The Multi-Class is Half Full

Let’s dive in and examine D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder a little closer from a design perspective, focusing on character builds - specifically classes and multi-classing. Despite their common origin, they are very different games in the way they handle character design, and it is interesting from a game design perspective to examine. The question we need to answer is: what do you need to do to build a good character?

Let’s stop a moment and examine the core design concept behind D&D 3.5. The game was designed by veteran designers who worked on the Magic: The Gathering game, and that is a huge influence in the character build concept in the game. In Magic, you build your deck out of a variety of collectible cards. Players who do well typically have the best cards and piece them together in a deck full of tricks and power-plays. To do well, you need to understand how the game works, what cards to put in your deck, and what ‘build’ you want your deck to have.

How does this apply to D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder? If you look at character builds like card decks, you see some interesting design concepts in each game.

The Multi-Class is Half Full: In D&D 3.5, multi-classing is the path to success. Players are expected to combine classes, and build their way into ‘prestige classes’ built into the game. Even if you don’t multi-class, you still have a variety of choices to build your character with. Still, the most powerful builds in the game are class combinations. There is an issue with magic-using classes being very powerful compared with martial classes, but in practice, some of the best combos in the game lie in creating a ‘killer build’ out of the classes and powers they give you. Classes tend to be simpler, and you pick and choose as you level up.

The Multi-Class is Half Empty: Pathfinder takes a different tack, and encourages taking a single class all the way to 20th level. Each class is loaded with special abilities gained as you progress levels, and it pays to stick with something. There are prestige classes in the game, but they are more for world-flavor than character building. Due to the game’s 3.5 heritage, there are some good class combinations, but the intent of the design is to create ‘rich classes’ with lots of choice within a single class.

This is an interesting difference, and one to keep in mind when playing either game. Where D&D 3.5 character design tends to be more like do-it-yourself legos, Pathfinder tends to be more like preset action figures. To do well in D&D 3.5, you have to know the rules and how character builds interact with them; in Pathfinder, a lot of that is done for you, and the focus shifts more towards the world and story.

Where does SBRPG sit? In this analogy, we are more like an action-figure construction set. You can build anything you can dream of, but once set, you focus on improving your powers and abilities within that framework. Like Pathfinder, there is less of a focus on builds as you level up, and more on the story and world.