Looking to build a rogue/sorcerer

[holywhippet]

I've decided to build a rogue/sorcerer based on a background idea I came up with. At first it it seemed like a bad idea since the rogue and sorcerer classes didn't seem to have much synergy. Then I found the Shadow Blade (https://www.dnd-spells.com/spell/shadow-blade) spell which seems to have been specifically designed for a rogue sorcerer multiclass.

I was thinking of taking the divine soul sorcerer subclass for the increased range of spells and the favored by the Gods feature.

Other than the obvious spells like shield and mage armor, what can I load this character with?

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Feather Fall
Absurve Elements
Darkness
Mirror Image
Blink

If you are taking low Cha I will look at this thread.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?587806-Spells-that-don-t-rely-on-casting-stat

I recommend taking shadow Sorcerer for easy adv with darkness.

Do you go for more rogue or Sorcerer?

[Maelynn]

How many levels of Sorcerer do you want to take? That would help to determine what level spells you have access to.

Same goes for the amount of Rogue levels - enough to take an archetype? If so, which one did you have in mind?

[bendking]

If it fits the fantasy, Arcane Trickster/Blade Singer might be a more optimized choice.

[Keravath]

High charisma and use of melee attacks with shadow blade would probably work well with a Swashbuckler. The final build really depends on whether you want more rogue or more sorcerer. Shadow blade can be upcast for more damage but that might work better for builds with multiple attacks.

[Bobthewizard]

It depends how you want to make this. A couple of ways to make it work. If you are going to be a primary caster for your party, though, I’d just go straight sorcerer and take stealth proficiency and thieves tools. Delaying spell progression is tough.

If you want to be primarily a rogue, think about what you want from sorcerer. I’d take 3 levels of rogue for a subclass then maybe 3-5 of sorcerer for shield, charm person, disguise self, invisibility, misty step, and fear. Take subtle as your metamagic.

[Zetakya]

How deep are you planning to go into Sorcerer?

[Crgaston]

I have a Sorcerogue built as an alternate in case one of my characters dies. There are lots of ways to do this build as there are some great synergies available as mentioned by various posters above.

I'll share this one just to give you some ideas.

He's a Blue Dragon Sorcerer/Swashbuckler.

Dragon Sorcerer gives free Mage Armor equivalent and an extra HP per level, and of course Swashbuckler benefits from Charisma to Initiative, plus the free Disengage vs enemies you attack, which really helps if you're planning on using Shadow Blade.

Boomer
Blue Dragon Sorcerer 5/ Swashbuckler 6
Half-Elf
City Watch background
12/20/14/8/10/16

AC 18 (Draconic Resilience and 20 Dex)
HP 81
Initiative +8

Proficiencies:
Athletics +9 (Expertise)
Acrobatics +9
Stealth +13 (Expertise)
Investigation +7 (Expertise)
Insight +4
Perception +8 (Expertise)
Persuasion +7

Primary Attacks:
Scimitar: +9, 1d6+5
Scimitar with Booming Blade and Sneak Attack: +9, 4d6+2d8+5
Shadow Blade with BB/SA: +9 4d8(5d8 if upcast)+3d6+5
Shocking Grasp: +7, 3d8 and lose Reaction

Metamagics are Distant and Twin. Distant is always only one SP so it's cheap, and this guy doesn't have a lot because of the heavy Rogue investment. Twin can be expensive, but this guy would have a melee buddy who would benefit from shared buffs. Quicken is probably a better general choice.

Cantrips:
Booming Blade (Distant for use with a whip... not necessary for a Swashbuckler, but it's cool)
Message (240' range with Distant)
Shocking Grasp (30' range with Distant to help an ally escape melee)
Thunderclap (10' radius with Distant)
Prestidigitation (cleanliness is important to Looking Good)

1st Level Spells:
Feather Fall (I would love to HALO jump off a flying carpet into a group of mooks and Distant Thunderclap to start a surprise assault)
Jump (Twinnable, non-Concentration mobility buff that synergizes with Cunning Action)

2nd Level Spells:
Enlarge/Reduce* (Can be Twinned on myself and another melee character, or Enlarge on self/Reduce on enemy to grapple ANYTHING if it sticks)
Shadow Blade*

3rd Level Spells:
Fly* (Twinnable)
Lightning Bolt (Distant for 200' range)

*= Concentration Spell

At his next Sorcerer level, he'll be able to add +Cha mod to Shocking Grasp and Lightning Bolt, and although it's not RAW, my DM will let me tack on the extra 3 damage to BB/Thunderclap as well.

With regard to leveling, Bobthewizard's way will give you an extra Skill and help out with your Int Saves.

If you start with 1 level of Dragon Sorcerer and then go Rogue, following his advice from there forward, you'll have Con save proficiency and you'll have a lot of the flavor of your character established by level 2.

Moving forward, this character would probably take two more Sorcerer levels for the origin feature, another 3rd level slot and 4th level spells (Greater Invisibility, Stoneskin and Polymorph are all Twinnable). Then alternating levels in each class, as they both offer good stuff in these levels.

[holywhippet]

Thanks for the advice so far. I was thinking of an inquisitive rogue since it has a feature which allows me to add sneak attack damage even if I don't have advantage or an ally adjacent to the target.

I had thought about the shadow sorcerer, but darkeness is a concentration spell and so is shadow blade.

I'd be taking at least 3 levels of sorcerer in order to get access to shadow blade. Possibly up to 5 or 6 levels if I can decide on some good level 3 spells to take.

[Corran]

Other than the obvious spells like shield and mage armor, what can I load this character with?
Assassinate. Shadow blade plays well with an infiltrator/assassin type of character. So I'd go with this angle.