Multiclassing templates

[J-Star]

I've been a little disappointed by the mutliclass options presented in The Free Companies and Hyboria's Fiercest. What I had hoped for was a wide variety of suggestions on how to focus on one class and mix in levels of other classes to make some really interesting characters.

For example, in the barbarian chapter in Hyboria's Fiercest, why does every template have to be 10 levels of barbarian and 10 levels of exactly one other class? And what is REALLY the difference between a Savage Scout and a Wild Hunter? They both advance evenly as barbarians and borderers, aside from a few optional variant rules.

What I think would be great is a book dedicated character concepts and ways to develop them through multiclassing. A barbarian battling across Hyboria, for example, could easily pick up levels of borderer and/or soldier, and not even closely fit the descriptions of War Chief, Berseker, Savage Scout, or Wild Hunter. Nor would this character necessarily advance evenly in any two classes. There are SO many different character concepts you could make by focusing on the barbarian class and throwing in a few levels of borderer and or soldier.

Or how about a "civilized" warrior, adventurer, and treasure hunter. Maybe focus on the borderer class for combat and survivial ability and throw in a few levels of thief to aid in acquiring treasure. And this is nothing like the Outlaw (half borderer half thief). Soldier levels to reflect military training or raw combat ability are optional. So right there you have a whole separate character concept.

How about a knight? Such a character will be featured in Hyboria's Finest, no doubt as half noble half soldier. The only questions are which will be the primary class, and just how different will this class be from the officer in The Free Companies. By varying the levels of soldier and noble, or starting as a soldier with Noble Blood feat, you could come up a great variety of character concepts, from courtly knights - fops who can handle a sword a little - to masters of the battlefield with no time for politics, to Poitainian Knights on their way to achieving the prestige class.

The same is true for all classes in the game, and hardly any of this got explored in The Free Companies or Hyboria's Fiercest. The mutliclass sections at the end of these books seemed almost like after thoughts... "Oh by the way, here's a bunch of new classes you can make by combining 2 existing classes"

I personally would love to see a book dedicated entirely to character concepts for the Conan RPG... kind of like the D&D 3.0 Hero Builder's Guidebook only much longer, with many, many more character types, and more ways to use the same class combinations.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Excellent concerns but you are talking about a nearly infinite variety of possibilities - which is what I wanted to generate with those sections. Those multi-class options - and not all of them are 50/50 splits - are to get people thinking about the possibilities that mixing the classes can do. Those options should not be taken as the only way to come up with those concepts, but just a possible path to those ends. I tried to write the book with the intent to inspire, not to dictate.

For Hyboria's Fallen, I even threw in a 3-class split as an example of what can happen if even just one level of a third class is thrown into the mix.

You are right. There are an infinite amount of possibilities that can happen with multi-classing, which is what I set out to show. I wanted to show that the game does not need further prestige classes. That section was not an afterthought. I was just limited on page count and I couldn't do everything possible with multiclassing with the number of pages I had to work with. But, hopefully, I was successful in showing the potential that multi-classing offers - which was my intent to begin with.

 

[René]

But, hopefully, I was successful in showing the potential that multi-classing offers - which was my intent to begin with.

Yes, you were! My players appreciated the supplement!

 

[Bregales]

[...]For example, in the barbarian chapter in Hyboria's Fiercest, why does every template have to be 10 levels of barbarian and 10 levels of exactly one other class? And what is REALLY the difference between a Savage Scout and a Wild Hunter? They both advance evenly as barbarians and borderers, aside from a few optional variant rules.

The author already responded, but with barbarians for example, it is heavily suggested you take at least 7 levels as barbarian, or you shoot yourself in the foot options wise. The 10/10 splits, that's another story, but as Mr. Darlage wrote they're not ALL that way. By the way, I like your attention to character concept being cemented with gameplay experience, but have always been against books devoted solely to telling players how to think. Rules are one thing, but imagination's your responsibility.

How about a knight? Such a character will be featured in Hyboria's Finest, no doubt as half noble half soldier. The only questions are which will be the primary class, and just how different will this class be from the officer in The Free Companies. By varying the levels of soldier and noble, or starting as a soldier with Noble Blood feat, you could come up a great variety of character concepts, from courtly knights - fops who can handle a sword a little - to masters of the battlefield with no time for politics, to Poitainian Knights on their way to achieving the prestige class.

There are knights in the Aquilonia book. Granted, Nemedia, maybe Ophir could also have knights, but as several other threads have already had posts, not every culture has knights.

I personally would love to see a book dedicated entirely to character concepts for the Conan RPG... kind of like the D&D 3.0 Hero Builder's Guidebook only much longer, with many, many more character types, and more ways to use the same class combinations.

Personally, I hate these kinds of books, consider them the ruination of other companies like WotC, just like TSR ran itself into the ground by putting out so much fringe crap years ago. I believe that it depends on the imagination of the player working with the GM to make up a character, based on the guidelines of character classes, nothing more. By dumbing down the market, you're creating a fringe book at best. You've got a good imagination from what you wrote in your post, so it doesn't sound like you need a book like this anyway. No one does, so long as the basic rulebook says "this is how role-playing works" in the introduction.

 

[Sutek]

What I could see as some kind of "hero builder" book for Conan is something around the size of the Finest series, maybe call it "Hyborea's Heroes" to denote the intent of the book, but make it a regional breakdown volume that showcases each culture in terms of it's most likely classes and multi-class combos. In other words, since there's no prefered class system in Conan, tell us what base classes or combinations, say, Cimmerians typically take. They are isolationist and xenophobic, shunning the custioms and teachings of the rest of the world so perhaps Borderers and Scholars are rare. Maybe a random chart even for each race that could determine quick classes base on race and cultural disposition. It could even be a book to add more flavor to each culture, much in the way ROKs gave broad overviews - sort of a ROKs2.

You could additionally have culturally oriented Prestige Classes, Feats and Spells as well as anything else that seemed appropriate.

8)

 

[VincentDarlage]

...but make it a regional breakdown volume that showcases each culture in terms of it's most likely classes and multi-class combos. 8)

I intend to do that within the context of the regional sourcebooks.

 

[J-Star]

...but make it a regional breakdown volume that showcases each culture in terms of it's most likely classes and multi-class combos. 8)

I intend to do that within the context of the regional sourcebooks.

As we saw in Aquilonia - Flower of the West... a genuine masterpiece, Vincent. I love that book. I've never seen an RPG supplement bring the setting to life as vividly as the Aquilonia book.

The points raised about page limitations and inspiring rather than dictating are well taken. I personally just like to read concrete examples and suggestions. They actually give me quite a bit of inspiration.

 

[Damien]

but as several other threads have already had posts, not every culture has knights.

And as the Core rulebook points out - not every culture has pirates either, or scholars.. etc.

So the idea of 'every culture' having something shouldn't even be a concern.


But in any case, I don't really see much need for an entire book devoted solely to multiclass combination concepts. Sounds like a very boring, very unnecessary book. Mr. Darlage (as he, himself, mentioned) is already taking care of that within the confines of -other- books. That's a much better way to handle it, as it breaks it up with other useful information, rather than being a solid handbook on "how to make a character."

As long as the framework is there - that's all we really need. And the few, but good, multiclass variants already worked up by Vincent are doing quite well for sparking the imagination of what you -can- do in your games, without being stifling.

 

[Sutek]

...but make it a regional breakdown volume that showcases each culture in terms of it's most likely classes and multi-class combos. 8)

I intend to do that within the context of the regional sourcebooks.

See...I knew it was a good idea!

:wink: