Favoured Soul sorcerer

[Nalistri]

Hi everyone

So a bit of background our group is now level 3 and we are playing in a homebrew our party now comprises of a paladin(oath of ancients), rogue(assassin), barbarian(Ancestral Guardian), barbarian(not decided might be bear), sorcerer(storm) and of course sorcerer (favoured soul) we did have a cleric but they died and the random generator decided paladin was the players new path.

I am just wondering what spells you think I will need to take at higher levels we are doing milestone levelling

I currently have

Cantrips Create bonfire, Ray of frost, Frostbite and Toll the dead

L1 bless, bane, healing word and mage armour

L2 web

Metamagic are subtle spell and quicken spell

[DarkKnightJin]

Hold Person is always fun, and Fireball is never a bad spell to have in your repertoire.
Beyond that, I suggest you try to think of a theme for your Divine Soul. Do you want to blast, do you want to support?
The current picks have me thinking you'd like to be support in theme, buffing allies or debuffing enemies.
In which case Haste and/or Slow would be a nice tool to have in your toolbox.
Enlarge/Reduce can be surprisingly useful if used creatively as well.

I don't want to suggest too much beyond 5th level character, since it's always a risk of your character dying before they get beyond that.

[Yak]

Retraining to shield at some point. Lots of lvl 1 spell lose their appeal when higher level spells are available, but shield remains solid throughout.

[Nalistri]

Thanks for the replies yeah next level I had planned to pick up shield and allot of my spell choices were made when the cleric was still alive so I did pick allot of support spells.

[Unoriginal]

Are you considering picking up more healing spells?

[Nalistri]

Yeah I am planning on taking more healing spells, I'm just not sure what to take and what level to take it.

[Fryy]

Yeah I am planning on taking more healing spells, I'm just not sure what to take and what level to take it.

Re: Healing
You get very few spells known... so you don't want to allocate too many of your precious spells known to healing/cure spells. Healing Word and Heal (6th) will probably be enough. Aid is also very good since it gets multiple people, can be used before or during combat, and is upcastable. A one level dip into Life cleric is also very good for the armor bonus and healing boost.

As a side note, I think that both the Absorb Elements and Shield spells are mandatory.

[sophontteks]

You can probably only make room for a single healing spell early on. Sorcerers have very, very few spell slots. Any more is a waste of resources you can't afford.

Avoid any spell that shares utility with something you already have. Bless and bane are far too similiar (and bless is almost entirely superior.) Having both is costing you too many precious slots.

Absorb elements, shield, and mage armor are all great, but you can't afford all three. Even two is a huge investment. You'll probably only have 2 level 1 spells total by level 5, because you'll want to be swapping low spells as you get access to higher ones. I'd suggest one defensive spell and one healing spell. Any more comes at the cost of less level 2 and level 3 spells. Its a tough choice.

Make sure you are making the most of your metamagic choices. Pick something that can make a big influence in out of combat encounters with subtle (my fav. is phantasmal force.) And don't forget that quicken can be used to allow you to dodge/dash/disengage without giving up your action.

[Nalistri]

Wow these are great ideas guys I will be honest and say I forgot about using quicken to use my action to disengage, will drop bane next level and pick up shield and maybe absorb elements along the line, I know its a big investment but it will be what saves me when I roll a 1 against a dragons breath weapon if anyone has any other ideas please let me know.

[sophontteks]

Just remember that you'll want to be swapping out for higher level spells as you go up too. If you don't then by level 5 half of all your known spells will still be level 1.

[Nalistri]

Well by level 5 my spell choices should be this then?

L1 healing word, mage armour, shield, (bless)

L2 web

L3 slow, fireball or spirit guardians


I mean once we are level 5 I could possibly drop bless as the Paladin has suggested because he will have more spell slots than he currently has.

[Nalistri]

Not sure if I should take slow since I already have web

[sophontteks]

First, I would just ask the DM if you can swap a couple spells out. Its a reasonable request this early, and it'll help you out a ton. It's really hard to make sorcerers with those few slots. Just explain the situation and let him help you see that your character can be what you want him/her to be. This is so much easier then trying to swap out redundant spells you picked every level.

Spirit guardians is not going to be good for you. You don't want to be this close to the enemy. Clerics have armor to pull this off, but you would be eaten alive.

Web and fireball aren't a bad combination. You can restrain them, let your friends wail on the enemy, and if you need the extra oomph you could drop a hot steamy fireball down. The burning webs will deal an extra 2d4 to help finish them off.

On the other hand...
Both web and fireball are good in the same situations. Slow is unique because it doesn't cause friendly fire.

