Vampire Sorcerer Build

[Vader_the_White]

I'm a huge horror fan and for a while, I've been trying to make a spooky character. One race came to mind: the Vampire race from Plane Shift: Zendikar. After thinking about ways to get the various vampiric abilities, this is a rough guide for 1st through 10th level.

Vampire (Zendikar)
8/14/12/14/12/16
Noble
Deception, History, Persuasion, Stealth
Shadow Sorcery
Cantrips: Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Friends, Minor Illusion
Spells: Sleep, Fog Cloud/Chromatic Orb
2nd: Spells: Chromatic Orb/Fog Cloud
3rd: Metamagic: Subtle, Twinned
Spells: Misty Step
4th: Feat - Magic Initiate (Sorcerer): Firebolt, Prestidigitation, Sleep
Cantrip: Mending
Spells: Invisibility, Spider Climb (replacing Sleep)
5th: Spells: Hypnotic Patterns
6th: Spells: Fly/Fireball
7th: Spells: Polymorph
8th: +2 Cha
Spells: Fly/Fireball/Greater Invisibility
9th: Spells: Dominate Person
10th: Metamagic: Heightened Spell
Cantrips: Message
Spells: Fly/Fireball/Greater Invisibility

Does this seem like a reasonable build for the character?

[Specter]

Sure, why not. Just trade the INT score for the CON score.

What will be your sorcerous origin? If you're not Draconic, you're gonna need to grab Mage Armor soon.

And I don't think Magic Initiate is worth it, at least not at low levels; boost CHA then maybe take some other feat (Alert and Tough are very vampiry).

[Citan]

I'm a huge horror fan and for a while, I've been trying to make a spooky character. One race came to mind: the Vampire race from Plane Shift: Zendikar. After thinking about ways to get the various vampiric abilities, this is a rough guide for 1st through 10th level.

Vampire (Zendikar)
8/14/12/14/12/16
Noble
Deception, History, Persuasion, Stealth
Shadow Sorcery
Cantrips: Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Friends, Minor Illusion
Spells: Sleep, Fog Cloud/Chromatic Orb
2nd: Spells: Chromatic Orb/Fog Cloud
3rd: Metamagic: Subtle, Twinned
Spells: Misty Step
4th: Feat - Magic Initiate (Sorcerer): Firebolt, Prestidigitation, Sleep
Cantrip: Mending
Spells: Invisibility, Spider Climb (replacing Sleep)
5th: Spells: Hypnotic Patterns
6th: Spells: Fly/Fireball
7th: Spells: Polymorph
8th: +2 Cha
Spells: Fly/Fireball/Greater Invisibility
9th: Spells: Dominate Person
10th: Metamagic: Heightened Spell
Cantrips: Message
Spells: Fly/Fireball/Greater Invisibility

Does this seem like a reasonable build for the character?
Yeah, very reasonable.
Few wild thoughts.
- Why no Vampiric Touch? Not available as Sorcerer, or you get better racial abilities?
- If Chill Touch is your thing, you may want to trade INT and WIS to dip into Necromancer Cleric: its 1st level ability is a "perma-twin" for Chill Touch (just check with your DM if he accepts Villainous Class Options and agrees with this: the wording of features makes it a gray area as to whether you can cast it as a Sorcerer spell but with Cleric feature)
- Why the need for Magic Initiate, and if so why take Firebolt? You already got a decent "ranged" cantrip with Ray of Frost: I would rather suggest you Shocking Grasp to get a good melee option, plus seems not especially weird fluff-wise for a vampire, not more than fire at least...

[Corran]

How about gaseous form? Classic spell for a vampire. Do you get it from race?
Also, haste. Vampires are supposed to be fast (though I try really hard to remember that was the case in older vampire movies).
Maybe also make roomin your spell list for dominate beast?

[Vader_the_White]

Sure, why not. Just trade the INT score for the CON score.

What will be your sorcerous origin? If you're not Draconic, you're gonna need to grab Mage Armor soon.

And I don't think Magic Initiate is worth it, at least not at low levels; boost CHA then maybe take some other feat (Alert and Tough are very vampiry).
I said my origin: Shadow.
The reason I went with the Int over Con is due to the +1 Int you get as a Vampire. Anything else caused an uneven stat and that drives my OCD wild.
I like Magic Initiate so I can get all the spells I want.

Yeah, very reasonable.
Few wild thoughts.
- Why no Vampiric Touch? Not available as Sorcerer, or you get better racial abilities?
- If Chill Touch is your thing, you may want to trade INT and WIS to dip into Necromancer Cleric: its 1st level ability is a "perma-twin" for Chill Touch (just check with your DM if he accepts Villainous Class Options and agrees with this: the wording of features makes it a gray area as to whether you can cast it as a Sorcerer spell but with Cleric feature)
- Why the need for Magic Initiate, and if so why take Firebolt? You already got a decent "ranged" cantrip with Ray of Frost: I would rather suggest you Shocking Grasp to get a good melee option, plus seems not especially weird fluff-wise for a vampire, not more than fire at least...
Vampiric Touch is sadly not a Sorcerer spell.
Chill Touch was selected due to flavor and incase I use him for Curse of Strahd.


