Kobold FTW!

[Grizzled Gryphon]

Ok, maybe not. I have an idea for a Kobold Sorcerer, and was wondering how it could be Optimized. I was considering making him a "specialist", if you will, in word spells, or maybe a ray master. any ideas? Please list references so I have a clue where to find what you suggest! thanks!

[Deophaun]

Ok, maybe not. I have an idea for a Kobold Sorcerer, and was wondering how it could be Optimized. I was considering making him a "specialist", if you will, in word spells, or maybe a ray master. any ideas? Please list references so I have a clue where to find what you suggest! thanks!

Well, as a kobold sorcerer you will want to take the greater draconic rite of passage (wotc web enhancement, just use google). For the "word" specialist, the dracolexi prc in Races of the Dragon is not bad, although you lose a caster level (which the greater draconic rite makes up for).

[Xervous]

Dragonwrought (feat) from Races of the Dragon (pg 100): can only be taken at first level, makes you a dragon and lets you age without accruing penalties. May open up ludicrous options DM permitting (aka cheese).

TLDR on dragonwrought: +3 to all mental ability scores, Dragon type, opens the door for insane cheese potential. Understand that by cheese I mean steaming fondue that is hotly debated even unto this day, so if you are really interested someone can supply further detail in a follow up post.


Prestige class selection
1. Don't lose caster levels
2. Don't waste feats on it. If the PrC gives you amazing features, the feats aren't a waste.

First and foremost, Incantatrix. It's metamagic abuse: the class. (Player's Guide to Faerun IIRC) Basically, you use more metamagic often, for cheaper which can improve pretty much any build.

Taking incantatrix all the way for ten levels is a regular thing. This will leave you with 4 more levels to toy with. Of course, if you don't plan on getting past 16 then there isn't really a point in building the character out that far.

And... I'll leave room for other's input. No need to swamp you in details.

[koboldish]

I've played a few kobold sorcerers, but never a heavily optimized one. Firstly, what level are you going to be playing at, and how long will the campaign run? That makes a huge difference, as some things are great early but useless later. The Dragonwrought cheese has already been discussed, and is AMAZING. It is SO GOOD. Its a +3 TO 3 ABILITIES FOR A FEAT. TAKE IT. In case you didn't get the message, that should ALWAYS be a feat you take at level 1. At lower levels, Power Word Pain is basically an I win button. You cast it, no save, they die. Works pretty well until they exceed the hp cap. The power word spells are great, but you should definitely have some utility against things that they cannot affect. The great right of passage is a must, although the HP loss does hurt a bit. With your power words, focus on things that give debuffs and damage over time, as you will eventually run out of spells and you need to make them count. Personally, I wouldn't lose caster levels even with the right of passage, beacuse that means you get spells at the same level as wizards, but more of them per day (although you know less of them). Besides that, I don't really have much advice to give.

Hope it helps :3

[Invader]

Should we just lock the thread now and save ourselves the inevitable debate?

[Brookshw]

Should we just lock the thread now and save ourselves the inevitable debate?

Yes
hate hate hate hate hate!

[Grizzled Gryphon]

No, don't lock it! I already know about the epic feat cheese with the Dragonwrought stuff, and I have no intention of going that route.

I seem to be on the right path for the most part, here. all the suggestions are pretty much the idea I had. However, I don't have any Faerun stuff, so not sure what the Incantrix is.

That was a serious worry I had about this guy, running out of spells. Power Word spells are cool, but they are single target, so mobs will be bad.

Any thoughts on the Ray Master idea?

[Deca4531]

Normaly I only have 2 atk spells known at a time, normaly fire ball and a single target one, the augment those with metamagic as needed. The Sculpt Spell feat is very helpful, as is Explosive Spell.

[Xervous]

Since you, as a magic user, likely have a few meatshields mundanes around with you, it is much simpler to deal with encounters by disabling your enemies rather than outright blasting them. So sit back on your expandable lawn chair, sip that instant martini while the fighter with his glowing weapons slices his way through the disco party of glitterdust-ed and black tentacled monsters.

[Grizzled Gryphon]

I was thinking more along the lines of popcorn and mega sized soda, but martini works.

