Before the monolithic ‘multiclassing’ of later editions, there was AD&D’s demihuman-only Multi-Class and human-only Dual-Class (or, as it was called in 1e, “The Character With Two Classes”). As they work completely differently, each provides a very different type of hybrid character, though the end result of both is exactly what you’d expect from any system that tries to mash two distinct archetypes into one uberclass abomination. Many players who started in the modern era look back upon these rules with a type of incredulous wonder.
Much of the reason for its quirkiness comes from AD&D’s variable XP requirements for each class, which meant that you couldn’t merely ‘take’ another class upon level up; you had to invest into each class individually, which created challenges when it came to the math. For what they had to work with, the solutions that Gygax devised (and Zeb cleaned up) are clever; even with the jank, they get the job done.
Before we get into the unique design of the two systems, and devise solutions for their problems, let’s look at how multiclassing has been handled elsewhere and if those examples can be of use.
1. Multiclassing in the Other Editions and Beyond
OD&D has multiclassing just for Elves, and a type of class-switching for not-Elves. Like much of the original game, these are less rules than they are vague directions. I will direct you to Delta’s post on the topic for as much clarity as there is to be had.
Basic D&D doesn’t have multiclassing at all. What need is there for such rules when the races (and some classes, such as the Cleric) are already a type of implied multiclass? Therefore, rules to create such hybrids are superfluous. For its ease and simplicity, the removal of all multiclassing would be my preference. However, I’m building off of AD&D, not Basic; this isn’t an option.
3rd Edition stomps on the gas pedal when it came to their multiclassing rules. Since all classes level at the same rate (and would continue to ever after), the rules allow for an endless variety of mixing and matching. They even went as far as providing ‘Prestige’ classes, which required multiclassing to attain, and which themselves were a type of pre-built multiclass character. 3e’s multiclassing rules are the origin of the ‘level 1 dip’, trap builds, and overpowered PCs. When 5e attempted to skid the bus back onto the road, this is the design it returned to. This type of multiclassing is fun and allows for incredible customization, but implementing it in AD&D would require conversion to a homogeneous leveling system, and I’m not doing that.
4e went a completely different way, which is pretty much how you can describe everything in 4e. Instead of mashing classes, the system provided multiclass feats, which you could use to get some of the other class’s loadout. It’s a brilliant design, allowing a character to get the core stuff that you’d want from multiclassing, without dealing with the messy process of stitching two classes together. It’s also very boring, prompting the creation of Hybrid classes in Player’s Handbook 3, which cut the classes in half and let you stitch them together.
Across the OSR/NSR/Whatever, there’s some adaptation and innovation. Worlds Without Number moves multiclassing to its own ‘Adventurer’ class, which lets you mash together partial versions of the three core classes, similar to 4e’s Hybrid approach. Hyperborea offers a glut of subclasses for each class, which emulate the feel of multiclass design without making you do all the work yourself. The Goblin Laws of Gaming (GLOG) builds classes on a template framework, wherein you load class abilities from levels 1 to 4 onto a common ‘Base Adventurer’, making multiclassing a matter of simply picking and choosing from any class template. These are all terribly clever ways of handling multiclassing, but none fit the form or style of 2e.
Apart from these, the vast majority of D&D’s modern progeny are either classless, or they follow in the footsteps of their preferred B/X progenitor and don’t offer multiclassing at all. When they do implement it, they tend to use some form of AD&D’s split-cost Multi-Class rules, so let’s look at those.
2. Multi-Class
Allowed only for demihumans, this version of multiclassing has the player choose from a list of restricted class combinations during character creation. Almost all are two classes, except for the Elf, who gets to be a fighter/mage/thief. There is no option to switch to a Multi-Class later: you are what you are. Earned XP is split evenly between the classes. This half-XP gain per class means that Multi-Class characters lag behind in each class, but generally only by a level or two prior to domain play.
HP is gained from each class upon leveling that class, but the result of the Hit Die is divided by the number of classes, rounded down. This rounding is effectively a series of small cuts to the character’s HP gain, which can potentially result in a lower HP total compared to that earned by a single-class character.
