Need help with a Sorcerer build for Shattered Star

[Orc brains]

I want to thank you up front for any and all help and suggestions. This will be my first time playing a magic user, normally I play a Human or Dwarf as a fighter, Barbarian or anything but a magic user. This time I wanted to go with something totally different so I’m playing a Drow Sorcerer.

Backstory - This character is the daughter of a Drow fighter (Dad) and an Elf High Priestess of Asmodeus (mother) from Cheliax. These were characters in a past game.

The party will be made up of a Two-Handed Fighter race undecided at this time, Aasimar Battle Cleric, Halfing Rogue and my Drow Sorcerer.

My stats:
Str 12
Dex 17
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 15
Cha 18

I’m taking the Alternate Racial Traits:
Seducer = adds +1 to the saving throw DCs for spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment school Surface Infiltrator = gain low-light vision instead of darkvision

I’m looking at taking the Fey Bloodline. It looks like a solid bloodline all around.

I’m thinking about taking the Rich Parent trait and buying a wand of mage armor so I don’t have to waste a spell slot.

As a Drow I get dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire, and charm person once each per day.

I am thinking of taking the sleep spell with the Fey bloodline that would put the DC at 18.

What other spells should I take? Any suggestion or thoughts would be greatly appreciated???

[Rerednaw]

Not having played SS don't have all the background. I did download the player's guide. Looks like it starts off as city-based investigative adventure from the fluff. An enchanter would probably do fairly well, especially if you are going with non-lethal approaches.

First:
Do not give up your darkvision unless it's a story reason. Darkvision (even if it means you can get dazzled) is far superior to low-light. And dazzled (-1 to hit/perception) doesn't mean much when you are making other people make saving throws.

Is this the whole AP? The consider traits that will work in the long haul. The +2 init from reactionary is almost always worth it.

Though the rest of your party appears to be melee heavy.

Sleep is a very good spell at entry level. The downsides:
1 round casting time.
Many things immune/resist.
Targets everything.

The first and last parts make the spell problematical. You need to coordinate with your party otherwise:

You: "I start to cast Sleep on the boss!"
2HF: I charge the boss!
Rogue: I charge the boss!
Battle Cleric: I charge the boss!
You: "Uh spell lands on boss...ooops it targets an area and lowest hit dice first...guess that means my party." Or you cancel the spell and have that spell slot and your round wasted.

Also you are a sorcerer...spells you learn should stay good a long time because your retrains are limited. You will be using this spell until level 4. So it may be worth considering trying something else with a bit more flexibility.

Oh given the nature of your party (heavy with melee types) I'd consider the Selective Spell feat. If you get it as a lesser metamagic rod it's great...otherwise it's a long wait until level 11 (requires 10 ranks in Spellcraft) though at 3k it's going to be a few levels before you get that kind of cash. And assuming it's buyable.

The Sylvan bloodline (wildblooded Fey) is worth considering. Animal Companions are usually nice. Though pick up the Boon Companion feat so it's level appropriate.

But anyway getting back to enchantment. Spell Focus is a no-brainer, you want those enchants to land. Also Spell Penetration once you hit mid-levels and SR becomes more common.

Another option is Varisian Tattoo feat. Or for that matter Tattoed Sorcerer.

Just a few ideas, good luck!

[bfobar]

In shattered star, I know it is a lot of dungeon crawl, so that probably means lots of undead that will resist enchantments. Have a plan for that. Threnodic spell metamagic at a minimum.

Also I would expect constructs in spades as guardians of long buried loot. Have a plan for those too, as they're brainless.

For a 1st level sorcerer, I always recommend mount as spell #2. There are about 1 million uses for a horse out of thin air.

[_Cobalt_]

As a GM of SS with a sorc in the party, I'll give you the same advice I gave him.

Don't pigeonhole yourself into an elemental type. I know you really shouldn't anyway, but there are things in each of the books that are immune to at least one damage type.

Mixing utility/combat spells will help dramatically.

[bfobar]

also consider a wand of enlarge person instead of a wand of mage armor. Having +4AC is good, but having a 10ft tall fighter with a two handed sword between you and the enemy is better.

[Rerednaw]

I am not sure of a wand of Enlarge Person. That's all your wealth until level 2-3. Unless that's all you want to do, every fight for the next 20+ encounters. Nothing stopping the melees from buying their own potions. Plus potions are a standard, the wand is 1 round.

Whereas unless the GM is being nice, you are going to be swung at or shot at almost every fight. At 1 hr/lvl Mage Armor is a spell you want to cast on your own. Or I suppose buy scrolls and burn one right before you enter a dungeon/lair.

Still EP is a good spell to have in scroll form for those fights when you want to buff the fighter and it's tactically viable.

[Reynard_the_fox]

Don't bother with Rich Parents - 900GP is negligible once you get past the first few levels, whereas the bonus from other traits is valuable the entire game. If you don't know what you want, Reactionary (+2 init) and one of the ones that boosts a save are pretty good. There are also plenty to make any skill into a class skill - handy if you want to do Diplomacy instead of Bluff.

As for spells: the important thing is to cover all your bases. You need a spell to hit what Sleep can't; probably something from Evocation or Conjuration. Grease is a popular one thanks to its wide variety of uses; Burning Hands or Magic Missile could be good too, although it sounds like you can leave dealing damage to the melee guys. Speaking of which, a buff like Enlarge Person is nice, because you'll always be able to cast it on one of your allies, no matter what the enemy.

