I've been thinking about it, and I literally can't think of an effective way to play a character by Multiclassing three different classes, unless its a 2/2/16, but otherwise I can't think of anything else. If somebody has any builds that would work, I'll hear them.
Define "work" and "effective". I'm playing a Zealot barb/Swashbuckler rogue that added in some Battle Master levels after I hit 8/4, and it's been a lot of fun
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Many martial class combinations benefit from 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, so any multiclass martial without Fighter can always be made into that martial class, but with two levels of Fighter as well.
If you want a specific build, Gloomstalker Ranger and Assassin Rogue have some synergistic abilities that maximise their efficacy during the first round of combat against surprised enemies. You can add two levels of Fighter on to Action Surge on that first round of combat, stretching those advantages twice as far. Your efficacy after that first round will be drastically lower, but this tri-class multiclass can take out a huge chunk of enemy health in that first six seconds.
Warlock is another one that is easy to multiclass into. Hexblade in particular is an easy fist level dip, allowing you to focus on charisma, and skip over things like Strength on a Paladin or Dexterity on a melee Bard. All the things that make it good for a one-level dip in a two-class multiclass build make Warlock a decent dip option in a three-class multiclass build.
Hexblade Warlock/Paladin/Swords Bard. You only need one level of Warlock for Hex Warrior, 2 levels of Paladin for Divine Smite, and the rest Swords Bard. You still get extra attack, and even delaying your Bard spellcasting by 3 levels, you still end up with way, way more spell slots for smiting.
It you're talking about multiclassing as a true multiclass rather than as a dip then, there are these builds:
Spirit Animal Moon Druid - 6 Shadow or Open Hand Monk -8 Cleric (Twilight recommended) -6
Basically put up Spirit Guardians (if multiple enemies, or Spirit Shroud if solo enemy) then WS into a Polar Bear and Bite, Claw, and Punch your enemies into submission. I have no idea how you'd build it from 1st level but this seems viable as a gish. You could swap the levels around to get to 8 Druid so you could Fly as a Queztlecoatl, or just go 6 Twilight Cleric for a fly speed.
The ultimate swashbuckling hero with a dash of magic from some ancient cursed treasure. You can build for Booming Blade + Eldritch Smite, or go for Spirit Shroud and throwing daggers. Lots of options here.
It you're talking about multiclassing as a true multiclass rather than as a dip then, there are these builds:
Spirit Animal Moon Druid - 6 Shadow or Open Hand Monk -8 Cleric (Twilight recommended) -6
Basically put up Spirit Guardians (if multiple enemies, or Spirit Shroud if solo enemy) then WS into a Polar Bear and Bite, Claw, and Punch your enemies into submission. I have no idea how you'd build it from 1st level but this seems viable as a gish. You could swap the levels around to get to 8 Druid so you could Fly as a Queztlecoatl, or just go 6 Twilight Cleric for a fly speed.
The ultimate swashbuckling hero with a dash of magic from some ancient cursed treasure. You can build for Booming Blade + Eldritch Smite, or go for Spirit Shroud and throwing daggers. Lots of options here.
Hurl or stab with those psychic blades for an obscene amount of damage and great crit-fishing potential.
I think that's a good point... taking a single level dip into Warlock for Hexblade hardly feels like "multiclassing" so much as it's just taking advantage of a technicality. It's not too hard to find some solid low-level features to dip and grab, but a dedicated multi-class that actually feels like a proper combination of the assembled classes is much more challenging.
I think the hardest part, especially with 3-class multiclass structure, is just how many levels it can take for these things to come online. I wonder if there are any triple-multiclass builds that are decently viable before level 10
I didn't mean it as an insult, it was more to praise you and the other people who decide to entertain my ape brain, and I thank you an everyone else who decided to write stuff on this thread.
I think that's a good point... taking a single level dip into Warlock for Hexblade hardly feels like "multiclassing" so much as it's just taking advantage of a technicality. It's not too hard to find some solid low-level features to dip and grab, but a dedicated multi-class that actually feels like a proper combination of the assembled classes is much more challenging.