In exchange for this delayed leveling and truncated HP, the character gets the best of each class’s saves and attack values, and gets all features from each class (except for Weapon Specialization, which is unavailable in this system). Multi-Classed characters are both a mix of two classes and two independent classes, as opposed to being one class with a smattering of another class’s abilities. As a result, they are both flexible and competent.
2.1. Demihuman Level Limits
2e retained demihuman level limits, though it relaxed them significantly from 1e. Multi-Classed characters served as a way of dodging the inevitable end-point. As noted earlier, I have no interest in importing demihuman level limits. They’re a delayed punishment for making a choice offered by the game, they have a flimsy world-building excuse for existing, and their mechanical use (steering players toward humans) doesn’t even work. Removing this restriction doesn’t overpower the demihumans when it comes to the Multi-Class rules; the exponential leveling system ensures that.
2.2. Balance
While this system does provide significant power, it’s tempered in a number of ways. As noted before, Multi-Classed characters suffer from lower HP and they lag behind by a level or two. Beyond this, they’re also limited by what is possible within a round; the fighter/mage can attack and cast spells, but they can’t do both at the same time. There are no bonus actions, reactions, or other such backdoors to be abused, so they must choose which class they wish to be at any moment. Finally, the restrictions of each class are still applicable to the Multi-Classed character, meaning that our fighter/mage must choose whether to go into battle in armor and lose their spells, or doff that armor to gain flexibility at the cost of being squishy. This extends to the thief’s skills and the cleric’s prohibition on bladed weapons.
2.3. Applicability to the Hack
I find this system to be somewhat beautiful. Its simplicity is refreshing, providing a simple method of multiclassing without the fuss of constructing a chimera. You pick a two-class combination allowed to you, get the best of both, split the XP, and halve earned HP. It’s not surprising that the D&D derivatives have made it the default multiclassing system of choice. For demihumans, I will do the same.
Generally, those games apply this system to human characters as well, but I'm not sold on that approach. AD&D offered a very different multiclass design for human characters which made them both distinct and provided some advantages. Let’s take a look at that.
3. Dual-Class
Allowed only for humans, this version of multiclassing allows the player to choose a new class (from a different group) anytime after 2nd level, but only if they have a score of 15 for the prior class’s prime requisites and a score of 17 for the new class’s prime requisites. Once the new class is selected, the old class becomes set in stone; it can no longer earn XP nor increase in level. The character starts their new class at 1st level, gaining all the features (except for Exceptional Strength), saves, and attack values of that class. They retain their previous HP, but stop earning new HP until the new class reaches a level above the prior class.
The character doesn’t lose access to the old class, but using any of its scores or features results in a devastating XP penalty: no XP for the encounter, and only half XP for the adventure. Virtually, the player is holding two character sheets, one which they’re actively leveling, and another which they can pull out in a pinch if they’re willing to suffer the consequences.
Once the new class levels ahead of the old one, the XP penalties are dropped; the character can again utilize their old features in addition to their new ones without getting kicked in the teeth. Like a Multi-Class character, the Dual-Class character gains the best THAC0 and Saving Throws from each of the classes.
Finally, the Dual-Class character can obtain up to four classes, one from each group. Unlike with Multi-Class, these classes aren’t chosen from a list of class combinations; they can choose any of the classes within the groups. Technically, they can also add Psionicist for a total of five classes, but I’m not touching the psionics rules until I absolutely have to.
As one can see, Dual-Class has a few advantages over the demihumans’ Multi-Class. Humans can Dual-Class when they want to, can access everything, and can add more classes. They get access to the Fighter’s Specialization feature, they gain HP without halving everything, and due to AD&D’s exponential XP track, they level in the new class quite quickly after choosing it.
However, there are a few problems.
3.1. Dual-Class Problems
Order matters significantly when choosing to Dual-Class. If you don’t choose Fighter at chargen, you lose out on the possibility of Exceptional Strength, but you also lose out on their better Hit Die. This extends to any combination of classes: choosing the lower Hit Die class first is always a fool’s choice, as you’ll gain worse HP in your initial levels, before finally gaining access to better HP after struggling without any new HP for however many levels. This issue only compounds if you perform this switch late in the character’s career. If you want to be a competent Wizard before switching over to Fighter for the remainder of your character’s life, you’ll pay for it dearly.
