Wizard/Sorcerer Help please

[Zanthy1]

Hello! I want to know the benefits of building a cross-class wizard sorcerer, and if you would recommend doing so, what advice do you have?

I can only use the Phb 1 and 2, monster manual 1, and dmg 1

To work with I have 10 character levels

( I want a heavy damage output, but with the ability to have plenty of utility spells for non combat)

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Bayonet Priest]

Multiclassing Wizard with Sorc will kill both classes. If you went half and half, 5 levels of each you would wind up with level 3 Wizard spells and level 2 Sorcerer spells. A Wizard 10 would have level 5 Wizard spells. If your Sorc 5/Wizard 5 cast fireball it would do 5d6 damage. If your Wizard 10 cast fireball it would do 10d6 damage.

The only way I know of to make it work is with Ultimate Magus from Complete Mage. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20061010a&page=3
(free here)

The simplest way to do it is to take 5 levels of Wizard, 1 level of Sorcerer then 4 levels of Ultimate Magus. At level 10 he'll cast as a level 5 sorcerer, level 7 Wizard. That's level 2 Sorcerer spells and level 4 Wizard spells, plus the nice little things you get from the prestige class.

Ultimate Magus lets you advance both classes at once. You still lose out on the top tier stuff from either class but you get to fuel your Wizard casting with your Sorc casting. It isn't considered optimal but in a low op game it should be entirely functional while a straight multiclass simply will not function.

Edit: I know you said you couldn't use Complete Mage but I mentioned it anyway because I personally can't think of any other way to make a Sorc/Wizard work.

[gbprime]

If you only have those books to work with, there's no way to get heavy damage output from a two-caster-classes build like that.

Your best options are (a) talk your DM into allowing you Complete Mage as a sourcebook or (b) skip Sorcerer altogether and build straight Wizard. (And even that is better with Complete Mage and Complete Champion.)

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Absolutely not, especially with that book selection. Go with max spellcasting ability in one class, by either staying single-classed or with one or more full casting prestige classes.

For damage output, you should probably go Sorcerer and pick a variety of spells plus metamagic. Empower Spell can be useful, and you can get a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Maximize Spell found in the DMG. A Fireball with both of those applied would deal 5d6+60 damage at 10th level. I'd also use the Metamagic Specialist alternate class feature for Sorcerer from PHB2.

Don't get more than one damage spell per spell level, don't get more than one spell that does the same type of damage, and try to pick spells that do more than just deal damage. For example, pick Magic Missile, Kelgore's Grave Mist, Fireball, Evard's Black Tentacles, and Transmute Rock to Mud. Other spells should include crowd control effects which target a variety of saves, the standard array would be Web, Glitterdust, and Stinking Cloud.

There are also a few extremely powerful spells that can deal tons of damage if used properly. Shrink Item is one such spell, and it's extremely useful for a limitless number of situations with enough planning and preparation (and Lesser Metamagic Rods of Extend). Another trick is to learn Explosive Runes and Dispel Magic. You can spend weeks/months/years casting Explosive Runes on small scraps of paper, and wad them ten at a time into balls. Throw a ball into the middle of several opponents (or have someone do it for you), then cast an area Dispel Magic to hit the ball and the opponents. You can voluntarily fail a dispel check, and doing so with each instance of Explosive Runes in the wad will cause them to detonate. Ten scraps detonating deals 60d6 damage in a decent area, with those closest not even allowed a saving throw, and all it costs you from your daily spells is a single Dispel Magic, which you could also get on a Wand.