I think the hardest part, especially with 3-class multiclass structure, is just how many levels it can take for these things to come online. I wonder if there are any triple-multiclass builds that are decently viable before level 10
Viable - yes, though "feeling" like the MC concept is harder. My Master of War is viable as long as you take the 5-Barbarian first, then you can add the other two classes however you wish but it doesn't truly "feel" like it is supposed to until level 11. Whereas the Captain Barbossa build is both viable and has the "feel" at: 3-Rogue, 1-Warlock, 3-Fighter = Level 7.
However pretty much any spellcaster -based MC it's hard to get the "feel" until you've got at least 5 levels in each of the spellcasters, and they are much more difficult to be viable during the initial transition between full caster classes.
Probably the most fun combination I could think of is Monk, Rogue, and Bard. You would be a speedy, edgy, dude zipping around with a guitar and striking weird poses. It would be an honestly hilarious multiclass.
Many martial class combinations benefit from 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, so any multiclass martial without Fighter can always be made into that martial class, but with two levels of Fighter as well.
If you want a specific build, Gloomstalker Ranger and Assassin Rogue have some synergistic abilities that maximise their efficacy during the first round of combat against surprised enemies. You can add two levels of Fighter on to Action Surge on that first round of combat, stretching those advantages twice as far. Your efficacy after that first round will be drastically lower, but this tri-class multiclass can take out a huge chunk of enemy health in that first six seconds.
Warlock is another one that is easy to multiclass into. Hexblade in particular is an easy fist level dip, allowing you to focus on charisma, and skip over things like Strength on a Paladin or Dexterity on a melee Bard. All the things that make it good for a one-level dip in a two-class multiclass build make Warlock a decent dip option in a three-class multiclass build.
My fav character of mine is this build. Started as Gloom stalker level 6, added 4 in fighter battle Master, now piling on Fighter to get more feats.
Stat wise you're still alright if you're a Stout Halfling, getting racial bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution allowing you to play a ranged build. You can go with either a shortbow, hand crossbow, or darts as a ranged Battle Master and be very viable (as long as you eventually gain the Sharpshooter feat which helps a good deal).
You get dice manipulation with Divination Wizard and Portent dice, Halfling's Lucky feature, and with the Fighter ASIs you can afford to take the Lucky feat to give you some more dice manipulation.
You get further dice manipulation defensively if you have enough points leftover for 14 Wisdom with Light Cleric, allowing you a defensive feature with Warding Flare to impose disadvantage on an attack roll against you which is helpful against preventing critical hits.
Against non-critical hits, you get the Shield spell from Wizard levels, and against damaging spells you get Absorb Elements.
For other kinds of re-rolling and dice manipulation, Lucky helps prevent natural 1s from happening on attack rolls so combined with Precision Attack from Battle Master there's usually some chance you're going to have of being able to land a hit when you attack. The Quick Toss maneuver also gives you an additional thrown weapon attack as a bonus action if going with darts (or thrown daggers, if you don't have Sharpshooter yet), and the Lucky feat and Portent rolls can give you dice manipulation for that attack since you can't use Precision Attack with Quick Toss on the same attack.
So overall, a dice manipulation Sharpshooter type build where you prevent yourself from having critical misses, and you can overcome the Sharpshooter penalty to hit with various forms of roll manipulation via Precision Attack, Portent, and the Lucky feat. So you can land your Sharpshooter attacks more often and deal great amounts of damage. You can cut out Light Cleric if you don't have the stats to do it, but it gives you another defensive feature to manipulate some dice.
My current character is a blender of fun: Swashbuckler:9 / Chain-Hexblade:5 / BattleMaster:3 / Divine Soul:1
We have been playing since level 1 and the other characters are a Tempest Cleric 18 with a Rogue 2 / Illusionist 16. We have been having a blast and my character is a Swiss army knife of utility and battlefield control. I am probably going to put my last two levels into rogue for the reliable talent. Oh, and he is a lightfoot halfling as well.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
It you're talking about multiclassing as a true multiclass rather than as a dip then, there are these builds:
Spirit Animal Moon Druid - 6 Shadow or Open Hand Monk -8 Cleric (Twilight recommended) -6
Basically put up Spirit Guardians (if multiple enemies, or Spirit Shroud if solo enemy) then WS into a Polar Bear and Bite, Claw, and Punch your enemies into submission. I have no idea how you'd build it from 1st level but this seems viable as a gish. You could swap the levels around to get to 8 Druid so you could Fly as a Queztlecoatl, or just go 6 Twilight Cleric for a fly speed.
