I've just hit second level with my Lizardfolk dragon-blooded sorcerer, and would like some help planning progression as I gain more levels; being new to playing sorcerers (as opposed to wizards, which I play quite frequently), I don't want to make a noob mistake and wind up hating the character.
My character, Nag, is a brash, treasure-hungry mage who arrogantly believes that he's the apex predator in the region; this belief is so strong that it's manifesting as sorcerer abilities. The plan is to begin leveling in dragon disciple after I hit 6th level, thus allowing me to have 3rd level spells before I start losing caster levels due to the prestige class.
Here's what I'm working with so far:
Nag
Sorcerer (draconic) level 2
Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 10
Cha: 16
Feat: Eschew Materials (bonus), Extra Traits (netting him a +1 fortitude, survival as a class skill, and stealth as a class skill)
Spells Known- (Cantrips) Prestidigitation, Light, Message, Acid Splash, Detect Magic
(1st Level)- Grease, Burning Hands
Thus far, he's been a melee combatant who will occasionally use magic to even the odds; using grease to trip up a group or on a BSF's great sword. It's been working out; with his three natural attacks and +2 natural armor, he's got a solid AC and good DPR. Of course, that will change as we level.
So I'm looking for advice on spells and feats as I level up. His role is a cross between blasting and crowd control. I could use your opinions on a few things like:
~ Of the blasting spells, which should I pick, and which enery should I focus on? So far it's looking like fire, which I hate because everything and it's mother is resistant to fire. But there also seems to be more fire spells than any other energy...
~Feats. I plan on picking up Craft Wondrous Items at 3rd level, but beyond that, I'm lost.
~I'd also like some ideas for good utility spells; ideally, I'll be picking one blast, and one or two crowd controls per spell level. The rest I'd like to pick out some fun utility spells along with a few buffs here and there.
Sorcerers are a HARD road to walk. Your stats make it a bit easier as he'll be a decent melee combatant until around level 4 when you fall behind the curve (the 3/4 BABs will be +3, Full BAB will be +4 but you will be +2).
Draconic is not my favoured bloodline BUT it is a good one (one of the better choices).
I'd recommend picking up a longspear as your weapon for melee moving forward - it fits thematically with your race, gives you reach (keeping your low HP hide from casual hits) and has decent damage. If they step inside reach you can drop the spear and claw their faces off.
Your temptation will be to balance your melee buffs etc with your blasting and other magic. Unless you are going Dragon Disciple you want to be real REAL careful. On paper you'll look badass but you'll have a glass jaw and crap CMD making you vulnerable. You don't get a lot of spells so trying to have melee buffs (and feats), some blasting and some utility spells will REALLY stretch your spell selection.
IF you are going Gish (and dragon disciple), you can't overlook Toughness. You need EVERY hitpoint you can get. Power Attack always pays dividends, and because of your BAB, furious focus will stay relevant longer.
Iron will isn't a bad choice either - your will save is your achilles heel for the moment. Your traits, level and Con give you a +5 Fort save. Your will is only +3.
Apart from that, think about your future spell selection and what metamagic is going to pay the most dividends for your spell selection.
I agree, draconic isn't my favorite, but it fits my character concept; Nag is a predator living and working among soft, weak humans. As he hunts and kills and levels, be evolves. I picked draconic so that I could enter Dragon Disciple, which is one of the few (only) prestige class that involves an evolutionary process; as he levels, he'll get stronger and smarter and more hardy, as well as thicker scales and flight.
I do plan on being a gish; so far I've had fun mixing magic with being a brute. I know it will be harder and harder to keep that up, but I'm sure there's a way.
You may wish to pick up some defensive options. You only really need one blasting spell at each level. If you are fire based, Burning hands, Burning Arc or Scorching Ray, Fireball, Dragon's Breath and Fire Snake should be most everything you need. Get Elemental Spell (feat or rod) for emergencies and immunities, but that should be most of everything you would need to blast. When you use the Elemental Spell feat or rod, you don't actually change the spell's descriptor, so it still gains your bonus damage.
Mirror Image is a great way to keep alive in the front lines, for you I'd just about recommend it for 4th level, definitely before you go into your prestige class. Displacement is good too, as it gives a more static miss chance. A lesser Quicken Rod will allow you to get one of these buffs off without losing a full attack, and should get you through most days, so it's something to look into when you acquire the money. False Life and Vampiric Touch can also get you more disposable HP, we have a necromantic sorcerer that has more HP than the party monk by far when she has all her Temporary HP going.
