[PF]Level 1 Sorcerer

[Spuddles]

Anyone have a good build for a level 1 sorcerer?

Plan is human and trading favored class skill points for known spells. Other than that, what spells should I be looking at first level?

Bloodlines?

Feats?

I know very little of PF. This will be for a game on Friday.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Fey bloodline has some nice spells (including entangle for battlefield control) granted and the +2 compulsion DC is pretty potent with the daze cantrip and (if you want to use your swap on it at level 4 instead of on daze) Sleep.

Good 1st level spells are Color Spray and Grease, of course. Ear-Piercing Scream is decent against poor fort save targets.

[Spuddles]

Grease is pretty good for disarming an opponent for a round, I guess, or maybe knocking them down, but with a duration of 1 round at level 1, it's not a first choice.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Check again! (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/spells/grease.html#_grease)

Paizo buffed it to 1 min/level duration!

Because it needed the help. :smallamused:

[Spuddles]

Check again! (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/spells/grease.html#_grease)

Paizo buffed it to 1 min/level duration!

Because it needed the help. :smallamused:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. That's amazing

Is this Bloodline worth it?
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/sorcerer/bloodlines/bloodlines-from-3rd-party-publishers/spes-magna-games---sorcerer-bloodline/divine-bloodline

[ericgrau]

@^ But no more flatfootedness when not moving. At a -4 grease is only a save or debuff though. Plus it's close range, which is a downright dangerous threat to your 5 or 6 level 1 hit points

Try:
0: daze, whatever (detect magic, resistance, light, prestidigitation, mage hand, and/or open/close, in no particular order)
1: sleep, mage armor

Daze because daze > crossbow and PF cantrips are at will. Otherwise you're trading actions which is a bad deal when you still have 1st level spells like sleep remaining. Still better than a crossbow though. Resistance makes the list for the same reason: +1 to an ally's save every time he opens a door or chest. And +1 to yourself all day; keep recasting it. Open/close is there because of its safe range (relative to 0 range), and likewise because it's at will.

Color spray is also ok in place of sleep (both is a little redundant) but its range is extra small. If you have time for mage armor before the fight you might be ok, but that's not guaranteed. If you do have time then 14-16 AC is quite a lot at level 1. Even the tank in scale has about that much and monster attack bonuses tend to be +1 or +2.

You could also try a backup attack spell instead of mage armor, though if you face undead at level 1 I'd be surprised. That could maybe be grease.

For level 2 spells there's flaming sphere, web, scorching ray, pyrotechnics and not much else until you're higher level and can afford to take level 2's many utility spells. After PF's upgrade flaming sphere is an easy 15-25 damage from one action (including passed saves) at medium range, whereas a raging barbarian does maybe 14 damage 75% of the time in melee, or about 11 on average. Likewise PF nerfed glitterdust pretty hard. With its already small radius it's not that hot anymore. Web has been supreme since 2e and it's comboriffic with flaming sphere.

A good level 1 spell to ditch later is sleep (or color spray), then a good replacement might be vanish (APG), mage armor, magic missile, grease, mount, obscuring mist, unseen servant or feather fall. Likewise ditch flaming sphere once you get 4th level spells.

[Spuddles]

Feats would be really helpful. I am tempted to ask my DM if I could go Mother Cyst + Apprentice, since we are going to be using 3.5 material, by approval, for another spell known.

But is there anything really great in PF otherwise?

[ericgrau]

I'd pick feats based on your long term goals. So first decide what those are. But toughness is never a horrible choice on a mage and at level 1 it's extra special to make sure you survive to level 2. PF toughness gives 3 hp or your level hp, whichever is greater. At a time when a mage is at his worse and 1 hit could kill you, 50% more hp doesn't suck.

[Spuddles]

I'd pick feats based on your long term goals. So first decide what those are. But toughness is never a horrible choice on a mage and at level 1 it's extra special to make sure you survive to level 2. PF toughness gives 3 hp or your level hp, whichever is greater. At a time when a mage is at his worse and 1 hit could kill you, 50% more hp doesn't suck.

Toughness as a long term goal? Wat?

[ericgrau]

No instead of your long term goal. Either way works. Point is hp is never bad on a squishy regardless of your plans. It's the only feat I might suggest at level 1 without knowing your long term goal. Toughness is THE level 1 feat (and PF's changes makes it ok later too).

[Deathkeeper]

Well, since you're a Charisma class, UMD is a skill you'll likely max. For that reason, taking the Arcane bloodline and eventually getting an Improved Familiar is pretty decent, plus it increases saves for Metamagic and gives you even more spells. Otherwise, Bloodlines are mostly up to playstyle, as you could probably tell from the list, ones like Draconic or Abyssal are really only good if you're playing a combat (read: multiclassing) Sorc.

Spell Penetration is decent, although it won't be useful at low levels, so I'd go for either something mentioned above or Spell Focus.

Also, are you the only magic user in the party? Because it might be a decent idea to have at least one AoE blast spell, for those awful times you get vermin swarms thrown at you. I hate those things.

[Blyte]

I like the fey option mentioned earlier, but if you are looking for damage then...

Human Tattooed Sorcerer

Elemental Bloodline (fire or electric depending) +1 damage per die of that elemental type

bonus feat for archetype: (varisian tattoo evocation) +1 caster level evo
level 1 feat: Spell Focus (evocation)
human bonus feat: Spell Specialization (burning hands or shocking grasp) +2 caster level

trait: gifted adept (burning hands or shocking grasp) +1 caster level + magical lineage (burning hands or shocking grasp)

*this violates the rules about not being able to come from the same category, but it's not hard to sneak this one past a GM (shhhhh)

so at level 1 you will be able to either do 5d4+5 burning hands or 5d8+5 shocking grasps.

at level 3 take intensify spell, and shoot for a ring of wizardry type I ASAP.. you can also take empower spell at level 5 so you can use 2nd lvl slots as empowered versions, and eventually third level slots as intensified+empowered versions. then get a rod of quickening minor and drop the boss monster on round 1 with 2 10d8+10+50% shocking grasps from the jump. ~30d8+30 by level 6 isn't bad damage!

edit: I mean Primal Bloodline (the variant bloodline of elemental)

and, as a primal bloodline sorcerer, you might eventually take augment summons and a few monster summon spells down the line some where.

edit edit: sorry forgot shocking grasp is d6, not d8.

[avr]

Rakshasa bloodline gets +5 to bluff plenty of times/day. Being a truly excellent liar can be fun.

The 3rd level power is like detect thoughts, but better (faster, and no verbal or somatic components).

[Wise Green Bean]

Arcane bloodline is nice if you want to do a lot of metamagic.

Abberation is pretty rubbish, unless you ABSOLUTELY KNOW you will use a load of summon monster spells. Then it gets scary good(closest thing pathfinder has to the malconvoker). At 15th level, an aberrant sorcerer could go toe to toe in a summoning battle with a summoner of the actual summoner class, and the sorcerer would win.

Fey is pretty decent all around.

Infernal has a good spell list and it gives you diplomacy as a class skill, so you could be the party face if you wanted. Lot's of compulsion magic, a bit like fey.

Shadow is fairly solid throughout and eventually(level 20)becomes insanely good, Pathfinder's answer to the shadowcraft mage.

These are just a few of the really good ones, and by no means the only ones with potential. I love the starsoul bloodline(though in all honesty, there's nothing too great about it) and taking something other than one of these if it better fits your character is one of the great things about pathfinder sorcerers. Honorable mention to the ifrit wish bloodline thing, which lets you cast literally any spell in the game, but you want to be a human.