Sorcerer Metamagic and Spell Selection

[Bobthewizard]

How do you pick your spells as a sorcerer? Since metamagic is so important to the class, I tried to come up with spells that would synergize with each of the metamagic options. Here’s what I have. What are your thoughts? Any good spells I’m missing? Which combinations do you like?

Careful
2. Web (but only to move out)
3. Hypnotic Pattern, Fear
4. Confusion
7. Reverse Gravity

Twin (probably best kept to level 4 spells and below)
1. Charm Person, Chromatic Orb
2. Blindness/Deafness, Crown of Madness, Darkvision, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Hold Person, Invisibility, Levitate, Phantasmal Force, See Invisibility, Suggestion, Spider Climb
3. Bestow Curse, Enemies Abound, Haste, Fly
4. Banishment, Charm Monster, Greater Invisibility, Polymorph
5. Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Telekinesis
6. Disintegrate, True Seeing
7. Plane Shift
8. Dominate Monster

Heightened (at 3 points, likely better for level 4 spells and above)
1. Charm Person
2. Blindness/Deafness, Crown of Madness, Hold Person, Levitate, Phantasmal Force, Suggestion
3. Bestow Curse, Enemies Abound
4. Banishment, Charm Monster, Polymorph
5. Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Telekinesis
6. Disintegrate
7. Plane Shift
8. Dominate Monster

Subtle
Any spell to avoid counterspell or if without arcane focus
Any social situation – charms, suggestions

Quicken (good for Sorcadin or Sorlock but maybe not for a pure sorcerer)
5. Telekinesis
6. Eyebite, Sunbeam

Empowered
Maybe for a dragon sorcerer with a blast spell matching their type

Distant, Extended are more situational

[TheUser]

Check out my sig. feel free to reply with your own commentary.

[Frozenstep]

DM: Ok sorcerer, it's your turn. You still have telekinesis up from last round, and there's a giant approaching you, what would you like to do?

Sorcerer: I'll use my action to use telekinesis to restrain him.

DM: Ok, make your check...you succeed. The giant's feet leave the floor as you raise him up with your pure magical might. Do you do anything else?

Sorcerer: Quicken disintegrate.

Telekinesis has synergy with any quicken dex save non-concentration spell. It's not super flashy, but I've always felt the image of holding someone up helpless only to blast them was very fitting for a caster.

[Nhorianscum]

I guess my entire strategy for this can be summed up in a word?

"Depends" *shrug*

Edit: A note. Many of the more abusable metamagic spells or spell interactions are not on the sorc list by default and we are forced to "borrow" these via Divine Soul/Metal magic/Dips/GMGTR/Dragonmarks/etc

Two very fun little examples are glyph of warding (loading these with metamagic infused spells is very busted), and wrathful smite (heightened/Shound Wsmite is not remotely fair)

[ImproperJustice]

Distant and Scatter really improves that spell in fun and exciting ways.

[Bobthewizard]

Check out my sig. feel free to reply with your own commentary.

Thanks for the guide. Great job. That's exactly what I was looking for overall. Everyone else, do you have any favorite spell/metamagic combos that you've seen in play?

[Bobthewizard]

Distant and Scatter really improves that spell in fun and exciting ways.

Love that and never would have thought of it. Thanks.

[bendking]

Thanks for the guide. Great job. That's exactly what I was looking for overall. Everyone else, do you have any favorite spell/metamagic combos that you've seen in play?

Sunbeam + Quicken is the go-to decimate everything combo.

[Bobthewizard]

Sunbeam + Quicken is the go-to decimate everything combo.

Yes. Great use of Quicken. I wonder though, while it is better damage than an upcast Storm Sphere, is it enough better that it's worth taking Quicken, using a 6th level spell selection, and using 2 SP every round? Storm Sphere also gives the option of using a 4th or 5th level slot for less damage if you need to. I definitely see your side of that debate though.

[Vogie]

Empowered Works well with Chaos Bolt, as rerolling damage increases it's potential to jump between targets.

[Bobthewizard]

Empowered Works well with Chaos Bolt, as rerolling damage increases it's potential to jump between targets.

I like it. Can you twin Chaos Bolt?

[Nhorianscum]

I like it. Can you twin Chaos Bolt?

