D&D 5E Multi-single-classing

[Sunseeker]

Not all of them are. Look at Warlock or Paladin subclasses, you'd have some difficulty having more than one of each of those simultaneously.

As always, I'd put it on the player's head to give good reason why their character is X and Y. I'm fairly strict about multiclassing because I rarely find people do it because "Wouldn't it be cool to be a barbarian monk!" and more do it because "Man if I combine these two cool abilities I'll totally rock the damage charts!" And I like to keep a lid on the latter. The more extreme the combination, the more burden the player has to explain themselves.

 

[Eejit]

In these two cases, maybe it just depends on the appeal. What is a player's motivation for picking another subclass of the same base class? If something is truly contradictory, why would someone want to do it then? A paladin could take another vow, and a warlock, strike another bargain with another monster.

I didn't say it was impossible, just problematic. Responding to your assertion that it was something that a character could do at any time.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

It's not an option. If you choose fighter then you must become either a Champion, Battlemaster or Eldritch Knight. Use backgrounds, multiclassing and feats to get the flavor you want from one of the other subclasses.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Not all of them are. Look at Warlock or Paladin subclasses, you'd have some difficulty having more than one of each of those simultaneously.

It seems to me that the Oath of Ancients would be compatible with Devotion, maybe even with Vengeance. Devotion and Vengeance would be difficult, although someone like the assassin from Serenity might fit the bill.

As for selling your soul to two masters, that seems right up a warlock's alley (assuming he can get away with it).

Overall, though, you're correct. There are definitely combinations that would arise which would be problematic for flavor and/or balance reasons.

 

[Ahrimon]

It seems to me that the Oath of Ancients would be compatible with Devotion, maybe even with Vengeance. Devotion and Vengeance would be difficult, although someone like the assassin from Serenity might fit the bill.

As for selling your soul to two masters, that seems right up a warlock's alley (assuming he can get away with it).

Overall, though, you're correct. There are definitely combinations that would arise which would be problematic for flavor and/or balance reasons.

As we've been discussing in the good warlock thread, nothing about the warlock says that you have to sell your soul. It could simply be access to a power source for a favor that you've already completed. Now you make a (new?) bargain with a different patron for access to a different source for another favor. Remember the warlock makes his pact to get lvl 1 abilities. And regardless of the views that warlocks simply make a bargain and get lots of power there isn't anything that says this is true. A warlocks bargain could simply be for access and they have to develop those abilities just like any other class.

But I'm digressing here. I still think that working with the DM to swap out abilities ala the DMG is the best method to accomplish this though.

 

[Fanaelialae]

As we've been discussing in the good warlock thread, nothing about the warlock says that you have to sell your soul. It could simply be access to a power source for a favor that you've already completed. Now you make a (new?) bargain with a different patron for access to a different source for another favor. Remember the warlock makes his pact to get lvl 1 abilities. And regardless of the views that warlocks simply make a bargain and get lots of power there isn't anything that says this is true. A warlocks bargain could simply be for access and they have to develop those abilities just like any other class.

I was speaking more figuratively than literally. I'm currently working on a cosmic warlock archetype who gains his power from a sentient planet or star, most of whom are simply curious about mortals and want to experience things from the warlock's point of view. So these entities will grant magic to anyone who can contact them and will agree with what boils down to a mystical reality TV contract.

All I'm saying is that if you made a bargain with a fey who despises demons in order to become a warlock, it could complicate matters if you later decide to make a deal with a demon who hates fey. If they find out you've been playing both sides, it could work in your favor with the two patrons spending all their time fighting over you, sparing you their attention. But it could also go the other way...

 

[77IM]

Would a double-fighter get two Second Winds and two Action Surges between short rests? That seems pretty powerful right from the get-go. I'd suggest that all special abilities stack in the same manner as Channel Divinity: you might get more options or more powerful, but you only get more uses at levels where you actually get more uses. This leads down other rat-holes, though. How do you calculate a barbarian's number of rages? Stack the two barbarian levels sounds good, but then what else stacks and what doesn't?

 

[Chocolategravy]

Subclasses are just feat chains baked into the class. Bad design and overworked, but if you want a not great but workable houserule then:

When your character gains a level in a class that grants a feat (ability score improvement), you can instead use that level as a subclass level. The subclass level must be of the same class as the feat level, it must be of a lower level than the feat level, it must be the lowest level of the subclass level the character doesn't already have, and you can't take a subclass level of the same subclass twice.

e.g.

At level 3 a fighter chooses to be a battlemaster. At level 6 the fighter decides to take the level 3 eldritch knight subclass rather than a feat. At level 7 the fighter gains the level 7 battlemaster abilities, but does not gain the level 7 eldritch knight abilities unless they later spend a feat to gain it.

 

[Sunseeker]

Subclasses are just feat chains baked into the class. Bad design and overworked, but if you want a not great but workable houserule then:

When your character gains a level in a class that grants a feat (ability score improvement), you can instead use that level as a subclass level. The subclass level must be of the same class as the feat level, it must be of a lower level than the feat level, it must be the lowest level of the subclass level the character doesn't already have, and you can't take a subclass level of the same subclass twice.

e.g.

At level 3 a fighter chooses to be a battlemaster. At level 6 the fighter decides to take the level 3 eldritch knight subclass rather than a feat. At level 7 the fighter gains the level 7 battlemaster abilities, but does not gain the level 7 eldritch knight abilities unless they later spend a feat to gain it.

That's an interesting way to do it, though even with fighters you'd be limited on the levels of subclass you could take (with Fighters, max level 6 in any subclass), though you'd essentially be a level 20 fighter with an additional 6 levels worth of alternate subclass features, so it might very well be balanced.

Would a double-fighter get two Second Winds and two Action Surges between short rests? That seems pretty powerful right from the get-go. I'd suggest that all special abilities stack in the same manner as Channel Divinity: you might get more options or more powerful, but you only get more uses at levels where you actually get more uses. This leads down other rat-holes, though. How do you calculate a barbarian's number of rages? Stack the two barbarian levels sounds good, but then what else stacks and what doesn't?

No. The same-class benefits would not stack, so no double Extra Attack, no repeated stat-bumps, etc... Only the new features from the subclass would be added and only those that aren't duplicates on and the proficiency modifier would be your highest class level (which also does not stack), just like the way multiclass works now. Pretty much the same as if you are a barbarian monk, you don't get Unarmored Defense twice.

 

[Quartz]

You might consider lifting the Gestalt rules from 3E or the Dual-classing rules from 1E/2E.