So I’m still relatively new to D&D, and am part of a pirate themed 5e show on Twitch. I’ve been playing my first 4 levels as a Drow Rogue, but the party has no healer and the DM and I have talked about me taking some levels as a Paladin to fill the gap. I’ve never multi-classed before though, and I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on how to build it out. At the very least I want to do my next 2 levels as a Paladin to get healing and Divine Smite, but what should I do after that?
What is your character like? What is your backstory? What have you been doing during the campaign? What would fit your character's personality?
My advice to a beginner: do not treat races and classes as purely things to optimize for when you roll the dice. Think of character and story first, and then see what classes and mechanics might work well together given what you have already been doing.
If you haven't been doing anything paladin-like, and your character's story and personality are not paladin-like, then why would they want to sign on to be a paladin? Focusing on the story gives your DM and the other players more to work with than your character just being a bunch of numbers. :)
Just my opinion, you'll find people who just go for number crunching too. To me, that's missing out on the game.
Keep in mind that if you follow multiclassing rules, you'll need to have your strength, dexterity, and charisma at 13 to multiclass paladin/rogue. Find out which level the DM is planning to take the campaign to, find out what you definitely want from rogue and that will give you an idea of what is available. If you're set on two levels of Paladin, you can factor that into your calculations.
If you're wanting spell slots and you aren't arcane trickster, you'll only get spell slot progression every two paladin levels. If you are arcane trickster, you'll get progression on paladin/2 rounded down and arcane trickster/3 rounded down. You'll get better slot progression from bard, cleric, druid, and sorcerer and then warlock has a different slot progression combined with short rest recovery, all of these can heal (sorcerer and warlock will require certain subclasses that are found in xanathar's guide to everything). Ranger can also heal but progresses like a paladin. They will all require different stats to be 13 (usually wisdom or charisma) in addition to the 13 dex that rogue will require and might be easier to qualify for depending on your stats.
With that said, find the right one that fits the story and vision that you have of your character and you should be good.
Brotherbock provided valid role play feedback, so I'll do the number crunching.
So first off the prerequisites to multiclassing rogue/paladin are 13 DEX, 13 STR, and 13 CHA. A rogue usually doesn't focus on STR, so that is an area of concern.
Paladins, do get a fair amount of healing from lay on hands and cure wounds. Both require an action and touch, and at level 2, you will only have 2 spell slots and 10 points for hands. If you do choose to multiclass paladin, I recommend 5-6 levels for extra attack or auras.
Though if it is just for healing, there are other ways to get it: bard, cleric, druid, divine soul sorcerer, celestial warlock, and ranger (the only one on the list with less healing than paladin, but matches rogue better in ways).
For bard, college of whispers gets an ability similar to smite, and college of lore gets more skill proficiencies and magical secrets at level 6 to learn any level 3 or lower spell (keep that in mind). It doesn't require 13 STR. I recommend 3-6 levels depending on what features you want.
Cleric requires 13 WIS instead of CHA and STR, and is the go-to healer. Life domain gets an extra once per day ability to heal as much as paladin lay on hands, but divided among multiple targets and has a range. Trickster domain is thematically appropriate for a rogue. The cleric is a prepare caster, so you can change what spells you use every day. I recommend 3-6 levels depending on what features you want.
Druid requires 13 WIS like the cleric. It has just as many healing spells as cleric and is also a prepare caster. It can turn into animals for sneaking around. The circle of land druid recovers some spell slots on short rests so it can heal more times than a cleric. The druid also has the healing spirit spell, regarded as over powered for its ability to fully heal the party outside of combat. I recommend 3-5 levels.
Divine soul sorcerer requires 13 CHA, but not STR, like bard. Most sorcerers can't heal, but this subclass can learn any cleric spell, though it is not a prepare caster. Sorcerers have sorcery points and metamagic which can be used to spread your healing spells more efficiently, or regain spell slots to just cast more. Divine soul also gets an ability to increase your attack and save rolls. Recommend 3-6 levels.
