Best / most common "dip" class?

[Aus_Snow]

Hm. Don't know about favourite, really. But I've done so with these: Ranger, Psychic Warrior, Fighter, Rogue, alt.Swashbuckler, alt.Noble. I think that's about it.

One or two levels each time, generally.

It was always for a reason other than metagaming/powergaming/whatever. So, IOW, it mightn't have been patricularly optimal to do so most of the time. Oh well.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I usually do not dip, but the times I've seriously thought about it it was for a level in either cleric, fighter, or rogue.

 

[Dykstrav]

For arcane spellcasters, I like a taste of monk. Since spellcasters rarely wear armor anyway, the +2 bonus to all saves, slightly beefier hit die, more skill points, and the ability to always be considered armed is a nice package to trade a single level for. If we do a bit of wilderness trekking, ranger is also a solid choice. The Two-Weapon Fighting thing works for a staff, you get to track and you get more skill points and wild empathy.

For clerics, I've found that a single level of barbarian is actually an incredibly effective choice (especially once you get some cleric levels to get good spells with). The most mechanically effective character I've played in 3E has been a cleric with a single level of barbarian. I can cast spiritual weapon to start things up and get reliable damage every turn, then cast other clerical spells if needed. And if I run into another cleric or spellcaster, I can cast bull's strength and silence on myself, then rage and wade in with a greataxe with Improved Sunder and a healthy dose of Power Attack. Bye-bye to anything in their hands (divine focus, weapon, whatever) and forget casting anything with a verbal component. If you have Divine Vigor, you can also use those handy dandy turn undead attempts to increase your speed and bump up your hit points even more.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Interesting results so far. The Big three are pretty much what I expected, but I'm surprized there are a couple of people who dip in Bard but no one who dips in Sorcerer. Or Paladin but no one for Druid (which seem equally RP restrictive for justifiable dipping).

For myself, I chose rogue as it is the one I always want to dip in, but I've become weirdly bitter towards the class as a result and try to avoid it now....

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

I only dip Sorcerer for specialist wizards, just to open up all the wands, staves, and scrolls from my prohibited schools again.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I like to take dips in Ranger and Barbarian. My favourite type of character is a Halfling Rogue. Barbarian levels give me 30ft movement so I'm not lagging behind the rest of the party and I have good movement in combat. A couple of Ranger levels helps to improve either my two-weapon fighting or my ranged combat, depending on what I am focusing on. I generally only wear light armour when I play Rogues (to keep my Dex bonus) so the fact that Barbarians and Rangers generally need to be wearing light armour doesn't really affect me. A couple of levels in Fighter for the BAB and HP boost also sounds appealing, although I haven't tried it out in game as yet.

Olaf the Stout

 

[the Jester]

Depends on the character. Most likely fighter.

 

[Goobermunch]

Sorceror isn't a bad dip for a P/A fighter, if only to pick up 4 True Strikes daily.

--G

 

[AnonymousOne]

I like to play Rogueish characters ...

that in mind, a 1 level dip into fighter or a 3 level dip into Swashbuckler don't hurt.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Most common dips:

Barbarian: 2 levels-fast movement, uncanny dodge and rage

Fighter: 2 levels for feats or 4 levels for weapon specialization and melee weapon mastery

Monk: 2 levels for Unarmed strike, evasion, +3 to all saves, Combat Reflexes, and Improved Grapple.

Rogue: 1, 2 or 4 levels for evasion, trapfinding, sneak attack, and skill points. But once you've taken two levels, you've made most of the sacrifices (unless you're a primarily magic using class, in which case, you probably want only one level for trapfinding or your prestige class prereqs).

Spellsword: 1 level for +! BAB, +1 caster level, d8 hit points and +2 to 2 saves. There's very little reason not to take that one level if you qualify.

Hexblade: 3 levels for Cha to saves vs. spells and Mettle

Marshal: 2+ levels for strong will and fort saves, a minor aura, and a major aura (motivate attack) that can mostly make up for the lost BAB.

Exotic Weapon Master: 1 level for Flurry of blows with the spiked chain. (Note that I'm not shameless enough to have done this--but it's very common and very broken).