Dex Sorcadin Build Help

[layinlow]

Hey guys, so imma be playing in my first dnd game. It seems quite deadly and i love the mechanics of the class so don't judge me too hard but I plan on going sorcadin. I rolled 14/18/16/14/9/14, order cant be changed. Don't have much experience with character building but wanted to ask for advice regarding a few things.

Something parts of the campaign of note are
-seems to be relatively deadly as mentioned, and most characters are between lvl 4 and 16, none above out of well over 100 total pc's. the highest players have played for a couple years.
-at levels 7 and 13, you get the opportunity at an additional feat (for 5k and 30k gold respectively), i was planning to take warcaster for mine and focus on asi's unless suggested otherwise
-according to server "some things will be interchangable for acrobatics/athletics, others won't" and not really sure to what extent that goes.
-starts at lvl 2
-large scale server/world, with multiple dm's

PC info/Questions
-intending to go 6 devotion/14 divine sorcerer if i make it that far
-was planning on going either half elf standard or half drow, unsure which is better
-was going to be using the racial asi's on wis and dex or con? not entirely sure which. Also was unsure if i should go the normal route of Cha Max first, or finish off that floating point of dex (or con) with elven accuracy/res (con) first
-for skills i was considering perception, persuasion, and between acrobatics/athletics for slot 3, intimidation/stealth for slot 4 if im going half drow.
-unsure with dex that high and wis that low if it would be better to just start sorcerer, or if paladin is still preferable

Those are most of the questions that i have about building, but if anyone has any suggestions on anything i haven't covered or instead of what i'm already doing let me know and thanks in advance for any help!

[ThatoneGuy84]

You have great rolled stats.
16 con is plenty - I dont see why you would bother increasing it any further.
Half elf will give you
2 Cha
2 other point (you could max dex right off the hop)
V-human if they allow at the table
Will allow you to still get 16 Cha keep 18 dex and start and a feat (can pick up warcaster right off the start - or some other feat)

I'm going to assume the half-elf build
You can easily wear light armor for the duration on the chars life with a 20 dex start.
If your going sword/shield you will want to pick up warcaster earilish if possible.
You really have a stat array they makes it simple to build alot of different charactor builds.

Leave the wisdoming to someone else in the party, dont waste precious ASI's on something that have little to no difference as far as your build is concerned.

[layinlow]

You have great rolled stats.
16 con is plenty - I dont see why you would bother increasing it any further.
Half elf will give you
2 Cha
2 other point (you could max dex right off the hop)
V-human if they allow at the table
Will allow you to still get 16 Cha keep 18 dex and start and a feat (can pick up warcaster right off the start - or some other feat)

I'm going to assume the half-elf build
You can easily wear light armor for the duration on the chars life with a 20 dex start.
If your going sword/shield you will want to pick up warcaster earilish if possible.
You really have a stat array they makes it simple to build alot of different charactor builds.

Leave the wisdoming to someone else in the party, dont waste precious ASI's on something that have little to no difference as far as your build is concerned.
Yeah, i figured warcaster asap is important unless im going straight pala 6 first, since its not massively useful for pure pala's until they get sorc levels. I was thinking 7 would be fine, but if i were to do it at 4 (or 5 if i do 1 lvl sorc) id be missing out on getting the cha boosts rolling, do you think its better to just pick it up at 7 or is that too long of a wait?

Also my understanding is you have to choose two different stats for the half elf +1's, so no matter what i can't max dex or anything like that no? thats part of the reason i felt like it seemed right ot shoot one of those +1's to wis, bc all my other scores are even so i'll always be floating 1 wasted stat until either elven acc or res (con), or doing a +1 to 1 stat +1 to other type of asi. Yee though I am happy about the rolls, i was just gonna do an array before i saw it, wasn't originally planning on going dex but once i saw that 18 its hard to resist lol wish i could change int and wis tho that 14 is kinda wasted.

[Dime]

If you start Sorcerer at level 1 then you get proficiency in Con saves, which is really good if you are going to be in melee and casting spells. You will still get medium armour, which is all you need.

