the Jester
Legend
I'm very curious as to how a multiclassed full caster/full caster works in actual play, e.g. cleric/wizard, druid/sorcerer, bard/druid, etc. Anyone try one yet?
D&D 5E Has anyone played a cleric/wizard or similar multiclass?
- Thread starter the Jester
- Start date
I have a Wizard 2/Cleric 7 and a Cleric 6/Sorcerer 6 I have played. I traded a lot of power for extreme versatility, especially with my cleric/Sorcerer. You rely on upcasting your spells a lot and metamagic becomes extremely important to your utility. I played that character all that way so I could do this one cool thing and I used it once before the campaign ended...
The wizard/Cleric played much like pure cleric, I liked having all the first level rituals and being able to heal and buff through my familiar. Portents saves lives.
The wizard/Cleric played much like pure cleric, I liked having all the first level rituals and being able to heal and buff through my familiar. Portents saves lives.
Wiz 1 / Life Cleric 7 here. Shield spell and booming blade make me so much better in melee, familiar helps with ranged healing and scouting, absorb elements and a level 1 spellbook packed with rituals are nice too.
Might pick up Wiz 2 for portent or minor conjuration eventually, not sure; probably going to wait until I get 9th-level cleric spells first though. Or might pick up a level or two of druid at that point, or might just go cleric 19.
Getting Cleric spells 1 level late is only a little painful so far.
Might pick up Wiz 2 for portent or minor conjuration eventually, not sure; probably going to wait until I get 9th-level cleric spells first though. Or might pick up a level or two of druid at that point, or might just go cleric 19.
Getting Cleric spells 1 level late is only a little painful so far.
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FormerlyHemlock
Hero
I've done some test scenarios (I mostly DM unfortunately). Life Cleric 1/Wizard X works great, mechanically. You get some sweet bonus action spells including Sanctuary and Healing Word, you get heavy armor proficiency, you maintain full spellcasting progression, and you acquire a dependency on Wisdom and to a degree Strength. If you've got the stats for it, it's as good as or better than Bladesinger from a defensive perspective, but you still get the joy of being an Illusionist/whatever.
I haven't tried an even Cleric/Wizard split, but I have seen one played. Cleric 11/Wizard 11 IIRC. It was terrible--barely noticeably better than the genuine 8th and 9th level characters in the party, except for all the magic items which gave him an AC of 25ish--but that may have been partly because it was played... poorly. I won't go into the details of what was done wrong, but I will say that I believe that a genuine 22nd level character played by the same individual in the same style would have been far more impactful, with Meteor Swarm once a day if nothing else.
MiraMels
Explorer
Even split diviner / knowledge cleric here (currently wizard 4/cleric 5) here.
It is a LOT of fun, you trade the flashy higher level stuff for pretty much always having exactly the right lower level spells for the job. You upcast a lot. She usually falls into a buff/debuff role with an emphasis on singling out and disabling other casters and planar creatures. when you've got two different spellcasting stats, it's probably a good idea to pick one to focus on (for saves and attack rolls) but i haven't yet (16 int / 16 wis) and i'm not hurting for it. The portent rolls usually get reserved for upcast inflict wounds (if i roll high) or upcast bestow curse (if i roll low)
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It is a LOT of fun, you trade the flashy higher level stuff for pretty much always having exactly the right lower level spells for the job. You upcast a lot. She usually falls into a buff/debuff role with an emphasis on singling out and disabling other casters and planar creatures. when you've got two different spellcasting stats, it's probably a good idea to pick one to focus on (for saves and attack rolls) but i haven't yet (16 int / 16 wis) and i'm not hurting for it. The portent rolls usually get reserved for upcast inflict wounds (if i roll high) or upcast bestow curse (if i roll low)
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I have a Life Cleric 1/Lore Bard 15 in my current game, and she works fine. I've played a mixed cleric/wizard (I think I ended at 4/5), and it wasn't as good. I think a level dip is easily workable, as you are only 1 level behind on your highest level spells. IME, the versatility of having a lot of spells available from multiple levels in two full casters isn't as good as the higher level spells you can get as a straight caster.
iserith
Magic Wordsmith
Fortuna Farsight - half-elf diviner 2/lore bard 7 right now in Curse of Strahd. In addition to spells that speak to her fortuneteller theme, all of her spells, feats, and class features either grant advantage to allies, disadvantage to enemies, add bonus dice, or allow dice replacement or re-rolls. I can't remember the last time the DM actually got to land a critical hit with a monster. She's very good at keeping the party going and maximizing their output. Plus, manipulating all the dice is very fun.
