Cantrips and Wizard Multiclassing

[PrecociousApprentice]

I don't think that a player should have to give up a combat option to choose an RP option. This is the whole idea of silos in 4e. I think that it is stupid that cantirps are unavailable to anyone but characters whose main class is wizard. Since there are magic items that give the use of cantirps, I would say that attaching it to the ritual caster feat would be good enough. Since ritual casters can make the magic items, I would say that with the proper expenditure of resources, the character can teach himself cantrips.

Actually, making a ritual to learn cantrips, with a prerequisite of the wizard multiclass feat, would solve this whole thing. That is how I will handle it when it comes up.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

I.E. In 4e if you are a fighter/wizard you are a fighter first and a wizard second; so why should you be able to cast cantrips as well as a wizard?

Well, because they're basic tricks. It's the equivalent of a relative "pulling a quarter out of your ear" or doing some basic card trick compared to some "experienced"/famous Magician. Uncle Bob can do the basic trick just as well as Harry Houdini, but Uncle Bob can't be hung upside-down wearing a straitjacket and get out of it whereas Houdini can

 

[Xris Robin]

(I.E. In 4e if you are a fighter/wizard you are a fighter first and a wizard second; so why should you be able to cast cantrips as well as a wizard?)

Because using one of the power swap feats, said fighter can learn to cast Fireball just as well as a wizard? It's a bit silly I can learn any normal wizard spell, no matter how powerful, but I can't use the cantrips that every wizard learns as an apprentice, the simplest of spells.

 

[Zinovia]

I allowed my players the option to either learn the Wizard at-will as a 1/encounter spell, as per the RAW, or to choose to learn all 4 cantrips as at-wills. The warlord who took Arcane Initiate opted for the cantrips right away, and has already used a couple of them outside of combat. Perhaps that was too generous on my part, but I happen to like the flavor of it, as does the warlord's player.

I agree that it seems counterintuitive that you can use a power-swap feat to learn higher level spells, but never the cantrips. I feel that wizards have enough special class features as it is, even if allow the use of cantrips by those who select the Arcane Initiate feat (in place of the 1/encounter power). Wizards are still the only ones who specialize in a given implement, can use the spellbook feature to have a variety of spells to choose from, and get new rituals automatically.

With the other multiclass options, it seems that you often get a small taste of the main feature of the class you multi into - Sneak Attack 1/encounter instead of 1/round, same with Hunter's Quarry, or Combat Challenge. On the one hand, the Arcane Initiate RAW preserves the guidelines they seem to be using of doing 1 multiclass type ability per encounter. On the other, the cantrips are not directly useful in combat, and are much weaker than the other spells. I don't see their use as being unbalanced - they are situational at best in any case.

I'm satisfied with how I'm running things, and I don't foresee the rest of the group running off to multiclass Wizard to get the awesome might of the wizard cantrips. So it works for us.