The ultimate swashbuckling hero with a dash of magic from some ancient cursed treasure. You can build for Booming Blade + Eldritch Smite, or go for Spirit Shroud and throwing daggers. Lots of options here.
Hurl or stab with those psychic blades for an obscene amount of damage and great crit-fishing potential.
I think that's a good point... taking a single level dip into Warlock for Hexblade hardly feels like "multiclassing" so much as it's just taking advantage of a technicality. It's not too hard to find some solid low-level features to dip and grab, but a dedicated multi-class that actually feels like a proper combination of the assembled classes is much more challenging.
I think the hardest part, especially with 3-class multiclass structure, is just how many levels it can take for these things to come online. I wonder if there are any triple-multiclass builds that are decently viable before level 10
Gloom stalker 5, Rogue assassin 3 or 4 depending on desire for ASI/feat, comes on super strong nova round, add 2 of fighter for level 11 to get action surge to become even stronger. After that I would either go rogue or Fighter to gain additional back stab dice or fighter to add feats. I think the duel class is strong enough to wait for the tri-class to add to it.
I mean, I had a build that I put together for fun that's built to level 20, but no higher than 6 of any class, if you want an example of multiclassing...
Race: Hill Dwarf Class 1: Crown Paladin 6 Class 2: Champion Fighter 4 Class 3: Whispers Bard 3 Class 4: Clockwork Sorcerer 5 Class 5: Genie (Efreeti) Warlock 2
So you only need Str, Con, and Cha as your focused stats. What this gives (italicized items are to be applied as extra damage):
This is all on top of whatever spells and the few other features that can help outside of combat. With Plate Armor (should have the money for that by level 20, if not magic armor) and a shield, has a 21 AC (Defense fighting style) and the Shield spell to hit 26. Armor or shield with bonuses would push that higher. And with point buy for stats, the lowest save is a +4.
Just thought I'd share with the class if you're looking for what multiclassing can do. Multiple damage bonuses to stack onto enemies, the ability to pull aggro like a true tank, and the extra HP you can get from Hill Dwarf (along with being high Con) help make this character a solid martial option. The caster class levels also give a wide variety of spells to pull from if you want, and the slots for upcasting and smiting go all the way up to 6th level (being an 11th-level caster, plus 2 pact slots). Note Smite can only benefit from 4th level and lower slots, so anything higher acts like 4th level for those purposes. But Sorcerer 5 means this character can also Counterspell.
You are of course correct. MC'ing is a power-game play, with dips to create uber PC's. But a 3-way build is way way underpowered, if the PC starts at low levels. One, possibly 2 ASI's are sacrificed. A PC that is 3/2/1 or 2/2/2 at 6th level is way way behind the powercurve of single-classed 6th level PC's.
You are of course correct. MC'ing is a power-game play, with dips to create uber PC's. But a 3-way build is way way underpowered, if the PC starts at low levels. One, possibly 2 ASI's are sacrificed. A PC that is 3/2/1 or 2/2/2 at 6th level is way way behind the powercurve of single-classed 6th level PC's.
Not stand-out for sure, but competitive with DEX-melee characters like Rogue, Ranger or Monk in term of DPR, and better defensively. Generally pretty average in terms of power level.
Moon Druid -2, Monk -2, Barbarian-2 Moon Druid = Bear Wildshape = 2 attacks a +6th 2d6+4, and a +6th 1d8+4 Monk = +3 bonus to Bear AC + BA Unarmed Strike for a 3rd attack of +7th 1d4+4
Rage adds a +2 damage to each attack and gives Adv on the attack roll, for.. ~ 27.72 DPR AC = 14, but you've got 68 hit points of Bear shape every SR and Rage resistances. - This puts you near the top in terms of power at this level (sadly though, this build does not scale and will start dropping a higher levels). You can kind of keep it going by taking Astral Monk, and Bear Totem or with a generous DM who gives you magic items to boost your WS chance to hit.
