How to apply the new multiclassing rules (unchained)

Question

I want to play a battle herald and going through Realsorceror’s Guide to the Battle Herald there is the following advice:

Cavalier (Variant) (6 levels)

If you are using the multiclassing variant from Pathfinder Unchained, you could choose Cavalier as your secondary class without ever needing to leave Bard or Cleric (evangelist). In my opinion this is a superior option to the reverse as you’ll have more spellcasting, more skill points, and qualify a level earlier.

I just do not understand that. I read through the multiclassing but could not find anything that let me take a secandary class without leaving my original. Could anyone help me understanding what the author means and how that works?

Answer 1

The variant multiclassing rules mentioned in the guide are the ones presented in the Pathfinder Unchained rulebook, that are different for the ones in the core rulebook.

When creating your character, you choose your class as normal, and also a secondary class. As you gain levels, you gain certain features from your secondary class. These secondary class features are often tuned down versions of the originals (in the same way the animal companion of a ranger is a tuned down version of the one the druids get), are obtained later than normal, or both. In exchange for these extra features, you lose the feats you would normally gain from leveling at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th levels.

This variant multiclassing allows you to progress in your primary class as normal without having to sacrifice features (like caster levels, extra uses of features, etc) by taking levels in your secondary class, while still obtaining the class features from that secondary class. Using your quote as a example, you can take 5 levels of bard as your primary class with cavalier as secondary. This results in a level 5 bard with the order and challenge features from the cavalier class, and enough skill points to cover the entry requiriments for the battle herald just in time to allow entry as early as 6th level.