The problem with Fighter/Wizard in 3.5 is that you'd need a decent amount of levels in Wizard to get the spells that are significantly helpful (Cantrips are nice, yes, but I'm looking at pure damage output), and taking those levels in Fighter is generally a better choice, due to the rediculous number of feats and the high BAB.

*Doesn't have his PHB handy* Isn't Enlarge Person not available till 3rd level Wizard? That's the first spell I can think of that a Fighter would want, anyway. And really, the BAB and feats are more important to me >.>

Wizard/Fighter is a good way to qualify for Spellsword.

It would appear that it doesn't.

I'm going to have to check that after...I'm pretty sure you're right, and if that is the case, then a Wizard who takes a heavy armor proficiency is going to dominate the Weekly Battlegrounds.:shifty:

It effects it in exactly the same way it effects the use of any abilities one would use. That is it has a check penalty which is applied to the checks you make when using an ability. Seeing as how magic and melee have been balanced well it all works out in the end. Plus I do believe the classes that are meant to wear heavier armor get abilities to lessen the penalties from it. That and they don't have to waste feats getting proficiencies. A mage for example would need first leather, then hide, then chainmail, then scale proficiencies before being able to take plate.

People are pulling up the ridiculous things that could happen under old multiclassing but again I say that should be the DMs mandate. We've had situations where it made sense to multiclass, far more sense than keeping levels in the old class. I'll just houserule anyway but it seems like options are being reduced.

So the ranger has been confirmed as TWF king now? He was sort of like that in old edition but I was hoping they would completely redesign the ranger and focus far more on his nature abilities. I don't see why the fighter can't learn to fight with Two Weapons. It would seem one can only fight with two weapons if you go and live in the bush which doesn't make any sense to me.

So wait first you complain that the Ranger was too scattered and now you want to dilute the fighter's slightly unfocused abilities with two weapon fighting? The fighter is good as is and it doesn't really make sense for a heavily armored tank to dual wield. He should either be using one very strong very heavy weapon to squash stuff or a lighter one-handed weapon and a shield for extra tanking.

Also, the Ranger living in the bush stuff has been really toned down to basically nothing. He seems a lot more like someone that just wanders around a lot, both in the wild and in urban areas, and learns the ins and outs of fighting on the run in a flurry of steel or with several arrows. He's got a little bit of hunting skill but its not really his purpose. His purpose is using his superior mobility to bring death to his enemies in a series of hit and runs. Two weapon fighting, and its propensity for being quick and used by very agile people, fits a lot better with the ranger then with the fighter.

It's not that a fighter can't take TWF, either. He still gets a bonus to his attack, if I understand correctly. It's just that he doesn't get multiple attacks. I would say for all intents and purposes, the Ranger is better termed Hunter at this point (ouchWoW...), because rather than focusing on skills in the bush or a given environment, he's able to now kill things very efficiently.

It's my bad on the plated wizard, I didn't fully read the requirements for armor proficiencies. Good to see armor does something, though...

BHS, out of random curiosity, have you read the 4E PHB? I ask because if you haven't, then some of the misconceptions/disagreements that are occurring make far more sense.

I've started writing an adventure for 4E now; just trying to work around some mechanics and stuff, so this is really more of a preheat before I start cooking anything. And I made my Warforged Deathknight/Paladin; mayhaps I'll post a build later.

Warforged's a race in the PHB?

What are the races and classes?

No, Warforged is a race in the MM. At the end of MM, it gives you a listing of most of the races that can be played as PC's, and the stats and information you need to do it (a lot more convenient than 3.5 edition. :p). Races and Classes are:

Dragonborn
Dwarf
Eladrin
Elf
Half-Elf
Human
Halfing
Tiefling

Cleric
Fighter
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Warlord
Warlock
Wizard

I've read the bits that are scattered around the internet but we haven't got any copies here yet.
And the point with me wanting ranger focus was that I wanted him to be made into something wasn't just a fighter who can follow trails.
The fighter in 3.5 ed wasn't the heavily armoured tank but he could be. That role was mostly the cleric. He was unique in that he could adapt with every weapon proficiences and enough feats to go down many fighting trees. The fighter is summarised by fighting not any kind of real fighting.
I just don't see the point of the ranger class now. It could have just been a fighter with a few modifications. And I don't see why the fighter shouldn't be able to get the same benefits from Two-Weapon fighting as a ranger. Couldn't he just learn this style?
In 3.5 ed the only useful thing about the ranger was his TWF or bowness, which was part of the problem with the ranger in that he was just a poor fighter clone who could be outclassed by the fighter at what he does. The two ways to resolve this were to completely redesign the ranger or to make its TWF heaps better and I felt they went the wrong route. A ranger class shouldn't be defined by a fighting style. What does that have to do with being a ranger? Surely that should be about hunting and tracking and stuff, not using two weapons. I think WoTC have got Aragorn too stuck in thier mind.
Really, I would be happy if they just changed the name of the class. To like "Guy with two swords who hunts stuff occasionally but not all that well." Cause I don't see what being a ranger has to do with fighting with two weapons, especially as one of the major class features. Sure you could fight with two weapons if you were a ranger but it's hardly a prerequisite.