Weve given some good ideas for multiclass options based on the metagame and the internal mechanics of the game. There arent many feasible multiclass options for the Death Domain (others do it better), but this combination is ok if it fits your flavor. Learn the Light and Sacred Flame cantrips. Paladins can also be good for Bards if there is enough room in the build to get Paladin auras. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. This weighs down the class and just takes up space on the character sheet. Youre a fantastic support character who can also deal big damage and defend yourself. The idea behind this multiclass is to take walock's signature catrip, Eldritch Blast, and modify it with Metamagic. However, since Bards are a half-melee, half-spellcaster, jack-of-all-trades class, you'll want to consider more than just the primary stat when trying to multiclass into Bard. Continue with Recommended Cookies. This makes Barbarian an ideal pickup class for the tanky, melee Warlock, perhaps one of the Hexblade Patron. This combinations gimmich is to resist all damage when Raging. Of all martial classes, the best one to take with the bard is the paladin. In short, yes, you get spell slots and spells known from each class individually as if you were single-classed. Theres no way I can cover every combination for this subclass, but Ill share some favorites. You dont need to eat, drink, or breathe. Which of my multiclass concepts have you played or have you felt inspired to play? Hopefully, you now have a good idea of what to look for when multiclassing as Warlock and what potential class features are most beneficial for your build. He brings fresh perspectives on game mechanics, group dynamics, and roleplaying insights for all TTRPG enthusiasts. Warlocks are a popular class for people who like to multiclass, but not every class jives well with the Warlock multiclass. Twilight is a decent theme for this character, too. Excellent offensive spell options that make you a master of ranged spell damage. A notable Sorcerer subclass for dipping is the Divine Soul; it can fortify its saving throws with 2d4 and grab Cleric spells. Just because youre not sticking with a single class doesnt mean you should feel more excessively burdened than other characters to narrate your characters progress. Get at least a fourteen in Charisma. Warlocks need some of the best low-level spells, but Pact Magic doesnt work very well with them. Some of them will be for fun and others will be for optimal character builds. Gain special Blade Flourishes and increase your movement speed for the turn when you attack. The Undead Warlock lacks medium armor and shields, but the Valor Bard can assist with that while gaining other support abilities and spells. In addition, ability scores provide a real barrier. This will open doors to you that would normally be hidden or impassable, allowing you to find important stolen items, magic items worth stealing, kidnapped children, or any other noun that you seek. You might even stick around for Level 10 Bard when you can pick up spells from any class. With DM permission, this Invocation enables a spellcaster to create spell scrolls during long rests since they dont need to sleep. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. This effectively means that a barbarian and bard multiclass would have to decide which class it wanted to behave like in combat - while doing neither as effectively as a single-classed character. Learn well their powers so you can multiclass to claim or enhance their powers. There is an interesting match-up where you combine the Warlocks Pact of the Blade with the Bards College of Valor or College of Swords subclasses. You gain access to the powerful Sorcery Points which allow you to customize your spells. A master of menacing archery with an arcane twist. I would suggest going bard 3 or 5 first. Gain temporary hitpoints when reducing enemies to zero hitpoints. Soon, youll be able to picture in your head what kind of character you want to build and what classes will jive best with that character. The Wizard levels also give you many first-level spells that are invaluable, such as Shield, Feather Fall, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Find Familiar, Fog Cloud, and more! Finally, Monk and Rogue are very mobile and like getting up in enemies faces, but are best when you dump a lot of levels into themotherwise, they are just squishy, which does not benefit an already vulnerable Warlock. As usual, the Hexblade Warlock is mighty tempting. If thats the multiclass split you want, I recommend settling for one or two damage cantrips that use attack rolls instead of saving throws. Other than that, when it comes to the build, I have to add that this way you can learn some of your run-of-the-mill fire spells (Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Fireball, Melfs Minute Meteors etc.) A common bard multiclass is to cross them with a martial class in order to help them hold their own in combat. Flutes is a seasoned DM and improvisational performer. Summary of subclass features: Treat your Persuasion and Deception ability check rolls of nine or lower as tens. Bards help you reliably pass skill checks and give you spells for social encounters, making you better at diplomacy. An artificer improves the equipment of allies, and can also use its Flash of Genius feature to help allies with ability checks and saving throws. Bonus dose of early Magical Secrets. Im given the starting level of 14. However, you can always choose your favorite class or a class that is more representative of your characters roleplay. Thank you to reader Scott for this multiclass concept! Rogue levels go well with just about any combination of classes, and that holds true