Currently playing in a seafaring campaign as a Glasya Tiefling Swashbuckler Rogue and the party is set to go to level 13 maybe 14. While rogues are extremely handy, I want to try my hand at multicasting to become more versatile to the party. The current party composition is a fighter who uses a scimitar and pistol. Path of the Beast Barbarian with Dual wielder Feat. Artilerist Artificer, a Bard and a Luck cleric along with a friendly ranger NPC who uses guns.
The party is currently level 4 and I'm stuck on what to multi class into. I've had some ideas on possibly going into Hexblade warlock (My character briefly had a pact with a fiend in a moment of desperation, but managed to sever the pact before it became permanent.) Bard would make sense rp wise due to his background being an entertainer, but there isn't much in the way of damage when it comes to cantrips and bard's don't get too many spells that would synergies well with rogues. Storm sorcerer was also appealing but he doesn't really know magic or where it would come from (Orphan backstory cliche)
I also considered multi classing into Battle Master fighter for two-hand rapiers for more attacks and more possibility for sneak attack, but melee seems covered by the Fighter and Barbarian. Also if I go that route I want to at least put 5 levels into fighter for extra attack and lose out on more Sneak Attack damage and other rogue abilities along with another ASI.
Either way I plan to do a 9/5 or 4 or 10/3 or 4 split. 9 or 10 in rogue and 3 or 4 in the other class to not miss out on too many ASI. My scores are currently: STR: 8 DEX: 18 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 10 CHA: 18.
It doesn't sound like you have a clear idea of what you want out of the multiclass other than "versatility", but there are other way to cover that. For instance, if you just want a bit of casting, you could take Magic Initiate, Ritual Caster or a similar feat instead and stick with Rogue, so you don't miss out on Reliable Talent at 11th
Being better at melee also isn't a bad thing, especially when it's a different style of melee. While the barb is tanking and rooted in one spot, you can zip all around the battlefield with Fancy Footwork -- which is why getting extra attacks is generally a good call for Swashbucklers especially, even beyond the better odds of not missing a chance to Sneak Attack. If you need to weave your way through a crowd, you have more attacks to distribute (and can avoid more opportunity attacks)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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)
I recommend taking a few levels of Sorcerer specifically to get access to metamagic, which makes magic more versatile for you as a Rogue. The nice thing about sorcerers is also that their very nature justifies your character suddenly acquiring magic powers without necessarily being trained with them. As a Tiefling you already have some amount of innate spellcasting, so you could flavor your sorcerer classes as learning to control that same magic further.
One thing to consider is Swashbucklers are melee focused classes. The more someone is upfront the more likely they'll get hit and have to make concentration checks to maintain most of their spells.
Warlock-3 (Chain Pact) is amazing as a combo with Rogue: Misty Step to get yourself out of restraints, Invisibility to make you the best infiltrator ever, Mask of Many Faces to make you a master of social interactions, an awesome familiar to give you Adv on your attack, GFB, BB. Hex can be useful if you take Expertise in Athletics and want to be able to grapple/shove enemies.
Valid option. My tiefling Subrace is Gasya so the racial spells I have are Minor Illusion, Disguise Self and Invisibility (Once I reach 5th level) I always try too look at the rp side of things rather than the optimal choice. If I do decide to Multiclass into a spell caster then I make sure they have Booming Blade and little to no concentration spells. Since I am front line and can only attack once I'd want to make sure that one hit packs a punch with it also fitting the theme.
What kind of sorcerer would you recommend? I was initially thinking Storm Sorcerer for sea faring flavor, but it's not the best in terms of the others. My character has been exposed to a VARIETY of magic (Including Draconic, Time based even a patch of islands blessed by Selune that he got surged with when he casted Minor illusion. Now he has silver streaks in his hair from the experience)
What kind of sorcerer would you recommend? I was initially thinking Storm Sorcerer for sea faring flavor, but it's not the best in terms of the others. My character has been exposed to a VARIETY of magic (Including Draconic, Time based even a patch of islands blessed by Selune that he got surged with when he casted Minor illusion. Now he has silver streaks in his hair from the experience)
Okay, here's my pitch...