Helaman is right with the longspear. If you are stuck to one attack, it is nice to do it at range and with 1 and 1/2 damage. The Power Attack will scale with it too, and Arcane strike can make it magical if you don't want to invest money in one. If you did take a level in Fighter or Barbarian, you could use any polearm you found, but it may not be worth it if you are going all the way to 20 and want full casting.
Lot's of good advice
You make some excellent points, Oterisk. The great thing about Dragon Disciples is that defensive is built into the prestige class/bloodline; the huge boost to natural armor will help make up for a lack of armor proficiency. The first bonus spells he will get are Mage Armor at 3rd level, and Resist Energy at 5th level. And then Spell Resistance at 11th level, a spell that isn't even on the sorcerer/wizard spell list.
You're right, though. Some added defense would be a wise thing. Mirror Image rocks and will be one of the first spells I pick up. Displacement is nice as well, though it might have to wait awhile, since there are so many good 3rd level spells, and so few spells known...
So here is my (tentative) feat progression. I'm having a hard to fitting metamagic into the mix thus far; I really want Eldritch Heritage for either Abyssal, Orc, or Arcane. The first two for the strength boosts, the last one for the familiar and bonus spells known. I'm just not certain yet:
Feats:
1st- Extra Traits (Already picked and locked into place)
3rd- Craft Wondrous Items
5th- Either Empower Spell or Elemental Spell (Acid)
7th- Skill Focus (Knwoledge Arcana, or Survival, or Knowledge Planes), Toughness (Bloodline feat)
8th- Undecided (Dragon Disciple)
9th- Eldritch Heritage
11th- Improved Eldritch Heritage, Quicken Spell (Dragon Disciple bonus)
I'm playing in a Skulls and Shackles game, and I don't know how high it goes in level. Regardless it may even go beyond the AP, if we can come up with a good enough story.
As I said, this is a tentative outline; I'd like to squeeze some more metamagic in there, and pick up Craft Rod; having less expensive metamagic rods would be golden.
Another alternative (and PAINFUL) method would be crossblooding draconic and abyssal or orc; that way I could get the additional strength boost with burning feats on Eldritch Heritage. I could instead use my bloodline feat on Skill Focus: Knowledge Arcana, and my regular 7th level feat on Eldritch Heritage (Arcane). That would free up my ninth level feat for Craft Rods.
Thoughts?
Lot's of good adviceYou make some excellent points, Oterisk.
Thank you, I did write the guide. You can find a bunch more advice in there.
For you specifically, I would actually recommend you stay away from the creation feats. You are a pirate, you take what you want. You don't build! Predators are not wheat farmers! I use a little hyperbole there, but I'll think you get my drift. Of course, that's just my opinion and you are welcome to build your character however you like.
I see you wanted elemental focus Acid. If you chose an acid type of dragon, then my blasting info isn't the best for you. A bunch of the acid spells that you can get are more into status effects and avoiding things like spell resistance and saves, which can be really nice. My particular favorite strategy for acid is to use Acid Fog and some of the other fog spells and Blindfight from your Bloodline Feats.
But since you won't be specifically be able to dump all your feats and attribute points on a save or suck build, try to talk your GM into allowing you to switch the fire spells to the acid descriptor and do acid damage, or you can get into Words of Power, which can do a pretty good job of blasting. Also, there is a feat from the beastiary called Nauseating Bite. Forcing a fort save or Nauseated every time you connect with a bite attack is beauty. You can get it at 9th level.
If you are already level 2, it's a bit late to go crossblooded. If you can rewrite your character, Words of Power is a neat idea. There's a cool new guide on it that is very exciting. Skull and Shackles though will take you over 15, so getting Spell Perfection can be loads of fun. It doesn't work with WoP, but it is pretty amazing
Lot's of good adviceYou make some excellent points, Oterisk.Thank you, I did write the guide. You can find a bunch more advice in there.
For you specifically, I would actually recommend you stay away from the creation feats. You are a pirate, you take what you want. You don't build! Predators are not wheat farmers! I use a little hyperbole there, but I'll think you get my drift. Of course, that's just my opinion and you are welcome to build your character however you like.
I see you wanted elemental focus Acid. If you chose an acid type of dragon, then my blasting info isn't the best for you. A bunch of the acid spells that you can get are more into status effects and avoiding things like spell resistance and saves, which can be really nice. My particular favorite strategy for acid is to use Acid Fog and some of the other fog spells and Blindfight from your Bloodline Feats.
