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Probably Rogue.
Lots of skills = lots of options. And can fight at melee or range with decent damage (usually).
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Depends which party roles you list.
Process of elimination:
Tank: Not Wizard or Sorcerer
In-combat healer: No martials or Rogue, Alchemist sub-par
Blaster: Alchemist, Bard & Cleric sub-par (w/ exceptions for certain gods/domains)
Skill monkey: W/ Rogue MCD doable by many, though only Rogue can really cover all the bases so have to settle for "good".
So I think Druid in general, w/ Cleric & Bard as contenders.
It helps that Druids have full spell proficiency + hide armor w/ Shield Block while Clerics have to choose. Bards have a skill advantage, some martial weapons, & support, so I can't ignore them either.
Wild Shape can get Druids to mediocre melee level w/ only Con plus it gives some scouting ability. They have Heal + blasts w/ feats to support them. So much like previous edition, Druids can fulfill most any role well, and a few roles great too, often at the same time.
ETA: It's sorta hard for the other casters to get to mediocre melee level except maybe Warpriest, so that wasn't a knock against Druids, just recognition they won't match a martial. The gulf between martial & caster is insurmountable both ways IMO. You can get maybe 1/3 of the way across.
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Druids have always been incredibly flexible - shapeshifting let's you turn into something tanky or good at melee or stealthy, they can blast, they can summon, they can buff, they can control, etc.
Most flexible?
Probably a rogue multiclassing into one of the casting dedications.
You'll have skills, you'll have some combat ability from class feats, and you'll have some spell casting.
But you're not going to be great at anything (except skills). Rogues are pretty much the best at skills.
Multiclassing has issues indeed.
I was considering a random dedicated caster.
You will have 1 lvl 3 spell till lvl 11, while pure casters will have lvl 6 spells.
Then you start from character lvl 12 with a lvl 4 spell, and a higher spell every 2 lvl, till 20.
I am trying to figure out how can somebody be useful with a lvl 3 spell around lvl 10.
Being 2 lvl behind pure classes, limited to 1 slot unless you take another class feat, would have been a thing.
But this way is awful.
Dedication
Base spell
Expert spell
Master spell
Extra spells5 talents out of 11, and you are not even remotely close to that class.
I will be able to cast Maze by lvl 20
YayWhile a caster will cast it by lvl 15
5 level Gap is too much for something which requires you to waste half of your talents. And whatever, you will be able to use lvl 7 and 8 at the end of the game. Lvl 18 and 20.
Ranged and melee dps are in a way better spot.
I am trying to figure out how can somebody be useful with a lvl 3 spell around lvl 10.(Haste? Cantrips for damage versatility? Cantrips for small tricks like prestidigitation? Healing with wands?)
The whole thing with multiclass caster isn't about being compared to the main class... It is to make you more versatile, you won't be ever a full caster with multiclass. You are another class with some extra versatility...
I am trying to figure out how can somebody be useful with a lvl 3 spell around lvl 10.(Haste? Cantrips for damage versatility? Cantrips for small tricks like prestidigitation? Healing with wands?)
The whole thing with multiclass caster isn't about being compared to the main class... It is to make you more versatile, you won't be ever a full caster with multiclass. You are another class with some extra versatility...
Many spells, including some Cantrips are not affected by MAP.
Strike + Electric Arc would be a pretty good round.Buffs like haste and bless are good at any level. And then just utility like water walking are useful at any level. (Electric Arc + Shield + Haste-Strike)
Debuff spells are a bit less good, but will require extra feats to get expert/master.
Damage spells would be pretty bad. But can be useful for hitting weaknesses. Burning hands + 10 fire weakness might be more than your weapon can deal.
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I mean, if your point is that a multiclass spellcaster isn't as good at casting spells as a dedicated spellcaster, then... yeah. That's working as intended.
Not really an issue, and doesn't change the fact that multiclassing spellcasters is a great way to add flexibility (which is what the OP is about).
Yeah, when talking about flexibility you have to understand that whatever you are "flexing" into that you're not going to be as good as someone dedicated to it.
Multiclassing into spell casting from rogue is the best course in my opinion.
The class comes with skills. Multiclassing to a spell caster will get you utility and buff spells. And you innately have some combat ability, though you're sacrificing some to get spell casting.
