The Shadow Sorcerer: d4 #95
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- Our D&D 5e character build this week is a Sorcerer who's going Nova, but harnessing the powers of the Shadowfell to do so...
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Character Concept:(0:00)
Level 1:(10:49)
Levels 2-6:(19:57)
Levels 7-9:(32:53)
Levels 10-13:(38:51)
Levels 14-17:(45:43)
Final Thoughts:(50:00)
Outtakes:(52:22)
Math/Graph for this episode:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Master Nova Damage Comparison:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Thanks to LudicSavant for the amazing DPR calculator! forums.giantitp.com/showthrea...)
Music Credits:
Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/
Angevin 120 loop by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Fiddles McGinty by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/
Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/
Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/ - บันเทิง
After finally watching most of your backlog, this is where YOU belong! I'm glad you're here! Your content is my new favorite thing and thank you for making me feel so welcome with every video!
Aw, thanks!
@@DnDDeepDive Sorry for hijacking this reply, but I can't figure out how to address you in a comment =/
For the reroll feature of the Shadow Sorc you could model 5 of the damage die to have the modified average for a reroll with the threshold below the normal average, meaning you would reroll if the die shows a 3 or lower. This would give the reroll dice an average of 4.08 (instead of the normal 3.5).
I really love how Colby adds background story details. Shows that he doesn't forget the roleplay part while designing heros that can be absolutely bussssted. I'd love to dm a game full of Colby's builds
obligatory: There's a hound in the art? Where? comment.
Love that we get this build. Shadow Sorc is so interesting to me. Very much love the usage of different spells than normal like Blight and Disintegrate. Twinned disintegrate is chef's kiss
Not only can we Twin Disintegrate it...we can Quad Laser it. At level 17 there's just enough Sorc Points to get the Hound out, Twin Disintegrate, Action Surge, and Twin it again! Can easily upcast Bane to 2nd level on Round 2 after we sick the HOIO on the boss, and still target 3 hefty henchmen. Round 2 ideally would be Lightning Bolt and Crown of Star Motes on the boss. Soften them all up just enough. Round 3, aim for four neat piles of ash.
Flavor town:
Instead of pointing with just our index finger we now have a number of options. Good old fashion finger guns. Faux-recoil each blast as we beam four fools. The two-finger point to a pair, fingers back to our eyes, point to ANOTHER PAIR. We're watching you--all...die. Extend to point the index, then the middle, ring, and pinky. Aiming the thumb conveniently downward as four beams shoot out each tip. Heck, at this point they can probably just laser beam out of our eyes a couple times. Lord Superman style to get dark with it. For a creepier vibe more akin to the thumbnail art, form a couple different eyeballs on our face. Maybe just refract some light with angling our spectacles downward. Like a child dual wielding magnifying glasses against some ants.
A Sorcerer Build lets go! love the sorcerer they are so underrated. They really need to give all the subclasses an expanded spell list like in Tasha's
While not official content, the Dungeon Dudes did a video on potential expended spell lists for pre-tasha's sorcerer subclasses you may be able to convince your DM to use :)
Definetly. My DM gave my storm sorcerer an expanded spell list and it helps out so much
Love sorcerers. I would rather they go the other way with sorcerers, don't add more spells to them and keep the theme of limited versatility, thematic spell choice based on subclass, and give features that improve metamagic for the subclass theme. (I want to see more features like the 6th level psionic sorcery feature. It's so good and on par, better than free subtle spell on divination/enchantment spells for aberrant mind)
@@Leif47 indeed I did create one myself as well it was a lot of fun, and they did make a great video. I am ussually a dm so when I get to play I like to see if they will allow it either dungeon dudes or my own.
I added blood magic to sorcery too. Allows them to use blood for mat that cost money. 1 hp worth of blood per 50gp. It also makes sorcerers hunted by some mages due to the universal casting abilities that the blood gives.