The celestial warlock has the same requirements as sorcerer and bard. Warlocks use pact magic instead of spellcasting, so you will only have 2 spell slots, but they are the highest level you can cast and come back on short rests. Warlocks are one of the most customizable classes and can also get a smite at level 3. The celestial has access to cure wounds and revivify, and while it doesn't have healing word like the last 4 options, it bass an ability similar to it. I recommend 3-5 levels.
Last is ranger. It pretty much only has cure wounds for healing. Notably though, the Gloomstalker ranger has abilities that supplement rogues quite well. Recommend 5 levels for extra attack.
I realize this is a long comment, but I wanted to be thorough. Tl;dr: go bard (whisper for smites, lore for spells).
I should have clarified that he’s a swashbuckler, framed for a murder he didn’t commit. He fled the city he grew up in and bounced from ship to ship until fate/luck put him in charge of his own ship. Now he just wants to live up to the role he fell into. We’re on our maiden voyage and already some of the crew have been killed in the few battles we’ve had, which has weighed heavily on him. So he wants the power to protect his people.
I still say bard might be best. Healing word will prove more useful than lay on hands, 2 cantrips add a lot of possibilities, it is less MAD, and gets more spells. Plus, bards can inspire thier allies.
The 3 subclasses you might be most interested in are:
Lore for more skill proficiencies and extra magical sectrets.
I still say bard might be best. Healing word will prove more useful than lay on hands, 2 cantrips add a lot of possibilities, it is less MAD, and gets more spells. Plus, bards can inspire thier allies.
The 3 subclasses you might be most interested in are:
Lore for more skill proficiencies and extra magical sectrets.
Whispers for an ability similar to smites.
Swords for fighting style and extra attack.
Swords Bard for a pirate type buckler of swashes sounds good to me. :)
You can't multiclass Rogue and paladin unless your strength is 13 which is useless for rogue. At least thats what character creation here in dndbeyond says.
It sounds like, thematically, Paladin can actually work for your character. I can see you taking an oath of Devotion or Vengeance.
Thematically, and mechanically, Bard is probably the best fit.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
So I’m still relatively new to D&D, and am part of a pirate themed 5e show on Twitch. I’ve been playing my first 4 levels as a Drow Rogue, but the party has no healer and the DM and I have talked about me taking some levels as a Paladin to fill the gap. I’ve never multi-classed before though, and I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on how to build it out. At the very least I want to do my next 2 levels as a Paladin to get healing and Divine Smite, but what should I do after that?
What is your character like? What is your backstory? What have you been doing during the campaign? What would fit your character's personality?
My advice to a beginner: do not treat races and classes as purely things to optimize for when you roll the dice. Think of character and story first, and then see what classes and mechanics might work well together given what you have already been doing.
If you haven't been doing anything paladin-like, and your character's story and personality are not paladin-like, then why would they want to sign on to be a paladin? Focusing on the story gives your DM and the other players more to work with than your character just being a bunch of numbers. :)
Just my opinion, you'll find people who just go for number crunching too. To me, that's missing out on the game.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Keep in mind that if you follow multiclassing rules, you'll need to have your strength, dexterity, and charisma at 13 to multiclass paladin/rogue. Find out which level the DM is planning to take the campaign to, find out what you definitely want from rogue and that will give you an idea of what is available. If you're set on two levels of Paladin, you can factor that into your calculations.
If you're wanting spell slots and you aren't arcane trickster, you'll only get spell slot progression every two paladin levels. If you are arcane trickster, you'll get progression on paladin/2 rounded down and arcane trickster/3 rounded down. You'll get better slot progression from bard, cleric, druid, and sorcerer and then warlock has a different slot progression combined with short rest recovery, all of these can heal (sorcerer and warlock will require certain subclasses that are found in xanathar's guide to everything). Ranger can also heal but progresses like a paladin. They will all require different stats to be 13 (usually wisdom or charisma) in addition to the 13 dex that rogue will require and might be easier to qualify for depending on your stats.
