Basic Questions about a Bard/Sorcerer

[Edea]

Put aside for the moment whether or not multiclassing these two together at all is a good idea (I'm pretty sure Warlock and Paladin are both better choices); let's assume the character's got to be a Bard/Sorcerer multiclass character, and only has those two classes.


How many levels of each class would you take/what's your break-off point? If learning a 9th level spell is off the table, what would your break-off point be then?
What archetypes (Sorcerous Origin, Bard College) would you select, here? (As long as it's been 'officially published' in some capacity, it's valid for this part).
What other variable class feature selections would you prefer (skill proficiencies, Metamagic options if any, etc)?
Which class would you start with/take at 1st level (mainly for proficiencies)?
Would you intersperse the levels between the two classes in some way as the character develops, or would you take all the levels you're going to take from one class first?
What feats do you think would be particularly useful for this character, if any?

[kobo1d]

Put aside for the moment whether or not multiclassing these two together at all is a good idea (I'm pretty sure Warlock and Paladin are both better choices); let's assume the character's got to be a Bard/Sorcerer multiclass character, and only has those two classes.


How many levels of each class would you take/what's your break-off point? If learning a 9th level spell is off the table, what would your break-off point be then?
What archetypes (Sorcerous Origin, Bard College) would you select, here? (As long as it's been 'officially published' in some capacity, it's valid for this part).
What other variable class feature selections would you prefer (skill proficiencies, Metamagic options if any, etc)?
Which class would you start with/take at 1st level (mainly for proficiencies)?
Would you intersperse the levels between the two classes in some way as the character develops, or would you take all the levels you're going to take from one class first?
What feats do you think would be particularly useful for this character, if any?


Sorcerer X/Eloquence 3 seems good, Silver-Tongue plus Persuasion/Deception Expertise to make your Sorcerer a social monster, Unsettling Words to combine with your save or suck spells 5/day. Subtle and Heightened can double down on those features, Twinned is too good to miss. Basically any Sorcerer subclass works here, I usually default to Divine Soul or Shadow. Going to Bard 5 makes the Unsettling Words refresh on a short rest, if you want to go farther into the dip. Starting with Sorcerer would be the easy choice for me, as you're only trading 2HP for Con Save proficiency. For progression, get one class to level 5 before branching out. War Caster and Lucky are good, Metamagic Adept (UA) could partially make up for the Bard dip in your metamagic progression.

[CTurbo]

Yeah Sorcerer and Bard mesh incredibly well together. A Bard having access to metamagic is dangerous thing. The tricky thing is trying to figure out how many levels of each class to take. I would personally want at least 5 levels of Bard for short rest Inspiration dice and 3rd level spells, but Bard 6 is a good to get the 6th level College features. I would want more Sorcerer levels for more Sorcy points, and Sorcerer 14 gets you the level 14 subclass feature.

If you wanted to be a Bard with just "some" Metamagic, Bard 14/Sorcerer 6 would be a pretty good split.

I could have a lot of fun as a Whispers, Glamour, Lore, or Eloquence Bard with Subtle Spell. That is just so..... dangerous.

[Edea]

I had a feeling one of the main break-off points for a character that was OK with not getting a 9th level spell known was Bard 5, due to Font of Inspiration.

Then again, sorcerer's the better class to start off with, due to Con save proficiency and the bard multiclass...actually giving you proficiencies.

I'm leaning towards Divine Soul if Sorcerer's the 'minor' on this character, as its main benefit is so front-loaded, but if Bard's the 'minor' that choice gets a bit more difficult (for me, at least).

[sithlordnergal]

I generally tend to make my Bards into either Warlock/Bards or Sorcerer/Bards. I find that you really only need 1 level of Sorcerer to get everything you want from the class. A single level of Sorcerer nets you an Origin, access to extra combat Cantrips, and access to some useful Sorcerer spells. Things like Shield and either Chaos Bolt, Magic Missile, or Chromatic Orb are particularly useful because they give you a ranged attack spell that deals something other than Psychic damage. You can take more levels in Sorcerer if you want, but its not really necessary.

[shipiaozi]

1. Multiclass sorcerer 1 after you get Staff of Power or Staff of the Magi, then get 9-level spell, then get sorcerer 3. What the point of multiclass sorcerer more than 3? I see none of them, so Bard 16/Sorcerer is the best choice if 9-level spell is off the table.

2. College of Valor/College of Swords are best choice because they already have medium armor and don't need to multiclass cleric or Hexblade. The best sorcerer is always the divine Soul, best 1-level trait and additional spells from cleric list.

3. Con is better than Dex, ideally I would start with sorcerer, but lost 1 level spell know before get Staff probably not worth it.

4. See 1

5. Like a normal caster, but ability +2 would become more attractive.

[FabulousFizban]

Bard/Sorcerer is good because they are both charisma dependent.

Go Divine Soul Sorcerer. Now you have access to 3 spell lists: Bard, Sorcerer, and Cleric, and you only need charisma. Also, you are still a full caster so make sure you take spells that you can upcast. Take Ritual Caster and gain access to a 4th spell list.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I'd go Divine Soul regardless of level split.

I'd go for more Sorcerer and less Bard, either a 5/15 split for 3rd and 8th level spells, or a 6/14 split for class features.

The Bard college sort of depends on the level split. For a 5/15 split pick Valor for medium armor and shield proficiency. For a 6/14 split it entirely depends on which college's 6th level feature you think is worth missing out on 8th level spells to have.


The difference between taking one or the other at 1st is as follows:
Weapon proficiencies (irrelevant if you go Valor, mediocre if you don't make many weapon attacks)
Two more instrument proficiencies (irrelevant except for RP or if your DM loves giving out magical instruments)
Bard at 1st gets +1 hp (8+4 vs 6+5 if using average)
Proficiency in Con saves vs Dex saves.

I'll agree that Sorcerer at 1st level is the way to go on this, unless you would already be spending a feat on Resilient: Con or Dex for whichever you don't have, in which case Bard at 1st brings a lot more to the table.


If this were my character, I'd make it a Satyr and go Divine Soul (Law) Sorcerer 1/ Valor Bard 5/ Sorcerer +14. Ability scores would be Str 10, Dex 13+1, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 15+2, first ASI would be +1 Con and Cha. Background would really depend on the game, and metamagic choices would be Heighten, Twin, and Distant.

Bards can ritual cast, and gets near-exclusive access to some pretty good spells. It can also be used to take utility cantrips and spells you want to keep forever, so I'd pick: Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery; Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Identify, Comprehend Languages, Unseen Servant; Heat Metal, Blindness/Deafness or Suggestion; Leomund's Tiny Hut, Hypnotic Pattern or Dispel Magic.