Once the old class is locked out, there’s no going back. This is mechanically fine, but narratively bizarre. If you’re a Fighter, and you decide to try your hand at being a Rogue, you wouldn’t lose the ability to get better as a Fighter, especially when you eventually have access to that class’s entire feature set. You’re not changing careers; you’re adding skillsets, abilities, and behaviors. There’s no reason that you wouldn’t be able to improve them while also improving what you knew before. And what of the Fighter who wanted to try thieving, then realized it wasn’t for them? They’re stuck until they level up enough? Once they have gained access to their old abilities again, why would using them result in improvements for the new class? It defies common sense, regardless of its function as a mechanic.
Those leveling requirements create an inconsistency in cost based solely on when you decide to Dual-Class. If you make the switch to Wizard out of the gate at 2nd-level Rogue, it’ll cost 5000 XP to regain your backstab and thieving skills (as minor as they are). If you do this at 7th level, it’ll cost 90,000 XP. Again, common sense fails here, as this system somehow suggests that being very good in a particular set of skills means that it’ll take you exponentially longer to integrate them with any new set of skills.
The requirement to actually use the new class in order to improve is a solid one, and the ability to ‘fall back’ on the old class works equally well. However, the stick that’s used to enforce this is XP loss, which is downright punishing. Casting hard earned XP into the void is a tough answer to neglecting a class. It is my opinion that if you have earned XP, then you have earned it regardless of how you’ve earned it.
Finally, the ability score requirements are bananas. The standard requirement to be a Cleric is a Wisdom of 9, but somehow because you were a Fighter first, you not only need to be really strong with a 15 in Strength, but you also need to be a scion of sagacity with a 17 in Wisdom. Why wouldn’t you have started as a Cleric with that score? The only reasonable answer is because you metagamed and took a few levels in Fighter to get its features before moving into your real class. The whole thing seems like a way to limit Dual-Classing as much as possible; yet another gate to restrict a fun thing the player might want to do.
3.2. Dual-Class Solutions
Let’s change stuff.
First, and simply, the Ability Score gates for choosing the class should be the same for both character generation and choosing an additional class.
To resolve inconsistency in leveling costs based on when one chooses to start a new class, I’ll minimize the amount of time needed to restrict oneself solely to a new class. 3rd level seems about right, which is long enough to experience the sting of this ‘training’ period, but not so long that it becomes onerous to play. As before, you only accrue XP in the class if you use it exclusively, meaning that you abide by its attack values and saves, and cease using any features of the prior class. An exception can be made for features that would be silly to ‘lose’, such as Exceptional Strength, Thieves’ Cant, and granted Skills.
Once the character completes training, you should still be able to level the old class, and you should be able to do so without requiring investment into the new class. The easiest solution is to just treat it like multiclassing as per demihumans, but with the ability to allocate earned XP wherever you like instead of splitting it. The only XP that should be required to go to a specific class are the class-based XP awards, which can be handled by the DM.
Because it’s now emulating the Multi-Class design, let’s just call the whole thing ‘Multiclassing’, and explain the differences for demihumans in the Demihuman Chapter.
Since the prior class is now eligible for XP gain, the ‘lost’ XP for using your old class during training has somewhere to go. Since the cost of training is much reduced, use of old abilities or scores results in no XP for the training class in that encounter and for the entire adventure. However, instead of being burnt, that XP is now given to the prior class. It’s a harsher penalty, but it only harms the new class.
Instead of splitting HP for each level earned, let’s give the human the advantage: HP is gained when leveling the highest leveled class. This will work just fine for the Fighter who keeps that class well fed, but we need a solution for when the level-7 Wizard or Rogue decides to go all in on Fighter; they should not suffer a penalty because they started as a weaker class. My proposal is to allow a reroll of all HP once the new class levels higher than the old one (including any bonuses from Constitution), with the option to take the larger value of the two. This gives a nod to the old system, and makes sure that players aren’t punished for choosing the wrong class at chargen. A level-6 Rogue who later adds 8 levels of Cleric has the same chances on HP gain as a level-8 Cleric who adds 6 levels of Rogue. To prevent gaming the system by constantly leveling back and forth until the dice give up the good numbers, this can only be done once.
