Help a fellow newbie sorcerer

[Zeger]

Hi guys

I decided to play DnD for the first time and i've decided to run a sorcerer.I have been warned that he is not the best class to start with but i decided to do it anyway,so i would like some advices, since im new i wanted to build a damaging sorcerer but from what I've seen it might be better to pick up some utility spells as well i don't mind that as long as i am useful to my party and probably be able to handle my own for a while..my friends know that im new so they dont mind me doing some mistakes and trying to fix them...We are going to start from LvL 8 and with a good amount of extra starting gold could you please give me some suggestions for Feat's,spells,items and a general gameplay? Also stat priority(i rolled:12,12,15,16,13,12) and skills basically whatever you can contribute is highly appreciated haha.Thanks in advance

[Honest Tiefling]

Ask your DM about retraining spells, and what is a reasonable limit, as that is the hardest part for a newbie. I would personally fluff yourself as having some sort of bloodline where the spells would make sense to change erratically. Say, the Abyss, so having Spell X one day and not the other does make a good deal of sense.

You should list the rule books your group will be using to make it easier for us. Also, do you want to deal damage, or just help the party? Your own enjoyment is important, never forget that. Better to have an un-optimized character that everyone at the table likes then vice versa.

Here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2180.0) is a guide I found, I hope that helps.

[Flickerdart]

Sorcerer is an okay starting class...at level 1. Level 8 is going to be tricky.

I'm going to give you some general pointers on how to build a guy, since your friends will be forgiving of mistakes.

Ability Points
Your Charisma is your most important ability score as a sorcerer. Your second is Constitution (because you have very few hit points). Your third is Dexterity. Everything else isn't very important. Remember that you get a +1 to an ability score at 4th and 8th. These should go Charisma. Buy an item that improves your Charisma and wear it always. Your DCs and spells per day depend on Charisma.

Class features
You only have two class features - spells and familiar. You should avoid summoning your familiar right now, since it is easy to get it killed and you will have enough work controlling one character.

For spells, you should focus on buffs and debuffs rather than outright damage. Damage is fine, but it's better to hurt someone and cripple them! Make sure you have a spell that affects each save (Fortitude, Will, Reflex) as well as a spell that doesn't give a save at all. I will be giving examples out of the SRD because they are all easy to find online, so you can search Google instead of flipping pages.
Level 4: These are your best spells! But you only know one. I would recommend black tentacles. Use it to trap groups of creatures; your allies can deal with anything that escapes while the tentacles strangle everything that can't get out. Don't be afraid to spam the crap out of this guy since you have 4 castings per day (3 base + 1 for your high Charisma).
Level 3: You know two spells here. I will recommend fly and haste. Use haste to make your friends better at killing stuff, and use fly to, well, fly. You get 6 of these a day (5 base + 1 for a high Charisma).
Level 2: Don't knock these just because they are low-level! Pick spells that scale with your caster level. You can pick up some laser beams here in scorching ray. Also take glitterdust (which you should use to blind your enemies, being blind is as good as being dead) and invisibility (which can be used on you and your friends to sneak around, or on objects you don't want people to know you have). You get 7 of these per day, so don't be afraid to use them!
Level 1: Back to basics, these are still good spells to have. You get five of these, so pick up grease, mage armor, charm person, enlarge person, and obscuring mist. Use mage armor every day to keep your AC up. Grease is there to make people fall down - a good rule to remember is that anybody without 5 ranks in the Balance skill is flat-footed while standing in grease even if they make the save.

Your plan of action should be as follows:

Lots of enemies: Hit them with black tentacles (if they look physically weak, like goblins) or glitterdust (if they seem like they are weak willed, like ogres). Next round, use scorching ray to help your allies finish off enemies.
One strong enemy: Cast haste on your party to make them have more attacks (or run away if things get dicey). In further rounds try grease, or enlarge person on one of the party members.
When you are avoiding fighting: Invisibility lets you sneak around really well (just make sure you aren't making noise). This combines well with fly to scout unnoticed. Charm person makes people your friend!
Running away: Obscuring mist makes it hard for enemies to see where you've gone. Fly makes it hard to follow you.

[BowStreetRunner]

Keep in mind that the power of a Sorcerer comes from spells, and a lot of them per day. They also get a familiar. The Sorcerer's hit die, base attack bonus, saves, skill points and skill list, weapon and armor proficiencies are all among the weakest in the game. Which means any time you take a prestige class that advances your caster level you are generally better off than if you went with a straight sorcerer-only progression. There are a lot of decent prestige classes out there that will make your Sorcerer better. You can find a bunch of them on this list (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?294500-The-Improved-Sorcerer).

[Zeger]

Sorcerer is an okay starting class...at level 1. Level 8 is going to be tricky.

I'm going to give you some general pointers on how to build a guy, since your friends will be forgiving of mistakes.

Ability Points
Your Charisma is your most important ability score as a sorcerer. Your second is Constitution (because you have very few hit points). Your third is Dexterity. Everything else isn't very important. Remember that you get a +1 to an ability score at 4th and 8th. These should go Charisma. Buy an item that improves your Charisma and wear it always. Your DCs and spells per day depend on Charisma.

