D&D 5E class mastery

[Senshi-shi]

In the PHB it said you can't pick the same class twice. But what if someone wanted to totally master a class. This discussion took place between me and four other local DM's that our high school uses. In the end, we ended up with no solutions only to end up where we started. Yet I still can't help but wonder why it is we can't multiclass to the same class and just take a separate archetype, and leave out the basic skills cause the character already learned it.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

To totally master a class you need to reach level 20 in that class.

 

[Senshi-shi]

that came up before and no thats not what mastery means to us. like as a rouge you can be a top assassin, but you can't be a top thief. This is what we call mastery not just halfway

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Give it a go. Grab some bodies, let them make character as you outline - probably around 6th - and run a one-shot.

If you do, please let folks know how it went. And if you have fun? Well, even better.

 

[ccs]

that came up before and no thats not what mastery means to us. like as a rouge you can be a top assassin, but you can't be a top thief. This is what we call mastery not just halfway

So explain it to us. How does your character "master" a class?
Your archetype starts at lv3 & tops out at lv.17
There's 3 archetypes.

Let's say you complete 1 archetype. And are allowed to MC into the same class.
That only leaves you 3 lvs left to devote to archetype #2.
Archetype #3 isn't even possible as you stop leveling once you hit 20 total lvs.
So your nowhere even near your own "halfway"....

In order to do this? You'd need to be able to advance to 20th lv (or at least 17th) PER class.
So I imagine it'd look a bit like the 1e MC/Duel class system. Track your XP seperately per class. Or in this case archetype. Because it'd be rediculous to gain all your Rouge abilities 3 times, so just track the leveling on class 2+ so that you know when you gain archetype features.

 

[Senshi-shi]

You are close to the idea but very far. Each class is leveled up separate depending on how you want to make your character as he levels up, like how a lv12 human can be lv8 druid, and a lv4 monk. What I'm getting at is the same concept, but you only get the basic features once.
Ok so you said 3 archtypes well that means there are four tables. The main and three archtypes. you can only get the abilities from each of them once so the main table can only be done once, so say you have a lv7 druid circle of the land who is also lv 5 in circle of the moon. he only gets up to level 7 on the main table but get his 12d8+con hp and get the befits of his circles at the same time.
As for stopping at level 20, you're right when it comes down to just the first arche type but if you wanted to master it you would need to be level 17 to get the first archtype done, then level 34 for the second, and 51 for the third, and another 3 for the main table this bring you to level 54, and now you can say that you mastered the class.
And just to make this clear. if you think this is nuts. it is. your dm will have to constantly modify the baddies and goals even be unfair, but as it says in the monster manual those are "base stats"

 

[Jester David]

It's a neat idea. But it only works with the subclass levels. It's problematic wth the other 15 levels of the class.
Most of the time, you'd just get levels that don't stack abilities. The alternative is giving you double uses of an already potent ability. After all, taking two levels of a spellcasting class makes the casting increase, not stack.

 

[ccs]

You are close to the idea but very far. Each class is leveled up separate depending on how you want to make your character as he levels up, like how a lv12 human can be lv8 druid, and a lv4 monk. What I'm getting at is the same concept, but you only get the basic features once.
Ok so you said 3 archtypes well that means there are four tables. The main and three archtypes. you can only get the abilities from each of them once so the main table can only be done once, so say you have a lv7 druid circle of the land who is also lv 5 in circle of the moon. he only gets up to level 7 on the main table but get his 12d8+con hp and get the befits of his circles at the same time.
As for stopping at level 20, you're right when it comes down to just the first arche type but if you wanted to master it you would need to be level 17 to get the first archtype done, then level 34 for the second, and 51 for the third, and another 3 for the main table this bring you to level 54, and now you can say that you mastered the class.
And just to make this clear. if you think this is nuts. it is. your dm will have to constantly modify the baddies and goals even be unfair, but as it says in the monster manual those are "base stats"

Yea, that's pretty much what I said. Only I wouldn't give you additional HD. You'd only get more HD when you actually became a new lv of your overall class. So if you were druid 8 (land) & gained druid 5 (moon)? You'd get the moon subclass benifits. But to get another HD? You have to become druid 9 (something).

And your 4 tracks are really only 3. Because you'll complete the base class simultaneously in pursuit of the sub-classes.

I can also envision a way to do this faster. As is? You'll be spending FOREVER gaining & re-gaining lvs.
So when you gain xp? You could advance as many lvs as you can "afford". Just divide the xp evenly (or however you please?) Between your druid tracks. Just like the old AD&D process for leveling up multiclased non-humans.

 

[Senshi-shi]

ok ive said alot and only a couple people voice their opinion which is only a small amount of the people voting. I do like the idea of being able to use everything in a class, but i cant think of a way around that. I'm not on this cite to just hear what is wrong with my ideas i'm here to learn how to make a bad idea a good one

 

[jaelis]

Introduce some feats that let you pick up abilities from another subclass? Might be hard to balance though.