I Dont' have experience with divine souls. Choosing few spells from 2 lists is pretty daunting, but I do have experience with sorcerers and I have a strategy that helps me build them. Check this out. Categorically we have a few things you want to attain with your spells, so lets just make these categories and see where you stand.

Defense- A good portion of your spells should focus on defense, and many of the best defensive spells are level 1 spells. How much defensive spells you will need depends largely on your campaign, your party, and your positioning. You also want to consider what kinds of things these spells protect you from, and what other utility they may bring. Darkness and invisibility, for example may also bring additional utility to your team while also being good defensive spells. Absorb elements uniquely protects you from AOE attacks.

Your current defensive spells are: Shield, Mage Armor, and Slow.
Also worth mentioning the defensive utility of quicken, allowing you to take the dodge, dash, or disengage action while continuing to cast spells.

Utility- Sorcerers struggle with utility vs. Wizards, but they do have one big trick up their sleeve. Subtle spell. You'll definitely want one spell that can take advantage of this ability for out of combat situations. My favorite is Phantasmal force. Creating a perfect illusion in someone's head without giving away that you casted a spell can turn non-combat encounters on their head, and the spell is versatile enough to have a multitude of uses, even in combat. Some defensive spells also double as utility spells. Spells like levitate and invisibility can both keep you out of harms way and provide utility to your team.

You don't currently have any utility spells.

Instant Damage- Instant damage is overrated on its own. Sorcerers can specialize in it with empowered. They are great in that they don't require concentration, but they lack on single target damage. Fireball stands out here as an exceptional instant damage spell even for those who don't specialize in it, like you. Since you are a divine soul, you have another option available to you as well. Spiritual weapon.

Your current instant damage spells: Fireball

Healing- This is unique to you, and one spell is all you need. You got yours for free. You don't need healing word, because you can just use quicken if you really need to, and you aren't the only healer anyway. You can always upcast this spell and use empowered healing to ensure its not wasted by a low roll. That said, I'd could revivify as a healing spell too, and I think your party would really like to have that on hand as well.


Concentration- You can only concentrate on one spell at a time, so there isn't much of a point in having too many concentration spells. You just want to make sure you have a concentration spell that makes a big impact, is useful in many situations, and doesn't overlap with other party members.

Your current concentration spells are: Bless, Slow, and Web

Conclusion
Breaking these spells down, your current plan leaves you with too many concentration spells, and too few utility spells.

Here's what I would do by level 5, if the DM was willing to help me out.

Level 1-Cure wounds, Mage Armor, and Absorb Elements- OK I went with mage armor because you have quicken. Typically mage armor leaves you vulnerable if you are taken by surprise, but with quicken you can just cast it as a bonus action. You only have to cast it once per 8 hours, giving you more slots for healing spells. Shield is overkill because you can always use quicken defensively while healing yourself or falling back. This eliminates the need of stacking AC buffs. Absorb Elements, however, protects you from many sources where your AC would let you down.
Level 2- Spiritual Sword, and Phantasmal Force- Spiritual sword allows you to bolster your party's damage on the cheap without wasting concentration, and it only costs a bonus action. Phantasmal force allows you to be a major player out of combat by messing with people's heads. Its just a lot of fun, and it also doubles as a pretty good single-target crowd control spell.
Level 3- Revivify, and Slow- I'd just settle on not being the damage-dealer of the party and instead focus on being the support / healer. Slow is a fantastic use of your concentration that doesn't cause friendly-fire, and you are the only member of your team that can take revivify right now.

[Nalistri]

Thanks for your reply I will ask the DM the thing is so far allot of fights have had allot of creatures but we can avoid the if we are careful and not reckless for instance last game we hit level 3 and were following a lead on some missing people went to investigate the abandoned house in the graveyard and we managed to avoid a fight with 60+ undead. We had to fight some small groups but we managed to make it to the house without anyone going down.

[Fryy]

Very good read up above, but I disagree with selecting Cure Wounds (CW) over Healing Word (HW). HW is castable at 60ft range. CW is touch. HW is a bonus action. CW is a full action. Comparatively speaking, CW wastes movement and wastes action economy. Why spend a Quicken to mitigate an unnecessary waste? You only have 5 sorcery pts (2 Quickens max) a day at 5th level. Both spells do the same job of picking an ally up off the floor from 0 HP in mid-combat. Out of combat, everyone using their short rest Hit Die is better than using multiple cure wounds.

[Nalistri]

So then would you think having only healing word would work until level 9 been thinking of taking Mass cure wounds and using quicken then possibly

[sophontteks]

Very good read up above, but I disagree with selecting Cure Wounds (CW) over Healing Word (HW). HW is castable at 60ft range. CW is touch. HW is a bonus action. CW is a full action. Comparatively speaking, CW wastes movement and wastes action economy. Why spend a Quicken to mitigate an unnecessary waste? You only have 5 sorcery pts (2 Quickens max) a day at 5th level. Both spells do the same job of picking an ally up off the floor from 0 HP in mid-combat. Out of combat, everyone using their short rest Hit Die is better than using multiple cure wounds.
Its not a choice. They get cure wounds for free. They have to sacrifice a spell slot for Healing word.