There are two spells in the SpC that I cannot recall the names of atm, but the effects are really nice. One has a fort save (so good against caster types) that makes you insanely hungry, and you will attempt to eat the closest creature to you, and the other has a will save (good against fighter types) that makes you really, really have to have an item of the casters choice, like, say, the enemy healers underwear. Cast those on the appropriate enemies, then sit back with said martini and watch the entertainment.

*sigh* I know this isn't optimal, but I really like throwing around the blasty spells! Ah, well, I suppose I should get on with the times, eh?

[Grizzled Gryphon]

TLDR on dragonwrought: +3 to all mental ability scores, Dragon type, opens the door for insane cheese potential.

Where does the +3 to all mental ability scores come from? All references to the feat I have found don't mention that part.

[Rubik]

Where does the +3 to all mental ability scores come from? All references to the feat I have found don't mention that part.Dragonwrought kobolds don't gain physical penalties for aging, so going to venerable means you gain +3 to all mental stats and -0 to physicals. It helps make up for that nasty -4 Str/-2 Con problem they've got.

[Scow2]

It also lets you qualify for epic feats.

[Grizzled Gryphon]

Oh, I see. So, in other words, by playing a Venerable Dragonwrought Kobold Sorcerer, you get to be the little green wizard. Guess his name is Yoda; might as well go all the way with it.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The Greater Draconic Rite of Passage (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a) is absolutely necessary, as it gives you +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting ability making you gain access to a given spell level at the same character level as a Wizard. You need the Draconic rite of Passage from RotD along with the Draconic Reservoir feat at that link, but it's totally worth it. Make your Draconic Rite of Passage spell-like ability something that will be useful at any level, such as Nerveskitter or Benign Transposition or even Charm Person since it won't have any verbal/somatic component and you can dip Mindbender without spending a spell known.

Definitely get the feats Split Ray (CA) along with Practical Metamagic (RotD) for it. Make your character good-aligned to be able to do this trick (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267805#4). It basically gets around a Sorcerer's normally limited number of spells known.
Dragonwrought Kobold is a great suggestion for more reasons than just the mental stat bonuses. Per Dragon Magic page 87 (the most recent source), he'll count as a true dragon since he'll be a creature of the dragon type which uses the twelve age categories. This allows you to get one of the true dragon archetypes from Dragons of Eberron, such as Loredrake which gives you an additional +2 levels of Sorcerer spellcasting ability for no drawback other than the guilt you'll feel for using such a cheesy trick. Whether a dragonwrougt kobold is or is not a true dragon is still a hotly debated topic, so it's ultimately up to your DM whether or not to allow it.

[CIDE]

It also lets you qualify for epic feats.

Stahp. Just stahp nao. The OP already said he wants none of this BS and there's no need to bring it up or debate the validity o fit.

[Invader]

The handbook has information on just about everything including optimizing rays so it's probably worth a read through.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=394

[Ansem]

Dragonwrought (feat) from Races of the Dragon (pg 100): can only be taken at first level, makes you a dragon and lets you age without accruing penalties. May open up ludicrous options DM permitting (aka cheese).

TLDR on dragonwrought: +3 to all mental ability scores, Dragon type, opens the door for insane cheese potential. Understand that by cheese I mean steaming fondue that is hotly debated even unto this day, so if you are really interested someone can supply further detail in a follow up post.


Prestige class selection
1. Don't lose caster levels
2. Don't waste feats on it. If the PrC gives you amazing features, the feats aren't a waste.

First and foremost, Incantatrix. It's metamagic abuse: the class. (Player's Guide to Faerun IIRC) Basically, you use more metamagic often, for cheaper which can improve pretty much any build.

Taking incantatrix all the way for ten levels is a regular thing. This will leave you with 4 more levels to toy with. Of course, if you don't plan on getting past 16 then there isn't really a point in building the character out that far.

And... I'll leave room for other's input. No need to swamp you in details.
8 is a better dip out, unless you have nothing else to do with those last two levels, if you do pick 9-10 Incantatrix over another option, its a waste, if there was no other option, extra benefits.

[Karnith]

8 is a better dip out, unless you have nothing else to do with those last two levels, if you do pick 9-10 Incantatrix over another option, its a waste, if there was no other option, extra benefits.
Are you looking at the old 3.0 version of the class or something? Because Improved Metamagic is absolutely worth the last two levels of Incantatrix.