with bards as well. The Bard is a strong spellcaster, so focus on that, but the Soulknife is a fun supplement. This also makes a good skill monkey. Mask of Many Faces is popular for trickster characters. Other concepts will include the Warlock as a secondary class with a minority of level investment. Become immune to mind reading and resistant to psychic damage. As a Warlock looking to multiclass, you can improve your spellcasting or branch out into martial fighting. This combination offers excellent synergies if youre willing to pass up the more powerful spells of the eighth and ninth levels. You are the animal whisperer because you gain a familiar from Pact of the Chain, at-will Speak with Animals with the Beast Speech invocation, and max healing in your familiars presence with the Gift of the Ever-Living Ones invocation. Taking levels of Warlock enables a coffee-lock build that is a common multiclass concept; it involves using Pact Magic from the Warlock to recharge Sorcery Points. This is a Gunner character who can create its own gunpowder for firearms and explosives. RELATED: 10 Best Feats For Bards In D&D 5e, Ranked. The Oath of the Watchers demands a Paladin to know the lore about otherworldly monsters, so the Lore Bard is a fine fit! This Assassin Rogue leans heavily into the social skill checks like Deception and Persuasion. Create nonmagical items. The two Warlock levels are important for Invocations. Accursed Specter is a thematically relevant ability even if its not relatively powerful You can also consider sticking to one-to-three levels of Warlock instead of six if you want to not trade out high-level Cleric spells and spell slots. Summary of subclass features: Use Bardic Inspiration for damage or defensive AC boosts. A Warlock multiclass makes it so that the Eloquence Bard may have negotiated a tight deal with an otherwordly patron.and gains Eldritch Blast, a nifty patron feature or two, and perhaps some Eldritch Invocations. Having worked his way up from burger flipper to a manager in a successful restaurant, he decided to take the plunge and pursue his passion of writing and creating full time, which he continues to this day in many forms of media across the internet. This build focuses mostly on being a successful Hexblade while investing half of your levels in strong multiclass supplements. Id treat this as a fey feature instead of a godly intervention. Even though the bard's high-level spells will be delayed, they gain access to several unique paladin spells, all of which use Charisma and are therefore compatible. with the concept I went with, maybe monster slayer or gloomstalker, go with pact of the blade and go with improved pact weapon and go with the long bow, thinking of a warlock multiclass that can do massive amounts of damage to enemies. Add 1d10 to an ability check or saving throw. Just because youre not sticking with a single class doesnt mean you should feel more excessively burdened than other characters to narrate your characters progress. Few people would actually want to play this character, but its a fun concept exercise to see just how skilled a character can be with skill checks and artisan tools. Their versatility comes from the depth and variation of the Warlock Patrons. Otherworldly Patron: Warlock subclasses are briefly summarized below.See my Warlock Subclasses Breakdown for help selecting your subclass. Fighter Warlocks may want to consider taking the War Caster Feat to allow them to carry weapons or a shield while continuing to cast. The goal was not to remove multiclassing but to rebalance the game so that multiclassing was no longer necessary to achieve the most effective base power. Sorcerer is an easy one due to the Charisma overlap, but even Wizard can work. Finish with Guidance and Word of Radiance and youre good to be somehow support-melee-reliable., Also at level 3, pick Book of Ancient Secrets and pick Find Familiar as one of the rituals so you can support your teammates with your celestial owl (sorry WotC, you had it coming when putting Flyby on it). Consider: College of Swords and Soulknife This combination will give you a Dexterity based melee combatant that can dish out the damage while remaining versatile in other situations. Sing me a tale of Bard multiclassing! This provides flexibility when casting and opens doors to some insane combos since Warlock spell slots are always at the maximum level possible. The Fathomless Warlock at level one is a rare way to gain a swimming speed and water breathing. Summary of subclass features: Gain a few spell options that Warlocks cant normally learn, but you dont automatically learn them. Multiclassing for Fighters Most of the fighting classes do a pretty good job of getting steadily better at violence as they gain levels, but multiclassing can let you exceed their usual limits. It can capture the souls of fallen enemies to learn from them, perhaps informing their rituals and tales. Id probably go for Watchers Paladin, but there are a few that could work for your campaign. As far as spell slots go, multiclassed spellcaster get their spell slots independently from their class levels using the following table. Looking to make a Changeling female Glamour Bard/ Enchantment Wizard but wanting to throw in some damage based skills possibly rogue or ranger like. Eventually, enhance your ability to create items by ignoring gold cost limitations and creating more at once. Lets start by taking a look at the different Warlock Patrons and what they offer. Perform weapon attacks with your Charisma instead of your Strength or Dexterity (with some limitations that can be lifted with Pact of the Blade). Being a secondary class does not mean a character wont start at level one as that class; some classes get more