Exceptional Strength should be granted to multiclass characters following the end of Fighter training. Again, there should be no punishment for taking the wrong class first. Anyway, the Wizard beefing up after finishing their high-intensity Fighter training is a great mental image.
This system has an exploit, which is that players can choose a new class to gain its benefits, then just ignore its training requirements to only level the prior class, essentially creating an instant multiclass character through their free, unrestricted level 1 feature packet. There are two possible solutions to this: require training or expenditure of treasure to choose the new class, or put a timer on the training period lest the player lose access to train in the class ever again. I think both are good solutions, and should be provided, but the latter has actual mechanical implications which doesn’t depend on DM adjudication or worldbuilding. For the timer, I’ll use one’s ability to improve in the old class: if you increase the level of any other class aside from the training class more than once, you lose access to all of the new class’s features and cannot attempt to train in that class again. If you pick it, you better learn it.
Finally, I’ll keep the ability to gain levels in each class group (or in the hack, each class) by allowing you to do all of this again, as long as every other class is 3rd level. In addition, we’ll call out kits as eligible for multiclassing, though there should be some restriction for the Paladin (based on theme) and the Bard (based on this kit already being a type of multiclass).
3.3. Assessment
The system detailed above creates some interesting options for human characters. Let’s look at some examples using the same Fighter/Rogue multiclass comparison that was used previously. In all the listed examples below, we’ll start as Fighter and then multiclass into Rogue.
For reference, here’s the leveling rate for Fighters, Rogues, and Demihuman Fighter/Rouges (which as noted for the hack, remains unchanged):
Example 1: First, let’s choose the new class as soon as we hit 3rd level. Once the training is over, we’ll invest into the Rogue class for a while, providing it with four-fifths of all earned XP. Once we hit 6th level with the Rogue, we’ll flip the XP allocation to make Fighter dominant for the rest of play.
This Fighter/Rogue is similar to the demihuman version at early levels, with an obvious bump for Rogue. However, once we switch gears, Fighter jumps ahead and gains its 9th level much earlier. This character gets the benefits of Rogue and Fighter levels sooner, but at the expense of long term gain for the Rogue.
Example 2: Next, let’s make the same decision, but at a later level and with more extreme XP allocation. We’ll switch to Rogue at the Fighter’s 7th level, and then focus on it exclusively until hitting Rogue level 6. We’ll dump everything we’ve got except that which would be earned incidentally via class-based XP awards; in this example, about 90% toward the class. As before, we switch those numbers at 6th level, and allow the Fighter to lift off again.
Here, Fighter stays dominant throughout. Rogue levels quickly as in classic Dual-Classing, but once it’s ‘abandoned’, it only levels once. Meanwhile, Fighter levels nearly as well as the single-class version, though with a clear delay.
Example 3: Now, let’s go for Rogue right away like in the first example, but immediately drop the class, drip feeding it 10% of earned XP.
At the 500k XP mark, we end up at the same place as Example 2, but are significantly delayed in reaching it. As recompense, the character has had access to Rogue features since Fighter level 3.
Example 4: Finally, we’ll do the same thing as Example 3, but will drop Fighter instead of Rogue.
Now we see significant improvement in the Rogue, reaching equivalent single-class levels with only a minor delay. The Fighter class continues to improve throughout this, reaching a respectable 6th level by the 500k mark (and 7th with 100k of additional XP).
This system certainly has a big advantage over demihuman multiclassing, allowing humans to build their multiclass the way they see fit. They still lag behind single-class characters, though the multiclass character is compensated with far more features. As is appropriate for human characters, they are versatile and adaptable in a way that demihumans are not.
