deerstalker
https://blacknerdproblems.com/a-dd-confessional-i-still-dont-understand-multi-classing/
At my core, I am a living confluence of contradiction. I am a nonbinary, biracial technical writer. I literally am compromised of non-standard, disparate, and contradictory components. My resume is a hodgepodge of endeavors from engineering degrees and pop culture multimedia critique, and I am a firm proponent of a STEAM educational framework.
And yet, running further contrary to an already contrarian existence is a single truth that I hold dear: I do not understand 5e multi-classing. I caution my players to avoid multi-classing. I never multi-class my own characters as though delving into a separate class would somehow doom their existence. I get visibly confused when someone mentions that they have mutli-classed.
This has not gotten better with the recent release of Baldur’s Gate, where several guides explain the so-called benefits of multi-classing in various builds as a way to leverage new and exciting combinations of skills and class features, and my brain just ends up short circuiting after seeing the backslash.
And the thing is I didn’t always have this mentality. When I was first learning how to play Dungeons and Dragons with their 3.5e, the idea of multi-classing was significantly less detracting to me, although that was due to the fact that I wasn’t viewing multi-classing as a means to increase my range. Instead, I was viewing multi-classing as a means to unlock the true power that I wanted my PC to have. One of the prominent features of D&D 3.5e was the inclusion of Prestige Classes: unique classes that your character had to be molded into. Unlike the standard classes, you could never start out as level 1 of a prestige class nor could you ever get a full 20 levels of the class either. There were specific requirements that required investing in specific skills and choices, some of which required you to delve outside your typical background to get all those requirements checked off. However, unlike true multi-classing, I think the mentality was very different for me. Prestige class was kinda the equivalent of getting a specialized degree that would then supersede everything that came before it. Multi-classing in my head is the equivalent of a certificate.
And logically, I know that isn’t entirely fair to multi-class PCs. The fact remains that there are plenty of reasons why multi-classing is appealing. From a narrative perspective, it shows a character choosing to delve into a new specialty, influenced by the choices and circumstances they find themselves in. Hell, in Order of the Stick, Elan chooses to take a level in wizard to help improve the potency of his magical illusions. He also takes a level in daring swashbuckler, although that’s a prestige class equivalent, and that’s completely ignoring his evil twin brother’s Nale convoluted level schema to poor mimic the effect of a bard.
From a mechanical perspective, it does widen the toolbox dramatically. The first level provides a plethora of features and investments that very well could compliment certain attributes. Furthermore, I also know for a fact that some of the broken builds in D&D history require multi-classing, none more infamous than the Pun-Pun, thought experiments that push the game mechanics to create a functional god at ridiculously low levels. It’s a min-maxer’s dream that should also never be allowed at an actual table.
But for me personally, I just do not understand the appeal of multi-classing. From a gameplay perspective, the progression of the classes feels like the intended path (helped by the fact that multi-classing is an optional rule even within the core rulebook). This is doubly true for spellcasters as the potency of their spells is directly tied to their character level, and skipping levels prevents access to some of the most busted spells in the game. It creates extensive bookkeeping issues, as your HP dice and Skill Points quickly get out of sync, and that aforementioned versatility also leads to having significantly more options (that again are also fundamentally weaker) that can slow down the decision-making process. And the fact is that when I’m playing a tabletop RPG, I am playing within the framework of a group. I am one character within a party, and party dynamics are more enjoyable when each character has their own niche. Having a proverbial jack of all trades may be nice for large parties, but for the more intimate settings, it never feels great being “good” at several things when your teammates are “phenomenal” at a thing.
It also certainly doesn’t help that progression in tabletop spaces is not predictable. Since leveling is at the game master’s discretion, taking a level in a different class could very much put you at a power deficit for an indeterminate amount of time until you can pick up the other levels that would even out your builds. Of course, getting to build higher level characters from the start could mitigate this, but that’s a lot of planning and coordination and maybe you’re just built for it better than I am.