Ebenezer Switch - variant human transmuter 2/druid of the land 4 in a homebrew game. He has the Alchemist feat from UA to fit with a crazy alchemist theme. All of his spells and class features are reflavored to that end, that is, changing one thing to another thing. I renamed all his spells into old timey sounding alchemical terms or medicines. So far, nobody in the party has taken him up on trying Dr. Switch's Amazing Ability Enhancement Suppository.
Both are very much support characters and have a lot of utility. Spells can be a bit much to manage sometimes, but it's doable.
Ebenezer Switch - variant human transmuter 2/druid of the land 4 in a homebrew game. He has the Alchemist feat from UA to fit with a crazy alchemist theme. All of his spells and class features are reflavored to that end, that is, changing one thing to another thing. I renamed all his spells into old timey sounding alchemical terms or medicines. So far, nobody in the party has taken him up on trying Dr. Switch's Amazing Ability Enhancement Suppository.
Both are very much support characters and have a lot of utility. Spells can be a bit much to manage sometimes, but it's doable.
CapnZapp
Legend
I would assume it works better than in any recent previous edition (mostly comparing to d20), since
a) you still get slots as a full caster
and
b) your save DC still increases like a full caster
If your campaign tries to stick to "low level" (mundane:ish) opponents, you'll be fine. What high level spells offer that upcasted lower leveled spell doesn't, is specific tools against increasingly fantastical threats. But even this tendency is not as strong as in d20 - in some published campaigns such as Out of the Abyss I would argue it is almost undetectable.
But as previous replies have shown you, "works better" still doesn't mean "works just as well". Whether this is mostly a theoretical expectation or a practical realization, I can't say.
I am playing a Gnomish Bard/Wizard (just got my 3rd level in bard, so I am Divination wiz 2/Valor bard 3), and having some good fun. Not the most valuable person around by a long shot, but flexible enough to keep up. Do not plan on going much further, but if I gain another level before the end of the campaign, it will be bard 4, for the ASI. I recommend finding your multiclass story. My Bard/wiz started as a Wizard street performer, then started training with a Bard in our group who he suspected of being sent to spy on him, so as to stay close to his "enemy".
Why is your Wizard also a Cleric? Did he start as a cleric, then decide that the best way to serve his god was to learn some stuff on his own? Or did he start wizard, and turn to faith when he needed more tha nhe could give? Something darker, like hiding necromancy from his fellow followers of Melora? Find a story that you like, and that works with both classes, IMO.
Why is your Wizard also a Cleric? Did he start as a cleric, then decide that the best way to serve his god was to learn some stuff on his own? Or did he start wizard, and turn to faith when he needed more tha nhe could give? Something darker, like hiding necromancy from his fellow followers of Melora? Find a story that you like, and that works with both classes, IMO.
Herobizkit
Adventurer
I've played a Tempest Cleric 2/Diviner Wizard 2 and, for me, the value of having a larger prepared spell selection far outweighed the slower spell progression. The character will likely never see high-level play, so I made him as "front-loaded" as I could.
Wood Elf Bard/Druid (like a Meistersinger, if you remember the old 2e Bard kits) is one I'd like to try sometime.
Knowledge Cleric/Bard is almost unnecessary but omg the skills.
Wood Elf Bard/Druid (like a Meistersinger, if you remember the old 2e Bard kits) is one I'd like to try sometime.
Knowledge Cleric/Bard is almost unnecessary but omg the skills.
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