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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8539187" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Yeah, a one-level Cleric dip is extremely tempting for any full caster that doesn't have medium armor and shield proficiency. It delays new spell levels by one, but provides extremely solid defensive benefits. I have a very slightly silly but mostly serious character idea I built up a while back that justifies such a choice in her personal story.[SPOILER="Brief digression"]In brief:Born in poverty, resorted to theft to survive (starts out Rogue 1)Got caught by a merchant but said merchant saw her intelligence and potential, thus sent her to Bard College in exchange for her earning enough to pay off the costs (Bard 3, Lore)While in college she found faith in Knowledge itself (Cleric 1, Knowledge), not so much deities of knowledge per seBut she found the church too stuffy and rigid and unwilling to look for broader knowledge, so she goes out to adventure and learn All The Things (sticks with Bard thereafter)Character can theoretically start as early as level 2, being Rogue 1/Bard 1 and picking up Cleric along the way, but makes more sense to start at level 4-5, having "graduated" from the College of Lore, and either having already found her faith, or finding it soon after her journey begins.She gets 2 (BG) + 2 (Half-elf) + 4 (Rogue, 2 Expertise), +1 (Bard MC), +3 (Lore, 2 Expertise), +2 (Knowledge, 2 Expertise) = 16 proficient skills, 6 with Expertise (or 5 + Thieves' Tools), meaning she's trained in all but 2 skills and an expert in a third of them. Throw in Prodigy at some point as she advances further with Bard, and she'd have 17/18 proficient skills, 9 of which have Expertise, while being able to speak seven languages (Common, Elvish, Thieves' Cant, and four of her choice). She gets minor Sneak Attack damage, wears medium armor and shields, and has access to all 1st level Cleric spells, freeing up those precious Bard spells known for non-healing options. The only things she pays for this are (a) delayed spell levels, (b) the crappy Bard capstone, (c) her level 19 ASI, and (d) one 7th level spell slot. She is, truly, a renaissance woman in a D&D world.Someday, perhaps I'll play her. She seems like she'd be very interesting to play, balancing unbridled curiosity with a more "savvy" outlook on life than one would expect from such a scholarly person.[/SPOILER]Likewise, for Sorcerer and Paladin, a one-level Warlock dip is extremely tempting, permitting a SAD character. 5e has, in general, reversed the pattern of 3e: martials get relatively little from it, unless they extremely carefully plan their build, and tend to pay a hefty price if they do (Fighter can lose their top-end Extra Attack, Barbarian has a unique stat-cap-increasing capstone, etc.), while casters actually can benefit rather a lot from a one- or two-level dip in something else before continuing on as their main class.</blockquote>

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