Versatility in real life, I value immensely. Being able to adapt to a plethora of circumstances is a true asset, and being well-rounded is an important consideration. In games though, I much rather be the best hammer than a Swiss-army knife. I much rather find creative uses of being the best hammer to solve problems than practical solutions with the Swiss-army knife. And for me, when I play a game, I want to invest fully into a singular fantasy. I want to do the things that I designed my character to do at their fullest, and for me, that means triple downing on the first decision and keeping everything at a honed edge. I want that clarity, the pure joy of a max level fireball, an attack of opportunity with way too many dice, and that weird niche level 20 feature that is beholden only to your class, as proof of your dedication and devotion to a singular idea. Which again, doesn’t exactly back translate to real life, but perhaps that’s a different article.
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The post A D&D Confessional: I Still Don’t Understand Multi-classing appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
At my core, I am a living confluence of contradiction. I am a nonbinary, biracial technical writer. I literally am compromised of non-standard, disparate, and contradictory components. My resume is a hodgepodge of endeavors from engineering degrees and pop culture multimedia critique, and I am a firm proponent of a STEAM educational framework.
And yet, running further contrary to an already contrarian existence is a single truth that I hold dear: I do not understand 5e multi-classing. I caution my players to avoid multi-classing. I never multi-class my own characters as though delving into a separate class would somehow doom their existence. I get visibly confused when someone mentions that they have mutli-classed.
This has not gotten better with the recent release of Baldur’s Gate, where several guides explain the so-called benefits of multi-classing in various builds as a way to leverage new and exciting combinations of skills and class features, and my brain just ends up short circuiting after seeing the backslash.
And the thing is I didn’t always have this mentality. When I was first learning how to play Dungeons and Dragons with their 3.5e, the idea of multi-classing was significantly less detracting to me, although that was due to the fact that I wasn’t viewing multi-classing as a means to increase my range. Instead, I was viewing multi-classing as a means to unlock the true power that I wanted my PC to have. One of the prominent features of D&D 3.5e was the inclusion of Prestige Classes: unique classes that your character had to be molded into. Unlike the standard classes, you could never start out as level 1 of a prestige class nor could you ever get a full 20 levels of the class either. There were specific requirements that required investing in specific skills and choices, some of which required you to delve outside your typical background to get all those requirements checked off. However, unlike true multi-classing, I think the mentality was very different for me. Prestige class was kinda the equivalent of getting a specialized degree that would then supersede everything that came before it. Multi-classing in my head is the equivalent of a certificate.
And logically, I know that isn’t entirely fair to multi-class PCs. The fact remains that there are plenty of reasons why multi-classing is appealing. From a narrative perspective, it shows a character choosing to delve into a new specialty, influenced by the choices and circumstances they find themselves in. Hell, in Order of the Stick, Elan chooses to take a level in wizard to help improve the potency of his magical illusions. He also takes a level in daring swashbuckler, although that’s a prestige class equivalent, and that’s completely ignoring his evil twin brother’s Nale convoluted level schema to poor mimic the effect of a bard.
From a mechanical perspective, it does widen the toolbox dramatically. The first level provides a plethora of features and investments that very well could compliment certain attributes. Furthermore, I also know for a fact that some of the broken builds in D&D history require multi-classing, none more infamous than the Pun-Pun, thought experiments that push the game mechanics to create a functional god at ridiculously low levels. It’s a min-maxer’s dream that should also never be allowed at an actual table.
But for me personally, I just do not understand the appeal of multi-classing. From a gameplay perspective, the progression of the classes feels like the intended path (helped by the fact that multi-classing is an optional rule even within the core rulebook). This is doubly true for spellcasters as the potency of their spells is directly tied to their character level, and skipping levels prevents access to some of the most busted spells in the game. It creates extensive bookkeeping issues, as your HP dice and Skill Points quickly get out of sync, and that aforementioned versatility also leads to having significantly more options (that again are also fundamentally weaker) that can slow down the decision-making process. And the fact is that when I’m playing a tabletop RPG, I am playing within the framework of a group. I am one character within a party, and party dynamics are more enjoyable when each character has their own niche. Having a proverbial jack of all trades may be nice for large parties, but for the more intimate settings, it never feels great being “good” at several things when your teammates are “phenomenal” at a thing.