I think it's worth mentioning the mind sliver cantrip for this build. It does an ok amount of damage, but more importantly offers another way to debuff enemy saving throws (especially with quickened spell). It would be nice to have when you are using another concentration spell instead of bane.
Yes, Mind Sliver over Poison Spray before quickening Lightning Bolt might increase average damage at level 6 (especially vs targets with high Dex and/or Con save bonuses)
Level 1:(see above) [sorcerer 1, sub-class & race]
Level 2:(see above) [sorcerer 2]
Level 3:(@20:14) [sorcerer 3]
Level 4:(@22:58) [sorcerer 4 & ASI]
Level 5:(@23:13) [sorcerer 5]
Level 6:(@24:51) [sorcerer 6]
Level 7:(see above) [sorcerer 7]
Level 8:(@34:01) [sorcerer 8 & ASI]
Level 9:(@34:44) [sorcerer 9]
Level 10:(see above) [sorcerer 10]
Level 11:(@39:50) [sorcerer 11]
Level 12:(@42:11) [fighter 1 & fighting-style]
Level 13:(@44:09) [fighter 2]
Level 14:(see above) [sorcerer 12 & ASI]
Level 15:(@46:11) [sorcerer 13]
Level 16:(@47:55) [sorcerer 14]
Level 17:(@48:52) [sorcerer 15]
Winning DnD is about making the best possible story. The best possible story requires the best possible characters. The best possible (main) characters are 1. Distinctive (consistently and compelling "themselves") and 2. Competent (which lets us be comfortable with getting invested in the prospect of "what will they do?").
All that to say, this channel provides just about the perfect mix of those two qualities and I think that's why I enjoy it so much.
(Thanks Colby!)
Background story concept: The fey made a deal with a entity from the shadow fell. You were the price. The fey spirited you away from your family to offer you as tribute to this entity. But before they gave you up, they blessed you with their fey magic, feeling some pity for you. Now you can even RP that the fey magic somewhat protected you from the shadowfell magic, so you appear a little more lively than other residents of the shadowfell. Anyways, I like this build. Good job!!
I've always thought the hound was a little underwhelming because of its low hp and ac at higher levels (10ish), but after watching this I've realized that its not meant to be tanking or anything like that its just a handy utility hound for disadvantage stuff. Maybe if you have a nice DM they would be cool with letting its hp scale like other class companions like the Wildfire spirit or something.
This subclass always felt very Malazanian for those who've read the MBofF. Happy to see the build! Also, thick Drow approved!
Yes!
Adaephon ben Delat is one of my favourite characters. Each time you summon the hound it could be a different one of the pack :)
@@jiminkpen9750 I was thinking Kellenved, but Quick Ben works too!
@@McTacoDelight nice.
I guess my head went to Quick Ben as he's more obviously a wizard/sorcerer type than Kellenved. I also love the shadow pack's interactions with him.
In what kind of rock I’ve been living under that I’ve never watched your videos before? Two videos already and I’m hooked with your character building. You rock!!
Ha ha thanks! And welcome :)
Your shadow sorcereress: "I'm darkness, I'm your curse, fear me for I will reap your soul."
Aimieel, drow shadow sorcereress, Waterdeep nightshift city guard, professional oddball, and clinically possessed by the spirit of a caffeinated squirrel:
"OMG SISTAH, we are officially twins let's braid each other...uhhh shadowy stuff?" ❤️
I’m stealing this character and having them as an NPC in my upcoming campaign
@@deadpoolrwbyfan8419 it feels like my kid is leaving home to travel the world. I love it.
Ok, as promised, comments on the build.... personally, I prefer DPS over Nova builds, but looking at the build, this could be a very SATISFYING character to play as for a player. The reason being, at least for a single target focus build, you potentially have the highest spell success rate for spell save DC-based spells.
This is amazing for those who are frustrated playing casters and having the majority of your spells saved and either half damaging or nullifying dmg all together. This leading to the caster being really frustrated and annoyed by a potentially wasted turn.