Glasya's powers seem to be built around deception, manipulation, and infiltration. You could even flavor it as the surge of power from your Minor Illusion unlocked greater power within yourself, which manifests as Shadow Sorcery. Suddenly your darkvision doubles to 120 feet, and for a front-line skirmisher you get a pretty cool feature in Strength of the Grave, where you can make a CHA saving throw when reduced to 0 hp and remain at 1 instead. If you're playing smart you probably won't use that feature often, but it's cool to know you have that in your back pocket, just in case.
The main thing that this class gives you, mechanically, is a unique Darkness spell that you can see through, but nobody else can. It doesn't come online until 3rd level, but you want to get to at least 3rd level anyway because you want Metamagic... Quicken Spell alone is valuable enough to be worth the investment.
The neat thing about Darkness is you can either center it on a point in space, or you can cast it on an object and have that object radiate impenetrable darkness. If you use Sorcery Points to cast Darkness, you can see through it... so just walk up to someone, use sorcery points to cast Darkness on your belt buckle, then suddenly they can't see anything, so you go from being good at one-on-one fighting to unstoppable at one-on-one fighting (assuming whoever you're fighting doesn't have blindsight or some other special senses). If you invest the sorcery points, you could even Quicken the Darkness so you can still attack with Booming Blade on the same turn. I wouldn't recommend doing this every fight... that big ball of darkness is as much an inconvenience to your allies as it is to the enemies, but it's a fun "super move" to keep in your back pocket for when you really want to show off.
I’ve been lurking in this thread since it popped up. I’m currently playing a Swashbuckler in a PbP and wanted to see if there were any truly interesting ideas here, but from all I’ve seen nothing is convincing me it’s worth Multiclassing at all. Giving up Sneak Attack progression, and slowing down all the awesome features that rogues get just doesn’t seem worth the trade off to me. I’m still planning on just going straight rogue the whole way just to keep the gravy train rolling.
I’ve been lurking in this thread since it popped up. I’m currently playing a Swashbuckler in a PbP and wanted to see if there were any truly interesting ideas here, but from all I’ve seen nothing is convincing me it’s worth Multiclassing at all. Giving up Sneak Attack progression, and slowing down all the awesome features that rogues get just doesn’t seem worth the trade off to me. I’m still planning on just going straight rogue the whole way just to keep the gravy train rolling.
In general it isn't worth it until at minimum 5th level Rogue, because you want that first ASI and Uncanny Dodge to survive in melee as Swashbuckler. MCing wisely at this point is a trade-off rather than an absolute benefit, Evasion is huge for a Rogue's defenses but getting Booming Blade + your Proficiency Bonus to damage (from Genie or Hexblade Warlock) is a significant boost to damage now (4.5+3 is as much as your sneak attack) - this offensive boost is equivalent of 4 levels of Rogue so can carry you up to Warlock-3 for Pact of the Chain and that free Adv so you end up at Level 8 (Rogue-5, Warlock-3) with better Skirmishing offense than a straight rogue (b/c of advantage) and two Invocations and 4 spells for utility (or you can take some combat ones), but you have worse defenses b/c of lacking Evasion.
Alternatively you can go purely for Offense and take : Rogue-5, Genielock-1 (Hex, Genie Wrath,BB), Fighter-1 (Dueling + Shield proficiency), then continue through Rogue.
Alternatively you can go a purely for Defense and take: Rogue-7, Druid-1 (for Absorb Elements + Shield proficiency) - this does nothing for your offense though.
Alternatively you can go ultimate Infiltrator: Rogue-5, Druid-3 (for Pass without Trace + Wildshape) - this is sacrificing significant combat ability though.
The best time to MC a Rogue though is probably at level 9, once you've gotten the 2 ASIs, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, and two sets of Expertise. But the absolute value of doing so depends on how much you value Reliable Talent. Personally, I don't care much for it as I don't mind Nat 1 fails on skill checks but it very much depends on your preference.
That's where booming blade comes in. It provides that additional pop of damage to make the multiclass sting a little less. It also pairs great with swashbuckler since you can hit and run to force your opponent to take even more damage. That all said... You can also learn booming blade with a feat and just add the damage on top of keeping your sneak attack, but I think even a small pool if first and second level spells can be incredibly useful under the right circumstances
What kind of sorcerer would you recommend? I was initially thinking Storm Sorcerer for sea faring flavor, but it's not the best in terms of the others. My character has been exposed to a VARIETY of magic (Including Draconic, Time based even a patch of islands blessed by Selune that he got surged with when he casted Minor illusion. Now he has silver streaks in his hair from the experience)
If you're MCing for flavour go with the flavourful option and stick with Storm Sorcerer. Though be aware that you probably won't really use the abilities you gain from it more than once maybe twice per day (probably as part of casting Absorb Elements).
