D&D General Should you Multiclass?

[DammitVictor]

My very first player character in AD&D was single-class.

I haven't done it since.

The multiclassing rules are one of the major critiera by which I judge D&D-like games.

 

[Clint_L]

I'm not planning on multi-classing my current character, but she's a monk and it's a long-running campaign with intent to reach level 20. I really wanna play a level 20 monk with the 2024 rules (technically, I've already done it, but only for a one-shot, not as a full journey). I think my single-classed 2024 monk will be gloriously broken at level 20.

Otherwise, I will multi-class for story reasons, usually due to a relationship with a character from another class.

 

[cbwjm]

My very first player character in AD&D was single-class.

I haven't done it since.

The multiclassing rules are one of the major critiera by which I judge D&D-like games.

Out of interest, what are your favourite multiclassing rules? Of the top of my head I can think of:

Old school: pick 2 or 3 classes and you level up at the same time; if human, switch to a new class and never level up the old.

3e/5e: pick a class each time you level.

Pathfinder 2e: you can a class, you can take feats to gain abililities or another class at the expense of not gaining a useful feat of your current class. Works well with a themed game since everyone can get a bonus beginning feat (like pirate or something).

Castles and crusades: sort of like old school multiclassing, but they have options to take only part of a class so you could play a paladin and get all of the horsemanship abilities of a knight (something like that) rather than being a true paladin/knight multiclass.

 

[DammitVictor]

Out of interest, what are your favourite multiclassing rules? Of the top of my head I can think of:

SSS: Sword World
A: Tipsy Tabby, 3.PF with Prestige Archetypes
(A+: Combine those. )
B: 4e with both PHB1 and PHB3, Fabula Ultima, "simplified" AD&D
(B-: Most of my own sad attempts to "fix" 3.PF.*)
C: AD&D, 3.X with multiclass feats and PrC support, PF2, 5e with 3PP "multiclassing feats" (like SW5e and A5E), PF1 with Advanced Player's Guide and Advanced Class Guide.
D: Core only 3.5 and PF1
F: Core only 3.0, 5.X, PHB1-only 4e.

Generally, I'll jump at B and can be talked into C.

edit: Every time I talk about this, I get new dumb ideas for making 3X/5X style MC work... but every time I talk about this, I'm standing on the shoulders of taller giants. I think my next stab at at this might be in the A/A+ range, but frankly, my own actual work is going to be based on the Sword World system and will probably reach S/SS at best.

 

[DammitVictor]

Sword World really is the best of all worlds, to my mind: your XP doesn't determine your class/character level, you use XP to buy class levels and your character level is equal to your highest class level, period. XP costs for class level scale by class level.

If I were to tweak it any-- and I am, because SWORLD is An Bygge influence on the game I'm pretending to write-- I'd incorporate race-as-class and favored/restricted classes and increase the cost for the first level in a new class by the number of classes you already have.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Out of interest, what are your favourite multiclassing rules?

We should adapt a 5e version of FFX’s sphere grid.

 

[cbwjm]

We should adapt a 5e version of FFX’s sphere grid.

I saw something that looked similar in path of exile pc game and thought "Never again!"

 

[CreamCloud0]

We should adapt a 5e version of FFX’s sphere grid.

Oh, and for those who don’t know what it is or how it worked take a look below, all your characters progressed along those various pathways one node at a time at each level buying new abilities and stat boosts from the node you were currently on, certain paths were essentially a class progression (one path would have a bunch of white magic spell unlocks and bonuses to magic and MP as your white mage/cleric progression, another one was focused on rogue abilities with speed and luck increases) but at certain points the paths crossed and you could start training them towards another class’s abilities and strengths.

But more seriously for a moment, I’d actually be really interested in seeing how 5e would get translated into this format, obviously you’d have class abilities as nodes but maybe even ASI, proficiencies, bonuses to certain checks and even spell slots.

 

[ECMO3]

I love multiclassing in concept. I dislike 5e's implementation as it makes for weird dips and taking levels in a 2nd class way later than thematically appropriate and then continuing back in the main class and thus straining the overall thematics of the character.

I've done some pretty wild mulitclasses and never had a problem with the thematics for the classes itself.

IME thematics are a bigger problem with the feats than they are the multiclass classes: I want to grab Fey Touched but nothing we have done is related to the Feywild or I want to get the Polearm Master feat but I have been fighting with a Greatsword for the whole game so far.

Also some of the subclasses are problematic thematically for some campaigns. Anything that is tied to a specific theme - Fey Wanderer Ranger, Rune Knight Fighter, several Paladins, all of the Warlocks, Shadow Sorcerer .... but these are thematic problems for single class characters with those subclasses too.

 

[Horwath]

Oh, and for those who don’t know what it is or how it worked take a look below, all your characters progressed along those various pathways one node at a time at each level buying new abilities and stat boosts from the node you were currently on, certain paths were essentially a class progression (one path would have a bunch of white magic spell unlocks and bonuses to magic and MP as your white mage/cleric progression, another one was focused on rogue abilities with speed and luck increases) but at certain points the paths crossed and you could start training them towards another class’s abilities and strengths.
View attachment 421680
But more seriously for a moment, I’d actually be really interested in seeing how 5e would get translated into this format, obviously you’d have class abilities as nodes but maybe even ASI, proficiencies, bonuses to certain checks and even spell slots.

just turn all class feature into open feats with level or other requirements

balance it all around full feat power of half-feat power level.

make 2 classes only.
martial and caster.
martials get more feat choices per level and extra attacks at levels 5,9,13,17,