You will spend a lot of time trying to hit things, so maxing Dex first might be better than maxing Cha first, especially if most of your big slots are spent on self-buffing.

Paladins really like crits, so if you're playing any kind of Elf or Half-elf you should think seriously about Elven Accuracy, and then about how you will get advantage. That also makes Oath of Vengeance an attractive option. You could put your racials on Dex and Wis and then bump your Dex to 20 when you take Elven Accuracy at Paladin level 4. Use your level 7 extra feat for Warcaster.

I don't see Drow magic being all that much use to this build, though Faerie Fire is nice for getting advantage. Mechanically I think it would come down to whether you will get all the skills you want with Drow.

[layinlow]

If you start Sorcerer at level 1 then you get proficiency in Con saves, which is really good if you are going to be in melee and casting spells. You will still get medium armour, which is all you need.

You will spend a lot of time trying to hit things, so maxing Dex first might be better than maxing Cha first, especially if most of your big slots are spent on self-buffing.

Paladins really like crits, so if you're playing any kind of Elf or Half-elf you should think seriously about Elven Accuracy, and then about how you will get advantage. That also makes Oath of Vengeance an attractive option. You could put your racials on Dex and Wis and then bump your Dex to 20 when you take Elven Accuracy at Paladin level 4. Use your level 7 extra feat for Warcaster.

I don't see Drow magic being all that much use to this build, though Faerie Fire is nice for getting advantage. Mechanically I think it would come down to whether you will get all the skills you want with Drow.
Perfect kinda thing im looking for advice wise, i appreciate it! I'm not sure actually how much of my slots are gonna be spent casting aggressively vs buffing, especially never having played before but i'd guess? they are mostly buffing. I hear a lot of mixed things for drow magic vs skill versatility so it ends up being hard to tell from a mechanical perspective haha I get most skills i'd like, although unsure between the whole acrobatics/athletics thing and if theres much of a point for stealth or medicine or insight on this kinda character. the big ones are persuasion/perception, one for the athletics/acro, and one for something else good probably intimidation i guess.

[Dime]

Perfect kinda thing im looking for advice wise, i appreciate it! I'm not sure actually how much of my slots are gonna be spent casting aggressively vs buffing, especially never having played before but i'd guess? they are mostly buffing. I hear a lot of mixed things for drow magic vs skill versatility so it ends up being hard to tell from a mechanical perspective haha I get most skills i'd like, although unsure between the whole acrobatics/athletics thing and if theres much of a point for stealth or medicine or insight on this kinda character. the big ones are persuasion/perception, one for the athletics/acro, and one for something else good probably intimidation i guess.
You definitely want proficiency in Acrobatics for beating grapple attempts in combat. Perception and Stealth come up all the time, so take them if you can. If you want to play the social pillar then all the social skills are good, but here I would think about how you want to RP. Is your Devotion/Divine Soul character really going to spend a lot of time threatening people and lying to them? Persuasion and maybe Insight might be more his or her style.

[layinlow]

You definitely want proficiency in Acrobatics for beating grapple attempts in combat. Perception and Stealth come up all the time, so take them if you can. If you want to play the social pillar then all the social skills are good, but here I would think about how you want to RP. Is your Devotion/Divine Soul character really going to spend a lot of time threatening people and lying to them? Persuasion and maybe Insight might be more his or her style.

No lying haha saw that deception is a big no no tenant wise, but it seems like intimdation could be a thing. I actually am considering vengeance more now because i found out flanking is a +2 to hit, so advantage seems harder to come by. Longstory short tho the background i had for him did kinda warrant a bit of a rougher character archtype with intimidation etc, escaped drow father that treated him like a slave, to a big city, caught stealing by paladins, ends up joining and taking vows as a form of redemption for the evil things he had to do while with parent/ to honor paladin mentor who died. perception is necessary for sure, but theres room to take a lot of different things skill wise. I figured social pillar was important as a paladin, but i'd also rather not be toooooooo at the forefront bc wants to hide background and not a huge talker of a character.

