The Ship's dog
2017-04-07, 06:37 PM
So there's a few things you should know about me:
1. Fluff is very important to me
2. I think a bit of Mutually Assured Destruction is what gives combat that extra bit of spice to make it fun
And
3. I like creating viable builds, so if there is something wrong with my build, then please tell me
Anyway, hello and thanks for reading! This is Lightning and Thunder based Sorcerer build so sit back and relax as you read!
Storm damage: Lightning/Thunder damage.
MAD: Multiple Attribute Dependency.
Mutually Assured Destruction: Things make things a bit more risky but give you more reward if you can pull it off, they are; in my opinion; the spice of life.
Class:
Sorcerer (Storm origin) 14/Cleric (Tempest domain) 6
Starting with Sorcerer for Con save proficiency
Race:
Variant Half-Elf (Drow Descent)
Darkvision
Drow magic
Fey ancestry
Background:
Far Traveller (Mulhorand origin)
Post-racial ability scores at level 1:
Ability
Ability score
Str
8
Dex
12
Con
16
Int
10
Wis
14
Cha
16
1d6 HD
9 HP
Proficiency in:
Constitution saves
Charisma saves
No armour (we'll fix that!)
Quarterstaves
Darts
Slings
Light Crossbows
Perception
Insight
Survival
Deception
Dice set
Class features:
Wind Speaker
Tempestuous Magic
Spellcasting
Languages known:
Common
Elvish
Undercommon
Orcish
Primordial
(I have a true polyglot!)
A quarterstaff
An arcane focus (crystal)
Two daggers
a backpack
A bedroll
A mess kit
A tinderbox
10 torches
10 days of rations
A waterskin
50 feet of hempen rope
One set of traveler's clothes
A dice set made of teeth
Poorly wrought maps from your homeland that depict where you are in Faerun
A small piece of jewelry worth 10 gp shaped like the sun
A pouch containing 5 gp
This is the main part of the build, what will give us our god-like powers over the storms and, with just a touch of metamagic, over people as well (Subtle Suggestion anyone?). Its delicious flavour for character back story is what drew me to it in the first place and I've always wanted to make an elemental damage build. So we begin.
Windspeaker:
Pretty much only fluff but hey, I'm the last person to give up a sub-par but appreciably flavourful ability.
Tempestuous Magic:
This is what will provide me with most of my survivability through kiting pre medium armour and a shield. It also makes for possibly one of the best mobility abilities a full caster has in 5e that doesnt count spells.
Heart of the Storm
This is what makes focusing on Storm damage worth it as being able to constantly deal extra damage to any amount of creatures within 10 feet around you with no save is great, not only if you are surrounded by Kobolds, but also as a deterrent to coming near you. The damage resistances and the fact that you can choose which creatures take the damage is delicious icing.
Storm Guide:
Again, mostly fluff, but it makes it a lot easier to get free trips on boats and perhaps even make some coin whilst travelling.
Storm's Fury:
This is the real deterrent for big creatures to hit you, especially after they've taken a bunch of damage, again without a save, and been thrown across the room, sadly, with chance to make the save. Unfortunate that it is a Strength saving throw but, if its an assassin or stealthy creature that attacked you, you can be pretty sure that they will be sailing through the air in no time.
Spellcasting:
Obviously there is no explanation needed for this except for the fact that I will be trying to focus on Storm damage spells. Unfortunately, in Adventurer's League, you can only use 1 origin supplement and I am using the SCAG so no EE spells.
Font of Magic:
Spellpoints , spellpoints, spellpoints! This is what gives me all of those extra spells per day over other spwllcasters that are a call-back to the 3.Xe Sorcerer, but more importantly, it fuels Meta-magic. This is the redeeming feature of not letting Sorcerers have as many Spells known as other full casters and I think it is worth it.
Meta-magic:
When I saw this feature brought back into D&D I was overjoyed. 3.5e Meta-magic worked off of feats and any caster could get ahold of them, but making them a Sorcerer-only option was a good idea in my opinion. I am going to take Twinned, Quicken and eventually Subtle for mine. This is because:
1. Twinned is very good, although it can get a bit costly on Spellpoints
2. Quicken becomes essential if you want to pump out damage and switch buffs in the same turn
3. Using subtle spell to Charm, Hold, Suggestion, Sleep or whatever guards, enemies or anyone else is incredibly powerful and very fun. Also you can cast damage spells without anyone noticing.