I am in the same boat as Colby, I love the Hound for this subclass, even with the apparent scaling issues. It adds a unique aspect of flavor for a subclass that you don't often see in other subclasses that also provides a great utility factor for the character. Great job Colby!
Background ideas:
1) a heritage of dark designs intended for your future from 1 or both parents.
2) the bastard offspring of Unseelie Court royalty/nobility with different routes you can take with what your position/reputation is within the Court. I'm kinda leaning towards this one for me personally.
You just make my freaking week every time you do the welcome home portion, I love and appreciate you and your genius vids man
Backstory I usually go with: I was a fae. My parents were faerie cultists who were attempting a dark ritual that would summon something awful from the shadowfell. The spell required a baby sacrifice. I was the price. But the spell failed thanks to some adventurers. So I wasnt killed. Just indeliably marked by the dark energy of the shadowfell. I grew up in the care of one of those adventurers, who taught me all I know
Man I love this channel. Your intros are so calming and positive and I absolutely love all the builds. Thanks Colby! :)
One of my favorite builds! It’s super easy to build and doesn’t require a ton of haggling with your dm. You get the high level features and a shadow friend! Love this!
Oh hey, I did (kinda) the math on Empowered Spell for Lightning Bolt! I didn't find an equation, just made a simulation to cast 10 million Fireballs and then reroll up to Charisma modifier 1s and 2s.
So using those assumptions along with a 20 charisma, the numbers are:
3rd level Fireball/Lightning Bolt: 28 normal, about 33 for Empowered failed save average damage.
4th level: 31.5 normal, about 37 for Empowered failed save average damage.
5th level: 35 normal, about 41 for Empowered failed save average damage. (This +40 is also a 6th level disintegrate)
6th level: 38.5 normal, about 45 for Empowered failed save average damage.
7th level: 42 normal, about 49 for Empowered failed save average damage.
8th level: 45.5 normal, about 52.5 for Empowered failed save average damage. (This +40 is also a 7th level disintegrate)
essentially, for spells that upcast with +1 die of damage, Empowered Spell is +1.5 levels - ish. Honestly, I don't think its worth it lol, ostly just because there are sooo many powerful metamagic options, even if you take Metamagic Adept, that I don't think I'd ever take it.
This is the thing though, you never use empowered spell if you only reroll one or two dice, you use it if you whiff like 4 or 5 dice, rolling 1s and 2s. 4 1s and 2s rerolled (let's say 1.5 average) goes from 6 damage to 14(3.5 * 4), which is 8 damage, and if it's five dice, it goes up to 10 damage. You can choose to use it after casting, so realistically it should never be wasted rerolling just one or two, or maybe even three dice. Empowered spell is essentially a contingency plan in case things go wrong. Simulating for the average case will usually cause it to simulate for rerolling 2 or 3 dice, which isn't really empowered spell's use case. Getting 8 or 10 more damage for an AoE spell, for one sorcery point is pretty good. That being said, I'd only take it if I had metamagic adept. Twin, quickened and subtle spell is too strong. I do like it as a 4th option though.
@@SnipeOSRS I totally agree that the simulation is flawed in that way, but for me, the issue that it takes a metamagic slot while having a low expected damage increase. If I don't use Empowered, it doesn't do me any good, and if the average case means I'm not likely to use it, Empowered loses value to me.
And the options after Twin/Subtle/Quickened are still really good. While it's not relevant to the build, Careful Spell I think makes your other turns better (not for blasts, but for Hypnotic Pattern and such) and Transmuted Spell is more valuable since "turning on" your nova round against resistance/immunity is a better contingency than protection against rolling low when the nova works, IMO.
This is a fantastic build and really explores the Sorcerer class in general , spell selection. My first 5e character was a white dragon blood Sorcerer with Warcaster and 20 CHR, even ray of frost is lovely at level 5, unlimited 2D8+5 dmg each round, with 1 sorcery point twin spell for 4D8+10 cold dmg!
