7th level Abjuration wizard here, thinking about multiclassing for flavor when I next level up. I recognize that my character won't be quite as powerful but it's worth it to me for the rp and variety. However, I still don't want to sacrifice too much progression at this point. Any ideas for what I could do?
Character description for more information on them:
The character in question is nervous, tends to stutter, and is very blunt when talking. They are pretty soft-spoken usually, and they're very nerdy. They are typically a voice of reason for the party, which means they get on well with the artificer. In addition, they have been befriending the paladin (mostly through playing drinking games in the tavern lmao).
(Our party consists of my wizard, an artificer, a paladin, a cleric, a ranger, and a multiclassed ranger/rogue)
Edit: My ability scores are 13 str, 14 dex, 16 con, 20 int, 13 wis, and 9 cha
I recognize that my character won't be quite as powerful but it's worth it to me for the rp and variety.
If you're doing this for RP purposes, then base the choice on something that's already happened to the character, or some element of their backstory you want to explore further
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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)
First of all, if you're doing it for flavour, then that's the best possible reason; every character decision should be flavour first, mechanics second (if you even worry about them at all).
Secondly, multiclassing can actually make your character more powerful, but it's important to know what the trade offs are. In general, multiclassing can get you a lot of cool early level features of another class, but they will slow down your higher level progression in your main class. Part of the progression for a spellcaster is spell level, and spell slot level; if you multiclass you slow your progression in the levels of spells you know, but if you multiclass as another full caster (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer) your spell slot progression continues normally; this means you can end up in the situation where you have 5th-level slots at 9th-level, but you don't know any 5th-level spells, though you can still upcast lower level spells. The trade off however is that multiclassing as another full caster gets you more cantrips and more spells known, including spells a Wizard cannot normally cast at all; on the other hand, because Artificer is the only other Intelligence based caster (except Eldritch Knight Fighter or Arcane Trickster Rogue) any spells you learn will be tied to a different ability score, so may not be as strong as your Wizard casting.
One other thing to consider is that every class has its own minimum ability score requirements for multiclassing; you won't be able to multiclass as a Cleric if you have less than 13 Wisdom for example. As others have said it would help to know your stats as there may be classes you simply can't multiclass into yet (you might need to go to 8th-level in Wizard to get an ability score increase first if it's a multiclass you really want).
In terms of the best multiclass for flavour, I'd maybe think about what reason your character has for multiclassing from a narrative stand point, i.e- what do they change and why? How did they gain access to the new skills/powers?
For example, they are in a party with a Cleric and a Paladin, so maybe they've started to find faith (do they worship the same deity?), so Cleric could be a good fit; Cleric is also just a really good multiclass in general because you get a lot from its 1st-level, including a choice of domain, and there are a lot of options. You're also in a party with a Ranger and Ranger multiclass, maybe you've learned about nature and pick up a couple of levels in Druid? In both cases the source of the multiclass are your fellow party members.
But you could also not tie the progression to the party at all; maybe you've tapped into a hidden wellspring of power within yourself and gain levels in Sorcerer (though picking up the Metamagic Adept feat may be a simpler choice), or maybe you've learned about a powerful being and decided (with or without your party knowing) to form a warlock pact with it in exchange for some of that power? In these cases you may need to work with your DM to decide how and when the multiclass actually kicks in.
Sorry that none of this is a specific recommendation, but it's tricky to give one without knowing more about your character; you've told us a bit about their personality, but how do they actually play mechanically? Are they are a damage dealing blaster, do they focus on control or illusion? What do you more for the character? Don't worry if you can't answer some of these questions, because those are answers too. Otherwise all people can really give you are their personal preferences, things that worked out for them in the past, or just particularly strong or interesting combos.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
7th level Abjuration wizard here, thinking about multiclassing for flavor when I next level up. I recognize that my character won't be quite as powerful but it's worth it to me for the rp and variety. However, I still don't want to sacrifice too much progression at this point. Any ideas for what I could do?
Character description for more information on them:
The character in question is nervous, tends to stutter, and is very blunt when talking. They are pretty soft-spoken usually, and they're very nerdy. They are typically a voice of reason for the party, which means they get on well with the artificer. In addition, they have been befriending the paladin (mostly through playing drinking games in the tavern lmao).
(Our party consists of my wizard, an artificer, a paladin, a cleric, a ranger, and a multiclassed ranger/rogue)
Edit: My ability scores are 13 str, 14 dex, 16 con, 20 int, 13 wis, and 9 cha
With those scores Sorcerer, Paladin, Warlock and Bard are out. Pretty much anything else is available though.
