Fighter Multiclass help?

[Mindtour]

Hey all, this is my first time posting on the Giant forums. Go easy on me, I'm a newbie.

I have a decision to make as to where I want my Fighter to go next. I built him as a Human (Variant) hand crossbow archer (Battlemaster) with Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter, with the Archery combat style. He's currently level 6. Stats are as follows:

Str: 12
Dex: 18
Con: 18
Wis: 14
Int: 12
Cha: 14

He also has a bit of backstory that basically makes him a deposed Demon Lord that's been resurrected into a new body and given new purpose to bring down the entity that was his undoing. (Whomever that may be)

My party consists of a skillmonkey/support Bard, a Circle Druid that tanks for us, a TWF Ranger, and 2 others that are sometimes-players. Sorc and Rogue. I'm the main damage dealer, as I tend to stay rather close to melee and help keep monsters under control for the Drood. My question is: If I were to multiclass to give this character some flavor, what would be my best options? I'm thinking of taking 2 levels of Warlock next, then 1 level of Rogue, then going back to Fighter. The Warlock for Invocations(flavor) and the Rogue for Expertise/SA. Let's assume I'm going up to level 10 for now.

Any and all advice is welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Ralanr]

If you did go Warlock, hex could be pretty useful in helping your buddy control things. If I remember them properly (AFB).

[1Forge]

So if your dudes a repentant evil deamon guy (now human) you could go paladin. That would give you a few spells,a tiny bit of healing, and a ton of magic weapon buffs ( like sacred weapon. granted not all of that comes till level 3) But that all depends on the thing that undid you and if your fighter is truly repentant.

Barbarian also could help as it gives you a rage bonus (in case your dude isnt repentant at all :D)


*Also there is a fallen paladin variant that is PERFECT for a demon lord if your DM had the 5e DMG.

[Mindtour]

So if your dudes a repentant evil deamon guy (now human) you could go paladin. That would give you a few spells,a tiny bit of healing, and a ton of magic weapon buffs ( like sacred weapon. granted not all of that comes till level 3) But that all depends on the thing that undid you and if your fighter is truly repentant.

Barbarian also could help as it gives you a rage bonus (in case your dude isnt repentant at all :D)


*Also there is a fallen paladin variant that is PERFECT for a demon lord if your DM had the 5e DMG.

He's not repentant in the least (yet) and keep in mind that as an archer, his main stat is Dexterity. So he's shooting a hand crossbow more often than not, then is wielding a Rapier for finesse when he absolutely has to. IIRC, the Barbarian's rage benefits require a non-finesse weapon.

[coredump]

That build is strong enough you don't really need to multiclass, but...

Rogue is good for as many levels as you want. It will give you cunning action, expertise, sneak attack, assassinate, uncanny dodge... basically a lot of cool stuff.

Ranger no more than 3 (4 for the ASI), gives you Hunter's mark, goodberry, colossus slayer, +1 AC,

Warlock 2/3 will give Hex, EB, and whatever invocations you want.

I would go Rogue.

[Easy_Lee]

Rogue: Assassin is popular on a crossbow fighter due to giving you additional uses for your bonus action, sneak attack die, expertise (to use with stealth), and the assassinate benefit. If you're going to do so, I would recommend aiming for a fighter 6 - rogue 8 - fighter 12 progression. You'll end up with 3-4 attacks per round and a really strong opening round. You also gain survivability from evasion and uncanny dodge, the latter of which will give you a strong option for your reaction (you currently have few reaction uses).

Warlock is an interesting choice in that it gives you some options and spells but makes you MAD. I don't think that it will help you at what you currently do, since it will lower your HP overall and Hex doesn't add much damage in the long run (you have to spend a bonus action on it quite frequently). If your DM loves dark sections, I can see warlock being useful for devil's sight (and might as well get a familiar via chain or tome pact while you're at it) but otherwise I would stay pure rather than multiclass warlock.

[Mindtour]

I'm powerful enough in the damage department that multiclassing won't hurt me that badly IMO, which is why I want to take a couple of other classes to give him some flavor/variation. I was basically hung up on whether to take Rogue or Warlock next. I really didn't plan on taking more than a couple of levels of either, then going back into Fighter for those sweet, sweet attacks.

[Mindtour]

Rogue: Assassin is popular on a crossbow fighter due to giving you additional uses for your bonus action, sneak attack die, expertise (to use with stealth), and the assassinate benefit. If you're going to do so, I would recommend aiming for a fighter 6 - rogue 8 - fighter 12 progression. You'll end up with 3-4 attacks per round and a really strong opening round. You also gain survivability from evasion and uncanny dodge, the latter of which will give you a strong option for your reaction (you currently have few reaction uses).

Warlock is an interesting choice in that it gives you some options and spells but makes you MAD. I don't think that it will help you at what you currently do, since it will lower your HP overall and Hex doesn't add much damage in the long run (you have to spend a bonus action on it quite frequently). If your DM loves dark sections, I can see warlock being useful for devil's sight (and might as well get a familiar via chain or tome pact while you're at it) but otherwise I would stay pure rather than multiclass warlock.

