Ideas for building a Magician's Assistant

[Pefgis]

So for a while I've had an idea in my head for playing a female sorcerer who acted as a magician's assistant for a traveling entertainer. Essentially a small town entertainer who performs traditional practical sleight of hand at festivals and taverns, he thought to improve his act by hiring a pretty assistant to aid in misdirection. Thing is, she was born with latent magical abilities, a wild sorcerer, and can actually perform the magic beyond just tricks. This would eventually propel them to both a higher profile, the promise of making it big, and eventually tragedy, leaving the magician dead or missing and the assistant on the run ...and primed to join fellow adventurers.

I initially built and played the skeleton of this character as a pretty standard wild sorcerer. I'm not really worried about optimizing stats-I'll focus on charisma, then con and dex. I'm also not really worried about choosing spells during the adventure, once she starts to fight goblins and bad guys she'd choose stuff like fireball and suggestion and shield and the usual sorcerer fare, but what first level spells, cantrips, and skills would be most flavorful for a traveling "traditional' magician's assistant. The first time I tried the idea I was a little too savvy, I'd like to start as someone actually planning to live as a magical entertainer, not knowing she's going to be an adventurer, with of course adventure thrust upon soon leading her to more combat and exploration spells at further levels.

I'm thinking human or half elf for race, possibly aasimar, but if so, with the divine aspect more a manifestation of the wild magic budding inside her. Actually, in general her wild magic, sometimes taking the form as herself as a child in dreams and visions, will drive her to adventure, as the magic wants to surge and be used.

She'll start as a gentle chaotic neutral, probably tending towards good once adventures start thrusting her towards heroism. I'm thinking entertainer background. My dm is allowing 'magician's tools' as part of the entertainer starter equipment, as well as a magician routine instead of dance or song. I'm using starting money to buy an entertainer's kit, as the entertainer background doesn't get one. I'm not interested in multi classing.

My real question is skills and initial spells. Performance seems to make sense but I know it's useless in practice. Sleight of hand and acrobatics seem obvious. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Koren]

I don't remember the Sorcerer list off the top of my head but Prestidigitation is kind of a no brainier to me. Mending if it's on there, maybe some illusions.

Since she's a generally untrained (for combat at least) Wild Magic sorceress some things like firebolt could still make sense (maybe she did some tricks with fire which she adapted for combat use. First use have her be surprised like "oh hey it worked).

[Pefgis]

Yeah, prestidigitation is another one that works perfectly, it's a fun spell in general too. And your point about fire is a good one. Last time I tried ray of frost and it just felt kind of gamey and random to start with it, but shooting little fire balls to make flaming hoops and startle people seems pretty natural. Maybe blade ward? Good for being in a barrel and 'stabbed' with a sword or have daggers thrown at her, maybe even instinctively learned while training.

So far, I'm thinking my four cantrips would be mending, prestidigitation, minor illusion, and control flames.

Shield would be one of my spells, it will still work as how I described blade ward, with thrown daggers or a sword trick triggering it, but even better really because it's a reaction so it is very reflexive, easy to learn intuitively. It also is just a good spell and stays relevant.

The other spell is up in the air- I need something offensive, maybe burning hands as a 'fire trick'

I'm torn now for starting race. Half elf is just a nice package, great charisma, and extra skills.

Variant human nets me a feat. I'm thinking lucky or magic initiate bard for more cantrips and spells. It could be fluffed as extra innate magic from the wild magic source more so than actually studying.

Aasimar are just cool. I'd go scourge and get radiant, explosive power along with random magic surges that would slightly make up for lack of offense and reinforce her destructive, random capabilities. Maybe a scourge surge(ha) blew up her magician mentor.

What do you all think?

[Falcon X]

Any of the elemental evil shaping elements cantrip a would be good. Especially Shape Water, as it's so flexible.

Shape water:
- create a bubble of air around your head as you go into the water tank. Won't last long, but it helps.
- use the color changing effects and freeze effects to put tiny tags on cards as you perform card tricks.
- when water freezes, it expands. Use this to lift heavy objects remotely.
- Expand water inside locks to break them. Works especially well in "trapped in an underwater cage" escape tricks.
- Freeze water onto saw blades in such a way that it creates a dull edge. Now you don't have to worry about it actually cutting things.
- icy floor makes set pieces slide really easily.
- have pre-made things out of ice, such as a statue that you make dissapear. If you do it right, people won't have to know it was ever ice. All they see is a statue vanishing from existence, when really the water has just gone under the floor or into your cloak.

[qube]

My real question is skills and initial spells. Performance seems to make sense but I know it's useless in practice. Sleight of hand and acrobatics seem obvious. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.fire bolt.

because nothing grabs a audience attention (or distracts them, if you're going for the RL magician) then a sudden bolt of fire sauring over them

[Unoriginal]

If we go by the assumption the sorcerer's magic is shaped by her will rather than being spells she carefully selected, she could have some combat spells if she was thrown in a combat situation and got scared into the fight/flight response.

Like:

*get charged at by a bandit*
Sorceress: "Let me GO, you *******!" *magic bolt shoots from her hand*

[Balyano]

Pyrotechnics spell from Elemental Evil?
Ask DM if you can grab the Conjure Animals spell from the Druid list so you can summon white doves from your hat?
Summon Familiar and get a white rabbit?

[Pefgis]

These are some great ideas!

Shape water seems fun, but marking cards and the like can be done with prestidigitation, and I think the technology and extravagance level of the routine would be rather low, I don't think it would have gotten to elaborate set-piece level yet, probably just small props and the occasional cage, box or barrel. I do love the water tank and ice sculpture ideas though.