I think my preference would be cleric so you do not lose any caster levels. That will also give you medium armor and shields. A few Clerics will give you heavy armor, although your strength will limit your choices there.
My personal favorites would be a 1-level Death Cleric build. If you have toll the dead or chill touch as a wizard, you could use your Death Cleric ability to target two enemies with it. Order is really good too, as your allies get a reaction attack any time you cast a spell on them - Cat Vortex Warp on the Paladin, move him right next to the evil wizard and then he chops him as a reaction.
One level of Twilight Cleric. Cleric is full caster, so you don't lose spell slots. You have proficiency with heavy armor, shields, martial weapons (though you will rarely attack with them TBH), 1st level cleric spells and super darkvision. You only need one level, so you don't lose any ability score increases either. Of course, it has to fit your character concept, as far as background goes, but if it's only about the mechanical aspects, Twilight Cleric is your best choice, likely even better than single class wizard.
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+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
Since you are an Abjuration Wizard, if you wanted to add in a little warlock-y otherwordly/dark magic flavor to your character without multiclassing (since you cant multiclass into warlock with a 9 in Charisma) you could pick up Eldritch Adept as a feat. The main reason I bring this up is that the Eldritch Invocation Armor of Shadows lets you cast Mage Armor at will. This pairs really well mechanically with your Arcane Ward feature as a way to recharge it without expending spell slots.
Even if you didnt go that route, there are several other invocations that could give you some cool mechanical benefits, fun RP flavor, and not detract from your build by forcing you to multiclass. Some examples are Eldritch Sight, Devil Sight, and Mask of Many Faces
One level of Twilight Cleric. Cleric is full caster, so you don't lose spell slots. You have proficiency with heavy armor, shields, martial weapons (though you will rarely attack with them TBH), 1st level cleric spells and super darkvision. You only need one level, so you don't lose any ability score increases either. Of course, it has to fit your character concept, as far as background goes, but if it's only about the mechanical aspects, Twilight Cleric is your best choice, likely even better than single class wizard.
If he does not have darkvision, Twilight is a great option. If he has darkvision already though, there are better Clerics for a 1-level dip with Wizard I think. Death and Order in particular.
You have to go 2 levels to really get a lot out of twilight cleric dip IME. Even then though, requiring a full action for Twilight sanctuary is a high price to pay for a multiclass character. It is a good ability, but you are giving up casting a spell action to do it, a spell which on early rounds can have devastating effect on the enemy.
One level of Twilight Cleric. Cleric is full caster, so you don't lose spell slots. You have proficiency with heavy armor, shields, martial weapons (though you will rarely attack with them TBH), 1st level cleric spells and super darkvision. You only need one level, so you don't lose any ability score increases either. Of course, it has to fit your character concept, as far as background goes, but if it's only about the mechanical aspects, Twilight Cleric is your best choice, likely even better than single class wizard.
If he does not have darkvision, Twilight is a great option. If he has darkvision already though, there are better Clerics for a 1-level dip with Wizard I think. Death and Order in particular.
You have to go 2 levels to really get a lot out of twilight cleric dip IME. Even then though, requiring a full action for Twilight sanctuary is a high price to pay for a multiclass character. It is a good ability, but you are giving up casting a spell action to do it, a spell which on early rounds can have devastating effect on the enemy.
I would still extend the range of his darkvision and give him the abiltiy to grant it to party members. I see that the order domain has it's uses too. For the Death domain, I'm not so sure. Why would you choose Death? I could think of Forge as a reasonable choice, though, especially if magic armor and weapons are rare in the campaign.
Personally I wouldn't recommand a second level in any cleric subclass, as I don't think any of the level two features is worth giving up an ability increase/feat.
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+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
One level of Twilight Cleric. Cleric is full caster, so you don't lose spell slots. You have proficiency with heavy armor, shields, martial weapons (though you will rarely attack with them TBH), 1st level cleric spells and super darkvision. You only need one level, so you don't lose any ability score increases either. Of course, it has to fit your character concept, as far as background goes, but if it's only about the mechanical aspects, Twilight Cleric is your best choice, likely even better than single class wizard.
If he does not have darkvision, Twilight is a great option. If he has darkvision already though, there are better Clerics for a 1-level dip with Wizard I think. Death and Order in particular.
