Rogue Multiclassing: Fun Concepts and Practical Guidance for D&D 5e

hey Looters, it's Flutes here i want to talk  about rogues and multiclassing so that we can   get some good ideas and best practices to make  interesting characters today on Flutes Loot so first of all i want to remind everyone to  visit flutesloot.com and look at the link in   the description for an article that goes along  with this video that article goes into a lot   more detail than i will in this video because  it's easier to just write it all out there than   do a very long video flutesloot.com is managed  and maintained by myself flutes and my wife opal   we have a few guest writers that have been writing  with us too so check them out let's start with   what you get if you just dip a few levels into  rogue when you're playing some other class with   a single level dip in rogue you get proficiency  in light armor a rogue skill and proficiency   with thieves tools and that's just from the  multi-classing table of what different classes get   you the rogue class features give you one d6 of  sneak attack damage thieves can't for talking in   code and expertise so that you can beef up two of  your skills or your thieves tools to double your   proficiency bonus at level 2 rogues get cunning  action a very useful feature that gives your   bonus action the ability to dash disengage or hide  the most common ones i use are disengage and dash   though hyde can come in handy as well in a  stealth heavy encounter the one or two level   dip into rogue can be great for classes that don't  necessarily want to go all 20 levels in their core   class especially if they don't use their bonus  action a lot already spellcasters make great   multi-classes for rogues because they get light  armor to just give themselves a little bit more   survivability but cutting action is the big one if  they get cornered by big brutes that are trying to   smash the spell casters they can disengage as a  bonus action hop away get in a better position   maybe put their front liners between them  and their enemies and then cast a spell still   with their action it's always good to make your  spellcasters mobilized so that they don't just end   up in one spot getting smashed as soon as they get  cornered opel in particular loves multiclassing   rogue and fighter one of our first articles of  all time maybe even our first i don't remember was   about her saying how much she loves multi-classing  rogue and fighter it's a very fun combination   especially if you enjoy what a fighter can do but  you just want more options rogues gain a subclass   at level three so if you want to go three levels  that's when we can really start having some fun   seeing what kind of subclasses we want to combine  with while multi-classing with other classes   you'll have to consult the multi-classing stat  table to see what stats you need in those classes   on that note let's start talking about what are  some fun rogue multi-class concepts that you might   want to try not all of these concepts are based  on optimizations i think there's a lot of content   on the internet for optimizing multi-classing as  a rogue i want to talk about some cool synergies   yes some optimal multi-classes but also just  some that sound fun so if you're someone who   isn't as interested in the numbers and just wants  to combine some cool abilities or themes you will   find some of my concepts to be tempting i'll be  going through these multi-class recommendations by   subclass starting with the arcane trickster  because it's first in alphabetical order   one combination for the arcane trickster is to go  arcana cleric if you've forgotten about the arcana   cleric it is a cool little subclass that lives in  the sword coast adventurers guide probably one of   the only subclasses worth remembering from it  the arcana cleric can learn wizard can trips   at first level which means you can learn some  cantrips like booming blade or green flame blade   as a rogue you don't need to make multi-attack  you just want one attack that's going to hit   so using a kantrip that enhances that attack is  even better the narrative for this multi-class   can be a rogue who actually worships a god of  knowledge or magic the arcane trickster learns   some limited spells but the cleric multiclass  symbolizes its devotion to a deity additionally   the one level of arcana cleric will enable you to  be proficient in medium armor and shields you'll   be able to defend yourself very well if you are  attacking with one hand and have a shield in the   other whether you're using a rapier a short sword  or a light crossbow having a shield can be very   handy though with the ranged attack you will want  to take something like the crossbow expert feat so   that you don't need to load it while one hand  is occupied with your shield my second arcane   trickster multi-class recommendation is with my  favorite wizard subclass the enchanter this is   a high level concept at level 9 arcane tricksters  get magical ambush where if they're hidden from an   enemy the unaware enemies have disadvantage on  saving throws against spells being cast by the   arcane trickster enchanters of level 10 will  be able to twin cast their enchantment spells   if you hide and you twin cast your enchantment  spells you could cast something very scary like   like dominate person or hold monster at two  targets and they may have disadvantage on those   saving throws giving you essentially four chances  to succeed with a single spell slot that can be   very impactful but if it fails it wouldn't do  anything so it's very important to make sure that   your enemies fail their saving throw you will  miss out on some higher level enchantment spells   