Soooo, I was considering a Barbarian-Rogue, or Warlock-Rogue for when I get to finally play my first game of DnD, both almost purely flavor concepts I've found out I love too much. I've got four and a half characters with faintly or heavily interweaving backgrounds and just about all of them would multiclass if I ever get 'round to playing them. It just...got like this, okay?
When looking at the subclass's I've been oggling for a month, they say that "at * * level you gain gain such and such a feature".
Cool, cool. Sweet. What I want to know is, if one wanted to hypothetically be a Totem-Scout Barbarian/Rogue, if they survived the DM's campcamp weedonwancha aaall the way up to lv, let's say, 18. While it seems very apparent you don't get every base class' skills on either side depending how you leveled up until that point--do you get the subclass skills?
I mean, it's wishful thinking, but since the text unspecifically(Not a word ;P) says "At blank level you blahblah", do you by lv 18 collect all subclass skills along the way that have such wording?
Please don't tell me I have to pick and choose these as well, I actually might cry. Thank you.
The key here is the difference between character level and class levels.
To put it simply, the class levels matter for the class features. For example, a 18 level character, of which 5 Rogue, 5 Barbarian and 8 warlock, gets all the feature listed in those class tables of a 5 Rogue, 5 Barbarian and 8 warlock.
Proficiencies and spellcasting work differently and you need to check the corresponding section in the Multiclass chapter.
You have to separate class level from character level in your head. Each level your character earns, you spend to advance a class you already have, or gain a new class and it's level 1 features. This is why multi-classed characters are described by the combinations of each class, paired with a number. Such as Fighter2/Wizard1. This would be a level 3 character, who has 2 levels into Fighter and 1 level into Wizard. This gives you the level 1 and 2 features for Fighter, and the level 1 features of Wizard.
It's also important to remember, though, that a character can only reach character level 20 through the default rules. This means that you can only get the level 20 features of a particular class if you keep that character as only that single class. You can't become, for example, a Figher20/Wizard 10. That would require a level 30 character, which is not possible. So it's a good idea to look carefully at what you are considering multi-classing into, and verify it is really worth what you would be giving up in your other class(s) to get those features.
As an example, I have a Cleric (Life Domain) that I am playing. I have decided that, somewhere down the line, I will take 3 levels into Bloodhunter to get some of the features there. But doing so will limit me to Cleric 17. By limiting myself to Cleric 17, I will 'lose' 1 use of Channel Divinity per Rest, 1 Ability Score Improvement, the auto-success improvement to Divine Intervention, and 1 Spell Slot each of 5th, 6th, and 7th levels. By doing this, I will gain proficiency in Martial Weapons and Alchemists Tools, Crimson Rite, a Blood Curse, a Fighting Style, and my choice of the Bloodhunter specializations.
Oh yeah, that I get. I may just not appreciate it now, but I don't care much for the lv 20 stuff for these classes.
What I want to know, specifically I guess, is if I for example were to be a barbarian 17, Rogue 3 by end of leveling, would I get all of the subclass skill of the rogue's that say " At lv 3, at lv 6, at lv 14" and so on as my character progresses in total level, even if the main Rogue class itself if only 3?
Oookay, so correct me if I misunderstood, but so long as it specified a general level over class lv, I get to partake in the advancements in subclass skills, regardless of the main class levels?
Oh yeah, that I get. I may just not appreciate it now, but I don't care much for the lv 20 stuff for these classes.
What I want to know, specifically I guess, is if I for example were to be a barbarian 17, Rogue 3 by end of leveling, would I get all of the subclass skill of the rogue's that say " At lv 3, at lv 6, at lv 14" and so on as my character progresses in total level, even if the main Rogue class itself if only 3?
Oookay, so correct me if I misunderstood, but so long as it specified a general level over class lv, I get to partake in the advancements in subclass skills, regardless of the main class levels?
No. If it was that way, it wouldn't matter specifying the levels for each class.
You want a Barbarian 17 and a Rogue 3. You get the features of a Barbarian from level 1 to 3, plus the features of a Rogue from level 1 to 3.
Ah...so class and subclass prerequisites still apply then.
I'd need to actually reach ninth level in rogue to get a scout's movement perk, not just have rogue at 3 and barrel on with another class, is that right?
Imagine for a second if you got subclass features from total character level instead of class level. You could make a character that has at least 1 level in every class and be a 20th level character and gain access to literally every single class feature - and that would include Ability Score Increases. That would be beyond overpowered. Godlike even.