4. Hacked Multiclass
Multiclassing
Multiclassing allows a character to simultaneously obtain levels in multiple classes, combining their features and abilities.
Choosing a New Class: Anytime after 3rd level, select a new class (or a kit of that class). This cannot be of the same class as the character’s current class. The character must meet all Ability Score requirements. The character immediately becomes 1st level in that class, in addition to their current class. A new class can be selected again when all prior classes are at least 3rd level, up to a maximum of four classes.
Training: After selecting a new class, characters must invest time and effort into learning it. Until the new class reaches 3rd level, only gain XP in the new class if the ATTAC, Saving Throw scores, and features of the new class are used exclusively. If any part of a prior class is used during an encounter, all earned XP for that encounter and for the adventure is given to the prior class. If a prior class increases in level twice during training, or two prior classes each increase once, the new class is lost to the character forever; they do not have the aptitude for it.
Exceptions: While training, some features or benefits of the prior class can be used without penalty. These include: Exceptional Strength, Thieves’ Cant, any granted Ability Skills, and any increases made to Universal Skills. In addition, any restrictions listed in a class or kit description must still be observed, such as restrictions on weapons, alignment, or Followers.
Alternate Training: At the GM’s discretion, training may require the use of treasure and time, rather than the process detailed above. The character may need to find a skilled teacher, join an organization, go on a quest, or perform other tasks independently from the adventuring group.
Combining Classes: Once training is complete, the character uses the best values for ATTAC and Saving Throw scores from their classes, and may use all features. Characters must abide all restrictions listed in those features when using them. Earned XP is divided between the classes as determined by the player, though the GM may direct some XP to a specific class.
Hit Points: HP is gained when leveling the class with the highest level. If a new class becomes the highest level, use that class’s Hit Die to gain HP. After this, the player may choose to roll the new class’s Hit Dice for each level which that class has obtained (adding any Constitution bonus for each level), and keep the higher of the current HP or the new result. This may only be done once.Restrictions: When choosing Fighter as a new class, roll for Exceptional Strength, if eligible, only once training is complete. Paladins may only choose Cleric or one of its kits when multiclassing, the alignment of which must be Lawful Good. Bards may not multiclass, nor may the kit be chosen as a new class.
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Demihuman Multiclassing
Demihumans are adept at being multiple classes, though they do so differently from humans.
Choosing Classes: All classes must be chosen during character creation. Classes cannot be selected later. Each class starts at 1st level and does not require training.
Combining Classes: The character uses the best values for ATTAC and Saving Throw scores from their classes, and may use all features. Earned XP must be divided equally between the classes, though the GM may direct some XP to a specific class.
Hit Points: HP is gained each time any class reaches a new level, using the Hit Die for that class, with the result divided by the number of classes. Any remainders are rounded down.Restrictions: Fighters lose Weapon Specialization. Demihumans can only select from the available multiclass options listed within their description.
5. Conclusion
Is this better? I’m unsure. I may have actually made it more complicated, and possibly broken it.
Still, it accomplishes my design goals. It makes multiclassing available to humans with more versatility and benefits, it rids the system of some of the bizarre aspects that annoy one’s common sense, and it makes multiclassing available without requiring the player to plan everything out from 1st level.
As I’ve noted earlier, I’d prefer to burn this entire thing to the ground. Multiclassing rules beg to be taken advantage of by those seeking to game the system, and my attempt is no different. I’m positive that there is some glaring hole in these rules that I’ve missed, which will require a patch that will only make the whole thing more complicated. Yet, if it needs to be here, and I think for AD&D it does, then this is the closest I can get to it without just importing the old design wholesale. Considering that Dual-Class rules are only behind demihuman level limits on the list of stuff that most people houseruled out of the system, I’m not breaking new ground here.
I’m going to call this done for now, until someone points out where the wheels fall off or I can hear the gears grinding during playtesting. This also, finally, brings my adventure in class design to a close. It’s been a trip!
Now, it’s time to finally get this past year’s material into an alpha version of the rules, and get that both to my table and to you. There’s still a lot more to be done, but everything that hasn’t been hashed out can be pulled from 2e itself during playtesting.
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