when you have this combination but if you enjoy  playing that rogue archetypes that you're not just   focused on enchantment only and maybe you're  doing other things this can be a great high   level synergy to get the most out of your spell  slots arcane trickster also pairs well with the   trickery domain cleric i think it would be cool  to invoke duplicity with your trickery domain and   then use your magehand ledger domain as an arcane  trickster to actually make it look like your   duplicate which is just an illusion is real  because it is interacting with things so your mage   hand invisible as an arcane trickster can make it  look like your illusion self is interacting with   things and picking them up and looking at them  it could also simulate like even just blowing air   from your mouth by it just like waving the hands  so that it blows air out of the illusion's mouth   there's a lot you could do that could be really  fun plus you get spells like polymorph and modify   memory if you go high enough in the trickery  domain very good spells on that domain spell list   and after all arcane trickster and trickery domain  they basically have the same name so combining   them there's sure to be some fun to be had keep  in mind that when you're multi-classing with a   rogue you need to have at least a dexterity of 13.  arcane tricksters could also pair with the pact   of the blade from multiclassing as a warlock and  maybe choose the hex blade as a patron this would   allow the arcane trickster to actually focus on  charisma to kind of be the face of the party and   have expertise in some of those charisma checks  and have very high roles for them and not really   worry about intelligence a lot of the arcane  trickster spells don't have to focus on having   high saving throws or spell attack modifiers so if  you invest in your charisma and don't really worry   about your intelligence for your spell casting  you might be just fine you'll be able to learn   things like booming blade eldridge blast if you  need to do ranged attacks and you usually are   melee but you could also go for pact of the chain  or pact of the tome if you wanted to do more with   your spell casting utility or you're familiar  there's a lot you could do that would be fun   as an arcane trickster to just take a few warlock  levels in addition to expanding your spell options   the arcane trickster could also combine with three  levels of a fighter and use a sneak attack attack   to do some damage and then use their action surge  to do the ready action and say when my familiar   uses the help action i will attack again with  my reaction and then that happens so that's a   great way to enable yourself to attack twice in  a round and do sneak attack twice in a round you   can increase your critical range with a champion  fighter or you can learn some battle maneuvers as   a battlemaster fighter it's basically any fighter  you choose three levels that will be fun for an   arcane trickster the next rogue subclass is the  assassin the assassin pairs very well with the   gloom stalker if you want to do some more attacks  and really capitalize on the ambushes you set up   take three levels of gloom stalker and enhance  your assassin's abilities i do recommend you   check out my article and video that i revised the  assassin to make it a more worthwhile subclass   because the bass player's handbook assassin has  some issues that make it a little sub-optimal i   recommend checking that out another video  and article i have is combining the grave   cleric with the assassin rogue you can do a lot  of damage once the assassin is level 17 and you   just have two levels of grave cleric to channel  divinity point at someone give them past the   grave vulnerability to damage which essentially  between that and death strike of the assassin and   the auto crit of the assassin on an ambush you may  be doing upwards of 500 plus damage the average is   probably closer to two or three hundred damage  but you can check out my video and my article   about that multi-class build as well combining the  assassin with the glamour bard will allow you to   really lean into the imposter abilities and being  able to infiltrate places manipulating people to   get into the right positions that you can carry  out your assassinations i could picture this kind   of character as a dancer or some sort of performer  that entrances people and then is also very deadly   with a hidden blade there's a lot you could do  with this sort of combination and bards are great   with skills and everything just like the rogue is  and so a gang jack of all trades and some bardic   inspiration would really mix up what the assassin  could accomplish you can throw in some hex blade   warlock to enhance your assassin's abilities and  maybe focus more on charisma after all again the   assassin has some abilities that are based on  infiltration so that you can deceive people and   persuade them to get into the right places the  hex blade will allow you to use your charisma on   attacks as well as hold your own in a few combat  scenarios that last past that initial ambush   that you set up next up is the rogue subclass  inquisitive i don't have anything that's like   jumped out at me as an awesome idea but there were  some themes i picked up on that you might find   intriguing the inquisitive rogue like the arcane  trickster could do well doing an arcana cleric dip   to increase its defenses and gain booming blade  medium armor and shields will be very useful as   well another type of clerk that could go well with  this is the war cleric you could be almost like   military police you know you're a war cleric and  you're inquisitive you know you're an investigator   