This is where our Storm damage gets maxed out, where I get even more deterrents for hitting me, where I get medium armour and shield profiencies. Being a Half-Elf makes it a lot easier to be less MAD for MCing purposes and having a Wis mod of +2 helps with healing, number of spells per day and with the inevitable Cleric stuff that requires at least a better than average Wis mod to be useful.
Proficiencies:
Because I'm dumping Str, the armour is completely useless to me. The weapon proficiency is pretty useless to me but if I ever get disarmed from my spellcasting focus and holy symbol, then being able to counteract my horrific Str score and swing a blade effectively is very good.
Wrath of the Storm:
A strictly worse Storm's Fury but hey, at low levels it's good for deterring people from hitting me and it does damage even on a successful save. Shame about only ever being able to use it twice per long rest but hey, I have spells to take up my reaction slots as well!
Channel Divinity - Destructive Wrath:
Now this is really what I am here for. Being able to max out my damage on any Storm damage spell I hit is just amazing for this build. I would say this build is, in fact, centered around this single feature. Eventually being able to do it twice per short rest is even better. This also has nice flavour with Gruumsh, the CE deity my character worships.
Thunderous Strike
While this isn't only what I'm going 6 levels in Cleric for, it certainly helps a lot for disrupting the enemies tactics. That enemy that is going to charge you? Blast them with a Cantrip + Quickened Lightning Bolt and push them far enough away that you can simply walk away and be fine, infinitely kiting them. Also, you remember those annoying swarming creature like Goblins, Kobolds or annoying Fey? You can combo this with Heart of the Storm to push all of those creatures away and walk away out of range of OAs.
Spellcasting:
The extra Cantrips are nice additions to the collection of 'things for all occasions' but I'll have to find a collection of Cleric spells that don't rely on having a good Wis mod (no attack/save or suck spells) and things like Cure Wounds and Healing word will be sub-par at best. At least spells like Bless are a thing.
Ritual Casting:
Nice, always good for those spells like Detect Magic, Purify Food and Drink and Augury that you'll always use eventually but noone wants to spend a spell-slot on them.
Channel Divinity:
This is what fuels our massive damage output with Storm damage spells and getting two uses of it per short rest is the sweet spot, not too little so you use it once and then don't have it again, but not too excessive so that your Sorcerer levels are suffering. It also allows us to do cool stuff like turn (and eventually destroy) undead for that cleric flavour.
speaking of which...
Channel Divinity - Turn/Destroy Undead:
To be honest, this is really not what we are here for at all. We will never have more than 14 Wis so this will hardly ever work. Anyway, one of the spells Im planning to use is Animate Dead so why would I want to potentially Turn or Destroy them?
[b]Player level
[b]Spell/s
Cantrips
1.
Thunderwave, Sleep
Shocking Grasp, Prestidigitation, Firebolt, Minor Illusion, Dancing Lights
2.
Shield
----------------
3.
Shatter
----------------
4.
Suggestion, replace Sleep with Magic Missile*
Message
5.
Lightning Bolt
----------------
tr]
6.
Haste
----------------
[/tr]
7.
3 Cleric spells prepared
Mending, Guidance, Thaumaturgy
8.
4 Cleric spells prepared
---------------
9.
5 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
10.
6 Cleric spells prepared
Resistance
11.
Stoneskin/I]
----------------
12.
[I]Confusion
----------------
13.
7 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
14.
8 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
15.
Hold Monster
----------------
16.
Cone of Cold
----------------
17.
Chain Lightning
----------------
18.
---------------
----------------
19.
Mass Suggestion
----------------
20.
---------------
----------------
*Either this or, if you can lay your hands on even an extremely small and low-grade diamond, Chromatic Orb.
Spells
Spells slots
Player Level
Sorcerer level
Cleric level
Sorcerer spells known
Cleric spells prepared
Sorcerer cantrips known
Cleric cantrips known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
1
1
0
2
0
4
0
2
2
2
0
3
0
4
0
3
3
3
0
4
0
4
0
4
2
4
4
0
5
0
5
0
4
3
5
5
0
6
0
5
0
4
3
3
6
6
0
7
0
5
0
4
3
3
7
6
1
7
3
5
3
4
3
3
1
8
6
2
7
4
5
3
4
3
3
2
9
6
3
7
5
5
3
4
3
3
3
1
10
6
4
7
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
11
7
4
8
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
12
8
4
9
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
13
8
5
9
7
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
14
8
6
9
8
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
15
9
6
10
8
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
16
10
6
11
4
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
17
11
6
12
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
18
12
6
12
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
19
13
6
13
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
20
14
6
13
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1. Fluff is very important to me
2. I think a bit of Mutually Assured Destruction is what gives combat that extra bit of spice to make it fun
And
3. I like creating viable builds, so if there is something wrong with my build, then please tell me
Anyway, hello and thanks for reading! This is Lightning and Thunder based Sorcerer build so sit back and relax as you read!