I would advise picking up something with out-of-combat practicality for your third spell when you get it. Charm Person is a classic one for Fey sorcerers, though not 100% necessary since you have the Cha to be a party face anyway. (Just be ready for people to get mad at you for trying to ensorcel them if they make the save!)

As long as you max out Cha, it's pretty hard to screw up a sorcerer too bad. Just try not to have too many overlapping or situational spells and you'll do just fine. Remember, arcane scrolls are typically pretty darn easy to get your hands on, so spells like Knock or Gust of Wind are usually better in scroll form than as a spell known.

Oh yeah, and for feats, Toughness and Improved Initiative are classic. Alternately, Spell Focus: Enchantment would probably be good for your character. Make sure your GM is OK with you being an enchanter, though - Enchantment and Illusion can vary WILDLY in strength depending on what your GM thinks of them.

[Wiggz]

Reynard_the_fox wrote:

Make sure your GM is OK with you being an enchanter, though - Enchantment and Illusion can vary WILDLY in strength depending on what your GM thinks of them.

.

This is very good advice. You and your GM need to come to a very clear consensus regarding what Charm/Suggestion/Dominate actually can and can't do.

For us, we keep it pretty simple:

Charm is primarily an out of combat utility spell. It can convince someone to come and fight alongside of you if they are initially indifferent to the cause or enemy AND if they are of a combative bent (not going to make a housewife take up a pitchfork and leap into battle). In combat the best it can do for you is make the target stop attacking you and probably end up focusing on your friends. Still, its been a very valuable spell for us when used properly.

Dominate for us is the 'in combat' enchantment spell. Basically anything goes so long as its not outright suicide. It takes a lot in our games for a Dominated individual to get a bonus save, though examples might include:

Getting a divine character to renounce or blaspheme his faith.
Getting an individual to attack or kill a loved one or family member.
Getting someone to outright attempt suicide (leaping off a cliff) or to engage in a suicidal act (such as a farmer charging a dragon) - and even then its just a bonus save, not an automatic end to the spell.

Again, that's just us. We wanted to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible.

[Orc brains]

Rerednaw - Thank you for your input. I wasn’t thinking about everyone charging the boss and the number of rounds for spells to go off.
Yes, we will be playing the whole AP.
For story reasons, I’m taking Alternate Racial Trait Surface Infiltrator, my character Lady Ellifain has lived her entire life on the surface.

Bfobar - Thank you for your input. Mount is a spell I will have to think about. The group I play with defiantly think outside the box. So that could be a lot of fun.

Cobalt – Thank you for your input. Yes, I will make sure I have a wide variety of spells that don’t overlap.

Reynard the fox - Thank you for your input. If I don’t take the Rice Parent trait I can’t afford a wand of mage armor. So should I take mage armor as one of my two spells or don’t take mage armor until third level?
Maybe I will take Grease and burning hands. Can the grease be set on fire?
The Dm is letting us take 3 traits, 1 has to be a SS trait, if we take three we have to take a Drawback trait. Which I’m taking Power-Hungry it would tie in nicely with her back store.
As a Drow I get Charm Person once a day and with a female Aasimar Cleric in the group she will probably be the face of the party.

Wiggz - Thank you for your input. The group I play with it is very role-play heavy. So with stuff like Diplomacy, Bluff, & Charm I would have role play it out. Even with a nat 20 we have to tell the DM what our charterer said.

[Remy Balster]

Rich Parents is essentially throwing away a trait. reconsider, it'll be worth it. Maybe now it is tempting, but later on it'll be there, on your character sheet, reminding you every time you look at it that it does NOTHING for you. You'll feel that regret set in, and it will build on you over time.

Anywho...

Vanish. It is a beautiful spell. Sure it only lasts 1 rnd/level. But, really... in combat, how long was your Invisibility really going to last?

It is great for repositioning, or getting someone off your back for a moment. Situationally better than an AC boost.

If you really need some Mage Armor though, grab a few scrolls of it. 25g a pop. Should be enough to get you to higher levels. You certainly don't need 50 uses of caster level 1 mage armor... do you?

Magical Lineage is very nice for a Trait. It goes wonderfully with Wayang Spellhunter as a second Trait. They do basically the same thing, reduce the final spell level of a metamagic'd spell by 1 each. Empowered Burning Hands at level 1? Totally doable.

I'm a metamagic junkie, personally. Another thing that makes metamagic a bit friendlier for sorcerer, Spontaneous Metafocus feat. Especially if you have a go to attack spell you've used traits on.

[Orc brains]

Remy Balster wrote:

It goes wonderfully with Wayang Spellhunter as a second Trait.

I counldn't find it. What group is it under and from what book?

[Remy Balster]

In the d20 pfsrd it is listed as "Metamagic Master" and is a Regional Trait. It is from Dragon Empires Primer.

Spoiler:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/regional-traits/wayang-spellhunter-minata

[Mysterious Stranger]

Keep one thing in mind about sorcerer’s they have a limited number of spells. This means selecting your spells is the single most important thing you will do. For the most part you want to choose spells that will be useful at all levels. Sleep is pretty much useless after the first couple of levels. You can trade out some spells but that is only a limited number of spells. Mage Armor is also going to be of limited use at higher levels. Playing a Drow will help a little as the favored class bonus allows you extra spells known.

Bungle or Lock Gaze will remain useful no matter what level you are. Sow thought would also be a good compulsion spell.