Draconic sorcerer would give you +1 AC and the awesome flavour of running around barechested - it's visibility makes it one of the best for RP purposes too.
Wild Magic like Storm would only come up once maybe twice per day.
Aberrant Mind would give you some fun telepathy that could be fun for RP and you can use it a lot.
Clockwork's not bad, you can save yourself from DisAdvantage killing your sneak attack a few time per day.
I’ve been lurking in this thread since it popped up. I’m currently playing a Swashbuckler in a PbP and wanted to see if there were any truly interesting ideas here, but from all I’ve seen nothing is convincing me it’s worth Multiclassing at all. Giving up Sneak Attack progression, and slowing down all the awesome features that rogues get just doesn’t seem worth the trade off to me. I’m still planning on just going straight rogue the whole way just to keep the gravy train rolling.
I have never liked the idea of multiclassing myself. Aside from really
specific builds, it isn't really worth it in my opinion. I personally never got into rogues myself, except for the swashbuckler. It is the only one I can see myself ever playing one day.
I will say that an Arcane Trickster with a 2 level dip into Wiz for either Bladesinger or Divination is baller. All you really give up is eventual access to Greater Invisibility, but what you gain is well worth it IMO.
Multiclassing you need to have a goal in mind and accept the trade-offs you're making, for casters it is almost never worth it to MC, but for weapon users it definitely can be if done carefully.
I suppose my goal in mind is to be more useful than just running up ATTEMPTING to hit with one attack and then running away. I'll be honest this is my first time playing a rogue. My last character was a Circle of Dreams Druid I took from lvl 1-20 and wanted to try something different. Despite being a rogue he's done more 'bard things' than the actual bard in the party. Ex: Negotiating and performing. His charisma is pretty much tied with the bard as well so either of them could be the party face or cover for the other if the group is somehow split.
If I wanted to use Booming Blade on my rogue I woulda gone Arcane Trickster, not Swashbuckler.
I think if you're just interested in Booming Blade and nothing else, that's the right move. But Swashbuckler uniquely benefits from Charisma, so it's still fairly popular for multiclassing, since there's so many other Charisma-based classes. Although to be honest most of them are gimmick builds rather than anything that's particularly more overall useful than just sticking with pure Rogue. But if it's a fun gimmick, why not?
I can understand that feeling that CrimsonCrow described of going from a versatile spellcaster for a long campaign then shifting to a more straightforward damage dealer. My first long campaign I played a Bard/Warlock multiclass character up to level 20, then when I played as a Barbarian for my next game I could get frustrated at repetition. I think I found myself focusing more on RP as the character... giving him stuff to do outside of combat to engage more storytelling and exploration, and focusing on describing viscerally his actions in combat to help it feel more fun and engaging even if mechanically I'm just rolling the same dice to perform the same actions in the same order turn after turn. I also got more feats rather than pure ASIs to get extra tricks and actions to use in combat, like getting Tavern Brawler for the bonus action grapple, or sentinel so I would have more opportunities for reactions.
That definitely part of the reason for multi classing. With my Circle of dreams Druid even if I didn't do damage in a fight I was sort of the go-to healer with balm of the summer court. D6 healing as bonus action that can't be counter spelled saved our lives more than a few times. Where as the rogue feels like a one trick pony and if you miss then it's kind of a waste of a turn. I also don't have the AC or HP to really tank like a fighter or barbarian and swashbucklers have a very limited range of effectiveness.
I can understand that feeling that CrimsonCrow described of going from a versatile spellcaster for a long campaign then shifting to a more straightforward damage dealer. My first long campaign I played a Bard/Warlock multiclass character up to level 20, then when I played as a Barbarian for my next game I could get frustrated at repetition. I think I found myself focusing more on RP as the character... giving him stuff to do outside of combat to engage more storytelling and exploration, and focusing on describing viscerally his actions in combat to help it feel more fun and engaging even if mechanically I'm just rolling the same dice to perform the same actions in the same order turn after turn. I also got more feats rather than pure ASIs to get extra tricks and actions to use in combat, like getting Tavern Brawler for the bonus action grapple, or sentinel so I would have more opportunities for reactions.