By the errata yes, unless it jumps where I assume twin fizzles?

Edit: God's I hate that change.

Edit again: A known extremely silly thing is heightened/twinned/subtle planar binding on divine souls.

[Vogie]

I like it. Can you twin Chaos Bolt?

By the errata yes

I know in my CoS game the DM allows twinning Chaos Bolt.

Honestly, I would rule the same thing. When you cast Chaos Bolt, it only has a single target. The bouncing only happens after the spell's resolution, because it is based on how the damage die is rolled.

[bendking]

Yes. Great use of Quicken. I wonder though, while it is better damage than an upcast Storm Sphere, is it enough better that it's worth taking Quicken, using a 6th level spell selection, and using 2 SP every round? Storm Sphere also gives the option of using a 4th or 5th level slot for less damage if you need to. I definitely see your side of that debate though.

It's a quick-burner for sure, but it's highly effective considering you can be chucking quickened Fireballs while doing 6d6 damage per round.
Also, you should add Dominate Person to the quicken list to immediately tell someone what to do.

[Bobthewizard]

It's a quick-burner for sure, but it's highly effective considering you can be chucking quickened Fireballs while doing 6d6 damage per round.
Also, you should add Dominate Person to the quicken list to immediately tell someone what to do.

For Sunbeam, it is 6d8 damage per round with blinding on a failed save, can only be cast as a 6th level spell and you need to quicken your Fireballs at 2SP each to use them. With a 6th level Storm Sphere, your bonus action would do 6d6 damage, you'd have 20' radius difficult terrain causing 4d6 damage/round and you could cast Fireballs each turn without using any SP. You wouldn't need Quicken and could take a better metamagic. Storm Sphere also is available as a 4th and 5th level spell giving you more versatility and can be further upcast for more damage if needed.

I'd rather Heighten Dominate Person than Quicken it. I guess I'm just not sold on Quicken outside multi classing. Except I would consider Quicken for the ability to cast a spell and still dodge or dash, which I think are underrated actions for a sorcerer who is concentrating on an important spell.

[TheUser]

For Sunbeam, it is 6d8 damage per round with blinding on a failed save, can only be cast as a 6th level spell and you need to quicken your Fireballs at 2SP each to use them. With a 6th level Storm Sphere, your bonus action would do 6d6 damage, you'd have 20' radius difficult terrain causing 4d6 damage/round and you could cast Fireballs each turn without using any SP. You wouldn't need Quicken and could take a better metamagic. Storm Sphere also is available as a 4th and 5th level spell giving you more versatility and can be further upcast for more damage if needed.

I'd rather Heighten Dominate Person than Quicken it. I guess I'm just not sold on Quicken outside multi classing. Except I would consider Quicken for the ability to cast a spell and still dodge or dash, which I think are underrated actions for a sorcerer who is concentrating on an important spell.

The blind on sunbeam is extremely useful, it's also a 60ft long -beam- and 5ft wide (this means it can actually impact 2 squares of width if used down the middle of two squares/hexes), meaning it also hits lots of units easily. Radiant damage is also the least resisted (/immune) damage type in the game.

So, yeah, having the lower output option of Storm Sphere is useful (I wouldn't upcast it to 6th level though, 5th tops).

Disengage can also be pretty useful. I especially like the hide action after a spell too.

[Nhorianscum]

For Sunbeam, it is 6d8 damage per round with blinding on a failed save, can only be cast as a 6th level spell and you need to quicken your Fireballs at 2SP each to use them. With a 6th level Storm Sphere, your bonus action would do 6d6 damage, you'd have 20' radius difficult terrain causing 4d6 damage/round and you could cast Fireballs each turn without using any SP. You wouldn't need Quicken and could take a better metamagic. Storm Sphere also is available as a 4th and 5th level spell giving you more versatility and can be further upcast for more damage if needed.

I'd rather Heighten Dominate Person than Quicken it. I guess I'm just not sold on Quicken outside multi classing. Except I would consider Quicken for the ability to cast a spell and still dodge or dash, which I think are underrated actions for a sorcerer who is concentrating on an important spell.

The thing with quicken is with no abuse whatsoever it's a slightly janky version of cunning action + action surge + Ki. We can BA cast and do absolutely anything else with our action which is pretty nice.