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Essentials multiclassing playtest?


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I seem to have gotten mine just fine. Right now, I'm trying to wrap my head around the Assassin and Executioner inter-class swaps and it is pretty odd.

As an Ossassin (no new name for that?) you can now have the option to take Guild training (instead of being a Bleak Disciple or Night Stalker). You also gain Assassin's Strike and can never gain another assassin Encounter power. . . ouch.

As an Executioner you can now take the Assassin's Shroud power instead of the d8 per tier with attack finesse (though you still get Dex for MBA w/ one handed weapons).

Executioner MC feat (no prereq) = Ki Focus, training in 1 skill, and 1d8 to 1-handed weapon (+garrote, shortbow, blowgun) once an encounter. Better off multi-ing with the original Assassin feat (there are 2) if anything because you can cheat past the 2 shroud limit with other feats/items.

Assassin/Executioner daily/poison switch feats.

Hybrid Executioner. Cannot Hybrid with old Assassins. Standard hybrid hp/defense/skill/item set up. Hybrid Talents: Nimble Drop and Flawless Disguise (laughable option. Nimble Drop MIGHT be worth it. EDIT: must be level 4 to take it, just like the original class) . Things get fuzzy after that. Various rules for how your powers mesh. Assassin's Strike hybrid is a mouth full. Otherwise everything else makes sense. Kind of boring (I loathe this class. Check every other thread to see)...

Hybrid Blackguard. Also pretty standard in terms of hybrid rules/options and cannot hybrid with Paladins. Damage bonus only to paladin attacks. More easily worded solution to the lone encounter power. Paladin armor proficiency and their temp HP granting encounter as hybrid options.

Blackguard multiclass(noprereq?) give you a bit. Skill, holy symbols, once per encounter Charisma damage sneak attack and once per day temp HP encounter power. Sweet.


Vampire MC: surge = 2 with multiclass (and hybrid). You gain the vulnerable 5 radiant and sunlight destroys you and the short-rest-"drink"-a-friend's-surge mechanic. One feat is literally incapable of working. Blood Thirst. It gives you the blood drinker power (which can only be triggered by a Vampire melee attack power specifically). Then all the other feats (specified by your classes power source +1 more for Monks) give you a pseudo Blood Drinker power that triggers off when your martial/divine/arcane/etc encounter power hits. Plus an additional benefit or 2.

Hybrid Vampire. More or less the same deal as MC... only 1 Hybrid option. Embrace Undeath. Resist 5 Necrotic and Darkvision. Pretty poor choices.

Moving on: A feat to pick up a Wilderness Knack. There's no pre-req. And you can take it if you already have knacks (from class features I assume).

Sentinel MC feat (wis13): Nature training, Healing Word once per day. Staffs/totems prof.

Sentinel Hybrid is straightforward. Again, alternating encounter powers for additional uses and no hybridizing into Druid. A few hybrid talent options, though some are for paragon/epic class features. Druid Armor Prof and Wilderness Knacks (though I guess that's not so necessary if there's a feat now).

Cavalier MC feat is pretty crazy (str/cha 13): 1 skill, holy symbols, defender aura and their enforcer power once an encounter. Which yes, you'll only be able to enforce your mark once an encounter but a defender aura is always a -2. Bet that'll change.

Cavalier also very similar hybrid to Blackguard. Almost the same in every way (switch defender/strike mechanics). Too bad you cannot hybrid them together.

New Ranger options: Feat swap for at-will to 1 expert archer feature attack. Feat swap for encounter power to Disrutive Shot (the hunter's standard encounter power). And anpther feat swap to go one way for a power strike. Little bummed the opposite feats aren't here. Hunters/Scout's cannot pick up at-wills or encounter powers. But still reasonable feats if you like those features.

Warlock feats are interesting. Get a pact-weapon from the hexblade and it's at-will at the cost of a feat. You have to already be a pact that has a Hexblade weapon (so no sorc-king weapons or gloom weapons). Another feat to swap for a hexblade encounter power.

MC and Hybrid is the Binder warlock....lame.
 
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I managed to read the article. What I like about the Executioner Assassin Hybrid option is you will be able to do melee basic attacks with dexterity. So much original class combinations can be effective with it: Rogues, Rangers, and especially Monks; Ninja! Waapaak!

I also like that the rangers can now spend a feat to have a Hunter's Trick Shot. I understande you have to spend a feat since the Trick Shots are very powerful combined with the original ranger's hunter's quarry. I still don't get it why we can't have the Aspects.

The warlock is fun. You can now spend a feat to have a pact blade. Talk about coolness to the max. Although the original warlock still lacks the chainmail prof but what the heck.

The most interesting is the Vampire. 2 healing surges regardless of classes. Now that's cool. i guess you have to be very careful if you hybrid your defender with it. But on the contrary, they do get ALL of the vampire's features including the one that if you have more than the max surges, you're HP will be full after the battle. Think of your Wardens, fighters, and paladins with this. But if you'll be fighting long battles, I'm not sure this will help.

Lastly, the paladin variants. I was thinking of a cool mix of Blackguard and warlock. The dark knight. Clerics and cavaliers will fit nicely. Since both key off of strength and charisma.

For me, the literally wildest combination is the beastmaster ranger and sentinel druid. Talk about having 2 animal companions, plus if you have the animal master theme, 3 animals!!!! WOOOT!
 

The hybrid vampire is one of those cases where the hybrid is going to more than likely be flat out better than the original class.
 

So if I'm reading this correct an Ossassin can take Executioner's Guild and use both Assassin's Strike and their Shrouds on the same target...

I also like how any Warlock can use Pact Blade Manifestation with just a feat, even though there's no Hybrid rules for the Hexblade.
 


The assassin options are terrible. They had a chance to improve both the executioner and the oassassin here, and they failed badly. The only really solid thing about them is that they are, in fact, new feats, which means there's still support for feats (I'd been wondering, given that the races/classes in HoS got basically none).
 

A few weird things... firstly, most of this is one way into Essentials, letting the normal class trade out things for E-versions. Like the Warlock can trade out for pact weapon powers, but there's nothing for a Hexblade to gain normal Warlock powers. Also, didn't see a hybrid of the Hexblade or Hunter/Scout.

The hybrid Vampire IS the class, except for what, darkvision and resist necrotic? And it comes with a feat for every power source (plus monk) that lets you use encounter as if they were Blood Drinker, gaining a healing surge. So you only have to take it once, and then take real class powers and still gain surges. (So a Martial Vampire can use Come And Get It and gain a surge, plus he gains a surge when bloodied). And extra benefits. Primal Vampire gains two surges, for example. Martial gains a surge when bloodied. Arcane can spend a surge for extra damage. But I think Divine stand out... when you use a power that lets and ally spend a surge, they gain choose to regain no HP and the vampire gains a surge. Plus they lose vulnerable radiant and sunlight damage.

Also of note... Cavalier hybrids gain Defender Aura. Isn't that like, their entire defender mechanic?
 

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