Class features
You only have two class features - spells and familiar. You should avoid summoning your familiar right now, since it is easy to get it killed and you will have enough work controlling one character.

For spells, you should focus on buffs and debuffs rather than outright damage. Damage is fine, but it's better to hurt someone and cripple them! Make sure you have a spell that affects each save (Fortitude, Will, Reflex) as well as a spell that doesn't give a save at all. I will be giving examples out of the SRD because they are all easy to find online, so you can search Google instead of flipping pages.
Level 4: These are your best spells! But you only know one. I would recommend black tentacles. Use it to trap groups of creatures; your allies can deal with anything that escapes while the tentacles strangle everything that can't get out. Don't be afraid to spam the crap out of this guy since you have 4 castings per day (3 base + 1 for your high Charisma).
Level 3: You know two spells here. I will recommend fly and haste. Use haste to make your friends better at killing stuff, and use fly to, well, fly. You get 6 of these a day (5 base + 1 for a high Charisma).
Level 2: Don't knock these just because they are low-level! Pick spells that scale with your caster level. You can pick up some laser beams here in scorching ray. Also take glitterdust (which you should use to blind your enemies, being blind is as good as being dead) and invisibility (which can be used on you and your friends to sneak around, or on objects you don't want people to know you have). You get 7 of these per day, so don't be afraid to use them!
Level 1: Back to basics, these are still good spells to have. You get five of these, so pick up grease, mage armor, charm person, enlarge person, and obscuring mist. Use mage armor every day to keep your AC up. Grease is there to make people fall down - a good rule to remember is that anybody without 5 ranks in the Balance skill is flat-footed while standing in grease even if they make the save.

Your plan of action should be as follows:

Lots of enemies: Hit them with black tentacles (if they look physically weak, like goblins) or glitterdust (if they seem like they are weak willed, like ogres). Next round, use scorching ray to help your allies finish off enemies.
One strong enemy: Cast haste on your party to make them have more attacks (or run away if things get dicey). In further rounds try grease, or enlarge person on one of the party members.
When you are avoiding fighting: Invisibility lets you sneak around really well (just make sure you aren't making noise). This combines well with fly to scout unnoticed. Charm person makes people your friend!
Running away: Obscuring mist makes it hard for enemies to see where you've gone. Fly makes it hard to follow you.



Very useful information i've actually listed some of the spells you mentioned(black tentacles,scorching ray) also if you have any suggestions for feat's i've seen some very useful ones but cant decided(i'm human so i get more )

[Flickerdart]

Well, there are a couple of ways you can use your feats.

One popular way for spellcasters to make themselves better is metamagic feats. Trade your familiar for Draconic Heritage, then take Quicken Spell(1st level), Easy Metamagic (Quicken) (human bonus feat), Accelerate Metamagic (Quicken) (3rd level), Practical Metamagic (6th level). The result is that you can spontaneously Quicken your spells for the cost of +2 spell levels - so you can cast scorching ray as a standard action and then another scorching ray as a swift action out of a 4th level slot. Sorcerers get a lot of slots, so it's not too bad to burn through your high level ones when the situation calls for it. You can replace Quicken with any other expensive metamagic like Empower Spell or Maximize Spell, but Quicken is the best general one.

[Fouredged Sword]

Another great thing to consider is PRC classes. Remember, you don't really get much in the way of class features after level 1. Any PRC that does not lose caster levels is a direct upgrade from levels of standard sorcerer. Many of them are very easy to qualify for. Remember, caster level is almost everything.

You automatically qualify for Ruathar. Once you get 3rd level spells you can take this PRC without any other requirements outside of being liked by elves. It ups your HD, skill pointer per level, an extra point of bab, and grants some other minor bonuses. The great thing is that you lose absolutely nothing by taking this class. I suggest you dump the extra skill points into knowledge skills or move silently (to complement invisibility).

Another great option is Abjurant Champion. This is a full BAB class that also grants full casting progression. It's main draw is that it seriously boosts the defensive bonus of some spells, such as the shield spell. Note, it doesn't work with mage armor despite that being referenced. The only issue is that I suggest you finish Ruathar first as it grants the needed proficiency without dipping into fighter and losing caster levels. Great defensive spells you can cast without slowing down. 1d10HD and full bab. Be hard to kill.

Here is my suggested build, accounting for PRC levels

Sorcerer 6 / Ruathar 2 to start, followed by Ruathar 1 / Abjurant Champion 5

You need to take combat casting at some point. It's not a bad feat to take anyway because you really don't want your spells to fizzle when grappled or being attacked in melee (it happens to the best of players). You can ether start with it or take it at 9th level. This build really pairs well with the quicken feat combination above because Abjurant Champion will allow you to quicken your abjuration spells for free. This means shield is a swift action to cast and adds +9 to your AC.

Other than that, my suggestion is to only take 1 damage spell per level. You are a sorcerer. You can cast that single spell as many times per day as you have spell slots. Divide the type of blasting spell each level. Try to target different saves, attacks that target AC, and maybe magic missile. Magic missile is just a good backup that never really fails.