AC = 14, but you've got 68 hit points of Bear shape every SR and Rage resistances. - This puts you near the top in terms of power at this level (sadly though, this build does not scale and will start dropping a higher levels). You can kind of keep it going by taking Astral Monk, and Bear Totem or with a generous DM who gives you magic items to boost your WS chance to hit.
Just go Tortle and you start with AC 17 when not in form.
I've been thinking about it, and I literally can't think of an effective way to play a character by Multiclassing three different classes, unless its a 2/2/16, but otherwise I can't think of anything else. If somebody has any builds that would work, I'll hear them.
Define "work" and "effective". I'm playing a Zealot barb/Swashbuckler rogue that added in some Battle Master levels after I hit 8/4, and it's been a lot of fun
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Many martial class combinations benefit from 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, so any multiclass martial without Fighter can always be made into that martial class, but with two levels of Fighter as well.
If you want a specific build, Gloomstalker Ranger and Assassin Rogue have some synergistic abilities that maximise their efficacy during the first round of combat against surprised enemies. You can add two levels of Fighter on to Action Surge on that first round of combat, stretching those advantages twice as far. Your efficacy after that first round will be drastically lower, but this tri-class multiclass can take out a huge chunk of enemy health in that first six seconds.
Warlock is another one that is easy to multiclass into. Hexblade in particular is an easy fist level dip, allowing you to focus on charisma, and skip over things like Strength on a Paladin or Dexterity on a melee Bard. All the things that make it good for a one-level dip in a two-class multiclass build make Warlock a decent dip option in a three-class multiclass build.
Hexblade Warlock/Paladin/Swords Bard. You only need one level of Warlock for Hex Warrior, 2 levels of Paladin for Divine Smite, and the rest Swords Bard. You still get extra attack, and even delaying your Bard spellcasting by 3 levels, you still end up with way, way more spell slots for smiting.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
It you're talking about multiclassing as a true multiclass rather than as a dip then, there are these builds:
Spirit Animal
Moon Druid - 6
Shadow or Open Hand Monk -8
Cleric (Twilight recommended) -6
Basically put up Spirit Guardians (if multiple enemies, or Spirit Shroud if solo enemy) then WS into a Polar Bear and Bite, Claw, and Punch your enemies into submission. I have no idea how you'd build it from 1st level but this seems viable as a gish. You could swap the levels around to get to 8 Druid so you could Fly as a Queztlecoatl, or just go 6 Twilight Cleric for a fly speed.
Captain Barbossa
Swashbuckler Rogue - 8
Genie Warlock -6
Fighter Battlemaster -4
The ultimate swashbuckling hero with a dash of magic from some ancient cursed treasure. You can build for Booming Blade + Eldritch Smite, or go for Spirit Shroud and throwing daggers. Lots of options here.
Master of War
Zealot Barbarian - 5
Soul Knife Rogue - 8
Champion Fighter - 4 - Dueling, Action Surge, improved critical
Hurl or stab with those psychic blades for an obscene amount of damage and great crit-fishing potential.
I think that's a good point... taking a single level dip into Warlock for Hexblade hardly feels like "multiclassing" so much as it's just taking advantage of a technicality. It's not too hard to find some solid low-level features to dip and grab, but a dedicated multi-class that actually feels like a proper combination of the assembled classes is much more challenging.
I think the hardest part, especially with 3-class multiclass structure, is just how many levels it can take for these things to come online. I wonder if there are any triple-multiclass builds that are decently viable before level 10
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
.........Durrrrrrrr............me no understand smart people............durrrrrrr
I didn't mean it as an insult, it was more to praise you and the other people who decide to entertain my ape brain, and I thank you an everyone else who decided to write stuff on this thread.
Viable - yes, though "feeling" like the MC concept is harder.
My Master of War is viable as long as you take the 5-Barbarian first, then you can add the other two classes however you wish but it doesn't truly "feel" like it is supposed to until level 11.
Whereas the Captain Barbossa build is both viable and has the "feel" at: 3-Rogue, 1-Warlock, 3-Fighter = Level 7.
However pretty much any spellcaster -based MC it's hard to get the "feel" until you've got at least 5 levels in each of the spellcasters, and they are much more difficult to be viable during the initial transition between full caster classes.
