Posted May 01, 2022
Dual Class is a tricky affair with 1e D&D. Sure, you can manage to multi-class a human with it in a roundabout way, but the class equipment restrictions usually are in play.
For instance, do you want a dual class Mage-Fighter? Sure, it's neat to have a mage with 90 hitpoints, but you need to take off that armor before you can cast anything. Which leaves you open to an attack that round.
But anyhoo, the point is, I decided to dual class my Thief, Cutty, into a Fighter, at level 9.
My reasoning here was, I could get that nifty backstab perk in combat, which sometimes makes all the difference, and he wouldn't be too squishy and would have a decent enough THAC0. Plus, once I get to 9th level, I can start getting those sweet d10 hitpoints!
Well, the jokes on me on two fronts....
1. A fighter stops getting that d10 roll on his hitpoints at level 10, so it really didn't make my hitpoints much better.
2. The backstab mechanic is really picky....
a. You need to be behind the foe (ie hes getting attacked at least twice from the opposite direction)
b. The thing needs to have a back per se (you can't backstab a gelatinous cube, for instance)
c. The enemy must not have an anti-backstab innate ability (like ettins)
d. You need a one handed weapon readied and nothing in the other hand (ie no shield) even IF you are a dual/multi class.
e. You have to wear either no armor, leather armor, or studded leather. Or Elfin Chain Mail.
If any of these aren't passed, you just attack from behind, no backstab.
Now (e) is the thing I'm posting about today. In Curse of the Azure Bonds. There's an Elfin Chainmail in the game, and you get it early. Nifty, but it's not magical, and the Bracers are better. I figured that the Bracers are superior not just because of the AC improvement, but they are even lighter.
Well attack after attack happened with no backstab, and I tried unequipping the bracers. Bingo. That cultist gets a back full of iron.
This make no sense to me. As a vet of every single D&D ruleset there has been, I understand why the strict rules are in place for a backstab: it's a strategic thing that must be carefully planned, and you need to have the thief completely mobile and unencumbered by gear to do it properly. But this is crazy: a bracer is just armor for your forearms. If shouldn't count as awkward and heavy as chainmail or better.
For instance, do you want a dual class Mage-Fighter? Sure, it's neat to have a mage with 90 hitpoints, but you need to take off that armor before you can cast anything. Which leaves you open to an attack that round.
But anyhoo, the point is, I decided to dual class my Thief, Cutty, into a Fighter, at level 9.
My reasoning here was, I could get that nifty backstab perk in combat, which sometimes makes all the difference, and he wouldn't be too squishy and would have a decent enough THAC0. Plus, once I get to 9th level, I can start getting those sweet d10 hitpoints!
Well, the jokes on me on two fronts....
1. A fighter stops getting that d10 roll on his hitpoints at level 10, so it really didn't make my hitpoints much better.
2. The backstab mechanic is really picky....
a. You need to be behind the foe (ie hes getting attacked at least twice from the opposite direction)
b. The thing needs to have a back per se (you can't backstab a gelatinous cube, for instance)
c. The enemy must not have an anti-backstab innate ability (like ettins)
d. You need a one handed weapon readied and nothing in the other hand (ie no shield) even IF you are a dual/multi class.
e. You have to wear either no armor, leather armor, or studded leather. Or Elfin Chain Mail.
If any of these aren't passed, you just attack from behind, no backstab.
Now (e) is the thing I'm posting about today. In Curse of the Azure Bonds. There's an Elfin Chainmail in the game, and you get it early. Nifty, but it's not magical, and the Bracers are better. I figured that the Bracers are superior not just because of the AC improvement, but they are even lighter.
Well attack after attack happened with no backstab, and I tried unequipping the bracers. Bingo. That cultist gets a back full of iron.
This make no sense to me. As a vet of every single D&D ruleset there has been, I understand why the strict rules are in place for a backstab: it's a strategic thing that must be carefully planned, and you need to have the thief completely mobile and unencumbered by gear to do it properly. But this is crazy: a bracer is just armor for your forearms. If shouldn't count as awkward and heavy as chainmail or better.