With that said, find the right one that fits the story and vision that you have of your character and you should be good.
Brotherbock provided valid role play feedback, so I'll do the number crunching.
So first off the prerequisites to multiclassing rogue/paladin are 13 DEX, 13 STR, and 13 CHA. A rogue usually doesn't focus on STR, so that is an area of concern.
Paladins, do get a fair amount of healing from lay on hands and cure wounds. Both require an action and touch, and at level 2, you will only have 2 spell slots and 10 points for hands. If you do choose to multiclass paladin, I recommend 5-6 levels for extra attack or auras.
Though if it is just for healing, there are other ways to get it: bard, cleric, druid, divine soul sorcerer, celestial warlock, and ranger (the only one on the list with less healing than paladin, but matches rogue better in ways).
For bard, college of whispers gets an ability similar to smite, and college of lore gets more skill proficiencies and magical secrets at level 6 to learn any level 3 or lower spell (keep that in mind). It doesn't require 13 STR. I recommend 3-6 levels depending on what features you want.
Cleric requires 13 WIS instead of CHA and STR, and is the go-to healer. Life domain gets an extra once per day ability to heal as much as paladin lay on hands, but divided among multiple targets and has a range. Trickster domain is thematically appropriate for a rogue. The cleric is a prepare caster, so you can change what spells you use every day. I recommend 3-6 levels depending on what features you want.
Druid requires 13 WIS like the cleric. It has just as many healing spells as cleric and is also a prepare caster. It can turn into animals for sneaking around. The circle of land druid recovers some spell slots on short rests so it can heal more times than a cleric. The druid also has the healing spirit spell, regarded as over powered for its ability to fully heal the party outside of combat. I recommend 3-5 levels.
Divine soul sorcerer requires 13 CHA, but not STR, like bard. Most sorcerers can't heal, but this subclass can learn any cleric spell, though it is not a prepare caster. Sorcerers have sorcery points and metamagic which can be used to spread your healing spells more efficiently, or regain spell slots to just cast more. Divine soul also gets an ability to increase your attack and save rolls. Recommend 3-6 levels.
The celestial warlock has the same requirements as sorcerer and bard. Warlocks use pact magic instead of spellcasting, so you will only have 2 spell slots, but they are the highest level you can cast and come back on short rests. Warlocks are one of the most customizable classes and can also get a smite at level 3. The celestial has access to cure wounds and revivify, and while it doesn't have healing word like the last 4 options, it bass an ability similar to it. I recommend 3-5 levels.
Last is ranger. It pretty much only has cure wounds for healing. Notably though, the Gloomstalker ranger has abilities that supplement rogues quite well. Recommend 5 levels for extra attack.
I realize this is a long comment, but I wanted to be thorough. Tl;dr: go bard (whisper for smites, lore for spells).
I should have clarified that he’s a swashbuckler, framed for a murder he didn’t commit. He fled the city he grew up in and bounced from ship to ship until fate/luck put him in charge of his own ship. Now he just wants to live up to the role he fell into. We’re on our maiden voyage and already some of the crew have been killed in the few battles we’ve had, which has weighed heavily on him. So he wants the power to protect his people.
I still say bard might be best. Healing word will prove more useful than lay on hands, 2 cantrips add a lot of possibilities, it is less MAD, and gets more spells. Plus, bards can inspire thier allies.
The 3 subclasses you might be most interested in are:
Swords Bard for a pirate type buckler of swashes sounds good to me. :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
You can't multiclass Rogue and paladin unless your strength is 13 which is useless for rogue. At least thats what character creation here in dndbeyond says.
It sounds like, thematically, Paladin can actually work for your character. I can see you taking an oath of Devotion or Vengeance.
Thematically, and mechanically, Bard is probably the best fit.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Some last minute advice in case you didn't make your character in the last 3 and a half months...