The primary exception is cantrips, which scale with character level instead of class level. This is why many people take 2 levels of warlock, to get Eldritch Blast and Agonizing Blast and blast as well as a high level warlock.
Soooo, I was considering a Barbarian-Rogue, or Warlock-Rogue for when I get to finally play my first game of DnD, both almost purely flavor concepts I've found out I love too much. I've got four and a half characters with faintly or heavily interweaving backgrounds and just about all of them would multiclass if I ever get 'round to playing them. It just...got like this, okay?
When looking at the subclass's I've been oggling for a month, they say that "at * * level you gain gain such and such a feature".
Cool, cool. Sweet. What I want to know is, if one wanted to hypothetically be a Totem-Scout Barbarian/Rogue, if they survived the DM's campcamp weedonwancha aaall the way up to lv, let's say, 18. While it seems very apparent you don't get every base class' skills on either side depending how you leveled up until that point--do you get the subclass skills?
I mean, it's wishful thinking, but since the text unspecifically(Not a word ;P) says "At blank level you blahblah", do you by lv 18 collect all subclass skills along the way that have such wording?
Please don't tell me I have to pick and choose these as well, I actually might cry. Thank you.
The key here is the difference between character level and class levels.
To put it simply, the class levels matter for the class features. For example, a 18 level character, of which 5 Rogue, 5 Barbarian and 8 warlock, gets all the feature listed in those class tables of a 5 Rogue, 5 Barbarian and 8 warlock.
Proficiencies and spellcasting work differently and you need to check the corresponding section in the Multiclass chapter.
You have to separate class level from character level in your head. Each level your character earns, you spend to advance a class you already have, or gain a new class and it's level 1 features. This is why multi-classed characters are described by the combinations of each class, paired with a number. Such as Fighter2/Wizard1. This would be a level 3 character, who has 2 levels into Fighter and 1 level into Wizard. This gives you the level 1 and 2 features for Fighter, and the level 1 features of Wizard.
It's also important to remember, though, that a character can only reach character level 20 through the default rules. This means that you can only get the level 20 features of a particular class if you keep that character as only that single class. You can't become, for example, a Figher20/Wizard 10. That would require a level 30 character, which is not possible. So it's a good idea to look carefully at what you are considering multi-classing into, and verify it is really worth what you would be giving up in your other class(s) to get those features.
As an example, I have a Cleric (Life Domain) that I am playing. I have decided that, somewhere down the line, I will take 3 levels into Bloodhunter to get some of the features there. But doing so will limit me to Cleric 17. By limiting myself to Cleric 17, I will 'lose' 1 use of Channel Divinity per Rest, 1 Ability Score Improvement, the auto-success improvement to Divine Intervention, and 1 Spell Slot each of 5th, 6th, and 7th levels. By doing this, I will gain proficiency in Martial Weapons and Alchemists Tools, Crimson Rite, a Blood Curse, a Fighting Style, and my choice of the Bloodhunter specializations.
Oh yeah, that I get. I may just not appreciate it now, but I don't care much for the lv 20 stuff for these classes.
What I want to know, specifically I guess, is if I for example were to be a barbarian 17, Rogue 3 by end of leveling, would I get all of the subclass skill of the rogue's that say " At lv 3, at lv 6, at lv 14" and so on as my character progresses in total level, even if the main Rogue class itself if only 3?
Oookay, so correct me if I misunderstood, but so long as it specified a general level over class lv, I get to partake in the advancements in subclass skills, regardless of the main class levels?
No, you get only the features of a level 3 Rogue.
No. If it was that way, it wouldn't matter specifying the levels for each class.
You want a Barbarian 17 and a Rogue 3. You get the features of a Barbarian from level 1 to 3, plus the features of a Rogue from level 1 to 3.
Ah...so class and subclass prerequisites still apply then.
I'd need to actually reach ninth level in rogue to get a scout's movement perk, not just have rogue at 3 and barrel on with another class, is that right?
Yes.
Alrighty, thank you for the clarification. Pesky wording had me turned around.
Imagine for a second if you got subclass features from total character level instead of class level. You could make a character that has at least 1 level in every class and be a 20th level character and gain access to literally every single class feature - and that would include Ability Score Increases. That would be beyond overpowered. Godlike even.
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The primary exception is cantrips, which scale with character level instead of class level. This is why many people take 2 levels of warlock, to get Eldritch Blast and Agonizing Blast and blast as well as a high level warlock.
Yeah, hindsight smacked me across the face when I realized that -_-
I have a lot of fine tuning to do, again.