Right. My only reasoning for Warlock was that since he's a fairly powerful being reborn into a not-so-powerful form, he should be able to do more than just be a shooty-guy McBow Fighter. Warlock would open up the improved Darkvision (Devil's Sight), Telepathy out to 30 ft (Old One pact?), and one other Invocation of my choice.

Assassin is always a strong choice, so I'll likely squeeze that in as well. The only use for my bonus action atm is Crossbow Expert's extra attack.

[Easy_Lee]

Right. My only reasoning for Warlock was that since he's a fairly powerful being reborn into a not-so-powerful form, he should be able to do more than just be a shooty-guy McBow Fighter. Warlock would open up the improved Darkvision (Devil's Sight), Telepathy out to 30 ft (Old One pact?), and one other Invocation of my choice.

Assassin is always a strong choice, so I'll likely squeeze that in as well. The only use for my bonus action atm is Crossbow Expert's extra attack.

Thinking in terms of action economy, both rogue and warlock can provide additional uses for your reaction and bonus action. I can see reason to work either or both into the build, though I would try to pick up 11 fighter levels overall for the sake of fulfilling your primary role (damage).

[Mindtour]

Thinking in terms of action economy, both rogue and warlock can provide additional uses for your reaction and bonus action. I can see reason to work either or both into the build, though I would try to pick up 11 fighter levels overall for the sake of fulfilling your primary role (damage).

Once I get the front-loaded benefits from each class (Rogue2, Warlock2) I'll be going back to Fighter unless there's some ridiculous benefit I'd be missing for not going that extra level or two in the off-classes. I'm confident this campaign will last to level 10 at least. After that, I'm not so sure. Thank you for your input!

[1Forge]

An anti-paladin is still an awesome choice (blackguard, fallen paladin, dread lord, what ever you want to call it)
That would give you a ton of evil things that would go along with your theme, not to mention that fallen paladins get to get undead, and or demonic help.

Here's an excerpt from the article on it

Tenets of the Fallen

The tenants of the Oath of the Fallen vary with each dark god or fiend, but the means all tend to be the same.

Wrath. Hated and anger are powerful allies, use them to your full advantage.

Cull the Weak. Those that cannot defend themselves are weak and should be put to the sword or enslaved.

Break Their Will. Corrupting others to serve your dark gods (especially those in power), bolsters your own strength and stretches the influence of your deities to further realms and heights.

Survival. Do whatever it takes to ensure your survival, even if it means the destruction of a complete civilization.



Oath of the Fallen Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.


Paladin Level Spells
3rd Bane, False Life
5th Darkness, Ray of Enfeeblement
9th Animate Dead, Bestow Curse
13th Blight, Confusion
17th Contagion, Insect Plague



Variation from Paladin Class



Divine Sense– Functions as the standard ability (PHB, pg 84), with the following changes: You no longer sense or detect evil, but instead good.

Lay on Hands– Functions as the standard ability, (PHB, pg 84), with the following changes: You can only heal evil aligned targets (or yourself). You are also able to use this on undead to heal them.

Divine Smite– Functions as the standard ability, (PHB, pg 85), with the following changes: damage is necrotic, not radiant.

Spells– Spells function as per descriptions in the magic section, however the DM may change things slightly to fit a more evil bend. This can be stating that the spell only works on evil creatures (IE- bolstering them, etc) or hinders good aligned. The DM is more than within their right to alter these spells as they see fit.

[Mindtour]

Paladin just doesn't seem like a natural fit to me. I understand the idea behind what he is fueling his Paladin-iness, but mechanically I'd be sacrificing a little too much since the character is a ranged combatant at its core. Charisma isn't a great stat, so the Paladin spells and abilities tied to Cha would be lackluster.

[coredump]

Once I get the front-loaded benefits from each class (Rogue2, Warlock2) I'll be going back to Fighter unless there's some ridiculous benefit I'd be missing for not going that extra level or two in the off-classes. I'm confident this campaign will last to level 10 at least. After that, I'm not so sure. Thank you for your input!
I'm not really sold on the extra fighter levels. Sure getting a 4th attack is nice, but you hve to get to 11th level first. The boosts at 7/9/10 just aren't that great, and you can pick up the ASI from any class. I think you will get more out of Rogue, or maybe even warlock.

[Mindtour]

Depending on what our sometimes-Rogue does, I'll likely start taking Rogue levels until I get Assassin. The next ASI is going to go to my Dex for a 20, then any future ASIs I may get will be spent on the Alert feat.

Thank you all for the suggestions and tips.

[1Forge]

Its a little out of character story wise but valorous bards make great archers, and lore bards get official knighthood in the skill monkey kingdom.

[Dontdestroyme]

To all the people saying paladin he a) is ranged and b) doesn't have the strength to multi paladin.

[1Forge]

Yeah i was the only guy saying paladin (which still works ranged) but i didnt check the str requirement.:smallbiggrin: