Multi-classing

[Alegur]

I'm working on creating myself some zero-level cards and some finished character sheets in anticipation of purchasing the game next week (really kicking myself for not doing the pre-order now, after seeing all the comments about the books) and was wondering about something. . .

Does the final rules as written support multi-classing, or will all characters be single classed? (just to know how 'generic' or what 'add on' parts I should have for character sheets)

Thanks for any information.

[Raven_Crowking]

DCC does not have multiclassing per RAW, but does encourage Judges to make the rules fit their needs, and the needs of their players, rather than make their needs fit the rules.

[Alegur]

I so like that. Thanks

[finarvyn]

My own guideline for mult-classing depends upon the number of party members.

With a medium or large party (4+ players) I don't allow it, since all of the main classes can be represented already and multi-classing tends to weaken the strengths of the party and make each person feel less special. (E.g. if everyone can heal, the cleric isn't special anymore.)

With a small party (1-2 players) I figure that not all of the main classes are represented (such as not having a thief) so I let my players mulit-class their characters. When it's time to level-up they simply can add a level in whichever second class they like. (I don't deal with XP much, so I don't worry about juggling those numbers.) My rule, however, is that they have to keep the two classes pretty balanced with each other so they have to alternate which class gains the level.

3 players is that "grey area" since there are four primary classes. If everyone multi-classes you start to lose that "special" feel again but it's valuable to cover all four classes. Sometimes I don't allow the multi-class but just adjust my adventures to fit the classes present.

Anyway, works for me.

[meinvt]

I personally wouldn't allow multi-classing (in part because race==class and some, such as elves, already have a touch of that feel). But, for a very small group I'd have no problem with players running more than one character.

[smathis]

The TA/TG classes (Transylvanian Adventures) are all hybrids of one stripe or another. The group I playtested with last night commented on it a couple of times. Only one class in the game has a single defined role in the traditional mode of fantasy roleplaying classes. They seemed to like it a lot because there was never any stretch of the game where a character didn't have spotlight time. And the party's approach to the adventure had a dramatic shift based on the capabilities of the entire party. Things like "Man, I'm glad we have the Hunter because she can open locks" or "Man, I'm glad we have the Half-Breed because he can see in the dark". Instead of a traditional fantasy rpg setup where each class has a defined time to shine and kind of waits around until they can do something cool. The TA/TG playtest featured the players falling over themselves to do cool things. Because each class had a broader range of abilities. Kind of like playing a multi-classed character.

So, to bring it all back to the OP, it's pretty easy to determine what each class in TA/TG is a multi-class of. Most of them have at least a little bit of the Thief in them. But you can pretty easily check them out and say "Oh, that one's kind of a Cleric/Mage/Thief" or "That one's a Druid/Monk". That sort of thing. I don't know exactly how well these classes will play with the DCC classes. But since the last rewrite, I think they could easily hold their own. Might make the DCC Thief a little superfluous in some respects. But any other type of Thief multi-class (like, say, a Bard) is likely to step on those utilitarian toes too.

TG (the second book Transylvanian Grimoire) will have a brief appendix or something on mixing and matching the classes in TA/TG. So if you want to, say, Half-Breed your Hunter it could be done. It would be akin to multi-classing but a lot simpler. A whole lot simpler.

[Alegur]

When do you expect to have Transylvanian Adventures/Grimoire (?) available for purchase? It sounds quite interesting

[smathis]

When do you expect to have Transylvanian Adventures/Grimoire (?) available for purchase? It sounds quite interesting

Thanks! I'm hoping to have it out sometime this year. Transylvanian Adventures will probably be out a lot earlier than TG. TG will be easier to write, however. Because a large portion of it is stuff that's getting moved from TA over to TG. Like the Half-Breed, for example. The class is already being playtested but it isn't being released until TG goes out.

I'd expect the spells to take some time. But nothing like the time TA has taken. The foundation of the spellcasting has already been well-established in DCC. Whereas all the classes, hexmap, setting, campaigning in Transylvania and the numerous, numerous charts are all brand new. And it took a long time to do that hexmap. As I discussed at last night's playtest, it's far easier to make up a hexmap than create one loosely based on a "real" place. I didn't want to be lazy about it, so a good amount of research went into the hexmap.

For what's left in TA, I think the monster section will take some time. But not as much as the classes. I've re-written the classes five times already. They're finally in what I'd consider a "good place". But I wanted to take extra time with them because they're the "interface" that the players use in the game. If a monster is a little off or I mess up a hex on the map or have a wonky entry on one of the tables, no biggie. Easily errata'd, ignored, amended, etc.

But if I mess up the classes, the whole game goes sour. So I'm trying to pay close attention to those things. It's looking good at this point. Not sure I could've said that a few months ago. Live. Learn. Make it better. Repeat.

[ragboy]

Also don't forget the power of the henchman. A small group of PC's should be looking for meat shields and experts if they don't have them in the party. Great way to part the party from their golds, introduce adventure hooks, and generally give the DM another tool to make the party's lives difficult!