[layinlow]

You definitely want proficiency in Acrobatics for beating grapple attempts in combat. Perception and Stealth come up all the time, so take them if you can. If you want to play the social pillar then all the social skills are good, but here I would think about how you want to RP. Is your Devotion/Divine Soul character really going to spend a lot of time threatening people and lying to them? Persuasion and maybe Insight might be more his or her style.

Nevermind actually im dumb, i hadn't remembered the paladin skill list correctly so disregard a lot of what i said in that sense. It seems the only backgrounds in this campaign with acrobatics are gladiator and entertainer, so looks like i might need skill versatility afterall (still keeping the half drow aspect for rp tho). I think based imma take your advice on maxing dex first tho with elven acc, and may just go vengeance then instead of devotion as both work with my character type. I believe i have to start paladin tho unfortunately, as gold wise it starts out real tough, you only get background and class gear, stuff is significantly more expensive apparently on the island so after character creation itll be much harder after starting sorc to get a rapier, shield, and studded leather gold wise so i'll be hella gimped i think if im not paladin who gets most of that free.

[Dime]

Nevermind actually im dumb, i hadn't remembered the paladin skill list correctly so disregard a lot of what i said in that sense. It seems the only backgrounds in this campaign with acrobatics are gladiator and entertainer, so looks like i might need skill versatility afterall (still keeping the half drow aspect for rp tho). I think based imma take your advice on maxing dex first tho with elven acc, and may just go vengeance then instead of devotion as both work with my character type. I believe i have to start paladin tho unfortunately, as gold wise it starts out real tough, you only get background and class gear, stuff is significantly more expensive apparently on the island so after character creation itll be much harder after starting sorc to get a rapier, shield, and studded leather gold wise so i'll be hella gimped i think if im not paladin who gets most of that free.
If you're starting at a low level it's best to go straight Paladin for six levels anyway.

[ThatoneGuy84]

For starting/building up it's really your call how you level.
I would do Pally 2
Sorc 3
(With quicken and Booming blade or Greenflame blade you can still attack 2 x per round so it doesnt feel quite as left behind as youd think) depending on your partys "rests" situation.
If not, going Dex pally to 5 or 6 before mcing is also a fine option.
You right about the stat portion, apparently I never read it fully (I rarely play half elves)
Since most your stats are "even" the 2 dont make a massive difference, at least until you get another ASI / or feats (elven accuracy will make dex 19-20) if you want it.

[Dime]

For starting/building up it's really your call how you level.
I would do Pally 2
Sorc 3
(With quicken and Booming blade or Greenflame blade you can still attack 2 x per round so it doesnt feel quite as left behind as youd think) depending on your partys "rests" situation.
If not, going Dex pally to 5 or 6 before mcing is also a fine option.
You delay a lot of good stuff by stopping at Paladin 2 (Oath at 3, Feat at 4, Extra Attack at 5, Aura at 6), and while you can make two attacks if you burn your sorcery points on quickening a BB or GFB that always feels like a waste to me. Plus you're only going to be doing it once a day at level 5.

I think it comes down to whether you want to be mostly a caster who can still pack a punch in melee, or whether you want to be mostly melee backed up by magic. If you want to be a caster with melee options then going Paladin 2 is OK, but I would be sorely tempted by Hexblade. If you want to be mostly melee then your Oath, a Feat, and Extra Attack are all too good to delay.

[layinlow]

I appreciate all the help here from the thread! I decided to take skill versatility, since it let me pick up acrobatics and stealth which in this kind world are probably worth it I think especially with my Dex. I think I'll go straight paladin first for 6 levels, itd be nice to pick up sorc after lvl 4 but realistically since it's probably better to take warcaster at 7 I think I'll just wait till 6 is done. Since I'm doing that it pains me to not max cha first, but it just makes more sense to go elven acc at 4 and be max dex. I want to be more of a melee with caster options as opposed to the reverse which is why I'm thinking 6/14, tho so it probably works out nicely I hope. Thanks everyone ^^