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Hi,

my character is a paladin lvl 12 and I was thinking to give him 4 lvls of fighter now so he can gain more feats. If I do so, can I multiclass back that paladin 12/fighter 4 character to paladin again so he would eventually be paladin 16/fighter 4?

Thanks
H

Yes, so long as you are lawful good.

Beware of xp penalties though.

If your race has either a fighter or Paladin as its preferred class then there is nothing to worry about.

If its a human or half elf then you have a 20% xp penalty on your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels of fighter.. BUT when you go back to Paladin no penalties (because its your highest class level).

I'm a human. But I don't understand how that 20% penalty to xp works? I dun think that I need 20% more xp to level up then normal?

Ha-Nocri wrote:I'm a human. But I don't understand how that 20% penalty to xp works? I dun think that I need 20% more xp to level up then normal?

I'm not sure if I can state that more clearly.. but I give it *1* more try:

Character level 12 = Paladin 12,
Character level 13 = Fighter 1,
Character level 14 = Fighter 2 - with a 20% xp penalty,
Character level 15 = Fighter 3 - with a 20% xp penalty,
Character level 16 = Fighter 4 - with a 20% xp penalty,
Character level 17 = Paladin 13,
If you continue as a Paladin = NO PENALTY,
If you continue with any prestige class = NO PENALTY.

Scottg wrote:If its a human or half elf then you have a 20% xp penalty on your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels of fighter.. BUT when you go back to Paladin no penalties (because its your highest class level).

That's not how it works. Certainly not in D&D, and probably not in NWN2.

For every class that is more than one level out of step with your most experienced class, you take a 20%XP penalty (unless it is your favoured class). So an elf (favoured class wizard) paladin 12 would take a 20% XP penalty until the fighter levels were raised to 11.

However, Dwarves and Aasimar wouldn't take this penalty as their favoured classes are fighter and paladin respectively. A human or half elf counts their highest class level as their favoured class (so in your case paladin) This means if you took 4 levels of fighter, you would not take a penalty. If you then took a level of cleric, you would take the penalty, as you would have 3 less cleric levels than fighter levels (paladin levels don't count).

You take XP penalties for as long as your levels are spread apart. So a human paladin12/fighter 4/cleric 1 would take a 20% penalty until the cleric levels were raised to 3, and so within 1 of fighter levels. Raising paladin levels would not change this.

Prestige classes never count towards determining XP penalties.

In answer to your question, no you don't need to worry about XP penalties.

Greg. wrote:That's not how it works. Certainly not in D&D, and probably not in NWN2.

As written and out of context - no it isn't how it works.

HOWEVER,
I'm pretty sure that it is correct when placed in the context for Ha-Nocri's example.

Go back and read the 1st post for the context and see if you agree or not.

Scottg wrote:As written and out of context - no it isn't how it works.

HOWEVER,
I'm pretty sure that it is correct when placed in the context for Ha-Nocri's example.

Go back and read the 1st post for the context and see if you agree or not.

I don't have the rulebooks nearby ATM, but this is what my memory tells me (and what I've gathered from several sites, especially The Hypertext d20 SRD (v3.5 d20 System Reference Document) :: d20srd.org)

Actually, even in context of the Ha-Nocri's example, both classes are counted when determining the penalty, dependless which one you level up.

So basically, the table bellow show the penalty progression AFTER you have leveled:

Paladin 12 ---> No Penalty
Paladin 12, Fighter 1 ---> 20% Penalty
Paladin 12, Fighter 2 ---> 20% Penalty
Paladin 12, Fighter 3 ---> 20% Penalty
.
.
.
Paladin 12, Fighter 10 ---> 20% Penalty
Paladin 12, Fighter 11 ---> No Penalty.

So, if after taking 4th level of Fighter you change back to Paladin, you are stuck with the penalty as long as you bring the Fighter to at least one level behind the Paladin.

Of course, the above doesn't aply if you have either Fighter or Paladin as Favoured Class, or you are playing as Human or Half-Elf

Scottg wrote:As written and out of context - no it isn't how it works.

HOWEVER,
I'm pretty sure that it is correct when placed in the context for Ha-Nocri's example.

Go back and read the 1st post for the context and see if you agree or not.

It isn't how it works. The XP penalty affects all XP earned while you have class levels more than 1 level apart, except for favoured classes.

I don't see what "context" you mean.

Greg. wrote:It isn't how it works. The XP penalty affects all XP earned while you have class levels more than 1 level apart, except for favoured classes.

I don't see what "context" you mean.

The context was human Paladin 12 levels to Fighter for the next 4 levels and then back to Paladin.

You are however correct - race human just voids the highest level class, i.e.:

Character level 12 = Paladin 12
Character level 13 = Fighter 1
Character level 14 = Fighter 2 (no penalty)
Character level 15 = Fighter 3 (no penalty)
..and so on,

With two base classes there will NEVER be an xp penalty when using a human or half-elf. (..my bad, and sorry for the confusion.)