so you might be investing more in your wisdom  than the average rogue because of your desire   to perceive and observe you can also use heavy  armor if you're not focused on being very stealthy   and you can use a shield if you miss your attack  to get sneak attack you can use your war cleric's   ability to make a bonus action attack to try  again an inquisitive rogue will invest more in   wisdom so you'll be able to do that bonus action  attack more since it's limited by your wisdom   modifier and don't forget you'll be learning all  the cleric first level spells with just one level   dip so you might be able to do things like bless  to support your party and of course you don't have   to use the heavy armor or the shield you could  have medium armor to make it so you don't need   as much dexterity if you're not as focused on  offense and then you can still be more stealthy   and you can use a longbow or other weapons next up  is the mastermind and i really only thought of one   multi-class that sounded fun to me and that's to  mostly be a battle master fighter level 12 let's   say and then mastermind like level 8 so 8 and 12.  this is the battlefield commander archetype as a   mastermind rogue you can use your bonus action to  help action your allies but you can also make your   attack have special abilities and debuffs to  enemies you can help maneuver your allies into   good positions it's just a great way to control  the battlefield i definitely picture you being   mounted on a horse surveying the battlefield and  making sure everyone's in position while giving   them coaching of where they should be focusing  their attacks who's weak those sorts of things   next up is the phantom rogue which i thought  would be a lot of fun to multi-class with a totem   barbarian the totem barbarian already makes  these little totems and that's like its theme and   then the phantom rogue later levels is going to  create little token totems out of souls basically   so you'll probably take the bare totem and just  resist a lot of damage in addition your rogue   at later levels will be able to learn i think  it's evasion i always confuse that with uncanny   dodge but the one where you can use a reaction to  have the damage you take from an attack this would   mean that you're taking a fourth of damage after  you resist it while raging i picture taking 11   levels of totem barbarian and 9 of the phantom  rogue i know that's a lot because the phantom   rogue doesn't do a lot until it gets that level 9  feature so this might be one that you try in a one   shot that's higher level or in a campaign where  you have a lot of patience and you don't mind   being slow to level up into almost even classes  and don't forget you can use a finesse weapon   while using your strength on your attack so you  could get rage damage as you sneak attack with a   rapier it's not a huge difference but it is just  a little damage boost that's nice to remember   and as long as you're attacking with your strength  you can use reckless attack gaining advantage to   secure sneak attack if you otherwise wouldn't be  getting it the next subclass is the scout rogue   which i think has a lot of synergies with some  of the more outdoorsy subclasses that it can   multi-class with the totem barbarian again is a  great multi-class with the scout rogue being able   to rage to resist damage and get advantage on your  initiative rolls is really big for a scout who   likes to set up ambushes or get out of dodge real  quick if things go sour during a scouting mission   you'll also be able to lock down enemies by  getting advantage on your athletics checks   and maybe you'll have expertise in that as well  the scout road could also multi-class with the   twilight cleric and gain some pretty crazy dark  vision you'll be able to support your party with   temporary hit points from your channel to vinity  if you go a few extra levels you'll be able to   gain some flight that's pretty nuts but the  dark vision would be the big one if someone has   60 dark vision and they think that that's enough  for them to keep an eye on things at night but   you have 300 you don't even have to get close to  them to kind of keep an eye on them and scope out   what they're doing and set up an ambush you  can give a few of your allies that same dark   vision of 300 feet make sure your dm understands  darkness and that they're gonna be using those   rules so it's not like every enemy just ignores  the fact that they can't see and you'll be able   to do really well with this one this is one of the  downfalls of setting up ambushes at night is often   you have to get so close that you can't utilize  something like a longbow to keep your distance   and basically take out your enemies before they  can even find you or get close to you and so   being able to stay 300 feet away and use a long  bow is pretty remarkable keep in mind the range   to not get disadvantaged because you want to  get sneak attack while you are unseen this   actually might be good to take the skulker feet  for once next subclass is the soul knife rogue   i think this would go well with the genie warlock  take six levels of it so you could gain flight   and your little genie bottle or whatever you want  to rest in and your side blades that you manifest   could be seen as a genie energy being able to  create things so maybe it's less about you being   psionic and more about you having the luck and  wish power though limited of a genie cybolstered   nat could be your genie luck and ability to warp  reality to some extent if you go 14 levels of soul   knife with six levels of twilight cleric you'll be  able to fly without concentration and be invisible   without concentration as well