I don't think I'll be getting conjure animal sadly, as it's third level. A familiar rabbit could work though. The problem with sorcerers is that their choices are so limited, so I have to focus on a routine that could work, as opposed to an amazingly comprehensive, all inclusive one. Also , by the time the adventure would start, she would be on her own, the performances even more bare-bones, probably adapted to be more of a dazzler style dance routine, with some cool tricks and elements of vaudeville comedy and burlesque, depending on the tavern. I don't know if I can go full Vegas extravagance, as much as I'd want to.

Pyrotechnics would be perfect, but is second level, my performances might be going to the wayside when adventure gets in the way by the time I'd learn it.

I'm trying to fit firebolt in there.

My choices as this point depend on if I go half-elf for skills and a nice starting chassis, variant human for magic initiative and more spells, or aasimar for a bigger boom. Once I choose that I can narrow it down to how many spells and skills I can learn.
Any ideas?

[Vogie]

Honestly, I think it'd be interesting to have a sorcerer for the parlor tricks only - All of their spells were for the stage, none chosen for damage potential. Their first 1st level spell was Silent Image so they could make the doves/rabbits appear. Misty Step, Cloud of Daggers, Catapult & Mage Hand. To the point of when they think about fighting, they go for the crossbow.

[Pefgis]

Honestly, I think it'd be interesting to have a sorcerer for the parlor tricks only - All of their spells were for the stage, none chosen for damage potential. Their first 1st level spell was Silent Image so they could make the doves/rabbits appear. Misty Step, Cloud of Daggers, Catapult & Mage Hand. To the point of when they think about fighting, they go for the crossbow.

This is pretty much exactly what I'm going for, at least the first couple levels.

So far, the basic sorcerer/entertainer gets me 4 cantrips, 2 1st level spells, and 4 skills.

I'm thinking prestidigitation, minor illusion, control flames, and either mending (for cutting scarves and ripping cards and the like), mage hand, or firebolt as a showy finale. Dancing lights as a spotlight or dazzler like distraction is a contender too.

I'm sold on silent image. I still think shield as a reflexive protection makes sense, maybe as the first spell she learned.

For skills I want acrobatics, sleight of hand(I'd have to finagle the entertainer background for this one, or talk my dm into augmenting the sorcerer options. It seems acceptable though.), persuasion and/or deception. I think performance should be there too, as much as it really could be just charisma roll, I think the emphasis on this being for show and stage play will get my dm asking for these, and it is pretty apt.

What other skills, asi, and spells I get depend on my race. I'm still undecided, because all the options are tempting.

[Falcon X]

I think if I was doing this, I'd go divination wizard, just because it would fit the gypsy girl aesthete so well.
She actually can predict the future a little bit. She gives tarot card readings. She scrys using a legitimate crystal ball. She can start reading people's minds and telling them their "fortune" based on what she gets. Late levels she can touch things, get all ominous, and tell about the object or places past.

[NecroDancer]

This sounds a bit like the show Mob Psycho 100 but with magic instead of psychic powers.

The show is about Mob who is a powerful psychic who is apprenticed to a kind conman called Reigen. Reigen tricks people by pretending to exorcise ghosts even though Reigen has no actual psychic powers, he calls on Mob to handle any real ghosts while also keeping Mob from getting a god complex due to Mob's overwhelming powers and unhealthy emotional state.

Anyways back on track, i'd suggest being an arcane trickster because it lets you make an invisible mage hand and you get access to all other rogue abilities while keeping spell-casting. A trickster cleric could also be a fun idea to pull off healing scams. I could also see a sorcerer to take advantage of the subtle spell metamagic.

[Pefgis]

I appreciate all the suggestions, as I think arcane tricksters and fortune telling divination wizards would make rich, interesting characters and probably make much better stage magicians than sorcs.

That said, I just really like sorcerers, especially wild sorc, despite or even because it's lack of optimization, it's just fun. Subtle meta-magic was one of the selling points for the idea. Also I'm the party face, so having good charisma along with the silly randomness and fun magician idea is a big selling point.

I like that the idea is robust enough to support a lot of viable builds though.

[DarkKnightJin]

Foe skills, you should see about trying to get Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Performance.. And maybe Deception, if you plan on having her be a bit of a liar. If not, Persuasion works too.
Perception or Insight are viable options too. You don't get to be on stage performing like that without knowing what sort of 'mark' to pick out of the crowd. Or seeing through people's ruses and deceptions.

Sounds like Half-Elf is going to be the way to go, there. Vuman can be made to work as well.

[Pefgis]

I was reluctant to go half elf because it is the most optimized, boring answer, but darn it if it isn't just a really good choice. I get better stats and more skills than the other options, as well as the fey ancestry perks. Having fey blood could explain having a magical bloodline too, not that needs much logic. Sorcerer is fun because, much like the x-men and mutants, you don't really have to worry about an origin story, I'm going to miss the aasimar radiant laser beams idea though, but I would have been pretty short changed on skills, and this idea kind of needs them.

Performance, acrobatics, sleight of hand, deception, persuasion, and insight work. Perception is a wonderful skill, but I'd rather highlight her people skills with a flaw being overestimating her ability to talk or flirt her way out of a mess, making her a little naive to danger, and being a city girl may leave her unfocused enough in a dungeon or the road, straightening a hem or sneezing or what not to miss some danger. I'll have tides of chaos eventually to get advantage on some things too.

This seems pretty complete. Should I emphasize con or dex as my second best stat? Also, besides subtle, what's another good metamagic when I reach it. I'm thinking quicken or twin?