TechnicleeHow does multiclassing work in the 2024 5e rules?
When you gain a level, you can take it in a new class. You need a score of 13 or higher in the primary ability of your current class and of the new class. Your total character level sets your XP and Proficiency Bonus. You gain only part of the new class’s proficiencies, and your spell slots come from one shared table.
Each rule is below, from the SRD 5.2.1, with the 2014 differences at the end.
You need 13 in both primary abilities
To qualify for a new class, you need at least 13 in its primary ability. You also need 13 in the primary ability of every class you already have. The SRD example is a Barbarian moving into Druid. That character needs Strength 13 or higher for the Barbarian and Wisdom 13 or higher for the Druid.
| Class | Primary ability you need at 13+ |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | Strength |
| Bard | Charisma |
| Cleric | Wisdom |
| Druid | Wisdom |
| Fighter | Strength or Dexterity |
| Monk | Dexterity and Wisdom |
| Paladin | Strength and Charisma |
| Ranger | Dexterity and Wisdom |
| Rogue | Dexterity |
| Sorcerer | Charisma |
| Warlock | Charisma |
| Wizard | Intelligence |
Classes with “and” need both scores at 13. The Fighter needs either one.
Total level sets XP and Proficiency Bonus
Your character level is all your class levels added together. XP thresholds use that total. The SRD example is a level 6 Cleric / level 1 Fighter. That character needs enough XP to reach level 8 before taking a second Fighter level or a seventh Cleric level.
Proficiency Bonus also uses your total level. A level 3 Fighter / level 2 Rogue counts as level 5, so the Proficiency Bonus is +3. Cantrips that grow stronger at higher levels also use your total character level, unless the spell says otherwise.
Hit Points come from the new class’s later-level value
You get the level 1 Hit Points for a class only when your total character level is 1. Every level after that gives Hit Points the way a class does for levels after 1. You roll the class’s Hit Point Die or take the fixed value, then add your Constitution modifier.
| Class | Fixed Hit Points per level |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | 7 + Constitution modifier |
| Fighter, Paladin or Ranger | 6 + Constitution modifier |
| Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Rogue or Warlock | 5 + Constitution modifier |
| Sorcerer or Wizard | 4 + Constitution modifier |
Your Hit Point Dice form one pool. Dice of the same size go together, so a level 5 Fighter / level 5 Paladin has ten d10s. Different sizes stay in separate piles, so a level 5 Cleric / level 5 Paladin has five d8s and five d10s.
You gain only part of the new class’s proficiencies
Your first level in a second class gives its level 1 features. It also gives a short list of starting traits from the “As a Multiclass Character” box in that class. Every class gives its Hit Point Die. The table shows what else you gain, beside the 2014 list for comparison.
| Class | 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1) | 2014 rules (SRD 5.1) |
|---|---|---|
| Barbarian | Martial weapons, Shields | Shields, Simple and Martial weapons |
| Bard | One skill, one musical instrument, Light armour | Light armour, one skill, one musical instrument |
| Cleric | Light and Medium armour, Shields | Light and Medium armour, Shields |
| Druid | Light armour, Shields | Light and Medium armour, Shields |
| Fighter | Martial weapons, Light and Medium armour, Shields | Light and Medium armour, Shields, Simple and Martial weapons |
| Monk | Nothing extra | Simple weapons, shortswords |
| Paladin | Martial weapons, Light and Medium armour, Shields | Light and Medium armour, Shields, Simple and Martial weapons |
| Ranger | Martial weapons, one Ranger skill, Light and Medium armour, Shields | Light and Medium armour, Shields, Simple and Martial weapons, one Ranger skill |
| Rogue | One Rogue skill, Thieves’ Tools, Light armour | Light armour, one Rogue skill, Thieves’ Tools |
| Sorcerer | Nothing extra | Nothing extra |
| Warlock | Light armour | Light armour, Simple weapons |
| Wizard | Nothing extra | Nothing extra |
Saving throw proficiencies appear on no multiclass list. Your saving throws stay the ones your first class gave you.
Extra Attack and Armor Class use one source at a time
The SRD names three areas with special multiclass rules: Extra Attack, Spellcasting and features that give another way to work out Armor Class.
Extra Attack from two classes gives you two attacks with the Attack action. You make more only if a feature says so, such as the Fighter’s Two Extra Attacks at level 11. The Warlock’s Thirsting Blade invocation follows the same rule.
If you have more than one way to calculate Armor Class, you use one at a time. A Monk / Sorcerer with the Monk’s Unarmored Defense and the Sorcerer’s Draconic Resilience picks one of them.
Spellcasters share one spell slot table
If only one of your classes has the Spellcasting feature, follow that class’s own rules. Once two or more of your classes have Spellcasting, three rules apply.
First, you prepare spells for each class on its own, as if you had only that class. Each spell uses the spellcasting ability of the class it came from.
Second, you add up your caster levels. Count all your levels in Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer and Wizard, then add half your Paladin and Ranger levels, rounded up. Look up that total in the Multiclass Spellcaster table to find your slots.
Third, you can use any of those slots for any spell you have prepared. A slot can be higher than any spell you can prepare. You can still use it for a lower-level spell, and that spell gets its higher-level effect.
The SRD example is a level 4 Ranger / level 3 Sorcerer. Half of 4 Ranger levels is 2, plus 3 Sorcerer levels, makes a caster level of 5. That gives four level 1 slots, three level 2 slots and two level 3 slots. The character can prepare no level 3 spells yet, but can use those slots to boost the spells they do have.
Warlock levels stay out of that total, since the Warlock has Pact Magic in place of the Spellcasting feature. You can use Pact Magic slots to cast spells from your Spellcasting classes, and Spellcasting slots to cast Warlock spells you have prepared.
What changed from the 2014 rules
The 2014 rules in SRD 5.1 work the same way for prerequisites, XP, Proficiency Bonus and Hit Points. The differences sit in proficiencies and spell slots.
| Rule | 2014 rules (SRD 5.1) | 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1) |
|---|---|---|
| Paladin and Ranger caster levels | Half, rounded down | Half, rounded up |
| Spells | Known and prepared per class | Prepared per class |
| Unarmored Defense | You can gain it only once | Falls under the one-Armor-Class-at-a-time rule |
| Monk proficiencies | Simple weapons, shortswords | Nothing beyond the Hit Point Die |
| Druid armour | Light and Medium armour, Shields | Light armour, Shields |
The rounding change helps characters with a few Paladin or Ranger levels. A level 3 Paladin / level 2 Sorcerer had caster level 3 in 2014 (1 + 2). In 2024 it has caster level 4 (2 + 2), which gives three level 2 slots in place of two.
What I would do tonight
Before you take a level in a new class, run these checks:
- Confirm you have 13 or higher in the primary ability of every class involved.
- Add the new class’s Hit Point Die to your pool and its fixed or rolled Hit Points to your maximum.
- Write down only the proficiencies from that class’s “As a Multiclass Character” list.
- Add its level 1 features to your sheet.
- Recalculate your caster level and spell slots if you now have Spellcasting from two classes.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.