Cleric/thief racial restrictions - why?
Cactus
Member Posts: 152
How come that even though all races can be a cleric or a theif, they cannot become multiclass cleric/thief? Is it due to D&D rules or is there any reason?
Halfling seems just perfect for the class (thank you EE keeper!): No wisdom penalty, bonus to sling (only useable ranged weapon) and 19 DEX + bonus thieving skills + best Shorty Saves... It seems there is no roleplaying reason why a halfling is restricted from this multiclass? Only downside is a max 17 STR, but with DUHM it is no real downside...
Halfling seems just perfect for the class (thank you EE keeper!): No wisdom penalty, bonus to sling (only useable ranged weapon) and 19 DEX + bonus thieving skills + best Shorty Saves... It seems there is no roleplaying reason why a halfling is restricted from this multiclass? Only downside is a max 17 STR, but with DUHM it is no real downside...
1
Comments
I think it is primarily down to balancing the races. There are role play elements of it as well. DnD Halflings have about the same lifespan as a human, however they lack the drive and ambition humans have: which removes dual-classing. Halfling's do not have the lifespan of elves or even half-elves and thus are unable to pursue a career as time consuming as a multi-class cleric/thief.
A cleric as it is, would be complete devotion to a god. Many clerics would not have the time to learn the complex art of thievery - even halfling's for which thievery would seem to be a natural talent. Due to their short life spans they would pick one or the other or a multi-class combination that would not take up most of their time - such as the fighter/thief. Elves and half-elves on the other hand live a lot longer (having more time to pursue lengthy multi-class careers) and half-elves have the drive of humans and thus evidently, the least restrictions.
It get's confusing sure - I don't actually know if they ever bothered explaining the multi-class restrictions beyond what I told you above (which is a conclusion I came through over a few years of pondering the same question), but for me it makes the most sense.
Obviously in 3rd edition and beyond, this changed. The choosing of clerical domains for those of the 'godly' persuasion would have built around the idea of a Halfling cleric really well. Thievery domains etc.
Similarly, dwarves can't become cleric/thieves. They are worse off than halflings though. Aetharnors, one of the specialty priests of Abbathor, are not allowed to multiclass at all. Although the specialty kit itself possesses limited thief abilities, which makes them somewhat gimped cleric/thief/illusionists.
@Kamigoroshi Thank you, I might give the Kitpack a try later (I am not so great with computers, installing it will take me forever). How does Misadventure/theives differ from "normal" cleric/thieves??
* Misadventurers must be halflings. Most misadventurers are hairfeet, but they can be of any halfling subrace.
* Misadventurers are allowed to multiclass as misadventurer/thieves.
* Misadventurers may select nonweapon proficiencies from the rogue group without penalty.
* Misadventurers understand and use thieves' cant.
* Single-class misadventurers have limited thieving skills as defined in the Limited Thieving Skills section of "Appendix 1: Demihuman Priests." Multiclassed misadventurer/thieves receive no extra thieving skill points or bonuses for their misadventurer class; their thieving skills are based solely off their thief class.
Misadventurers can cast feather fall or spider climb (as the 1st-level wizard spells) once per day.
* At 3rd level, misadventurers can cast find traps or silence ,15' radius (as 1 the 2nd level priest spells) once per day.
* At 3rd level, misadventurers can create an illusionary calling card once a day. This calling card is the illusion of a simple item, whether it be a white glove, silk scarf, or rose. Upon its creation, the item must be immediately placed in a fixed location or it fades away into nothingness. Once placed, the illusionary item does not move or disappear until touched by a sentient being (animal intelligence or greater) other than the caster. Once touched, a calling card instantly melts away into nothingness. Much like a wizard's sigil, the calling card of a priest of Brandobaris is unique to that individual within the faith. Each acolyte of the Master of Stealth must choose an illusionary item to be created by this spell the first time calling card is cast. Once chosen, the type of object created can never be changed. Calling cards are typically left behind at the scene of the crime to take oblique credit for the theft. For every three levels above 3rd, a misadventurer can create an additional calling card per day.
* At 5th level, misadventurers can cast invisibility or knock (as the 2nd-level wizard spells) once per day. They gain the potential to do this once more per day at 15th level.
* At 7th level, misadventurers can cast deeppockets (as the 2nd-level wizard spell) once per day.
* At 10th level, misadventurers can cast fumble (as the 4thlevel wizard spell) or undetectable lie (as the reverse of the 4thlevel priest spell detect lie) once per day.
* At 13th level, misadventurers can cast legend lore (as the 6th-level wizard spell) once per tenday.
Keep in mind that I personally haven't played with the kitpack I mentioned yet. it may handle a few things differently from what I mentioned above.
Then there are gnomes who currently can't be fighter/illusionist/thieves and fighter/illusionist/clerics. Elves can't be fighter/cleric/mages, cleric/mages, cleric/thieves, and cleric/rangers. Dwarves and half-elves aren't able to be cleric/thieves.
Once you go down that road you should at least go for some consistency.
These restrictions make zero sense since there is no restrictions to pick these classes as a single class.
Personally I almost always pick human and then use Shadow/EE Keeper to change the character to whatever class combo I want to play and dont care if there is a better race for that.
In the original D&D, non-human races were essentially classes: all dwarves were fighters, elves were essentially fighter/magic-users, and halfings were fighter/thieves.
In AD&D (1st Ed.), things opened up a little, but still only half-elf and half-orc PCs could be clerics (clerics of other non-human races were strictly NPCs).
So, look at 2nd edition as an further loosening of the racial restrictions originally imposed.
And I think a natural 20 was achieved on Elf Druid, because elves totally do not have anything to do with nature.
Open up your character.
Select the Characteristics tab.
Change Class to desired combo.
Apply kit if you want one.
Save.
Start character and don't forget to level up.
To get the correct number of proficiencies and thief skills (and hit points), the worry is more about making sure you remove the ones the character starts with so you don't double dip.
The much more complicated fix is if you don't go to level zero and you miss out on the inherent class bonuses like the Kensai bonus to AC or the Assassin's ability to poison. Skill points and proficiencies are simple to correct with EEKeeper.
(As an aside, proficiencies worked perfectly in those two cases).