So then would you think having only healing word would work until level 9 been thinking of taking Mass cure wounds and using quicken then possibly
I don't know. :smallfrown:

Empower is a great ability that gives a huge power boost to AOE spells like fireball. I'm not sure how to get the same utility out of Empowered healing though. Healing spells are typically weaker then damage spells, and don't involve a lot of rolls. Prayer of healing sticks out as an exception that is worth considering. You can roll up to 12d6 with one casting. Empowered healing could drastically increase the total output of this spell.

By the way. I consider TheUser's guide on sorcerers to be the holy gospel for all aspiring sorcerers. Worth checking out.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxHRu80oFd2iSkNLeVBISzZxMzQ/view

[Fryy]

So then would you think having only healing word would work until level 9 been thinking of taking Mass cure wounds and using quicken then possibly

In short, yes. But Aid is good, too, if you consider that as a healing spell. For a 2nd level slot, you could give 5pts to 3 people when cast. It lasts 8 hours. And I think it could be cast in combat to bring up 3 downed allies.

[Contrast]

Its not a choice. They get cure wounds for free. They have to sacrifice a spell slot for Healing word.

They get Cure Wounds known for free if they choose Good. It looks like they chose Law and got Bless as their free spell which is a perfectly fine option.

Regardless you are allowed to change it to another cleric spell it just uses up on of your changes on level up.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by sacrifice a spell slot though - they only get it as an additional known spell, they can't cast it for free.

[sophontteks]

They get Cure Wounds known for free if they choose Good. It looks like they chose Law and got Bless as their free spell which is a perfectly fine option.

Regardless you are allowed to change it to another cleric spell it just uses up on of your changes on level up.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by sacrifice a spell slot though - they only get it as an additional known spell, they can't cast it for free.
Are you sure they can swap it out? I mean, yeah, if they can swap it out its practically universally agreed that healing word is more powerful.
I said spell slot instead of spell known by mistake.

[Nalistri]

I hadn't thought of using Aid that way before didn't realise it could be used after people fell unconscious thought it could only be used as a hit point shield

[Contrast]

Are you sure they can swap it out? I mean, yeah, if they can swap it out its practically universally agreed that healing word is more powerful.
I said spell slot instead of spell known by mistake.


If you later replace this spell, you must replace it with a spell from the cleric spell list.

You are indeed explicitly allowed to replace it with other cleric spells as normal.

[sophontteks]

You are indeed explicitly allowed to replace it with other cleric spells as normal.
Sweet thanks, like I said I'm not experienced with divine soul sorcerers specifically. That's a really nice feature I missed.

[Nalistri]

Its not a choice. They get cure wounds for free. They have to sacrifice a spell slot for Healing word.


I don't know. :smallfrown:

Empower is a great ability that gives a huge power boost to AOE spells like fireball. I'm not sure how to get the same utility out of Empowered healing though. Healing spells are typically weaker then damage spells, and don't involve a lot of rolls. Prayer of healing sticks out as an exception that is worth considering. You can roll up to 12d6 with one casting. Empowered healing could drastically increase the total output of this spell.

By the way. I consider TheUser's guide on sorcerers to be the holy gospel for all aspiring sorcerers. Worth checking out.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxHRu80oFd2iSkNLeVBISzZxMzQ/view

Wow that was a good read its really difficult choosing which spells to take originally I was just going to take healing words as the backup healer then the cleric died so thanks for the tips guys

[sophontteks]

Wow that was a good read its really difficult choosing which spells to take originally I was just going to take healing words as the backup healer then the cleric died so thanks for the tips guys
Hey I'm right there with ya. I am making a shadow sorcerer for a big campaign and I've been at it all day trying to figure out his background and spell selection. :smallbiggrin:

[Nalistri]

Oh that's pretty cool are you thinking of multiclassing into a sorlock at some point?

[sophontteks]

Nope straight sorcerer. I'll need all the metamagic I can get. I might be playing with a Warlock though, so between the two of us there should be some seriously good darkness shenanigans. Its really convenient for the warlock, he doesn't have to waste one of his 2 spell slots on darkness.

I just thought up all the spells, and forgot that my concentration will be used on darkness....

[Nalistri]

That's true its always good to work well with the other casters. I'm lucky there is another sorcerer to take allot of AOE and damage spells also invisibility for the rogue because I need to be more like a cleric now.