It also certainly doesn’t help that progression in tabletop spaces is not predictable. Since leveling is at the game master’s discretion, taking a level in a different class could very much put you at a power deficit for an indeterminate amount of time until you can pick up the other levels that would even out your builds. Of course, getting to build higher level characters from the start could mitigate this, but that’s a lot of planning and coordination and maybe you’re just built for it better than I am.
Versatility in real life, I value immensely. Being able to adapt to a plethora of circumstances is a true asset, and being well-rounded is an important consideration. In games though, I much rather be the best hammer than a Swiss-army knife. I much rather find creative uses of being the best hammer to solve problems than practical solutions with the Swiss-army knife. And for me, when I play a game, I want to invest fully into a singular fantasy. I want to do the things that I designed my character to do at their fullest, and for me, that means triple downing on the first decision and keeping everything at a honed edge. I want that clarity, the pure joy of a max level fireball, an attack of opportunity with way too many dice, and that weird niche level 20 feature that is beholden only to your class, as proof of your dedication and devotion to a singular idea. Which again, doesn’t exactly back translate to real life, but perhaps that’s a different article.
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The post A D&D Confessional: I Still Don’t Understand Multi-classing appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
I am the person I am today in large part to the creative scene of St. Louis. Over the years here, I’ve gotten to know a wide range of writers, artists, graphic designers, mixed media magicians, and I’ve become a better writer due to a multitude of interactions with them. I’ve also gotten more exposure to the nooks and crannies into pop art and pop culture thanks to the people I’ve met. It would also be fair to say that I would not be a writer for Black Nerd Problems had it not been for the employees of my first comic book shop and the friendships I made because of that store. This is why I’m very excited that I get to spend the next thousand some words gushing over one of the best con experiences I’ve had during the enduring pandemic years because of its organization, variety, and overall chill vibes.
Just for a little bit of context, in the before times, St. Louis used to be home to the St. Louis Small Press Expo, centered around predictable small press. It was one of the first local cons I ever got to attend and featured a variety of small publishers and local sharing their works from magazines to mini-zines and art prints, and it was overall a chill vibe. However, like many other conventions their 2020 iteration was canceled due to COVID-19, and the show would go on indefinite hiatus. Enter 2023, there would be a major rebranding and re-imagining and thus the St. Louis Independent Comics Expo (and their adorable mascot with a menacing exacto-knife, Mr. SLICE) took stage.
With its expanded scope, the board members of SLICE made sure that the Opening Ceremony and one day event would be a memorable one. The night before the con proper attendees gathered around the Hi-Pointe Theater for a special panel featuring the three special guests of the expo.
- Bianca Xunise (they/them), illustrator and cartoonist
- Zachary Clemente (he/him), owner of Bulgilhan Press
- Cassi Mothwin (she/her), tabletop RPG designer, writer, and illustrator
This panel was moderated by none other than our local St. Louis Cartoonist and SLICE board President Steenz (they/them) who had a candid conversation about the communal aspects of being in a creative field, the hard realities of business, and also the actual physical taxing process that creating is capable of inducing. In particular, the one piece of career advice for aspiring creators from each of the guests was particularly resonate.
Failure is just a state of being in the process of creation… It’s a thing that naturally happens in the course of doing things. – Zachary Clemente
Be the hype-person for your friends. -Cassi Mothwin
Start stretching. -Bianca Xunise
That last comment led to a fun exercise with Steenz where they walked us through a simple three step stretch that was extraordinarily easy that could easily be remembered with the mnemonic: “Stop / this pizza / is mine.” And thus, opening night was a rousing success.
And before we talk about the show proper, I do want to highlight one of the policies I greatly appreciated was SLICE having a mask mandate, something I wish more cons were adamant about.
Come Saturday, October 15th, the Sheldon had been converted to a lively con space. I was helping as a volunteer, doing odds and ends around the venue, but I got to spend just as much time as a participant. As you walked in the front doors, you saw a screen-printing station where you purchase and screen your own SLICE themed tote bag with the fantastic Mr. SLICE mascot.
