multiclass and requirments

[okoserce]

I play Shara on the vast and due to how the adventure has unfolded have considered bringing her in the direction of taking levels in druid, but I have a couple of questions. Is there a way to modify your alignment via actions? The other adventures in the community have been aiding my character in calming the chaotic nature. The question I bring up is because druids need to be neutral on atleast one axis of the alignment scale..

My other question is on weapons and dissallowed by class in conjunction with multiclassing. Until recently Shara predominately used throwing axes, this weapon is not on the druid weapon list, but am unable to find if it is a restricted weapon or not.

[L3]

I don't know about the official restrictions but one thing to consider is what a druid might associate with any sort of axe. They can seem rather symbolic to one who dedicates herself to caring for groves of trees I would think, but theres a good chance I'm way off-base here...

[okoserce]

axes are also associated as tools and not as a thing of distruction
at least that's how I see them, there's some projects that a simple knife just can't solve and an axe is a very useful tool in the wilderness
just my two cents I guess

[archimedes 13]

You need a DM to change your alignment (though there are a few scripted quests that can push your alignment toward good). I know players in the past have roleplayed a change of alignment over a period of time.

[Kalidas]

I don't think when multi-classing into Druid that it would be restricted, but use common sense. Druids generally devote their lives to preserving the forrest, axes are for cutting trees down, unless perhaps its used for cutting off dying branches so that new ones can grow. Anyways, that's my food for thought.

[JeKylL351]

You should also be aware of the 20% xp penalty you get when any of your classes are more than a level apart. Taking a third class may also make this more difficult to manage. Being human helps by making one of the classes your preferred class (and therefore no penalty) but it only applies to one (I cant recall the details off hand). This penalty would primarily apply to combat xp, but it may be a factor in quests and such too. I know XP shouldn't be the major deciding factor on such things, but you should be aware of it.

I would also suggest considering how the change came about from your characters perspective. I once considered taking ranger levels for Rory, but it seemed to be a cheap path to better stealth and bonuses. Even though he cares for some animals and is at home in the forest, he did not have the wisdom to justify the change. Becoming a druid would mean you are also taking a turn towards the divine (more so than the ranger). You would want to consider how well the character fits with that sort of life.

[sarah petite]

*nods* Don't worry about weapons. Druids are allowed to take up any weapon (provided they have the proper feat), their devotion to nature doesn't show through what they carry as weapon anyway. They differ from the inside out (call it allignment) and that's not something that changes overnight. It's said the dm's can change your allignment in game, but never heard it being done before.

[goatte]

Fascinating topic, Okoserce. I've thought about multiclassing characters and wondered why the character would change their 'life path.' I never could reconcile in my head about someone going and learning a bit of another class and returning to the original one, unless they were indecisive. If it is the player's intent to portray the character in that way, I can understand it. I always wondered about how they'd convince a teacher to spend valuable time teaching them to become this new class. With the new feats and skills, perhaps the game has grown beyond the need to multiclass to individualize our characters?

For those folks who've RP'd with Jherel Duskwood, how many were sure what class he was? Even after an evening of RP? He isn't multi-classed, but feats and skill points have allowed me to alter his archetype enough, while remaining true to both the core archetype and the distinct one I've created. Feats and skills can blur the class enough to, perhaps, find what we'd like our characters to be.

I believe the expression 'His reach exceeded his grasp,' can be successfully applied to our characters. Meaning, the desire to become a druid may not meet the reality of the character's abilities. Long ago I RP'd a fighter who wished he could be a paladin, but he wasn't able to reach his goal. He lived with the restrictions, but none of the benefits. He was far more interesting to me than if he'd become one.

Okoserce, I've been surprised and impressed by your RP when I've had the good fortune to interact with your characters, so I'm not commenting negatively on your decision in this matter. If you take this path, I wish you good luck with it.

I'm suggesting that perhaps feats and skills chosen instead of classes may help us to enjoy our characters more by creating a challenge for gameplay and RP.

goatte

[Eddie Sedative]

Instead of considering the individual parts of multi-classed characters, I tend to view the combination of classes as parts of a whole concept. I had once planned a version of my old halfling priest wherein he acquired levels of rogue, cleric, and bard. Instead of viewing him as having taken up three distinct professions, however, I was using the combination of those classes to establish a whole character concept. I envisioned him as a travelling, friar-like priest that sang songs to lift the spirits of his fellow wanderers and was capable of concealing himself from the dangers of the road. I shelved the idea for purely technical reasons, as multi-classing two different spell-casting classes would cripple the character on a low level server. Still, my belief is that the character classes do not necessarily have to be so distinctly defined for multi-class characters. Instead of regarding them as individual colors of paint, I regard the picture of the character as a whole, with the different classes blended to create that image.

[Dragon Chucker]

Hmm. The alignment change question was one I had for the DMs for some time but I'm still waiting to get a DI check on the character it's related to.

