Multi-Class / Dual Class backstory?

AKrugBier

Hello there,
just wanted to know what exactly the reasons are (were) why humans can only dual class and why non-humans only have the ability to multi class?

Is there a special backstory for that (history of the Realms) or is it just to make humans a little more distinct from the other classes?

Lord_Tansheron

I might be wrong, but from what I remember in PnP the restrictions are not like they are in BG. I would assume that in BG it was done this way because of the racial bonuses, with humans getting none unless you consider dual-class the bonus. Since they can already dual, allowing them to multi would be confusing, which is why they can't do it.

But I know very little about PnP so it's entirely possible there is a *ahem* legitimate story reason behind it...

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DJKajuru

As for humans dual classing, I understand that changing professions in a very short time required a tremendous talent and dedication, that's why the required attributes are high and you can't use the first class' abilities until you've reached a certain level in the second one.

tbone1

This has brought back some dim, long-ago memories, but IIRC it started with the original bard class. To become a bard, a human had to get something like 5-7 levels as a fighter, the switch to thief and get about 6-9 levels in that, THEN become a first level bard. Once he built this, he started thinking about dual classing. I think there was an article in an old Dragon magazine in the '80s where Gary Gygax talked about this, the issue number would have been in the 40s or 50s, maybe, if any collector has them.

And all this assumes my memory is good, which is not a given.

former_customer

tbone1 said:

This has brought back some dim, long-ago memories, but IIRC it started with the original bard class. To become a bard, a human had to get something like 5-7 levels as a fighter, the switch to thief and get about 6-9 levels in that, THEN become a first level bard. Once he built this, he started thinking about dual classing. I think there was an article in an old Dragon magazine in the '80s where Gary Gygax talked about this, the issue number would have been in the 40s or 50s, maybe, if any collector has them.

And all this assumes my memory is good, which is not a given.

I gave away my old books, but this all sounds right. Bards were the original abusive prestige class.

Aerakar

In old AD&D PnP when bards started to study as bards, they were considered to be under the tutelage of a druid and later learned to cast druidic spells, so they used divine/nature magic instead of arcane magic as in later edition bards.

The levels above in fighter and thief are correct as far as I recall.

JumboWheat01

This is why I'm so glad that Bards became a class unto their own. Just lemme play what I want, not juggle half-a-million flaming hoops to do so.

Zerguu

I think that the reason why demihumans muticalss is that in PnP demihumans have limits how far they can go as single class while humans don't.

PaulGreystoke

Actually the 1E Bard did not obey the dual-classing rules. A dual class character had to be Human & have at least a score of 15 in the prime requisite(s) of the 1st class & at least a 17 in the prime requisites of the 2nd class. A 1E Bard could be Human or Half-Elven (& of a Neutral-ish alignment) & only needed 15+ scores in STR, DEX, WIS, & CHA IIRC. A 1E Bard had to start as a Fighter, then dual to a Thief, then enter under Druidic tutelage (entering a "College"!) to become a Bard. So theoretically a Fighter that couldn't qualify for 1E dual-classing to Thief (by not having a 17 DEX, or by being a Half-Elf) could still dual to Thief by claiming to be on his way to Bardhood, assuming he had the requisite 15+ scores in STR, DEX, WIS, & CHA (& an alignment of TN, NG, LN, CH, or NE).

To answer the OP's original question, the reason is Game Balance. The demi-human races were given multi-classing as a benefit & Humans were restricted from multi-classing to differentiate them from the demi-humans. To balance out this benefit for the demi-humans, there were restrictions on which classes (& multi-classes) the various races could choose, & strict level limits on their progression in most classes - while Humans were unlimited in class selection & progression. One might note that, although the strict limits on multi-class progression were in the books, they were not widely observed in most campaigns, so Humans were comparatively a weaker choice than Gygax might have intended.

Dual-classing arose out of desire to address the many (Human) characters out of heroic fantasy who combined the skills of more than one class. For example, Conan, who was born a Barbarian, spent most of his childhood as a Thief, & then spent most of his adult life as a Fighter. The Grey Mouser was a Thief, who began to learn to be a Magic-User after tutelage by a hedge mage. So Humans were granted the ability to dual-class, but the option was restricted to characters with high ability scores, & could only be done once in a career.