Oh, believe me, I get it. In my other campaign I’m playing an 11th level bardcerer with (no joke) 9 cantrips. I got something for just about every occasion. My previous 2 characters were another bard and an artificer. I definitely feel the lack of general utility with my ‘buckler, but it’s just a different play style that I have to get used to is all.
I suppose my goal in mind is to be more useful than just running up ATTEMPTING to hit with one attack and then running away. I'll be honest this is my first time playing a rogue. My last character was a Circle of Dreams Druid I took from lvl 1-20 and wanted to try something different. Despite being a rogue he's done more 'bard things' than the actual bard in the party. Ex: Negotiating and performing. His charisma is pretty much tied with the bard as well so either of them could be the party face or cover for the other if the group is somehow split.
MCing Bard is probably you best bet for doing something other than just hitting stuff with your sword, but you've already got one in the party so that feels really redundant. I guess my question is ... what "other things" do you want to be doing? Or are you mostly dissatisfied with the fact that you occasionally miss and then have accomplished nothing on your turn?
The main "other things" that non-spellcasters do in combat are:
1) moving around - this could be to lure an enemy into a trap, or to hide behind cover, or to sneak up behind an enemy.
Currently playing in a seafaring campaign as a Glasya Tiefling Swashbuckler Rogue and the party is set to go to level 13 maybe 14. While rogues are extremely handy, I want to try my hand at multicasting to become more versatile to the party. The current party composition is a fighter who uses a scimitar and pistol. Path of the Beast Barbarian with Dual wielder Feat. Artilerist Artificer, a Bard and a Luck cleric along with a friendly ranger NPC who uses guns.
The party is currently level 4 and I'm stuck on what to multi class into. I've had some ideas on possibly going into Hexblade warlock (My character briefly had a pact with a fiend in a moment of desperation, but managed to sever the pact before it became permanent.) Bard would make sense rp wise due to his background being an entertainer, but there isn't much in the way of damage when it comes to cantrips and bard's don't get too many spells that would synergies well with rogues. Storm sorcerer was also appealing but he doesn't really know magic or where it would come from (Orphan backstory cliche)
I also considered multi classing into Battle Master fighter for two-hand rapiers for more attacks and more possibility for sneak attack, but melee seems covered by the Fighter and Barbarian. Also if I go that route I want to at least put 5 levels into fighter for extra attack and lose out on more Sneak Attack damage and other rogue abilities along with another ASI.
Either way I plan to do a 9/5 or 4 or 10/3 or 4 split. 9 or 10 in rogue and 3 or 4 in the other class to not miss out on too many ASI. My scores are currently: STR: 8 DEX: 18 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 10 CHA: 18.
It doesn't sound like you have a clear idea of what you want out of the multiclass other than "versatility", but there are other way to cover that. For instance, if you just want a bit of casting, you could take Magic Initiate, Ritual Caster or a similar feat instead and stick with Rogue, so you don't miss out on Reliable Talent at 11th
Being better at melee also isn't a bad thing, especially when it's a different style of melee. While the barb is tanking and rooted in one spot, you can zip all around the battlefield with Fancy Footwork -- which is why getting extra attacks is generally a good call for Swashbucklers especially, even beyond the better odds of not missing a chance to Sneak Attack. If you need to weave your way through a crowd, you have more attacks to distribute (and can avoid more opportunity attacks)
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)
I recommend taking a few levels of Sorcerer specifically to get access to metamagic, which makes magic more versatile for you as a Rogue. The nice thing about sorcerers is also that their very nature justifies your character suddenly acquiring magic powers without necessarily being trained with them. As a Tiefling you already have some amount of innate spellcasting, so you could flavor your sorcerer classes as learning to control that same magic further.
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
One thing to consider is Swashbucklers are melee focused classes. The more someone is upfront the more likely they'll get hit and have to make concentration checks to maintain most of their spells.
Warlock-3 (Chain Pact) is amazing as a combo with Rogue: Misty Step to get yourself out of restraints, Invisibility to make you the best infiltrator ever, Mask of Many Faces to make you a master of social interactions, an awesome familiar to give you Adv on your attack, GFB, BB. Hex can be useful if you take Expertise in Athletics and want to be able to grapple/shove enemies.