I imagine that putting down the axe for a character would be a personality thing and tied by character development. Using an axe against those who would chop down trees is sort of ironic, no? Anyway, the protection of a forest or grove sometimes involves destruction as was mentioned (the chopping of dead branches.) Some plantlife rely on fire to spread its seeds as well. Culling of wildlife to prevent overpopulation as well...

Which gets me thinking about the bard and how the title of bard has sort of pulled away from association with druids and have been applied on a broader/larger(?) scale in terms of function.

Also I have a character that's somewhat split on spell casting classes by concept but don't think it should really be that much of a lynchpin on whether to make the character. I keep her around mostly RPing and events (where they might make sense) more than 'patrolling' or 'hunting.'



.

[sarah petite]

*shrugs* It's about RP-ing a char and be able to BE a class. Druid's AE can';t be RP-ed, nor can the enchanted singing of a bard, or the undead turning of a cleric. Every class has a distinctive feature that cannot be reproduced by RP alone.
Sure, we have to RP our chars, but we can't RP what we aren't. Or is it only frowned upon when it's done with some classes?

If a char turns a certain way, it will multi-class. *shrugs* The concequences are obvious and must be taken into account. If a char doesn't meet the requirements, go for a rebuild....that is, start anew.

[Dracharla]

you are correct that some abilities cannot be duplicated. but that doesn't mean a character can't emulate something without being it. Look at Goattes example of a fighter aspiring to be a paladin.

likewise you don't have to be a bard to be a teller of tales or a singer of songs (though true you will never have a bards song in the enchantment sense) Similarly a ranger has AE but is no druid. You can be extremely devouted to your god without ever being able to cast a single divine spell.

[archimedes 13]

You can be extremely devouted to your god without ever being able to cast a single divine spell.

A great point. I love seeing characters like that.

re: the rest of the discussion

A lot of it comes down to preference. As goatte mentioned, there's a lot of flexibility. A character doesn't have to be a rogue to have skills with traps. But one certainly could take a level of rogue, if that's the way the character develops. And as others have mentioned, you can RP certain skills or choices or desires, as well.

re: okoserce's druid

I don't know the answer. My inclination would be that a character who would become a druid would give up an axe, (it's not allowed for level 1 druids, right?). There are differences in classes. There's a difference between taking a level in druid than there is with rogue (for example). Druid embodies a complete philosophy and way of living that's not the same in all of the other classes. Druids have a language and a culture that they share with no one outside of their sect. I believe the level of druid would become the overriding characteristic of any character who took it. Everything else would be secondary.

[goatte]

One point I forgot to put into my previous post was the nature of the 'training' and the 'trainer.'

We'll use my Dwarven fighter Karn as the trainer. Say your character is a rogue. You want to learn to fight better. You have several options when you come to him to improve your character. You can learn a feat that he knows, like the 'martial weapons' one, 'armor' use, 'shield' feat, etc.. It wouldn't take up too much of his time to train you in one of them. There would be less of a sense of commitment, like Archimedes mentioned.

The other option is you choose to pursue training in the fighter class, meaning you are dedicating a significant amount of time learning a new mindset. You're giving up the time you would have trained as a rogue to learning several feat's worth of abilities. A good question is how much of a mindset is there in the fighter class? *shrugs* But it is a whole new way of thinking compared to the rogue, obviously.

Also, I've never been attracted to the idea of a rebuild. Our characters are very 'organic' in that they grow through opportunities found in RP. Unless we're zipping along through the levels, there is a lot of time to consider what feats, skills and classes to choose ahead of time based on our own desires and the opportunities our characters find. 'Do overs' don't exist in life, why should our characters get them?

Okoserce, whatever you end up doing, I look forward to seeing your character in action. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the path you took getting there. RP out the learning process, and you can't go wrong. It will give you a better handle on just who your character is, IMHO.

goatte

[PensivesWetness]

One of the most rewarding experiances I had in the height of my game play was when Millia inherited a mageling’s spellbook from a deseased pc (one of Cyberpunk’s many enjoyable PC’s), thus opening a whole tengent on my RPing style. Indeed, even on ALFA, where I added a few levels of bard to the Mix, the joy being, well, Millia, in all things did much to soul, if not so many other souls I had the pleasure to play with. Perhaps I came close with Perry Mason (a certain very flirtatious Servant of Oghma. Just ask Trooper and T-Rose LOL) though really he was fun to play, he still was mechinically speaking weak.

Indeed, Multiclassing is a trade off. It’s less of a issue for more RP approuched type of players (which is one goal to reach when you play on The Vast or other, simular minded servers)…

/me huggles you from someplace Far Away

woodca@cvn69.navy.mil

by the Way, i finally met Savage Goat. He helps clean a fan room off my berthing when we clean up for 'XO's Happy Hour'