You have to go 2 levels to really get a lot out of twilight cleric dip IME. Even then though, requiring a full action for Twilight sanctuary is a high price to pay for a multiclass character. It is a good ability, but you are giving up casting a spell action to do it, a spell which on early rounds can have devastating effect on the enemy.
I would still extend the range of his darkvision and give him the abiltiy to grant it to party members. I see that the order domain has it's uses too. For the Death domain, I'm not so sure. Why would you choose Death? I could think of Forge as a reasonable choice, though, especially if magic armor and weapons are rare in the campaign.
Personally I wouldn't recommand a second level in any cleric subclass, as I don't think any of the level two features is worth giving up an ability increase/feat.
Death Domain allows him to twin necromancy cantrips, including wizard necromancy cantrips. At 7th level, that is 4d12 on Toll the Dead or 4d8 on Chill Touch. That is serious damage for a cantrip. Alternatively he could knock 2 enemies prone with Sapping Sting.
Order lets him target an ally with a spell and that ally gets to attack. Cast Healing Word as a bonus action on the Rogue and he gets a reaction sneak attack, and then use a full action as a wizard. Cast Polymorph on an ally and he turns into whatever and then attacks immediately on your turn.
7th level Abjuration wizard here, thinking about multiclassing for flavor when I next level up. I recognize that my character won't be quite as powerful but it's worth it to me for the rp and variety. However, I still don't want to sacrifice too much progression at this point. Any ideas for what I could do?
Character description for more information on them:
The character in question is nervous, tends to stutter, and is very blunt when talking. They are pretty soft-spoken usually, and they're very nerdy. They are typically a voice of reason for the party, which means they get on well with the artificer. In addition, they have been befriending the paladin (mostly through playing drinking games in the tavern lmao).
(Our party consists of my wizard, an artificer, a paladin, a cleric, a ranger, and a multiclassed ranger/rogue)
Edit: My ability scores are 13 str, 14 dex, 16 con, 20 int, 13 wis, and 9 cha
she/any - member of the spider guild :D - official elesh norn enthusiast
current characters:
-Zalia Moonkeeper, tiefling abjuration wizard/alchemist artificer
-Philomena Silverthread, changeling assassin rogue
-Glass, kenku vengeance paladin
Dip a level of cleric, grab that heavy armour + shield + support ability of your choice.
Two important questions:
1. What are your ability scores? That will drive what classes are available.
2. How many levels do you plan on taking in the new class?
If you're doing this for RP purposes, then base the choice on something that's already happened to the character, or some element of their backstory you want to explore further
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)
First of all, if you're doing it for flavour, then that's the best possible reason; every character decision should be flavour first, mechanics second (if you even worry about them at all).
Secondly, multiclassing can actually make your character more powerful, but it's important to know what the trade offs are. In general, multiclassing can get you a lot of cool early level features of another class, but they will slow down your higher level progression in your main class. Part of the progression for a spellcaster is spell level, and spell slot level; if you multiclass you slow your progression in the levels of spells you know, but if you multiclass as another full caster (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer) your spell slot progression continues normally; this means you can end up in the situation where you have 5th-level slots at 9th-level, but you don't know any 5th-level spells, though you can still upcast lower level spells. The trade off however is that multiclassing as another full caster gets you more cantrips and more spells known, including spells a Wizard cannot normally cast at all; on the other hand, because Artificer is the only other Intelligence based caster (except Eldritch Knight Fighter or Arcane Trickster Rogue) any spells you learn will be tied to a different ability score, so may not be as strong as your Wizard casting.
One other thing to consider is that every class has its own minimum ability score requirements for multiclassing; you won't be able to multiclass as a Cleric if you have less than 13 Wisdom for example. As others have said it would help to know your stats as there may be classes you simply can't multiclass into yet (you might need to go to 8th-level in Wizard to get an ability score increase first if it's a multiclass you really want).
In terms of the best multiclass for flavour, I'd maybe think about what reason your character has for multiclassing from a narrative stand point, i.e- what do they change and why? How did they gain access to the new skills/powers?
For example, they are in a party with a Cleric and a Paladin, so maybe they've started to find faith (do they worship the same deity?), so Cleric could be a good fit; Cleric is also just a really good multiclass in general because you get a lot from its 1st-level, including a choice of domain, and there are a lot of options. You're also in a party with a Ranger and Ranger multiclass, maybe you've learned about nature and pick up a couple of levels in Druid? In both cases the source of the multiclass are your fellow party members.