Storm damage: Lightning/Thunder damage.
MAD: Multiple Attribute Dependency.
Mutually Assured Destruction: Things make things a bit more risky but give you more reward if you can pull it off, they are; in my opinion; the spice of life.
Class:
Sorcerer (Storm origin) 14/Cleric (Tempest domain) 6
Starting with Sorcerer for Con save proficiency
Race:
Variant Half-Elf (Drow Descent)
Darkvision
Drow magic
Fey ancestry
Background:
Far Traveller (Mulhorand origin)
Post-racial ability scores at level 1:
Ability
Ability score
Str
8
Dex
12
Con
16
Int
10
Wis
14
Cha
16
1d6 HD
9 HP
Proficiency in:
Constitution saves
Charisma saves
No armour (we'll fix that!)
Quarterstaves
Darts
Slings
Light Crossbows
Perception
Insight
Survival
Deception
Dice set
Class features:
Wind Speaker
Tempestuous Magic
Spellcasting
Languages known:
Common
Elvish
Undercommon
Orcish
Primordial
(I have a true polyglot!)
A quarterstaff
An arcane focus (crystal)
Two daggers
a backpack
A bedroll
A mess kit
A tinderbox
10 torches
10 days of rations
A waterskin
50 feet of hempen rope
One set of traveler's clothes
A dice set made of teeth
Poorly wrought maps from your homeland that depict where you are in Faerun
A small piece of jewelry worth 10 gp shaped like the sun
A pouch containing 5 gp
This is the main part of the build, what will give us our god-like powers over the storms and, with just a touch of metamagic, over people as well (Subtle Suggestion anyone?). Its delicious flavour for character back story is what drew me to it in the first place and I've always wanted to make an elemental damage build. So we begin.
Windspeaker:
Pretty much only fluff but hey, I'm the last person to give up a sub-par but appreciably flavourful ability.
Tempestuous Magic:
This is what will provide me with most of my survivability through kiting pre medium armour and a shield. It also makes for possibly one of the best mobility abilities a full caster has in 5e that doesnt count spells.
Heart of the Storm
This is what makes focusing on Storm damage worth it as being able to constantly deal extra damage to any amount of creatures within 10 feet around you with no save is great, not only if you are surrounded by Kobolds, but also as a deterrent to coming near you. The damage resistances and the fact that you can choose which creatures take the damage is delicious icing.
Storm Guide:
Again, mostly fluff, but it makes it a lot easier to get free trips on boats and perhaps even make some coin whilst travelling.
Storm's Fury:
This is the real deterrent for big creatures to hit you, especially after they've taken a bunch of damage, again without a save, and been thrown across the room, sadly, with chance to make the save. Unfortunate that it is a Strength saving throw but, if its an assassin or stealthy creature that attacked you, you can be pretty sure that they will be sailing through the air in no time.
Spellcasting:
Obviously there is no explanation needed for this except for the fact that I will be trying to focus on Storm damage spells. Unfortunately, in Adventurer's League, you can only use 1 origin supplement and I am using the SCAG so no EE spells.
Font of Magic:
Spellpoints , spellpoints, spellpoints! This is what gives me all of those extra spells per day over other spwllcasters that are a call-back to the 3.Xe Sorcerer, but more importantly, it fuels Meta-magic. This is the redeeming feature of not letting Sorcerers have as many Spells known as other full casters and I think it is worth it.
Meta-magic:
When I saw this feature brought back into D&D I was overjoyed. 3.5e Meta-magic worked off of feats and any caster could get ahold of them, but making them a Sorcerer-only option was a good idea in my opinion. I am going to take Twinned, Quicken and eventually Subtle for mine. This is because:
1. Twinned is very good, although it can get a bit costly on Spellpoints
2. Quicken becomes essential if you want to pump out damage and switch buffs in the same turn
3. Using subtle spell to Charm, Hold, Suggestion, Sleep or whatever guards, enemies or anyone else is incredibly powerful and very fun. Also you can cast damage spells without anyone noticing.
