CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
I'm not sure...maybe? We're running 5E (2014), and it's very much an optional rule.
(I know that all rules are optional, according to Chapter 1 of the DMG, but nobody likes a pedant.)
D&D 5E Why Did You Take That Level of Fighter?
- Thread starter CleverNickName
- Start date
(I know that all rules are optional, according to Chapter 1 of the DMG, but nobody likes a pedant.)
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
Sorry about that. I guess if you have more reasons, you should choose "Other" option and then list them all out.
Zardnaar
Legend
You are right but I'm heavily likely to start as fighter and MC into what I want.
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
Oh ok, well, in addition to the mechanical reasons (proficiencies, fighting style), I'd also choose a level for story reasons, or, if I felt my current class was lacking and needed more oomph. Some examples of different reasons:
*I wanted to play an archer Rogue, but it occurred to me that a level of Fighter would allow me to use a heavy crossbow and get +2 to hit from a Fighting Style.
*I was playing a Devotion Paladin, and having trouble with the action economy of Sacred Weapon. I figured Action Surge would make it a lot less painless, so I could still attack on the first turn of a battle.
*I was trying to replicate a character from an older edition, and a level of Fighter would allow me to more accurately model their abilities.
*A character concept of mine was a former soldier who gave up their old life and became a priest of a non-militant deity, but it didn't make sense to me that they would have "forgotten" how to use their old weapons and armor. I didn't have to be a Fighter, but it made more sense to me, even though it meant I was weaker at using magic.
I chose first of several levels of fighter. If you are talking about 1 level I would never take fighter, although if it is more levels I have multiclassed fighter quite often.
At the end of the day, one level Fighter offers very little that can't be done better with Ranger, Paladin or Cleric.
Here are some reasons:
1. Cleric is the only class that can offer heavy armor on a 1-level dip and it can also offer martial weapons and finally a caster does not lose a casting level.
2. Ranger and Paladin both offer light and medium armor and martial weapons, while giving some other abilities to boot. Those other abilities are generally better than second wind and a fighting style for any class that would multiclass into fighter.
Cap'n Kobold
Hero
I'd be willing to bet that the majority of those Fighter multiclass levels aren't from people picking a level of Fighter when they next level up, but rather from starting with a level in Fighter.
Armour and shield training and proficiency in Constitution saves are big benefits to many casters, and Weapon Mastery is useful now that True Strike is a favoured attack cantrip.
DrunkonDuty
he/him
Because the bees told me to, through the medium of dance.
DrJawaPhD
Hero
^This. Any Caster planning to use a weapon will usually start with 1 level in Fighter to gain Constitution saving throw proficiency plus Weapon Mastery plus Fighting Style plus Shield proficiency plus maybe they care about Heavy Armor proficiency. Added bonus is that you're also just a 1 level dip away from Action Surge down the line if your campaign lasts long enough to pick up the spells that you want first.
iirc they got rid of the "optional" part of it in 2024. It's just a part of the character creation rules.
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