Qwinn said:
You asked for a plausible rationalization...
I did not, because there can be none. I just illustrated the absurdity of the whole thing with most natural "examples".
...for the single-class mechanic that -I- didn't devise, the game designers did.
ORLY? The game designers made THAC0 retain between class changes, just like acquired hitpoint pool retains.
I gave you two. Now they're not good enough, because they're "retroactive". Bullshit.
Fine. The bad thing about far-fetched retroactive excuses is that they are susceptible to far-fetched retroactive debukes.
for example, since a lot of his skills come from subconscious memories of previous incarnations, it is perfectly plausible that he can't access -all- of his previous incarnations' memories -simultaneously-.
As a mage, a character can hack and slash his dagger through enemies exclusively, casting no spells and generally doing nothing a fighter, or any common street thug with a knife, wouldn't do. Obviously he mustn't get combat xp and advance in mage levels, right?
Besides, yes, it's also entirely plausible that you can't focus as much on the finer points of combat with dozens of spells swimming around in your head.
As a mage, a character may exhaust all of his spells. Or even not memorize any at resting in the first place to keep his head clear for fighting. Obviously he must have his fighting skill unfettered, right?
What you're purporting is that, because all the classes use the same -mechanism- for determining whether you hit someone in combat, therefore they all share the same ability in that mechanism.
Bullshit. What I am purporting is that, once somebody learned an ability in a mechanism shared between everyone, he can't be arbitrarily stripped of said ability. Otherwise strip hitpoints as well, they reflect a fighter's "exclusive" ability to fight not a bit less than THAC0.
The fact that they share the same mechanism is a good reason for why the bug occurred in this mechanic and not other class mechanics, but that's about it.
Unless something is expressly stated as a bug, it's a feature.
Every class trainer explicitly tells you that you cannot maintain that level of focus while concentrating on another class. I'm not making that up as some sort of "retroactive excuse", every class trainer says so explicitly.
While concentrating on another class, you get no further fighter HP and THAC0 increases and refuse to use fighter-exclusive equipment. Yes, you might lose the skills you once honed... over time and when not using them. Instantly and despite still using them all the time = bullshit.
If you want to make it all about "choosing" not to employ your other class's skills that you lose...
Not me. All AD&D justifications of dualclassing. As far as the whole retarded mechanic goes, it actually makes a lot of sense. If you turned to become a mage, and then decided to do something your old fighter way, you do not get better as a mage from that.
...then fine, you're "choosing" not to devote the single-minded focus it takes to be a brilliant fighter in order to focus on your other skills.
"Focus" is another retroactive excuse. In-character babble has no relevance to game mechanics.
Why does a fighter who is using daggers not remember all the spells he knows as a mage?
A fighter dualclassed from mage, if so he wishes, may spend his time memorizing spells and then casting them, if he's not too rusty from having not doing that for a long time. He wouldn't, however, gain any fighter experience from that, or any activity remotely touched by his reverting back to magic-using.
So why doesn't he just automatically gain thief and mage abilities when he equips a dagger?
Because he consciously refused to employ them in order to get better as a pure warrior.
If a mage would actually be forbidden from engaging into melee, or get no combat XP altogether unless using his spells, your arguments would have merit. As of now, every character is happily kicking and stomping shit in melee, and there is no reason whatsoever why would a dual-class intentionally fumble his blows because "that's how a mage is supposed to wrestle".
In your logic, this all comes easy as pie, doesn't require any focus or attention,
Yeah. Particularly for a character who changes classes like diapers.
it's so easy and instinctual that he doesn't lose them even with dozens of spells floating around his head. There isn't one thing he's doing as a fighter that he can't do also as a mage, and remembering all his spells to boot.
He doesn't learn further in fighting skill. He doesn't use equipment a non-fighter wouldn't use. Duh, non-fighters can fight too, too bad.
So why can he have a THACO of 5 wielding a dagger as a 15th level fighter, but have a THACO of 5 wielding a dagger as a 5th level mage -and- cast a bunch of spells too?
Because he learned to fight up to THAC0 of 5, and this skill isn't going anywhere as he keeps fighting with dagger just the same, mage or not.
He also has HP of 140 as a 15th level fighter, and then has HP of 140 as a 5th level mage and casts a bunch of spells too.
Why can the mage remember fighting abilities, but the fighter can't remember mage spells, when they are otherwise "choosing" all the same things that matter?
A fighter can remember mage spells when desperate, but they would in no way compliment his further fighting learning (and actually penalize it for a while). Same for a mage really. Generally speaking, he shouldn't get much or any xp for getting into melee at all. A mage experience comes for spellcasting, end of story. And while novice mage might get some xp for slicing a throat or two, one already skilled in fighting should not. That, not pretending "a mage would miss here and slip and fall there, so I shall try too" and stripping THAC0.
The game, however, rewards a brawly "mage" the same if he never cast a single spell. Go figure. Still makes no sense for "fighting like a mage would" make-believe.