But since you won't be specifically be able to dump all your feats and attribute points on a save or suck build, try to talk your GM into allowing you to switch the fire spells to the acid descriptor and do acid damage, or you can get into Words of Power, which can do a pretty good job of blasting. Also, there is a feat from the beastiary called Nauseating Bite. Forcing a fort save or Nauseated every time you connect with a bite attack is beauty. You can get it at 9th level.
If you are already level 2, it's a bit late to go crossblooded. If you can rewrite your character, Words of Power is a neat idea. There's a cool new guide on it that is very exciting. Skull and Shackles though will take you over 15, so getting Spell Perfection can be loads of fun. It doesn't work with WoP, but it is pretty amazing
Lol, I like the wheat farmer reference. You make a solid point about crafting; it doesn't really fit my character, but there are a few holes that I want to be able to fill without relying on the DM dropping certain items. I recently discovered Pages of Spell Knowledge, and I want some of those! They solve the lack of spells known issue nicely. In addition, Robes of Arcane Heritage and metamagic rods would be a big help with my blasting and buffing, and who knows if/when I'll get access to those items unless I make them myself.
For blasting, I'm actually going to be focusing on fire spells, and then picking up Elemental Spell to change them to acid when I run into the inevitable fire resistant/immune monster. I'm sure that will happen a lot as I level, so I want to have acid to fall back on.
I thought about using Words of Power, but ultimately, I didn't think it was worth it; the system gives up too many nice spells, and seeing as there won't ever be any official support for the system, I feel that it will just get more and more stagnant as time goes by. I do like the versatility of the system, but I think I gain more using the standard magic system.
I actually do have a *little* leeway with character modifications; this character is new, and hasn't yet done anything in combat, so I actually can change him to a crossblooded sorcerer, if I do it before the start of the next session. My DM is cool like that. :p
The question is whether or not I should.
So I've just been made aware of the Experimental Spellcaster feat from the Words of Power portion of Ultimate Magic. It would give me the ability to pick up a few wordspells here and there. Are there any wordspells I should take a look at?
Metamagic Rods are made through the Craft Rod feat. Pages of Spell knowledge are nice, but I'm finding a bunch of utility through Mnemonic Vestments which allow you to cast one spell a day from a scroll or any other written source, like a spellbook, once per day without using up the source. It's fantastic for getting those spells that you wouldn't normally need and it's much lower priced than pages of spell knowledge... eventually.
Lower level Lesser Metamagic rods such as an Elemental are only 3000 gold, which should be available in any decently sized town your ship might port in. Once you get Teleport, you should be able to reach any decently sized town to purchase items whenever your ship isn't necessarily moving. Also, you may not have the time to craft. I've never played Skull and Shackles, but I did play a crafter in an AP once, and we got much more mileage from teleporting to a nearby city to do our shopping than we did from crafting, especially near the end when we had far less time than we did money. But hey, Your Mileage May Vary.
As far as Wordspells are considered, I know you read the Same Wordspell guide that I did that made me think it was a good way to go. But I only did promote it as I thought you were actually going with acid damage. Since you are going fire, take my first advice. Also, all of the spells I told you about in the fire line also would get a boost through Spell Focus Evocation, so that is actually a better option for you.
As far as crossblooded goes... I'm hesitant. Getting an extra +1 per die on your blasting with the Orc Bloodline is really good, but the negatives are really only worth overcoming if you use it a lot. A whole lot. Every battle. Maybe at least twice. A minus 2 to your will save isn't pretty, and fewer spells doesn't fit what you want from your sorcerer, especially if you are thinking pages of spell knowledge. You also have to remember you will be giving up another use of your Breath Weapon per day. For your concept, I would actually say it wouldn't be worth it.
For Feats, I'd go with Arcane Strike, Eldritch Heritage feats, I'd also pick up Power Attack or you will find yourself really lacking on the Melee damage end of things. Overcoming DR might be an issue at some point. It's not as important as other feats for you, so I'd wait to get it as a bonus with your bloodline. Stay away from crafting and pick up enough metamagic to get Spell Perfection at level 15 for Quickened Fire Snakes in your 5th level slots.
Alright, I've nixed the crafting feats from my planned build in order to make room for more metamagic. So far I'm thinking:
1st- Extra Traits
3rd- Skill Focus (Knowledge Planes)
5th- Intensify Spell
7th- Empower Spell
7th- Power Attack (Bloodline feat)
8th- Toughness (Dragon Disciple feat)
9th- Eldritch Heritage (Abyssal)
11th- Improved Eldritch Heritage
11th- Quicken Spell (Dragon Disciple feat)
Apparently, the AP goes up to 15th level, so I have a few more feats to play with, but I'm still debating on what to pick.
