favorite dipping classes

[awa]

some classes are good even if just for one or 2 levels others are terrible.
when you play a game what classes do you grab just for a level or two and why.

for me i like totemist two levels gets you the totem bind, incarnium powers are capped by level not class level so the abilities sorta improve even when your not taking levels in it and since i often play stealth classes a +8 or 10 bonus to hide and move silently is really nice.

[Greenish]

I like starting with a rogue (or other skillmonkey) with Able Learner. Feat rogue 2 is pretty nice start for a martial build, even if it loses a point of BAB.

[Edit]: Cleric can get you lots of cool stuff with just one-level dip.

[awa]

i like a high skill class at level 1 as well but i normally play a ranger or a rouge as the primary class

[BeholderSlayer]

Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian - Pounce, 'nuff said
Spelldancer - Virtually free metamagic...sign me up
Nightmare Spinner - lose a caster level for one extra spell of every level? good.
Shadow Adept - pick up 3 feats for a 1 level dip, great
Paladin 2 - charisma to saves
Marshall 1 - initiative boosting aura, nice

[Oracle_Hunter]

Fighter. Thog says it best.

Seriously, if you're already a good melee class, getting a free feat and all non-exotic weapons & armor proficiencies is worth a level. The extra HP, +1 BAB and +2 Fort ain't bad either

[The-Mage-King]

Fighter 2, or Swashbuckler 3 if you need more damage and have a high Int modifier...

For the first, 2 bonus feats, including Martial Study and Martial Stance. For the second? Weapon Finesse, Grace +1, and the ability to apply Int in addition to Str to weapon damage rolls. Fun all around.

[dsmiles]

I like ranch for vegetables and caramel for fruits.

[Coidzor]

Cloistered Cleric can get you between 2-4 bonus feats(ok, 5 if you get two of the ones that give a weapon proficiency and weapon focus + Knowledge Devotion), the ability to take divine feats, 6+int skillpoints, and, potentially, DMM.

Oh, yeah, and divine identify as a 1st level spell means you don't have to pay money to identify things as long as you have an 11 wisdom. If you chose magic as a domain, well, UMD has most of its general utility nixed, as most spell trigger/completion items are now considered to be on a class list.

There's even a handbook about it.

[jguy]

I actually like rogue 3. All you lose is 1 BAB and an average of 6 or so HP (easily made up in high CON) You gain a 2d6 Sneak attack, a ton of skill points, Trap Sense +1 (and all those nice replacements for it), Evasion, and +3 to your reflex saves.

[Wings of Peace]

Mindbender for Mindsight.

[Telonius]

Classes good for one- or two-level dipping:

Binder
Barbarian
Ranger
Monk
Fighter
Paladin (can be good to 3rd, if you want easy Fear immunity)

[thompur]

Binder. Take the improved Binding feat, and for a one level dip you can bind 1st and second level vestiges. Always improves versatility.

Also Warlock for some specific needs.

[Tyndmyr]

Mindbender for Mindsight.

This is a lot of awesome. Painful skill prereqs if you're not a bard or the like, though.

Fighter 2 is probably my most-dipped class. Works decently with any melee build.

[Reynard]

Well, any of the ToB classes are good, and which depends on your build.
Swordsages: Good for a high number of manuvers in a single level, or Wis to AC with two if you're using light armour.

Crusaders: Maneuvers recover with no action, very nice. Good healing abilites. Very good for Sorcerers and Bards, for Cha to Will Saves.

Warblades. d12 hit dice. Maneuvers recover as a swift action, Int to Reflex at 2nd. Great for those Beguiler-style classes.

[Psyx]

What: No love for Summoner 1? *bamph*

Ranger 1. Specifically: elf Ranger substitution 1. At first level.

Rogue 2 for skills, sneak, and evasion.

[Emmerask]

Swordsage
Monk

[Thefurmonger]

Top 2 for me

Cloistered Cleric, Seriously, there are almost NO builds that this doesnt make better

Mindbender/Mindsight, If I CAN fit this in, I WILL fit this in.

[Duke of URL]

I'll second Rogue 1 + Able Learner, Fighter (up to 2), Paladin 2, and even Monk 2 for some builds. I've never been a fan personally of dipping Cleric, but it certainly has its uses. I've advocated Warlock dips, but never actually used one (I'm more likely to go Warlock and dip something else).

PrCs can have some pretty nice dips too:

Mindbender 1 - Fairly easy to qualify for, advance caster level and gain permanent 100' telepathy? Yes, please!
Shadowdancer 1 - Painful pre-reqs, but HiPS is too good to not get if you can, for a sneaky character.
Spellsword 1 - Any gish should consider this for a free 10% ASF reduction, except for dwarves, because they can...
Runecaster 1 - Ignore ASF entirely at level 1.

[dsmiles]

Honestly, what about those of us that don't?

[Daremonai]

If your intelligence modifier is positive, Duskblade is a fine dip class for melee types. No BAB loss, a handy boost to Will saves, a few utility cantrips, and a couple of castings of Ray of Enfeeblement if your wizard's busy doing other stuff. All for the cost of putting up with d8 HP for a level.

[lsfreak]

Fighter 2, Feat Rogue 2, PsyWarrior2 - For two feats + either BAB, skills, or powers.
Monk 2 - Gets special mention for 3 feats, one of two attack options, and either evasion or turning invisible every 3 rounds.
Cloistered Cleric 1 - excellent feat dip, and does a ton to help out a melee classes as a result. Travel + Knowledge, and either Pride or War.
Barb 1 - Gets you Whirling Frenzy and Pounce, and another level gets you Improved Trip without prereqs. It's win.
Swordsage 2, Warblade1, Crusader2 - For any melee build, pretty much. All are good, depending on the route you're taking.

