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I currently play a level 9 multiclassed Rogue/Hexblade and one sentence in the Rogue's Expertise confused me a little. It says that at level 6 I gain Expertise with another 2 skills.

Is the 6th level the total character level or the Rogue's level only?

I ask this because on different occasions the PHB specifies those things.

Example Sneak Attack:

The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class.

Another one is Eldritch Invocations:

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

So what's the case here, bad wording or when it says simply "level" does that mean the character's level and not class level?

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2 Answers 2

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Given that the option to Multiclass is explicitly an optional rule, any text within a class referring to level is always referring to levels in that class.

The chapter on Multiclassing explains what changes when you allow characters to have multiple classes, but with the exception of Spellcasting (which is explicitly called out in that chapter) everything else is dependant on the levels in the class granting the ability.

Note also, that the features for each class are shown in the Class Features table, which are specifically for members of that class. All the basic explanations for features are written as "at Xth level" because they are in the specific class section for the class they are for. Only abilities that grow or change with your level call out "in this class", because it's possible to gain a level in a different class, but you would always be referring to that other class' features table to see what happens to your character.

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    \$\begingroup\$ May also be worth pointing out that this, like the other examples mentioned, are listed in the "Class Features" section, alongside the class progression table which displays "Expertise" in the 6th level row. I think that makes it clear that, if anything was based on character level rather than class level it would say so specifically. \$\endgroup\$
    – PJRZ
    Commented Jun 18, 2018 at 12:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ @PJRZ, While I agree that in this case it seems clear that Class Level is intended, Cantrips do not explicitly state that they use Character Level, despite doing so: "The spell creates more than one beam when you reach higher levels..." \$\endgroup\$
    – Fifth_H0r5eman
    Commented Jun 18, 2018 at 13:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Fifth_Hor5eman: But spells follow their own rules (and cantrip caster level was answered in a sage advice). I was talking more about the fact that class features are listed in the class progress table; even if its a single feature that 'upgrades' at certain levels, this will still be noted at each relevant row in the table. \$\endgroup\$
    – PJRZ
    Commented Jun 18, 2018 at 13:46
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Fifth_H0r5eman They finally made that explicit! In the 6th printing of the PHB, in the section on multiclassing and "Spells Known and Prepared" (p. 164) an Errata states that “If a cantrip of yours increases in power at higher levels, the increase is based on your character level, not your level in a particular class.” \$\endgroup\$
    – Gandalfmeansme
    Commented Jun 18, 2018 at 14:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ Another little point: Although Proficiency Bonus is listed in the class tables, this is just a convenience for single-class characters. The Proficiency Bonus is actually defined on PHB p. 15 based on total character level. \$\endgroup\$
    – aschepler
    Commented Jun 18, 2018 at 22:22
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Those features relate to class level

The two features you have specified as examples both have "in this class" in the text.

The quote for Sneak Attack:

The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class.

This is the price to pay for multiclassing. Taking Rogue and Warlock as examples, you will be a less-good rogue than a pure Rogue, since they will have more sneak attack die, but you will have more versatility. Otherwise, no one would ever have to take more than a few levels in rogue to get really strong sneak attacks without the commitment to the class.

The quote for Eldritch Invocations:

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

So for this second quote, swapping out spells or Eldritch Invocations can only be done when you take another level in the class that gave you that feature (same is true of swapping out, say, Sorcerer spells, for example; you can only do that by taking another level in Sorcerer).

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