D&D 5E To Allow Multi-Class or Not....A DM's Dilemma

[TallIan]

I would definitely go with the advice of: if in doubt leave it out. You can always allow it later.

That being said I can only really see a problem with MC if you have one or two players that are serious optimisers while the rest aren't. If none or all of the group are power gamers then you won't really have a problem, you can just throw tougher encounters at a group of power gamers.

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[Krachek]

UA material have not been tuned up for MC. Dev team tells it openly. Be aware of possible imbalance there.
Otherwise the Sorclock and SorcPal can overshine.

 

[Shiroiken]

Multi-classing can add a lot of variety to your game. Like Feats, it can also open an ugly can of worms.

The way multi-classing is set up in 5E, most multi-class characters will come out weaker than straight class characters, but have a much larger range of abilities (allowing them to become more versatile). In this regard, multi-classing is fine, but the problem usually occurs when someone "dips" 1-2 levels into a class to combo some power with their original class. This can create some unbalanced characters (when compared to straight class characters), and as an inexperienced DM, this can throw your game out of whack very quickly.

I agree that for your first campaign, I'd advise against both Feats and Multi-classing. You can run a short game (such as LMoP) then consider some of the optional rules when you have a better handle on the game and your players.

 

[FrogReaver]

Feat should be allowed for characters that get an extra ASI at the levels they get an extra ASI like fighter or rogue. Even if you rule against them otherwise. IMO

 

[devincutler]

I prefer organic multiclassing. That is, I only allow multiclassing if a PC spends legitimate time and effort learning the new class. No POP I'm a wizard! I allowed by PCs to pre-state that at 2nd level they would multiclass if they took a proper background. For example, let's say I have a PC who is a fighter at level 1 and wants to multiclass into wizard. If he takes the Scholar background, then I will allow it because I rule that he spent his years as a scholar learning the basics of magic. Once that single allowance passes, then the fighter who wants to dip into wizard would have to locate a teacher and spend at least a year of campaign time under the wizard's tutelage.

I don't run APs, I do a homebrew, so my players and campaign can allow for such time outs, but still, I think just letting PCs dip into a new class willy nilly really cheapens the idea of classes.

 

[aco175]

I have not had any problems with it, although only one character has multiclassed. He was a bard and took a couple levels of fighter to boost the party. He was also the only partial wizard so he torments himself for being behind in spell levels now that he could have gotten 5th level spells like the cleric. We do not play with feats right now if that matters.

Like what others have said, it is easier to add elements than take them away. You can wait until someone wants to MC and see if there is a problem. It might be that the 3rd level path is enough.

 

[Waterbizkit]

Wow, a lot of people seem dislike multi-classing. Color me surprised. I like it, I allow it and I've had no problem with it. Multi-classing this edition comes at a fairly significant opportunity cost in most cases. Warlock dips, Cleric dips and Fighter dips seem to the biggest offenders, but even then I don't really see the issues.

Honestly the biggest risk isn't on the DMs side of things, it's on the players. The ability score requirements for getting in and out of the classes and the fact that any multi-classing is likely to delay the next built-in bump in power for one class or the other is something some players might not notice initially.

Anyway, I'd allow it. I do. But I allow damn near everything. In the end you have to do what you're comfortable with.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

Multiclassing in 5th edition doesn't break balance the way that it did in previous editions, and it's often the case that people new to the edition don't actually understand how it works in 5th edition - for example, you do not get the starting saving throw bonus in the first level of a new class that you're multiclassing in nor do you get all of the starting proficiencies.

A multiclassed spellcaster gains spell slots from adding up levels of classes with the spell casting feature but does not gain access to higher level spells in a particular class without taking levels of that particular class. Spell slots and prepared spells are separate in this edition.

Ability score increases and feats are now tied to class level instead of character level, so multiclassing presents a dilemma for certain build paths.

Multiclassing in 5th edition, in most cases offers versatility at the cost of power, but not so much that the character becomes useless.

Multiclassing can offer new styles of gameplay and new flavor, but it's not likely to pose any problem for the table in 5th edition.



That said, I'll also leave a link to a book of multiclass feats on DMsGuild for anyone looking to add more flavor to their multiclassing. These feats offer new abilities based on the classes that a character is multi classed in, such as a feat that grants a rogue/knowledge cleric the ability to obtain information about a creature upon successfully applying Sneak Attack (reading their blood so to speak).

http://www.dmsguild.com/product/202906/Multiclass-Feats-5th-Edition?filters=45469

 

[CydKnight]

Thanks or all of the responses so far. I have read and pondered all of them to this point.

A couple of points of clarification of a few of your questions:

1. All players would be starting at level 1.
2. The current campaign being run is LMOP with all single-class players currently at level 4 - 5.
3. The OP was meant for any and all future campaigns but I do plan to run Out of the Abyss with new PCs starting at Level 1 next.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I agree with [MENTION=35019]Croesus[/MENTION] that it doesn't tend to create more powerful characters. I do tend to create a lot of multiclass characters myself though because I really like niche concepts - usually to fit some stupid name I came up with while drunk - and the additional options help me realize that mechanically. I'm surprised you haven't seen any multiclassed characters though. My current campaign has seen a couple, but admittedly not many.

It has come down to my players finding a single class satisfactory, even when they were dealing with a character concept that before 5th-edition would have involved multi-classing. Such as the "thieving wizard" being an abjurer wizard with the criminal background, or the "mage knight" liking the special features of the eldritch knight subclass more than what could come from mixing fighter and wizard classes.

I'm sure that eventually there will be some character that one of the players would rather play involving multiple classes, they just haven't gotten to it yet.