armor and hitpoints at level one. If you are tired of slinging spells and want to start cleaving orcs in half, multiclassing is the way to go! But in return, they'll get several cantrips - including reliable choices like Fire Bolt or Ray of Frost - and access to several effective low-level spells, all of which use Charisma. Make it a luck-based character and take a level of Divine Soul Sorcerer flavored as luck. Flutes is a seasoned DM and improvisational performer. For example, if you want to play an artificer and multiclass into fighter, you will need 13 Intelligence and either 13 Strength or Dexterity. Your main weapon should be a polearm so you can utilize its reach property. You eventually gain another transformation that causes enemies to make Charisma saves to succeed in attacking you; those who succeed on the save have disadvantage to save against your spells on your next turn. The biggest benefit Warlocks get from Clerics is a diversified spell list. The best option for your Warlock will be decided largely by the role you intend to play within your party, and the Patron you have chosen. Hunters Mark can go with Eldritch Blast, but you could also use Hex. Many single classed guides exist, which can go into more detail on each combination, but no guide has consolidated the bottom line up front, quick reference data until now. Better options exist for this concept, but if you want access to Cleric spells like Spirit Guardians in addition to melee attacks that are based on the quantity of damage on a single attack rather than spread-out damage with multiple attacks, this combination is ok. Youll get Warlock invocations and several smiting spells from the Hexblade Warlock. Charm or frighten creatures in a small area. Cantrips scale their damage as you level up, which is better than taking a slight dip into martial classes (whose weapon attack damage dont scale with your level). Few defensive options beyond what little Warlock already has. Background: My Bard started out following the party because he wanted to write their epic story, but through his journeys with them has come to realize he would do anything to keep his friends and country safe. It might sound disappointing to not go for Hexblade in this build, but this concept has its own benefits. Many classes benefit more from multiclassing than from investing twenty levels in a single class. Could work for a specific build, but otherwise is either a wasted opportunity or is just weaker than other alternatives. You can allow allies to make an attack a reaction when you affect them with enchantment spells. Get the Spare the Dying cantrip and advantage on saving throws against disease. Barbarian is a great pickup for any Warlocks who want to play tank. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. This concept was kindly shared by a comment from MadnessOpus: One combination that I would like to point out is Celestial Warlock 14/Draconic Bloodline 6 (with Gold/Brass/Red Ancestor for fire damage: I REALLY, really hope they will update the list with Fizbans Gem Dragons so this could work with Crystal and radiant damage somehow? Even one or two levels in the class can give the bard a great many useful features, including spell slots that recharge on a short rest, several unique warlock spells, and the ability to use weapons with Charisma if they take the Hexblade patron. For this reason, I look to the other Warlock subclasses to see which of them might like what the Valor Bard offers. With that concept in mind, had thoughts of pairing the genie warlock with ranger, any thoughts? Builds on Warlocks existing capabilities as the partys face with Expertise and a free skill proficiency. An artificer and bard multiclass could lean strongly into helping its allies succeed. You resist necrotic damage, and youre immune to it while transformed. When choosing your Pact Boon, I highly recommend Tome to grab Shillelagh: basically a Hexblade Light, and technically, you can use the same staff as your arcane focus. Warlocks also gain proficiency with shields and medium armor from multiclassing into Paladin, so theyre suddenly capable of surviving more fights and entering melee combat. It is far from complete, and will latter be categorised by tiers: 1) The (un)famous Sorclock (or as I like to call him, Eldritch Sorcerer) These class features are adaptable and allow you to pick up bonuses tailored to your current build. No character will have more or better skill proficiencies than the bard and rogue multiclass, with two separate sources of Expertise not to mention the powerful Jack Of All Trades ability. Further, Sorcerers have magic in their bloodlines, while Warlocks draw upon the power of ancient beings like Fey nobles, Hags, or even Aliens. Samurai Fighter would be really bad if you want to use Eldritch Blast. You can read more about this build in Opals article about it. A Sorcerer multiclass gives you additional features; as well as a host of cantrips and Level 1 spells that can expand a Bard's arsenal. Bards and warlocks are two of the best utility classes in the 5th Edition, with each one bringing something a little different to the table when it comes to non-combat options. Hypnotic pattern is always a fantastic choice for most situations. Required fields are marked *, $MMT=window.$MMT||{};$MMT.cmd=$MMT.cmd||[];$MMT.cmd.push(function(){$MMT.display.slots.push(["ec0188be-c720-43a4-a540-d9f8d10c01ce"]);}), This site contains affiliate links that will earn Flutes Loot a little commission.2020, Flutes Loot is unofficial Fan Content permitted under theFan Content Policyand is not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Lore Bard is a Gunner character who can also be good for in... 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