Next up, what spells to pick?
Keep in mind that you are a sorcerer and, although I don't normally look down on Skill Focus, when you ate attempting to be a melee sorcerer feat choice is pretty clutch. The poor skill points a sorcerer gets really doesn't encourage them to be a knowledge based build. However, if you are doing it for character fluff reasons I can't argue against it.
One thing that was mentioned that wasn't addressed is your low CMD. The last thing you wanna experience is being a caster on your back in the middle of a fray. That leads me to recommend Combat Maneuver Training which will allow you to use your full hit dice when calculating your CMD.
I would also recommend not taking Empower Spell if you plan to be a melee caster. The reason being that you have turned your class into MAD. This means your spells saves will suffer. You are also going to enter a prestige class that limits your spell caster level. Which limits your spell progression and the level of spells you can use the feat on.
I highly recommend focusing on some spells for defense above all else. Spells like the above mentioned Mirror Image, Mage Armor, Displacement, Blur, etc. They are gonna keep you alive long enough to make up for the misses you will probably make with a 1/2 BAB. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take some damaging spells, it just means you should be very careful to choose the most optimal ones.
I don't know if I just helped you or gave you even more to think about.
Keep in mind that you are a sorcerer and, although I don't normally look down on Skill Focus, when you ate attempting to be a melee sorcerer feat choice is pretty clutch. The poor skill points a sorcerer gets really doesn't encourage them to be a knowledge based build. However, if you are doing it for character fluff reasons I can't argue against it.
One thing that was mentioned that wasn't addressed is your low CMD. The last thing you wanna experience is being a caster on your back in the middle of a fray. That leads me to recommend Combat Maneuver Training which will allow you to use your full hit dice when calculating your CMD.
I would also recommend not taking Empower Spell if you plan to be a melee caster. The reason being that you have turned your class into MAD. This means your spells saves will suffer. You are also going to enter a prestige class that limits your spell caster level. Which limits your spell progression and the level of spells you can use the feat on.
I highly recommend focusing on some spells for defense above all else. Spells like the above mentioned Mirror Image, Mage Armor, Displacement, Blur, etc. They are gonna keep you alive long enough to make up for the misses you will probably make with a 1/2 BAB. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take some damaging spells, it just means you should be very careful to choose the most optimal ones.
I don't know if I just helped you or gave you even more to think about.
The skill focus isn't to become a knowledge based character; Eldritch Heritage requires Skill Focus as a prerequisite.
That being said, my character hit third level this past session, and decided on skipping the Abyssal Eldritch Heritage chain; spending three feats for a +2 or 4 to strength isn't worth it in th long run for me.I ended up picking up Arcane Strike as my third level feat, and so far it's come in handy, as we ran into a small pack of shadows; my three magical natural attacks were a deciding factor in the outcome of that fight.
Although I'm doing plenty of melee thus far, my primary goal is being a blaster. And for blasting, I need metamagics; naked blasting is ultimately ineffective past the first few levels. I can't rely on finding the right metamagic rods, so I'd prefer to have the feat on hand.
Currently, you have put a lot of resources into being a melee caster.
I wouldn't say "a lot" of resources; I have a high strength, due primarily to a +2 racial bonus. Thus far, I've devoted one feat (Arcane Strike) to the melee route. The majority of my normal feats will go towards casting, while the bonus feats from dragon disciple will mostly be melee or survival based (toughness, great fortitude, etc). Really, I think it's doable. Losing the two caster levels will suck, but I believe I'll still be capable of throwing my weight around, magically speaking. I did pick up the trait that boosts my caster level by two, so that will negate the lose from dragon disciple.
That being said, I am enjoying the melee aspects thus far, mainly because we are in a section of the AP where we've had to expend a bunch of resources, and all of us are running on empty; currently, my sorcerer is 3rd level, and only has a single first level spell left. My ability to mix it up in melee has been a great boon thus far; I have the hit points and armor class to go toe to toe, and with my high strength, I hit more often than not.
However, I know that as I can levels, it will be harder to keep that up, but the gains from dragon disciple will help with that; stat boosts, d12 hit dice, bonuses to natural armor will all be of great help.
Really, I don't think losing the two caster levels will be the end of the world.