[Newbie Question] Prestige Classes and Multiclass

[Prophetsteve]

While I am not a newbie to d20, I am pretty much a newbie to the standard d20 ruleset. Most of my experience has been with Spycraft and Star Wars d20 (along with OGL games like Mutants and Masterminds).

Neither SP or SWd20 deal with Multiclass the same way as D&D or B5d20, so I am a bit lost.

Basically, you get a 20% experience penalty if you have 2 non-favoured classes with a difference greater than one level (ie Narn as a 5th level Agent/2nd Level Diplomat). Right?

So does this include Prestige Classes? If my Narn is a 5th level Diplomat and becomes a 1st level Ambassador Prestige Class, does he take the Multiclass penalty? What if he goes up two levels in Ambassador then joins the rangers and takes the Anla'Shok Prestige Class? Does that mean the Diplomat 5/Ambassador 3/Anla'Shok 1 takes a 40% penalty to experience?

This is all theoretical (not concerned with the prereqs for the prestige classes mentioned). Just wondering if Prestige Classes are included in the standard multiclassing penalty.

 

[slingbld]

Prestige classes are an exception to this rule.

 

[LoneStranger]

The one constant I've noticed throughout all D20 things is prestige classes are seen as kind of a specialization of the core class you qualify from. As far as the XP penalty yeah there is none for a prestige class, which is a good thing since there are a few classes like that where (if you go directly by the rules) you have to advance through the prestige class completely without taking any levels in anything else.

Hope this helps you out somewhat ProphetSteve, you in a B5 game right now?

 

[Prophetsteve]

Hope this helps you out somewhat ProphetSteve, you in a B5 game right now?

That helps a lot. Thanks to you (LoneStranger) and slingbld.

Not in a game right now, but seriously contemplating starting one up. I just got the first book from my mega-order (Minbari Fact Book) and am seriously geared up to run a campaign.

However, since i am the sole owner of B5 RPG books I'd likely be the GM. That means I need to know the rules and I suddenly realized that I really don't know standard d20 all that well. The closest is a few campaigns of Star Wars but they use variant rules for a lot of stuff, like Multiclassing. So I am stuck trying to figure out stuff that experienced d20 players already have grasped. A bit embarassing really

 

[LoneStranger]

Well if you have any questions about doing something, I'm sure someone here will be willing to help, the first question that comes to mind is what kind of campaign are you planning to do? Will it be a military game or the usual "group of random people happen to come together and go adventure" type of thing?

Just something you'll have to think about when you get more of the books and start to get a game together.

 

[redlaco]

Basically, you get a 20% experience penalty if you have 2 non-favoured classes with a difference greater than one level (ie Narn as a 5th level Agent/2nd Level Diplomat). Right?

There has been a discussion some time ago about this and the boss himself (Matthew Sprange) proposed to drop the Multiclassing penalty for the B5 RPG. The reasoning was that you saw a lot of characters in the show who switched careers pretty often. So that's how I'm going to adjudicate it : no penalty, that should help to encourage players to develop their PC as they want, all the while providing a much broader range of possibilities for higher level characters.

Just wondering if Prestige Classes are included in the standard multiclassing penalty.

As slingbld and LoneStranger said, there is no penalty to take a Prestige Class.