PrC:
Mindbender1 - Mindsight is great.
Shadowdancer2 - HipS + getting back evasion/uncanny dodge after replacing it with something else.
Sacred Exorcist1 - Turn Undead? Yesplz.
Bloodclaw Master - No TWF penalty, both hands get full Str bonus.

[Telonius]

My personal favorite PrC dip: Master of Masks, for proficiency in every weapon in the game.

Honestly, what about those of us that don't?

Grognard1.

[Greenish]

Swordsage
Monk

I quite like the monk 1-2 dip too.

Honestly, what about those of us that don't?

If there's a thread about, say, Exalted, do you go there to complain that you don't play Exalted?

[SurlySeraph]

Fighter 2, or Swashbuckler 3 if you need more damage and have a high Int modifier...

For the first, 2 bonus feats, including Martial Study and Martial Stance. For the second? Weapon Finesse, Grace +1, and the ability to apply Int in addition to Str to weapon damage rolls. Fun all around.

Plus the Arcane Stunt ACF from Complete Mage (which replaces Grace) can be very handy.

Base classes:
Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1. Meleers without special tricks pretty much need it.
Cloistered Cleric 1 is instant feats and/or great domain abilities. Plus having scrolls of a couple high-level Cleric spells (and maybe a wand or some scrolls Owl's Wisdom so you can use them) can be very handy in a pinch.
Monk 2 is "I'm tricky to kill and can fight unarmed" in a box.
Swordsage 2 is "I have maneuvers" in a box.

PrCs:
Sacred Exorcist 1, because Turn Undead. And with proper shenanigans, that means DMM for an arcane caster.
Church Inquisitor 1. Wee, +4 to Dispel checks and some decent spells with no effort.

[darbythegambler]

Pious Templar 1 gives Mettle at no loss of BAB (good for a melee-dip build since it makes it easy to deal with some pesky wizardry). Divine Oracle 2 gives access to the Oracle Domain and an ability that's pretty much Evasion in any armor (double-dip Pious Templar and Divine Oracle, now for the cost of a couple of feats, some skill points, and 1 BAB, pretty heavily spell resistant, and not to mention the hilarity of a dodgy tank )

[Eldariel]

Depends on the chassis, but my favorites:

Cloistered Cleric (1 level): 6+ skills, two good saves, three Domains which are comparable to feats but can produce some hard-to-acquire, valuable effects (Inquisition, Luck & Pride come to mind) and gets access to a wide variety of important Wands, including Cure Light Wounds/Lesser Vigor. Only drawback is d6 HD which makes taking first level in it a tad risky, though spells help.

Barbarian (1-2 levels): 4+ skills, d12 HD, +1 BAB, Pounce/Fast Movement, Whirling Frenzy/Rage, Improved Trip on 2 without meeting prerequisites. An excellent dip for basically everyone not going pure caster. Whirling Frenzy is lovely for archers, Pounce for melee types, Rage for tanky types, Ferocity for Intimidating Rage, etc. Drawback is, of course, only one good save & relatively poor skill list. That and "only" three abilities over 2 levels.

Ranger (2 levels): 6+ skills, two good saves, a feat you don't need to meet prerequisites for, Track, full BAB, Wild Empathy and so on. Mostly a good dip in martial builds as it doesn't lose BAB while still gaining skills. I tend to use this quite a bit especially with the DR325 Combat Styles. Also gets you Ranger Wands which are pretty good (though unfortunately lack Lesser Vigor). The sheer amount of stuff you get here is nice even if most of it isn't so strong.

Monk (1-2 levels): 4+ skills, three good saves, the selling point is getting a feat without needing to meet prerequisites, Unarmed Strike (which enables some stuff you can't get otherwise) & Wis to AC for Wisdom-based types. Oh, and Flurry too. Though Flurry is only relevant for someone who intends to actually fight unarmed (mostly Unarmed Swordsage and some Druids), while Wis to AC is relevant to mostly Wisdom SAD types (so Druid & Cleric). The second level is another feat for which you don't have to meet prerequisites (including Improved Trip) and Evasion.

Martial Rogue (2 levels): 8+ skills, two feats, Evasion. Simple, efficient. I'd never take only one level here, and they are mostly there for the skills, but it's an excellent dip option for anyone needing the skills. Particularly the first level. The drawback is again, low HD and here poor saves too.

Rogue (3 levels): 8+ skills, sneak attack. Mostly for Sneak Attack; qualifies you for Craven. It's hard to count 3 levels as a dip anymore, but Penetrating Strike is too key if using Sneak Attack. Obviously same drawbacks as above.

[Thespianus]

Wizard, more specifically Conjurer, for Abrupt Jaunt ACF. It's so crazy good it hurts. And, yeah, you can use all Arcane wands/scrolls/whatever without UMD.

And, even if you go for a melee build, it's pretty nifty. You lose one BAB, but you gain Abrupt Jaunt (good for Full Attacks), and with the Fighter Feat-variant from UA, you also get a Fighter Feat instead of Scribe Scroll.

Double dip with one level of Cloistered Cleric and..well, you're Awesome no matter what you do.

[Amphetryon]

Factotum is good for the duration, but it's also an excellent class to grab for 3 levels early on before skipping off to something with fewer class skills (read: every other class).

[grarrrg]

I like ranch for vegetables and caramel for fruits.

He said dipping CLASSES.

That being said, my favorites would be Swim and Diving

[Psyren]

Cloistered Cleric 1 is my personal favorite. Paladin 1 was nice in 3.0.

Grognard1.

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