities of multiclassing, the variety of feats and skills, and facets such as school specialization for wizards and domain selection for clerics. If you want to create a campaign rich with religion and divine influence, where just about everyone has deity-granted powers, you don’t have to overhaul all the existing classes. Instead, you can just say everyone (or most everyone) in that society multiclasses so that each individual has at least one level of cleric. You can rule that in such a world, the cleric class has no XP penalties for multiclassing.

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1. Look to see which standard class seems to be most like the end result that you want to create.

2. Look to see if another class has special abilities that can be swapped in exchange for something that this class has in order to create what you want.

3. Look to all the other classes and match the newly modified class against each one, taking into account the following factors.

• Hit Dice

• Base attack bonus progression

• Base save bonus progressions

• Skill points

Class skill list

• Weapon and armor proficiency

• Spells per day

• Spell list selection

• Special class features

No class should excel beyond another one overall. Pay particular

attention to special class features and spells.

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the book of Unearthed Arcana has several VARIANT CHARACTER CLASSES that are similar to a Multiclass characters

BARBARIAN + DRUID= TOTEM BARBARIAN

BARBARIAN + BARD = SAVAGE BARD

BARD + CLERIC = DIVINE BARD