Dungeons & Dragons works hard to ensure that each class has enough options to leave players feeling fulfilled, especially in combat situations. Maintaining a straight class level all the way to twenty offers powerful rewards for the patient, but there are times when sticking to a single class can leave a player feeling inadequate and ineffectual in a lot of scenarios. Multiclassing can help a player bridge the gap, offering new powers and choices that make them feel more essential, but doing so requires a bit of strategy and finesse to guarantee they have more options rather than less.
Multiclassing isn’t right for everyone, and some classes don’t benefit from straying from the leveling path. Each time D&D evolves into a new edition, multiclassing options and abilities change, but 5e makes it easy for just about any class to take a level or two in another class if they don’t feel like they’re living up to their full potential.
Know Your Levels
It can get a bit confusing to understand leveling once a player starts multiclassing. Class level and character level are not the same things. When a player maintains the same class every level, their character and class level are the same number; however, when they start multiclassing, those numbers are different.
The fact of the matter is, no matter how many levels the player takes in a certain class, their base level remains the same. For example, a level six Barbarian decides to start taking Bard levels to gain access to some entertaining magical abilities. After taking three levels in Bard, the Barbarian remains level six, the Bard level three, but their overall character level is nine. They will roll a total of nine hit-point dice to determine their hit points. Six of those dice will be d12s + the Constitution modifier and the other three will be d8s + the Charisma modifier. The total of the two scores is then added together to determine the overall character hit point total.
Ability Scores
Before a player can multiclass, they need to take a moment to check their ability score to ensure they have the required numbers. A core stat of 13 or higher is needed before the player can take a level in a new class. For example, say the player begins as a Warlock, and their core ability is Charisma, but by level five, they don’t like there are enough spell slots to feel useful in combat. Multiclassing in Bard or Sorcerer would be simple, as Charisma is the core stat for those classes and would provide access to a whole new list of spells and available slots.
If the Warlock were looking for more melee opportunities, they might consider taking a level or two in Paladin, but they would need to make sure their Charisma and Strength scores were both 13 or higher to do that. If the player goes into the game knowing they want to multiclass later, building their stats around their chosen classes guarantees their ability to do so when ready to branch out.
Timing
When it comes to multiclassing, timing is everything. Going into a new class willy-nilly can do more harm than good, leaving the player feeling more disadvantaged than they felt before if they aren’t careful. It is possible to begin multiclassing at level two, but this doesn’t really give a player enough time to explore the class they began the game with. Levels three and four could potentially offer new abilities that grant more confidence in the original class, making the need to multiclass feel less necessary.
It is recommended to wait until at least level five to branch off and take levels in another class. Not only does this offer enough time to explore a class that felt a little weaker starting out, but there is enough time to prepare the character for new abilities, especially if they need to use their ability score improvement (often offered at level four) to reach the score requirement for the class they want to expand into.
Examine the Tables
Sometimes taking a single level in another class is enough to give the player the edge they’re looking for. Other times, one level isn’t enough to enhance the character’s abilities. It’s important to take some time to study what each class has to offer before deciding enough is enough. For example, some classes gain extra abilities at level two, like the Monk, who gains an extra Ki point and can benefit greatly from it.
Not taking that extra oomph would leave the player unfulfilled if they stopped after level one. There are also subclass abilities, which could offer a bit more flavor and power to the multiclass class overall, and many of them don’t even begin until level three. Taking some time to examine what the classes offer and how the subclass will benefit the character before multiclassing and deciding early on how many levels to take will go a long way toward ensuring a more satisfactory experience overall.
Understanding the Magical Implications
Multiclassing in two magic-wielding classes can get a bit confusing, but it does have its benefits. Say the player began as a Hexblade Warlock and decided to begin taking Cleric levels at seven. Warlocks at this level only receive two level three spell slots (one of the reasons they lean so heavily on the Eldritch Blast cantrip). No matter how many spells they have learned at this point, they still only have two slots, but they are automatically cast at their highest level when used. A level one Cleric has access to new cantrips and spells, and they are given two level one slots to cast from.
Where it gets interesting, however, is that despite only being a level one Cleric, they can cast their Cleric spells from the level three slots if they need to, making those lower-level spells more powerful earlier on. The downside is that the list of spells they choose from is limited to their level capability, which means the spells themselves aren’t as powerful as a level seven Cleric’s spells would be. In contrast, the Warlock spells can now be cast from the lower level spells, which previously weren’t available.
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