Valid option. My tiefling Subrace is Gasya so the racial spells I have are Minor Illusion, Disguise Self and Invisibility (Once I reach 5th level) I always try too look at the rp side of things rather than the optimal choice. If I do decide to Multiclass into a spell caster then I make sure they have Booming Blade and little to no concentration spells. Since I am front line and can only attack once I'd want to make sure that one hit packs a punch with it also fitting the theme.
What kind of sorcerer would you recommend? I was initially thinking Storm Sorcerer for sea faring flavor, but it's not the best in terms of the others. My character has been exposed to a VARIETY of magic (Including Draconic, Time based even a patch of islands blessed by Selune that he got surged with when he casted Minor illusion. Now he has silver streaks in his hair from the experience)
Okay, here's my pitch...
Glasya's powers seem to be built around deception, manipulation, and infiltration. You could even flavor it as the surge of power from your Minor Illusion unlocked greater power within yourself, which manifests as Shadow Sorcery. Suddenly your darkvision doubles to 120 feet, and for a front-line skirmisher you get a pretty cool feature in Strength of the Grave, where you can make a CHA saving throw when reduced to 0 hp and remain at 1 instead. If you're playing smart you probably won't use that feature often, but it's cool to know you have that in your back pocket, just in case.
The main thing that this class gives you, mechanically, is a unique Darkness spell that you can see through, but nobody else can. It doesn't come online until 3rd level, but you want to get to at least 3rd level anyway because you want Metamagic... Quicken Spell alone is valuable enough to be worth the investment.
The neat thing about Darkness is you can either center it on a point in space, or you can cast it on an object and have that object radiate impenetrable darkness. If you use Sorcery Points to cast Darkness, you can see through it... so just walk up to someone, use sorcery points to cast Darkness on your belt buckle, then suddenly they can't see anything, so you go from being good at one-on-one fighting to unstoppable at one-on-one fighting (assuming whoever you're fighting doesn't have blindsight or some other special senses). If you invest the sorcery points, you could even Quicken the Darkness so you can still attack with Booming Blade on the same turn. I wouldn't recommend doing this every fight... that big ball of darkness is as much an inconvenience to your allies as it is to the enemies, but it's a fun "super move" to keep in your back pocket for when you really want to show off.
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
I’ve been lurking in this thread since it popped up. I’m currently playing a Swashbuckler in a PbP and wanted to see if there were any truly interesting ideas here, but from all I’ve seen nothing is convincing me it’s worth Multiclassing at all. Giving up Sneak Attack progression, and slowing down all the awesome features that rogues get just doesn’t seem worth the trade off to me. I’m still planning on just going straight rogue the whole way just to keep the gravy train rolling.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
In general it isn't worth it until at minimum 5th level Rogue, because you want that first ASI and Uncanny Dodge to survive in melee as Swashbuckler. MCing wisely at this point is a trade-off rather than an absolute benefit, Evasion is huge for a Rogue's defenses but getting Booming Blade + your Proficiency Bonus to damage (from Genie or Hexblade Warlock) is a significant boost to damage now (4.5+3 is as much as your sneak attack) - this offensive boost is equivalent of 4 levels of Rogue so can carry you up to Warlock-3 for Pact of the Chain and that free Adv so you end up at Level 8 (Rogue-5, Warlock-3) with better Skirmishing offense than a straight rogue (b/c of advantage) and two Invocations and 4 spells for utility (or you can take some combat ones), but you have worse defenses b/c of lacking Evasion.
Alternatively you can go purely for Offense and take : Rogue-5, Genielock-1 (Hex, Genie Wrath,BB), Fighter-1 (Dueling + Shield proficiency), then continue through Rogue.
Alternatively you can go a purely for Defense and take: Rogue-7, Druid-1 (for Absorb Elements + Shield proficiency) - this does nothing for your offense though.
Alternatively you can go ultimate Infiltrator: Rogue-5, Druid-3 (for Pass without Trace + Wildshape) - this is sacrificing significant combat ability though.
The best time to MC a Rogue though is probably at level 9, once you've gotten the 2 ASIs, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, and two sets of Expertise. But the absolute value of doing so depends on how much you value Reliable Talent. Personally, I don't care much for it as I don't mind Nat 1 fails on skill checks but it very much depends on your preference.