as just creating  an area of dim light that supports your allies   you could be this invisible support or this  invisible infiltrator and i know it's like   taking a lot of levels just to do like two things  without concentration that's pretty huge to not   be relying on like an invisibility  spell or something so you can actually   do things while you are invisible and flying the  swashbuckler rogue is next many people's favorite   rogue i think it's great it's not my favorite but  there are some cool multi-classing combinations   that i came up with one is for the totem barbarian  i've made a video where i talk about how i love to   think of a barbarian that uses a rapier that uses  defensive duelist as a feat and is more finesse   based it can use the finesse to do defensive  duelists to react and block damage potentially   but also use its strength to attack the  swashbuckler with fancy footwork sneak attack   and its dueling abilities will make it so you  can get sneak attack pretty consistently for up   to if if we do swashbuckler five levels like i've  got in my multi-class article you get 3d6 extra   damage of sneak attack and then 15 levels of totem  barbarian if you get that high you'll be creating   really hard and the sneak attack damage will be  even better with that you can be naked or nearly   naked swashbuckling barbarian who can mobilize  around the combat field very easily while kiting   and baiting enemies into following after you  cutting action will make your mobility even better   so you'll be raging and running around like some  kind of tasmanian devil the last rogue subclass   i want to talk about is the thief one of my  favorite rogue subclasses because it's so unique   in its fast hands ability i believe the thief  would go well with three levels of gloom stalker   so that it can be invisible in the darkness so if  you're infiltrating a place and they're not using   torches you can steal from them just without being  seen you're not technically invisible they just   can't see you if they're relying on darkness to  see you you also get some cool ranger spells like   long strider fog cloud alarm and a few others that  you could use to enhance your thieving abilities   and kind of cover your back while you're knee-deep  in people's loot and don't forget stealing from   enemies what's actually on them like an arcane  focus to disable their spell casting or their   expensive material components that are going to  make them do scary spells on your party being   effortlessly invisible is pretty great speaking of  stealing from people the thief goes well with the   glamour bard you can entrance people with your  enthralling performance and command people to   basically bow down as you quickly snatch something  from them without them being the wiser you also   gain barred spells jack-of-all-trades again like  again the subclass gives you some cool utility   but having three levels in a spellcasting class is  also fantastic i'd also like to see a thief that   has three levels of circle of the moon druid  so you can infiltrate places by turning into   a mosquito or some sort of small monkey something  that you can either infiltrate with or infiltrate   being smaller and still be able to pickpocket  and all those sorts of things you can also gain   a few druid spells like locate objects so you can  find the object that you're looking for and pass   without trace so that you'll be a very stealthy  little monkey and then there's the battle master   fighter combined with the thief you  can use your disarming attack maneuver   to force an enemy to drop something they're  holding and then with your fast hands bonus action   you pick that up right off the ground no  problem you'll also have action surge so i   hope this opened up your mind to a little bit of  thinking outside the box with some rogues as well   as looking for some utility so learning kant  trips like booming blade and green flame blade   are very helpful to boost your damage anything  that can add to your stealth whether it be a skill   a feature or a spell is perfect for you you also  have versatility between being a ranged or melee   attacker and i know some people say like a rogue  should be a harasser you know a striker that gets   in and gets out sure but sometimes you just end up  being in the thick of battle so having a bit more   defensive ability from multi-classing listening  like a cleric is very nice so what multi-classing   combinations do you enjoy for rogues let me  know in the comments section and don't forget   to subscribe as i will keep putting out videos  like this where we can discuss subclasses and   multi-classes and we have lots of other articles  and videos for you to observe if you subscribe   you'll be attuned to us and you'll be able to  scroll on us anytime you want even when you didn't   see it coming we'll just pop up there in your  subscription box opal also makes videos on this   channel so check out her stuff she tends to go  deeper on a lot of lore and it's very interesting   and helpful for dms or just cool to know for  players who want to be dms one day between the   two of us i think we'll find some great content  for you to enjoy that's all i have for today   so i'll see you in the next video have a good  adventure this weekend and i'll see you later bye

Channel: Flutes Loot

Views: 33,763

Keywords: D&D, DND, dungeons & dragons, roleplaying, rollplaying, roll play, role play, DM, GM, game master, dungeon master, 5th edition, 5e, 5 edition, PC, advice, advise, optimized, optimize, optimization, rules explained, TTRPG, tabletop RPG, flutes, flutz, flute, lute, loot

Id: NhFLP18bED4

Length: 19min 49sec (1189 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021