Question : Multiclassed character and second attack

[Vermillion]

Hi,

I've looked everywhere but never found a clear explanation. I'm playing in a Conan RPG - Atlantean edition campaign, and it's been going for quite a while now. My character is a 3-4-1 (soldier - thief - barbarian) cimmerian.

I was beginning to wonder at my BAB, which is now 7, I think, that I might actually have a second attack at -5. In fact I should have already have it when I was 3-3-1.

Can anyone confirm, and perhaps explain..

Thx,

 

[flatscan]

Once your BAB is at +6 you get a second attack at +1. Soldiers and barbarians have the best BABs so yes, you should have a second attack.

 

[Vermillion]

Thank you for the feedback. I also think I should have it, but the question really is, is it an Atlantean edition official fact?

My GM, who might read this forum quite often, and whom I respect undoubtfully - if you read this oh high and mighty GM - I kneel before thee - , thinks it might be imbalanced towards the other single class players in our party - so he might need some more convincing.

 

[Trodax]

...is it an Atlantean edition official fact?

Yup, this is the way it works in all editions of Conan as well as other d20 games. Once you get BAB +6, you also always get a second +1 attack (and so on; +7/+2, +8/+3 etc.). I don't have the book in front of me right now, but I can check later if I find were this rule is explicitly stated.

In this thread we talked a bit about multiclassing and BAB. It might help you.

 

[Vermillion]

In this thread we talked a bit about multiclassing and BAB. It might help you.

Thanks, amazing that I didn't find that thread before.

 

[sgstyrsky]

My GM, who might read this forum quite often, and whom I respect undoubtfully - if you read this oh high and mighty GM - I kneel before thee - , thinks it might be imbalanced towards the other single class players in our party - so he might need some more convincing.

It's not. A single-class soldier equal to your level also gets extra attacks. How is that unbalanced?

Some classes might lag behind your base attack bonus and not get extra attacks until a higher level, but those classes possess other features that make them balanced in different ways.

For example, a scholar doesn't receive extra attacks until a much higher level, but he also has a bevy of skills and skill points and spells which a soldier doesn't have.

 

[Clovenhoof]

In fact it's part of the whole class balance system that you should ponder carefully if, when and how many 3/4-BAB class levels you take. For example, if you mix too many 3/4 classes (like Thief, Pirate...), you lose a lot of BAB points, so you might end up with a +3 attack bonus at level 7, which of course stinks.

Looking at the BAB, it's clever to take 3/4-class levels in increments of four, so you'd take either 4 or 8 or 12 levels of Thief etc., not 5 or 9 because it further spoils your BAB.
However, BAB is not everything, for example the Mobility chain improves every 5th level, so you have to decide: do I take 4 levels of Pirate for minimal BAB loss, or a 5th Pirate level to gain a Mobility step at the expense of one more BAB? Same goes for Thief and Sneak Attack.

So to make a long story short, taking exactly 4 levels of Thief so far was a smart move of yours, so you are entitled to the benefit. Your BAB is now +7/+2, so you get two main-hand attacks per round.
A single-classed Thief(8) would have BAB +6/+1 (and +4d8 sneak attack) and a single-classed Soldier(8) would have BAB +8/+3 (and 3 more feats), so _all of them_ are entitled to an iterative attack. Your character is not imbalanced at all.

BTW, the Scholar in Conan also has a 3/4 BAB progression so they get their extra attacks at the same rates as thieves and pirates.

 

[Trodax]

Hmm, funny, I can't seem to find anywhere in Conan where this rule is actually spelled out.
Anyway, here is the relevant passage from the SRD if you need it to convince your GM:

Base Attack Bonus: Add the base attack bonuses acquired for each class to get the character’s base attack bonus. A resulting value of +6 or higher provides the character with multiple attacks.

 

[Vermillion]

So to make a long story short, taking exactly 4 levels of Thief so far was a smart move of yours, so you are entitled to the benefit.

It wasn't really deliberate. I was soldier for 3 levels, added 2 levels of thief, then added a level of barbarian, then another level thief, and was now wondering what to do, and decided thief was most appropriate (even advantaguous).

Great examples in your post to compare imbalance or balance.

 

[arderkrag]

In fact it's part of the whole class balance system that you should ponder carefully if, when and how many 3/4-BAB class levels you take. For example, if you mix too many 3/4 classes (like Thief, Pirate...), you lose a lot of BAB points, so you might end up with a +3 attack bonus at level 7, which of course stinks.

We house-rule it this way:

All levels with the same base atack count as levels in the same class for determining total base attack.

Thus, a theif 3/pirate 5/temptress 1 would have a base attack of +6/+1, instead of +5.