The second floor (accessible via elevator or stairs), featured the various sponsors of the cons. Nearly two dozen St. Louis local business and institutions gave support and resources to bring the revival of this expo back, and it was inspiring seeing all of the support for creators and creatives alike. Local comic book and book shops, Cinema St. Louis, art supplies vendors, restaurants, the St. Louis Public Library, and more backed this convention and allowed the board to fully realize their vision.
Additionally, the space held an information booth, a workshop space that throughout the day featured button-making, poetry writing, and figuring drawing, and a lecture hall in an art gallery where the panelists from the opening ceremonies presented much deeper insights into respective fields. There was Bianca Xunise discussing the difference between syndication and zines, Zachary Clemente in conversation with Jefferson City based magazine publisher Tina Casagrand Foss, or Cassi Mothwin going into detail about the different solo RPGs out on the market.
There were recurring themes about the power of community and collaboration. Suggestions to start small before attempting to create your magnum opus. Candid conversations about the sacrifices and requirements to run a small business. and a laundry list of recommended media.
The third and final floor of the convention exhibit held all of the vendors. As you can imagine, it was a veritable treasure trove of a wide range of independent artists sharing all of the cool things from comics, bespoke prints, and every single type of trinket imaginable. There were 66 tables set up there and it was incredibly dangerous for my wallet.
Throughout the day, volunteers and organizers could be spotted with fashionable berets as they kept the event running smoothly. It was a smooth operation all around, and you’d be hard pressed to believe that this was the first con that the board had ever formally attended. They demonstrated incredible organizational efficiency as upwards of a thousand some people by my estimation game throughout the seven hour event.
The St. Louis Independent Comics Expo is a testament to the power of vitality of small cons. It was a lovely event that featured several different levels of engagement, a diverse group of people and programming, and overall just a fantastic way to spend a Saturday. The creators and creatives of St. Louis came out in full force, and anyway you slice it, SLICE set a fantastic precedent for itself and I am already looking forward to 2024.
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Something odd happened over this summer. During the lull of new programming as current series wrapped up and newer series were waiting for things to simmer down just a little before trying to capture our attention, Netflix decided that it would add the USA hit, Suits, to its library. And for some reason, this was exactly what everyone wanted and Suits decided to have a not so insignificant resurgence. With eighth seasons on Netflix and the ninth exclusively on Peacock, I’m not not convinced that this wasn’t a backroom deal between the streaming services to try and salvage NBC Universal’s massive profit loss, but that’s neither here nor there.
Now, I had watched Suits right before this renaissance, so while everyone else was reliving the adventures of Mike Ross and Harvey Specter, I ended up delving into spin-off Pearson and other lawyer-y shows like How to Get Away with Murder and The Lincoln Lawyer. This, of course, got me thinking about the veritable laundry list of attorneys in the fictional wilds and who I’d want defending me. Because lord knows if I’m in the universe where lawyers decide my fate in more ways than one, I have names at the ready when they ask me who my representation is.
But before we begin aggregating our tier list, I think it’s important to establish some ground rules. We’re looking primarily at personal and defense attorneys here. As I, an individual, am not likely to be the prosecutor because I am not a member of the criminal justice system. Similarly, as I am not representative of a major corporation, I will likely not be in need of a business lawyer. I will also be trying to stick to characters that I could reasonably employ in this day and age, which means that I’ll have to leave off both versions of Perry Mason off the list due to their outdated knowledge of the law. Ironically, even though this list was inspired by Suits, Harvey Specter is not going to be on my rolodex because quite frankly, I lack the funds and any reason to call someone who specializes in mergers and acquisitions. That said, we’ll start the list off with two other iconic characters from the series.
