Gaining Levels

Choose Your Class

Classes must be chosen before feats are gained. The prerequisites for advanced and prestige classes should be fulfilled in in the process of the previous leveling up.

Adding a Second Class: When a character with one class gains a level, he or she may choose to increase the level of his or her current class or pick up a new class at 1st level. This could be a basic class or, if the character qualifies for it, an advanced class.

The character gains the 1st-level base attack bonus, base save bonuses, class skills, other class features of the new class, hit points of the appropriate die type, and the new class's number of skill points gained at each additional level (not that number x4, as is the case for a 1st-level character).

Picking up a new class is not exactly the same as starting a character in that class. When picking up a new class, a hero doesn't receive maximum hit points but should roll the new Hit Die.

When a multiclass character increases one of his or her class levels by one, the character gets all the standard benefits that characters receive for attaining the new level in that class: more hit points, possible bonuses on attack rolls, Defense, and saving throws (depending on the class and the new level), a new class feature (as defined by the class), and new skill points. 

Apply Bonuses

Apply all the bonuses of the class before continuing with feat selection so you can tell what prerequisites have been fulfilled.

Starting Occupation

The characters starting occupation is only chosen once, at the start of play.

Select Your Feats

All feats must be selected before gameplay can continue. While skills and feats are gained at the same time, many feats have minium skills requirements. it is best to find out what feats you want and then make sure you have enough skill ranks for them, then you can apply the feats bonuses.

A character receives a new feat every three character levels, regardless of individual class level. Taking one level in a new class does not entitle a character to receive the two feats that a beginning 1st-level character gets.

Spend Skill Points

Wealth Bonus

Leveling Up

In addition to attack bonuses and sving throw bonuses, all characters gain other benefits from advancing in level. Table: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits summarizes these additional benefits.

XP

This column shows the experience point total needed to achieve a given character level.

Class Skill Max Ranks

The maximum number of skill ranks the character can have in a class skill is equal to his or her character level +3. A class skill is a skill associated with a particular class. Class skills are listed in each class description.

Cross-Class Skill Max Ranks

For Cross Class skills (skills not associated with the character's class), the maximum number of ranks is one-half the maximum for a class skill. Maxing out a cross-class skill costs twice the same amount of points as buying the maximum rank in a class skill. The "1/2" indicates that half a rank has been purchased, but does not benefit the character.

Feats

This column indicates the levels at which a character gains feats (two at 1st level, one more at 3rd, level, and one more at every third level thereafter).

Ability Increase

This column indicates the levels at which a character increases one ability score by one point. The choses which ability score to improve. The ability increase is permanent.

Keep in mind that these benefits are independent of class level. A character with 1 level in smart hero, 2 levels in fast, and 3 levels in strong is a level 6 character and would have a max class skill rank of 9, have 2 feat after first level, and have an extra point in an ability.