That's where booming blade comes in. It provides that additional pop of damage to make the multiclass sting a little less. It also pairs great with swashbuckler since you can hit and run to force your opponent to take even more damage. That all said... You can also learn booming blade with a feat and just add the damage on top of keeping your sneak attack, but I think even a small pool if first and second level spells can be incredibly useful under the right circumstances
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
If you're MCing for flavour go with the flavourful option and stick with Storm Sorcerer. Though be aware that you probably won't really use the abilities you gain from it more than once maybe twice per day (probably as part of casting Absorb Elements).
Draconic sorcerer would give you +1 AC and the awesome flavour of running around barechested - it's visibility makes it one of the best for RP purposes too.
Wild Magic like Storm would only come up once maybe twice per day.
Aberrant Mind would give you some fun telepathy that could be fun for RP and you can use it a lot.
Clockwork's not bad, you can save yourself from DisAdvantage killing your sneak attack a few time per day.
I will say that an Arcane Trickster with a 2 level dip into Wiz for either Bladesinger or Divination is baller. All you really give up is eventual access to Greater Invisibility, but what you gain is well worth it IMO.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
If I wanted to use Booming Blade on my rogue I woulda gone Arcane Trickster, not Swashbuckler.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Multiclassing you need to have a goal in mind and accept the trade-offs you're making, for casters it is almost never worth it to MC, but for weapon users it definitely can be if done carefully.
I suppose my goal in mind is to be more useful than just running up ATTEMPTING to hit with one attack and then running away. I'll be honest this is my first time playing a rogue. My last character was a Circle of Dreams Druid I took from lvl 1-20 and wanted to try something different. Despite being a rogue he's done more 'bard things' than the actual bard in the party. Ex: Negotiating and performing. His charisma is pretty much tied with the bard as well so either of them could be the party face or cover for the other if the group is somehow split.
I think if you're just interested in Booming Blade and nothing else, that's the right move. But Swashbuckler uniquely benefits from Charisma, so it's still fairly popular for multiclassing, since there's so many other Charisma-based classes. Although to be honest most of them are gimmick builds rather than anything that's particularly more overall useful than just sticking with pure Rogue. But if it's a fun gimmick, why not?
I can understand that feeling that CrimsonCrow described of going from a versatile spellcaster for a long campaign then shifting to a more straightforward damage dealer. My first long campaign I played a Bard/Warlock multiclass character up to level 20, then when I played as a Barbarian for my next game I could get frustrated at repetition. I think I found myself focusing more on RP as the character... giving him stuff to do outside of combat to engage more storytelling and exploration, and focusing on describing viscerally his actions in combat to help it feel more fun and engaging even if mechanically I'm just rolling the same dice to perform the same actions in the same order turn after turn. I also got more feats rather than pure ASIs to get extra tricks and actions to use in combat, like getting Tavern Brawler for the bonus action grapple, or sentinel so I would have more opportunities for reactions.
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
That definitely part of the reason for multi classing. With my Circle of dreams Druid even if I didn't do damage in a fight I was sort of the go-to healer with balm of the summer court. D6 healing as bonus action that can't be counter spelled saved our lives more than a few times. Where as the rogue feels like a one trick pony and if you miss then it's kind of a waste of a turn. I also don't have the AC or HP to really tank like a fighter or barbarian and swashbucklers have a very limited range of effectiveness.
Oh, believe me, I get it. In my other campaign I’m playing an 11th level bardcerer with (no joke) 9 cantrips. I got something for just about every occasion. My previous 2 characters were another bard and an artificer. I definitely feel the lack of general utility with my ‘buckler, but it’s just a different play style that I have to get used to is all.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
MCing Bard is probably you best bet for doing something other than just hitting stuff with your sword, but you've already got one in the party so that feels really redundant. I guess my question is ... what "other things" do you want to be doing? Or are you mostly dissatisfied with the fact that you occasionally miss and then have accomplished nothing on your turn?
The main "other things" that non-spellcasters do in combat are:
1) moving around - this could be to lure an enemy into a trap, or to hide behind cover, or to sneak up behind an enemy.
2) grappling / shoving
Rogues can be great at both of them if you want.