But you could also not tie the progression to the party at all; maybe you've tapped into a hidden wellspring of power within yourself and gain levels in Sorcerer (though picking up the Metamagic Adept feat may be a simpler choice), or maybe you've learned about a powerful being and decided (with or without your party knowing) to form a warlock pact with it in exchange for some of that power? In these cases you may need to work with your DM to decide how and when the multiclass actually kicks in.
Sorry that none of this is a specific recommendation, but it's tricky to give one without knowing more about your character; you've told us a bit about their personality, but how do they actually play mechanically? Are they are a damage dealing blaster, do they focus on control or illusion? What do you more for the character? Don't worry if you can't answer some of these questions, because those are answers too. Otherwise all people can really give you are their personal preferences, things that worked out for them in the past, or just particularly strong or interesting combos.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Two levels of fighter. You're welcome.
If you go 2 levels of fighter, you should probably go 3 and pick up EK for more spells, more cantrips, no loss in spell slots and a couple ribbons.
Added my ability scores to the original comment. I want to get at least 17 or 18 wizard levels if possible.
she/any - member of the spider guild :D - official elesh norn enthusiast
current characters:
-Zalia Moonkeeper, tiefling abjuration wizard/alchemist artificer
-Philomena Silverthread, changeling assassin rogue
-Glass, kenku vengeance paladin
With those scores Sorcerer, Paladin, Warlock and Bard are out. Pretty much anything else is available though.
I think my preference would be cleric so you do not lose any caster levels. That will also give you medium armor and shields. A few Clerics will give you heavy armor, although your strength will limit your choices there.
My personal favorites would be a 1-level Death Cleric build. If you have toll the dead or chill touch as a wizard, you could use your Death Cleric ability to target two enemies with it. Order is really good too, as your allies get a reaction attack any time you cast a spell on them - Cat Vortex Warp on the Paladin, move him right next to the evil wizard and then he chops him as a reaction.
Naaaah, any more than 2 and you're really delaying spell progression to a detriment for not a whole lot of reward.
One level of Twilight Cleric. Cleric is full caster, so you don't lose spell slots. You have proficiency with heavy armor, shields, martial weapons (though you will rarely attack with them TBH), 1st level cleric spells and super darkvision. You only need one level, so you don't lose any ability score increases either. Of course, it has to fit your character concept, as far as background goes, but if it's only about the mechanical aspects, Twilight Cleric is your best choice, likely even better than single class wizard.
+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
Since you are an Abjuration Wizard, if you wanted to add in a little warlock-y otherwordly/dark magic flavor to your character without multiclassing (since you cant multiclass into warlock with a 9 in Charisma) you could pick up Eldritch Adept as a feat. The main reason I bring this up is that the Eldritch Invocation Armor of Shadows lets you cast Mage Armor at will. This pairs really well mechanically with your Arcane Ward feature as a way to recharge it without expending spell slots.
Even if you didnt go that route, there are several other invocations that could give you some cool mechanical benefits, fun RP flavor, and not detract from your build by forcing you to multiclass. Some examples are Eldritch Sight, Devil Sight, and Mask of Many Faces
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If he does not have darkvision, Twilight is a great option. If he has darkvision already though, there are better Clerics for a 1-level dip with Wizard I think. Death and Order in particular.
You have to go 2 levels to really get a lot out of twilight cleric dip IME. Even then though, requiring a full action for Twilight sanctuary is a high price to pay for a multiclass character. It is a good ability, but you are giving up casting a spell action to do it, a spell which on early rounds can have devastating effect on the enemy.
I would still extend the range of his darkvision and give him the abiltiy to grant it to party members. I see that the order domain has it's uses too. For the Death domain, I'm not so sure. Why would you choose Death? I could think of Forge as a reasonable choice, though, especially if magic armor and weapons are rare in the campaign.
Personally I wouldn't recommand a second level in any cleric subclass, as I don't think any of the level two features is worth giving up an ability increase/feat.
+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
Death Domain allows him to twin necromancy cantrips, including wizard necromancy cantrips. At 7th level, that is 4d12 on Toll the Dead or 4d8 on Chill Touch. That is serious damage for a cantrip. Alternatively he could knock 2 enemies prone with Sapping Sting.
Order lets him target an ally with a spell and that ally gets to attack. Cast Healing Word as a bonus action on the Rogue and he gets a reaction sneak attack, and then use a full action as a wizard. Cast Polymorph on an ally and he turns into whatever and then attacks immediately on your turn.