I've been playing shadow sorlock for a while, so glad to see a shadow sorc build
Thanks so much for your builds. I’m currently using the Will Wheaton wizard build and having fantastic fun with it. Honestly it’s so much fun so thanks. And I’m happy to give a little bit back
Sweet build! Totally gonna try this out sometime!
Instead of bumping CON with later ASI's I think it might be fun to mention some more spellcasting feats that don't normally get a chance to shine. Metamagic adept would probably be what I'd take at lv8. Giving you 2 more meta magic choices and +2 sorc points doesn't sound like much but it is a pretty substantial buff for a sorcerer. It allows you to take. Choices careful spell to make fireball work, subtle spell for utility and make it easier to spare the points on empowered spell during the Nova.
Other fun options are eldrich adept to get a free invocation which can be very flavourful as a shadow sorc and give you fun utility options. Or just give you free infinite mage armour worst case senerio. Magic Initiate or ritual caster can also provide some nice utility with a spells like find familiar or cantrips like guidance. Getting access to toll the dead can also be a nice improvement over poison spray in most senerios.
Once again thanks for making such a fun video :) I hope you have a great rest of your day
Okay, this is spooky. I’ve been building a shadow Sorlock for the past week. Are you following me?!
Dude, YOU are following me, cause I was doing it too
Spoooooky
@@alxaviir2956 but... I was making one as well, who was following me? WHEN WILL THIS END!!!
Ive been following y'all without building one so no need to worry ^^
@@michaelfinnerty7240 NO I WAS BUILDING ONE
It must be Shadow Sorlock Season
Such great content! I really enjoy your method of optimization - it’s always entertaining
I would focus on the Mind Sliver instead of the other cantrips you mentioned. That would give you an additional 1D4 penalty to your opponents saving throws.
Came here to say this.
Yeah, I was hoping someone would mention this one. Better range, targets Intelligence, better damage type, actively helps with making saves worse...seems like it should have been the cantrip of choice.
In lieu of inflicting one opponent with Mind Sliver's psychic damage, Bane's advantage is affecting multiple enemies within 30' of the sorcerer. Both cantrips are situational.
@@G-Blockster Bane isn't a cantrip, so you can use both it AND Mind Sliver.
Colby went back to the metal opening theme because, "Shadow Darkness Edgy Waaaambulance Character." Made the day better.
A brilliant video to say the least.
I would love to See an "arcane gunslinger" at some point. A spellcaster focused on to-Hit and maybe Cone-Attacks (shotgun-style). Basically Fan the hammer with some eldritch-blast quickened spell scorching ray shennanigans, allowing hex because you "Focus" on an enemy.
You can send your Hound into a Wall or the Ground so he cant get attacked and just take the minium mount of DMG while he ends his Turn in a Objekt
There is a slight technicality that I believe makes this strategy impossible. "On its turn, it can move only toward its target by the most direct route, and it can use its action only to attack its target." -XGE p50
So TECHNICALLY it literally says the only method of movement can be towards the target. Furthermore, it doesn't state that you control the hound unlike other summons, which implies you cannot side step, lower or move the creature in any way other than towards the target. As a DM and player I find this ability super cool and would give my Shadow Sorcerer a magic item collar or something that granted them more direct control over the hounds among other boons though.
The trick to keep the hound alive and take advantage of the disadvantage, hold creature. You not only get it to land it will stick. As well for single target with or without bain use mind sliver to double down. You can lock them down completely. If you want to nova with it on your own quicken eldritch blast 5ft away for free crits on each hit for 2 sets
Hope your day is fantastic as well Colby! As ever love you and what you do for the community, cheers to blowing stuff up.
Almost 50k! You are getting there buddy!
Best thumbnail yet. Awesome.. looking foward to the build!
Thanks! Kudos to my friend Preston for his work on it :).