The rogue is poised well for it because you really only need dex on a thief rogue. You can choose your spell casting stat as your secondary stat. Con and wisdom (if not your spell casting stat) for 3rd and 4th. So you ignore charisma (or int) and strength, which works okay. Probably go into wizard if you want extra skills, though if you're human the Clever Improviser feat basically gets you trained in all skills so going wizard for int may not be that effective. You could go cleric if you want that spell list which add some flexibility on stats. Or you could go charisma based caster like bard or sorcerer depending on which spell list you're after, but remember to focus on support and utility spells. I don't know the new spell lists well enough to know which list has the best of those.
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A slightly fair use of haste,which is not that good in this version, and which can be achieved through spells and wands,saving 2 class feats.
Cantrips (which auto-heightened) are nearly always worth the first feat.
Many Buff and utility spells are worth the first casting feat.Focus spells (which auto-heightened) are often worth the feat.
*(Force bolt works great for anyone. Doesn't care about MAP, stats, or training level. But also just +1 Focus that can be used for your main class).
And that's the 3 feats you need, so you can get another dedication.
Expert/Master/Extra Spells/Level 1-2 Feat are unlikely to be worth it, unless you have something specific in mind.
But really, if you want to spend more of your time casting spells, be a spell caster with fighter dedication.
Speaking of which, I'm going to switch my vote to Druid/Rogue as most flexible class. Spells and Skills.
Don’t undersell the value of wands for MC characters. They are relatively cheap by the time you hit 12th level. Pretending like your spell casting is limited to your spell slots is disingenuous. Also your ability to hit with spells will still be better than a caster MCing into a martial class, as far as hitting with AOE spells enough to trigger weaknesses. And by lvl 12 you should be at most one attribute bonus behind a dedicated class.
Most flexible?
Probably a rogue multiclassing into one of the casting dedications.
You'll have skills, you'll have some combat ability from class feats, and you'll have some spell casting.
But you're not going to be great at anything (except skills). Rogues are pretty much the best at skills.
Second this. Best skills. Take support spells that will be useful regardless of level. Then invest a bit into your choice of ranged or Melee or even invest into some kind of combat maneuver
Rogue for sure. Should have best dex and good athletics or would that be acrobatics for flexibility?
Rogue for sure. Should have best dex and good athletics or would that be acrobatics for flexibility?
I would grab athletics with assurance, because you can pretty much autotrip on your 3rd action your low strength wont matter.
Rogue for sure. Should have best dex and good athletics or would that be acrobatics for flexibility?I would grab athletics with assurance, because you can pretty much autotrip on your 3rd action your low strength wont matter.
Auto Trip is gonna be really dependant on the DM and how hard you meta game.
If you get a lot of lower level mooks with not the best reflex sure.
But anything else is a gamble. And any DM I've played with has never given you the reflex save info to know.
I spent a little time looking for a specific character I was making (level 9 rogue) and found that my assurance athletics "roll" was a 25, which looked to be more than the reflex DC of all the creatures I looked at in the bestiary from level 7 thru 11 with the exception of maybe 3.
That doesn't mean the GM can't modify things, but it looked like its just going to work most of the time.
It is meta information to know that I guess, though I didn't memorize the monster or their reflex saves but I know in the majority of bestiary entries I saw that I'm going to succeed.
Most flexible, probably Rogue, Druid or Ranger.
Alchemist is flexible in a way; it does nothing well so you can build them any way you want, they're going to suck regardless.
Also I don't know about you guys, but rogues always seem to be a source of friction at my own tables or those nearby. Especially when lawful good anyone is involved (contrary to popular beleif its not just paladins!) Any ideas to overcome that?
I've never had these problems, but my rogues also usually don't steal from innocent people, kill randos, steal from the party, etc. I feel like rogue as a character idea sometimes attracts people who want to play that way, but it is by no means a part of the class itself. That last one is particularly important, and as a GM I usually let every player know from the start there will be no stealing from the party, period. I don't care if "it's what my character would do", as they have complete control over the character and their behavior so they can change that. /rant
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As for the other popular option, druids, how do you feel about the blanket ban on metals? Seems concerning to me (for melee) unless you want to go with unarmed natural weapons monk build.
Your typical druid is not going to want to use weapon attacks, instead favoring polymorphs when they want to melee so they don't have to worry about weapon damage, proficiency, or strength.