Probably the most fun combination I could think of is Monk, Rogue, and Bard. You would be a speedy, edgy, dude zipping around with a guitar and striking weird poses. It would be an honestly hilarious multiclass.
My fav character of mine is this build. Started as Gloom stalker level 6, added 4 in fighter battle Master, now piling on Fighter to get more feats.
There's this really cool dice manipulation build I found from Reddit:
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[Phandelver],[Frozen Sick],[Acquisitions Inc.],[Vecna Dossier],[Radiant Citadel], [Spelljammer],[Dragonlance], [Prisoner 13],[Minecraft],[Star Forge], [Baldur’s Gate], [Lightning Keep], [Stormwreck Isle], [Pinebrook], [Caverns of Tsojcanth], [The Lost Horn], [Elemental Evil].Free Dice: [Frostmaiden],
[Flourishing], [Sanguine],[Themberchaud], [Baldur's Gate 3], [Lego].My current character is a blender of fun: Swashbuckler:9 / Chain-Hexblade:5 / BattleMaster:3 / Divine Soul:1
We have been playing since level 1 and the other characters are a Tempest Cleric 18 with a Rogue 2 / Illusionist 16. We have been having a blast and my character is a Swiss army knife of utility and battlefield control. I am probably going to put my last two levels into rogue for the reliable talent. Oh, and he is a lightfoot halfling as well.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
SorlockBard
playing since 1986
Gloom stalker 5, Rogue assassin 3 or 4 depending on desire for ASI/feat, comes on super strong nova round, add 2 of fighter for level 11 to get action surge to become even stronger. After that I would either go rogue or Fighter to gain additional back stab dice or fighter to add feats. I think the duel class is strong enough to wait for the tri-class to add to it.
I mean, I had a build that I put together for fun that's built to level 20, but no higher than 6 of any class, if you want an example of multiclassing...
Just thought I'd share with the class if you're looking for what multiclassing can do. Multiple damage bonuses to stack onto enemies, the ability to pull aggro like a true tank, and the extra HP you can get from Hill Dwarf (along with being high Con) help make this character a solid martial option. The caster class levels also give a wide variety of spells to pull from if you want, and the slots for upcasting and smiting go all the way up to 6th level (being an 11th-level caster, plus 2 pact slots). Note Smite can only benefit from 4th level and lower slots, so anything higher acts like 4th level for those purposes. But Sorcerer 5 means this character can also Counterspell.
You are of course correct. MC'ing is a power-game play, with dips to create uber PC's. But a 3-way build is way way underpowered, if the PC starts at low levels. One, possibly 2 ASI's are sacrificed. A PC that is 3/2/1 or 2/2/2 at 6th level is way way behind the powercurve of single-classed 6th level PC's.
Challenge accepted.
Paladin-2 - Divine Smite, Protection
Barbarian -3 (Zealot), Rage, Danger Sense, Reckless, Divine Fury
Fighter-1, FS: Two-Weapon Wielding
Defense: AC: 18 (Half Plate + 2 DEX +1), HP: 48, Resist Bludge/Slash/Pierc
Offense: Two-Light Weapons with Adv : 2*0.8*(3.5+3 (STR)+2(RAGE)) + 3.5+1 = 18.1 ... BUT... add 4d8 to critical hits from Divine Smite 2x per day.
Not stand-out for sure, but competitive with DEX-melee characters like Rogue, Ranger or Monk in term of DPR, and better defensively. Generally pretty average in terms of power level.
Moon Druid -2, Monk -2, Barbarian-2
Moon Druid = Bear Wildshape = 2 attacks a +6th 2d6+4, and a +6th 1d8+4
Monk = +3 bonus to Bear AC + BA Unarmed Strike for a 3rd attack of +7th 1d4+4
Rage adds a +2 damage to each attack and gives Adv on the attack roll, for.. ~ 27.72 DPR
AC = 14, but you've got 68 hit points of Bear shape every SR and Rage resistances. - This puts you near the top in terms of power at this level (sadly though, this build does not scale and will start dropping a higher levels). You can kind of keep it going by taking Astral Monk, and Bear Totem or with a generous DM who gives you magic items to boost your WS chance to hit.
Just go Tortle and you start with AC 17 when not in form.
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