This is where our Storm damage gets maxed out, where I get even more deterrents for hitting me, where I get medium armour and shield profiencies. Being a Half-Elf makes it a lot easier to be less MAD for MCing purposes and having a Wis mod of +2 helps with healing, number of spells per day and with the inevitable Cleric stuff that requires at least a better than average Wis mod to be useful.
Proficiencies:
Because I'm dumping Str, the armour is completely useless to me. The weapon proficiency is pretty useless to me but if I ever get disarmed from my spellcasting focus and holy symbol, then being able to counteract my horrific Str score and swing a blade effectively is very good.
Wrath of the Storm:
A strictly worse Storm's Fury but hey, at low levels it's good for deterring people from hitting me and it does damage even on a successful save. Shame about only ever being able to use it twice per long rest but hey, I have spells to take up my reaction slots as well!
Channel Divinity - Destructive Wrath:
Now this is really what I am here for. Being able to max out my damage on any Storm damage spell I hit is just amazing for this build. I would say this build is, in fact, centered around this single feature. Eventually being able to do it twice per short rest is even better. This also has nice flavour with Gruumsh, the CE deity my character worships.
Thunderous Strike
While this isn't only what I'm going 6 levels in Cleric for, it certainly helps a lot for disrupting the enemies tactics. That enemy that is going to charge you? Blast them with a Cantrip + Quickened Lightning Bolt and push them far enough away that you can simply walk away and be fine, infinitely kiting them. Also, you remember those annoying swarming creature like Goblins, Kobolds or annoying Fey? You can combo this with Heart of the Storm to push all of those creatures away and walk away out of range of OAs.
Spellcasting:
The extra Cantrips are nice additions to the collection of 'things for all occasions' but I'll have to find a collection of Cleric spells that don't rely on having a good Wis mod (no attack/save or suck spells) and things like Cure Wounds and Healing word will be sub-par at best. At least spells like Bless are a thing.
Ritual Casting:
Nice, always good for those spells like Detect Magic, Purify Food and Drink and Augury that you'll always use eventually but noone wants to spend a spell-slot on them.
Channel Divinity:
This is what fuels our massive damage output with Storm damage spells and getting two uses of it per short rest is the sweet spot, not too little so you use it once and then don't have it again, but not too excessive so that your Sorcerer levels are suffering. It also allows us to do cool stuff like turn (and eventually destroy) undead for that cleric flavour.
speaking of which...
Channel Divinity - Turn/Destroy Undead:
To be honest, this is really not what we are here for at all. We will never have more than 14 Wis so this will hardly ever work. Anyway, one of the spells Im planning to use is Animate Dead so why would I want to potentially Turn or Destroy them?
[b]Player level
[b]Spell/s
Cantrips
1.
Thunderwave, Sleep
Shocking Grasp, Prestidigitation, Firebolt, Minor Illusion, Dancing Lights
2.
Shield
----------------
3.
Shatter
----------------
4.
Suggestion, replace Sleep with Magic Missile*
Message
5.
Lightning Bolt
----------------
tr]
6.
Haste
----------------
[/tr]
7.
3 Cleric spells prepared
Mending, Guidance, Thaumaturgy
8.
4 Cleric spells prepared
---------------
9.
5 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
10.
6 Cleric spells prepared
Resistance
11.
Stoneskin/I]
----------------
12.
[I]Confusion
----------------
13.
7 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
14.
8 Cleric spells prepared
----------------
15.
Hold Monster
----------------
16.
Cone of Cold
----------------
17.
Chain Lightning
----------------
18.
---------------
----------------
19.
Mass Suggestion
----------------
20.
---------------
----------------
*Either this or, if you can lay your hands on even an extremely small and low-grade diamond, Chromatic Orb.
Spells
Spells slots
Player Level
Sorcerer level
Cleric level
Sorcerer spells known
Cleric spells prepared
Sorcerer cantrips known
Cleric cantrips known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
1
1
0
2
0
4
0
2
2
2
0
3
0
4
0
3
3
3
0
4
0
4
0
4
2
4
4
0
5
0
5
0
4
3
5
5
0
6
0
5
0
4
3
3
6
6
0
7
0
5
0
4
3
3
7
6
1
7
3
5
3
4
3
3
1
8
6
2
7
4
5
3
4
3
3
2
9
6
3
7
5
5
3
4
3
3
3
1
10
6
4
7
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
11
7
4
8
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
12
8
4
9
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
13
8
5
9
7
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
14
8
6
9
8
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
15
9
6
10
8
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
16
10
6
11
4
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
17
11
6
12
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
18
12
6
12
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
19
13
6
13
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
20
14
6
13
8
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
1
1