How about gaseous form? Classic spell for a vampire. Do you get it from race?
Also, haste. Vampires are supposed to be fast (though I try really hard to remember that was the case in older vampire movies).
Maybe also make roomin your spell list for dominate beast?
I've considered Gaseous Form, but there are already a lot of spells competing for my attention, so I decided that Misty Step was better overall mechanically while having the same basic flavor.

[NecroDancer]

I'd take alert at 4th level instead. Alert would be more in flavor and help emphasize your vampiric reflexes.

[Vader_the_White]

I'd take alert at 4th level instead. Alert would be more in flavor and help emphasize your vampiric reflexes.

What about the extra spell? I can't think of another way to deal with the limited spells.

[DracoKnight]

Vhuman Fiendlock (bear with me, I know you're looking at Sorcerer)

STR 8 (later 19 due to Gauntlets of Ogre Vampire Power)
DEX 14
CON 14 (13 + 1)
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 16 (15 + 1)

They took Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) for minor illusion, shocking grasp, and charm person.

Dark One's blessing gives you Temp HP on a kill - vampiric bite (admittedly it will often be through your eldritch blast, but just think of Skyrim vampires for that)

The picked vampiric touch at 5th level for damage + self healing.

Where they really shone was their choice of invocations to reinforce the themes. Armor of Shadows for the "I cloak myself in darkness to make myself harder to hit." Sculptor of Flesh to turn into a bat. Devil's Sight, "You cannot hide from me, the shadows belong to me!" Fiendish Vigor, for pre-battle prep, swapped out later for the Thief of Five Fates. Sign of Ill Omen, Master of Myriad forms, Thirsting Blade, and Life Drinker rounded out their choices.

For their human skill they chose stealth, and nabbed Deception and Intimidation from the Warlock class. They went with the Noble background, using the Retainers variant feature to represent humans whose minds he'd bent completely to their will.

They spent their ASIs on CON +2, CHA +2, DEX +2, CHA +2, DEX +2.

Looks like lots of fun, I know it's not a sorc, but it gets closer to their abilities, IMO.

[Vader_the_White]

Vhuman Fiendlock (bear with me, I know you're looking at Sorcerer)

STR 8 (later 19 due to Gauntlets of Ogre Vampire Power)
DEX 14
CON 14 (13 + 1)
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 16 (15 + 1)

They took Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) for minor illusion, shocking grasp, and charm person.

Dark One's blessing gives you Temp HP on a kill - vampiric bite (admittedly it will often be through your eldritch blast, but just think of Skyrim vampires for that)

The picked vampiric touch at 5th level for damage + self healing.

Where they really shone was their choice of invocations to reinforce the themes. Armor of Shadows for the "I cloak myself in darkness to make myself harder to hit." Sculptor of Flesh to turn into a bat. Devil's Sight, "You cannot hide from me, the shadows belong to me!" Fiendish Vigor, for pre-battle prep, swapped out later for the Thief of Five Fates. Sign of Ill Omen, Master of Myriad forms, Thirsting Blade, and Life Drinker rounded out their choices.

For their human skill they chose stealth, and nabbed Deception and Intimidation from the Warlock class. They went with the Noble background, using the Retainers variant feature to represent humans whose minds he'd bent completely to their will.

They spent their ASIs on CON +2, CHA +2, DEX +2, CHA +2, DEX +2.

Looks like lots of fun, I know it's not a sorc, but it gets closer to their abilities, IMO.

I'm not the biggest fan of warlocks (it's really just Eldritch Blast: the Class) and between the Vampire race, Sorcerer spells, and the fact that the Shadow Origin gets me Darkness that I can see through that only costs a Sorcery Point at 2nd level make it more attractive to me. Plus, I can Polymorph two allies at a time using one spell slot. I will consider the Retainer variant for my Noble background. And one of them will be named Dwight Frye.

[LordCdrMilitant]

Because sorcerers don't get access to animate dead, be a wizard who is fluffed out as being a sorcerer.

Arcane Focus either Enchantment or Necromancy, then take all the mind-control and zombie-raising powers you can get.

I have:
Cantrips: Minor Illusion, Message, Friends, Prestigitation, Mage Hand
1: Comprehend Languages, Identify, Sleep, Charm Person, False Life, Tenser's Disk,
2: Tasha's Laughter, Detect Magic
3: Suggestion, Invisibility
4: Crown of Madness, Hold Person
5: Animate Dead, Gaseous Form
6: Fly, Haste
7: Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility
8: Fabricate,
9: Dominate Person, Geas
10: Hold Monster, Modify Memory
11: Create Undead, Mass Suggestion
12: Animate Objects, Magic Jar
13: Plane Shift, Teleport
14: Mordenkainen's Mansion, Reverse Gravity
15: Dominate Monster, Demiplane
16: Feeblemind,
17: Gate, Wish
18: Power Word Kill, Time Stop
19: and so on.


My character works out pretty well, all things considered. She's level 6 right now, and hasn't had any problems with her almost total inability to dead damage. She supports her stabbier and far less intelligent or charismatic minions party members, and flies away when she's almost out of spells.

[Vader_the_White]

Because sorcerers don't get access to animate dead, be a wizard who is fluffed out as being a sorcerer.
.

I want a sorcerer mechanically, though.
Also, Favored Soul (UA) can get access to Animate Dead.