Mike Ross and Rachel Zane (Suits) – When My Family and Community Have Been Wronged
Now, I know including someone who was technically a blatant fraud for the majority of the franchise time seems like an odd decision, but at the end of the day Mike Ross did become a lawyer and more importantly became a lawyer alongside his wife Rachel Zane. They are currently running a legal clinic up in Seattle, although we saw that Mike Ross is more than willing to represent his client in whatever city he needs to. Fake law degree be damned, you’d be hard pressed to find a lawyer with the definitely fictitious level of memory that Mike Ross nor a better research lawyer than Rachel Zane. The two combined are an absolute force to be reckoned with, and you’ll need a very specific type of case to hire them.
Diane Lockhart (The Good Wife, The Good Fight) – When Things Are Just a Little Silly, and I Have the Budget
Look, the majority of the time, Diane Lockhart is gonna be out of my budget and out of scope for any random thing I’d need litigation for, but I also know for a fact that in a world where Diane Lockhart exists, I’d want her number on speed dial in the event that I was caught up in anything silly. This is a woman who has represented every single type of eccentric individual under the sun in the complete wildest of circumstances. Esoteric inheritance proceedings, random interpersonal conflict, covertly formed underground organization of questionable legal operation. She has seen the wildest thing on this floating rock that we call earth and remains relatively calm in the most audacious moments, and that’s a commendable quality in a lawyer.
Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) – When Things in My Personal Life Are Just A Little Too Complicated
Now, I’m only familiar with the Netflix adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer, but I get the sense that if I need him on retainer it’s because I’m a relatively decent human with a few complications and need someone to either handle defty or be okay when things get revealed in a wild way. Haller’s probably the lawyer that is willing to meet me at my price points. But he has a solid network of resources and a good sense of humor and theatrics that would make the whole process a little less jarring than usual. There’s definitely a chance I might be guilty of something or other if he needs to stay on for a while, but if it was actually just a misunderstanding, I feel like we’d be in and out of court in less than a day.
TIED: Patty Hewes (Damages), Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder) – When I Need to Preserve My Name at an Unreasonably High Cost
I’m gonna group these two together because they’re getting called in the exact same scenario. $#!%’s ****’ed, and there’s not a lot of recourse and it’s not gonna get better, so we’re angling for “less worse.” Patty Hewes and Annalise Keating are cut throat lawyers who will do anything to win, and when by the time I’m done with the phone call introduction, if they are taking the case they have my entire life story in a manila folder and have an enumerated list of my sins digitized.
I’ve seen them folks, and they are brutal and efficient. Even though the experience will likely leave me in shambles, I’d probably be innocent in the legal proceedings if nothing else.
Matt Murdock (Marvel) – If There is Any Remote Signs of Superpowers or Murderous Vendetta
If I had superpowers, I’d probably put Jen Walters on the list but as I am just a person, I probably only need Matt Murdock’s level of superhuman ability involved in my usual proceedings. Matt’s cool composure is complemented by his incredible ability to read people makes for a great attorney from the get, but the fact that he has prior experience with shadowy organizations, ancient conspiracies, and the ilk means that his expertise is probably necessary to save the city as a whole and probably my life in the process. It’s really a matter of responsible scoping giving who I am as a person. It’s definitely gonna be a little off putting to see him show up in court with inexplicable bruising or an uncanny ability to capture thrown projectiles, but as far as total package, Murdock is certainly up there.
Rafael Barba (Law & Order: SVU) – When I Need the Best Outcome
There is only one lawyer in all of the fictional canon that I would call if I knew I actually needed a lawyer. And I’d have to convince this dapper man to take my case through many scenes of dialog, exposition, and personal connection, but the moment he becomes counsel is the moment I know everything is gonna be fine.
Rafael Barba may have spent the majority of his screentime as a prosecutor, but his career as a defense attorney is nothing short of stellar. Every single time he’s gone to bat, they have gotten justice whether that is minimal sentencing or in the case of one of the most notable crime lords in New York City, freedom because the law was in not fact followed.
Barba is an exemplar of the fictional lawyer, someone who is well-versed, knowledgeable, and able to open, question, cross-examine, and close with the best of them. He is dedicated to the very underlying ideals of justice, and he’ll do what needs to be done to protect his clients and those he holds dear. That’s something I value highly.
Closing Remarks
So there’s my list of fictional attorneys. Let us know who you’d have on retainer.
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