* * *
I've been very torn about how many classes to shoehorn into my character for the upcoming DD5E campaign. I love the concept of piling Embolden, Bless and Bardic Inpo on my allies. I also really really wanted a familiar, and part of my brain is also very convinced that a few Warlock levels will make any caster feel less constrained by spell slot economy. So the obvious solution is zerg Warlock to L3 after front-loading Peace Cleric L1 for Embolden and 1 Bard level for Inspo.
I also pondered the tipping point of getting Con save proficiency. Either you start in a class that has Con as one of its proficient saves, or you spend a precious ASI for the Resilient Con feat at some point. Peace cleric and Eloquence Bard are non-negotiable; the Warlock levels are questionable and primarily justified more by the attraction of having the game's best familiars than the short-rest spell slot mechanics.
Anyhoo, classes starting with Con save prof are Barbarian, Fighter, Artificer and Sorcerer.
In order from worst to most conventional for the purpose:
- Brb would give a weirdly resilient build; but diverts stats to useless Str, and delays spellcasting
- Ftr is also resilient: good hp, armor prof, Second Wind, FS:Defense, no stat drain, only delays spellcasting
- Art is fairly resilient, doesn't delay spellcasting, diverts stats to Int.
- Sor is probably the most conventional start-class choice to get Con save proficiency on a different "main" class: full spellcasting, expands spell choice depending on subclass, even reasonable to dip more than 1 level for sorc points. But it also gives the worst starting hit points of any class (d6, tied with Wizard) and NO armor proficiency. For my intended build, that's only an issue for the like 12 seconds before leveling up and gaining Cleric (and eventually, Hexblade) armor options.
It does offer Shield and Absorb Elements for even greater survivability. Divine Soul subclass's "Favored of the Gods" feature is also lauded as another resilience feature. The Cleric spell list access is a bit ho-hum if you're taking a Cleric dip anyway.