[Aerich]

Erm... which second option? The caster-heavy party variation? Or are you referring to a particular character?

In IWD2, it's all multiclassing. And throw out everything you learned about multiclassing from IWD/HoW.

In IWD2, you choose what class you will add at every level-up. It's very flexible that way. For example, you can have a lvl 5 character with all levels in one class, or a lvl 5 character with a class breakdown of 2/1/1/1. There's no xp splitting as in IWD1 multiclassing. All your earned xp goes to the next level, whatever class that may be.

This is nice, but don't get carried away. Particularly with casting classes, it's generally better to have the majority of levels in one class. A lvl 12 cleric generally has more powerful spells than a Cleric6/Wizard6, and they will have the same amount of experience. Also, be aware that a 6-character party will get around 16 levels each by the end of the game. You will see a lot of builds that anticipate getting 30 levels (the level cap), but it's impossible to get there without doing HoF.

Two things you need to know about multiclassing:

1) Certain character classes (monk, paladin) cannot take more levels in that class if they've multiclassed to another class - they cannot "break their training". For example, if you wanted a sorceror with two paladin levels (a common character build), you have to take the paladin levels consecutively. Your level-ups can be Pal2-SorcX, Sorc28-Pal2, or anything in between, like Sorc6-Pal2-SorcX.

There is an exception to this rule. Every paladin and monk order has a single class to which this rule does not apply. So, for example, a Paladin of Ilmater (favoured class: cleric of Ilmater) could take one or more paladin levels, then one or more cleric levels only as a cleric of Ilmater, then more paladin levels. Therefore, you can see how important it is to plan your characters for more than just stats.

2) Multiclassing can cost you experience points if not planned properly. The general rule is that a character cannot have more than a single level difference between its classes, or it will be subjected to a 20% XP penalty per number of different classes. It's difficult to describe in words, so I'll use another example. A 7th lvl character with a level progression of Ftr2-Barb2-Ftr3-Barb4 will not take an experience penalty. A 7th lvl character with a level progression of Ftr2-Barb5 will have an xp penalty for the 4th and 5th barbarian levels. A 9th lvl character with a lvl progression of Ftr1-Barb3-Wiz5 will have a 40% penalty on earned xp toward its next level, because it has two classes that are more than one level different from a third class.

There is a race-based exception to the general multiclassing rule. Every race has a "favoured class". Levels taken in a race's favoured class do not exist for the purposes of calculating an experience penalty. So a half-orc (favoured class: barbarian) Ftr4/BarbX is a lvl 4 fighter for the purposes of calculating an xp penalty - meaning the character does not have a penalty. Compare it to an aasimar Ftr4/BarbX, which would suffer an xp penalty if the fighter and barbarian levels were not within one level of each other at all times.

Humans and half-elves are supposed to be the most flexible of races, so their favoured class is the highest level class they have. So you can create human or half-elf multiclassed characters without an xp penalty where any other character would be assessed a penalty. Drow have two possible favoured classes, depending on the gender of the character (male: wizard; female: cleric). Both are spellcasting classes, which, combined with a drow's other advantages, make them a very popular race.

What does this all mean? In short, if you are multiclassing, try to make sure that your character's race's favoured class corresponds to its major class (if you intend not to split levels almost evenly). There's really two ways to multiclass - one is to split levels almost equally, often used for a ranger/rogue type of character. Another is to have the majority of levels in one class (often a casting class) and "mix-in" one or more other classes for class-based benefits - such as a fighter's weapon specialization, a rogue's skills and evasion, or a paladin's saving throw bonuses.

[ 05-16-2007, 01:44 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]