Gestalt Style Multiclassing (3.5e Variant Rule)

Author: Tarkisflux (talk) Date Created: 2 April, 2012 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Gestalt Style Multiclassing

For most classes, multiclassing works rather poorly. It damages numeric progressions since the +2 initial jump in saves is often worth a couple of levels advancement while the often +0 bonus to BAB is generally worse than a couple levels of advancement. Fractional numbers have been proposed as a work around for this problem, but they fail to address the larger problem of class feature advancement. Spellcasters give up substantial spell levels to acquire powers that are levels behind those they would gain by not multiclassing, and martial classes are forced to voltron together class features to keep up or get ahead.

This variant progression is intended to remedy these problems, by allowing multiple simultaneous progressions at the cost of higher level abilities from each class.

Mechanics

The class that you first select for your character with is referred to as your primary class. You may gain a level in a second class anytime you would gain a new level, as long as you have at least as many levels in your primary class as you would in all of your secondary classes combined. You may not invest more than 2 levels in a secondary class, however, but you don't need to.

First Level in a Secondary Class

When you invest 1 level in a secondary class, you are treated as if you had a number of effective levels in that class equal to half of your levels in your primary class, rounded down, with a minimum effective level of 1. This grants the following benefits:

• You gain all of the class features of the secondary class up to that effective level.
• You may use the base attack bonus and saves of the secondary class at that effective level if they are greater than those gained from your primary class or other secondary classes.
• If the hit die of the secondary class is larger than that of your primary or other secondary classes, you gain hit points equal to the difference between it's maximum value and the maximum value of your primary class, as well as 1 hit point per die step difference for each effective level except 1.
• If the secondary class gains more skill points per level than your primary class, you gain the difference in skill points for each effective level, plus an additional 3 times that amount for 1st level. These skill points may be used to purchase ranks in either class's class skills on a 1 for 1 basis. The rank limit of all of the class skills for your primary and secondary classes is equal to your primary class level +3, however.
• Your total hit dice remains equal to the total number of class levels that you possess, however, and you gain 1 additional hit die from your primary class (or any full vested secondary class, as explained below) when you select a new secondary class.

Second Level in a Secondary Class

When you invest 2 levels in a secondary class, you are treated as if you had a number of effective levels in that class equal to your full level in your primary class. Such a secondary class is considered fully vested, and is not eligible for additional level investment. This grants the following benefits:

• You gain all class features of your secondary class up to that effective level.
• You may use the base attack bonus and saves of that class at that effective level in place of those granted by your primary class if they are higher.
• You may gain additional hit points and skill points as described above for each level between half your primary class level and your full primary class level. As your total hit dice remains equal to the total number of your class levels, you gain an additional hit die equal to the highest value from among your primary and fully vested secondary classes.
• You may also adjust upwards the hit points gained from the bonus hit die when the class was not fully vested, as indicated above, and may use your fully vested secondary hit die in place of any additional bonus hit die for new secondary classes.

Prestige Classes

When you advance your primary class (or a prestige class replacement for your primary class) when you gain a level, your effective level in your secondary classes grows appropriately. Non-vested secondary classes grow in abilities every even level (except second primary class level), while full-vested secondary classes grow with every additional level in your primary class. When a secondary class advances, you may use their hit die, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points in place of those gained by your primary class.

You may take a prestige class with your primary class or any fully vested secondary class for which you qualify. If the prestige class is replacing your primary class, it is considered advancement of your primary class for the purposes of advancing secondary classes. If the prestige class is replacing a fully vested secondary class, it advances with each level gained in your primary class as if it were the secondary class. You may only advance 1 prestige class at a time however, regardless of the number of fully vested secondary classes you posses.

Tome of Battle Note

In this variant, your initiator level (IL) is not increased by gaining levels in classes that do not gain maneuvers. Additionally, IL does not transfer between maneuver using classes. A warblade with 1 secondary level in swordsage is limited to selecting swordsage maneuers based on their effective swordsage level, for example.

Examples

A wizard 1 decides to multiclass into fighter, and selects it as their second level. They update their hit points, saves, and BAB as if they had selected fighter for their level 1 character, gain the class features and class skills of a level 1 fighter, but gain no additional skill points. They gain 1 additional d4 hit die from their wizard primary class. At level 3 they select a second level of wizard, as they are not allowed to select an additional secondary class with only 1 level in their primary class. They gain the benefits of a second level wizard, but not any additional benefits to their fighter secondary class. At character level 4 they elect to take another level of their fighter class features, becoming fully invested in it. They have the better of the saves, base attack bonuses, and skill points from a level 2 fighter or wizard and the hit points of a level 4 fighter (due to the bonus hit dice gained and the fighter class hit die overwriting the smaller hit die). When they advance to character level 5, they advance wizard and gain the benefits of a level 3 wizard and a level 3 fighter, and an additional fighter hit die.

A different character was a level 10 cleric of the god of thieves, and has decided to become a bit more rogue-like. When they reach character level 11, they invest 1 level in rogue and gain the abilities of a level 5 rogue. This overwrites and increases some of their skill points, and they may use the rogue's slightly superior level 5 reflex save in place of the cleric's level 10 value. When the character advances to level 12, they increase their cleric level to 11 and gain those additional benefits. When they advance to character level 13, they increase their cleric level to 12 and gain those additional benefits, but also advance their effective rogue level to 6 and elect to gain the rogue's skill points instead. They continue to use the rogue's slightly superior reflex save value in place of the cleric's as well.

Supporting Changes

A number of prestige classes, class abilities, and feats work poorly with this setup. These are detailed below.

Animal Companions, Cohorts, and Leadership

This variant provides for a single character to gain the abilities of a second class at no more than 2 levels behind. Unfortunately, this can also be achieved by gaining an animal companion or leadership cohort through class features or feats, and these come with bonus actions to take advantage of their additional abilities. To make room for this sort of multiclassing, and resolve some other issues with CR-2 cohorts that we don't need to go into, the maximum CR of any cohort or animal companion that a character can have under this variant is the character's CR -4.

Similarly, a character may not have a leadership follower whose level is equal to or greater than their own level -8. If a character's leadership score would grant followers of a level higher than they could possess, the additional followers may be gained at an allowed level. They automatically advance in level when you gain a level, up to their normally indicated level.

You still run into cohort levels of class features when you take more than 4 levels in secondary classes, however, so it's probably not a good idea to do that. Trying to do too many things can leave you not particularly good at any of them.

Multiclass Patch Options

Prestige classes that are designed to allow two different class ability progressions, such as the Arcane Trickster prestige class, are largely unnecessary in this setup if not actively detrimental in some situations. If you are currently advancing both the rogue and wizard abilities on their own, advancing one on it's own and then both through the Arcane Trickster class either leads to wasted options or higher than intended class ability levels. If you choose to allow these prestige classes, you should make it clear to the player that the two progression increases will not stack. In many cases, this means that they will only be trading out one set of minor class abilities for another.

Multiclass patch feats however, like Daring Outlaw, can still be useful for a character who only invests 1 level in a secondary class. If you chose to allow these feats, you should allow a character who selects one to immediately retrain it if they ever invest 2 levels in a secondary class patched with the feat as it is no longer providing them a bonus.

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