@@DnDDeepDive Gee thanks! :) - Preston
Between this channel and Tulok the Barbarian, Tuesday is the best day of the week
I actually went with lvl1 Fighter at the start in the current campaign I'm playing in for my Shadow Sorcerer, but I actually went with a melee build using the swift cast to cast green flame blade as a melee attack, and going for haste and as soon as I hit lvl6 to get the hound I'll dip another lvl in to fighter. Thinking of even going 4lvls in fighter and go with the Eldritch knight for a few extra cantrips and HP, and some RP flavor.
Love these sorcerer builds
I played this Wood Half-Elf Hexblade/Shadow Sorcerer, It was so much fun taking 3 levels in Warlock and the rest in Sorcerer.
If you’re interested you could totally try this build out and steal it, very fun being an Eldritch Machine Gun
I haven't watched this yet, but my favorite build is a Hexblade Shadow Sorcerer, and really exploit the hell out of being able to see through your own darkness. My normal build was a triple, Lock, Sorc, Fighter and going melee. However, getting 6 in both to use both pet features seems like it would be fun.
Love sorcerers and love this build, thank you!
Loving the Build!! I'm still hopefully waiting for a Haregon Jump Burst DPS build form you. Thank you for all your hard work and all of your content.
I really enjoy your content, I think I steal these builds more than I create my own. But I also like starting with your concept and tweaking around the build to best match the story.
I did a build like this a couple months ago, I was using Mind Sliver as my cantrip for that extra d4 subtracted from a saving throw. Yeah the damage is a lot lower, but an intelligence saving throw plus psychic damage is always nice! That paired with the hound and bane and NO saving throw is being passed.
That illustration is superb!
Also, 41:05 XD
I like the thought of flavoring the Crown of Stars, as you hinted, as tiny black holes; the reason they do radiant damage is not because light is exploding out from it, but rather all the light in the area is being momentarily drawn to the area of impact. Cool imagery!
I'm joining a new party at 13th level that very recently visited the Shadowfell, this inspiration couldn't have come at a better time! I went full Shadar-kai but I'm looking forward to seeing this class in action, and hopefully I can do it justice.
sorry if you've mentioned order domain cleric before (still working my way through every episode of this awesome series [over 75% done!]) but may i point out kind of a similar play pattern except more on the martial side of things. so in this build, you want to quicken bane and then immediately take advantage with your primary damage cantrip, which is awesome. order clerics however can cast certain spells as a bonus action, including hold person. so i always loved the idea of using hold person and then running up and smashing them with a big martial weapon for a guaranteed crit on the paralyzed target. just a correlation i thought about during this video. thanks for the sweet videos Colby
As far as the bad scaling goes, something to consider is you can summon more than one hound at high levels. Nothing in the feature says you can only have one
This was a cool build, and yeah, that art was amazing.
I want to thank you for having this calm and chill approach on your Vids without the attentionwhoring screaming while taking the Fluff always into account instead of senseless crunching.
Shadow Sorcerer is hard to do mainly - I think Rogue is fine but I prefer Fighter(Echo Knight) when it comes to mixing with Martials.
Aside that - just 2 Level Paladin for Smite and Heavy Armor.
But, this Class stands pretty solid on its own with just 2 Levels of something else - I recommend Wizzard(1) for circumventing the retricted Spells you have at hand and the Shool of Divination is pretty awesome for a Level 2 Feat.
All other Versions would make the other Class better but dilute the Shadow Sorcerer.
Another possible Solution is a Druid as Multiclass - always great choices. Shepherd grants you a Totem giving you or an Ally per Reaction advantage on Attack Rolls; Star allows a "Starry Form" (Advantage on Con saves or really potent Low-Level-Heals with Twinned Spell via Bonus) and also Guiding Bolt - the cheapest effect thing to Twin (and yes, you may recite Team Rocket now).
One important thing to note about Quicken Spell, and other bonus action spells: R.A.W. says that casting a spell as a bonus action means you cannot cast any other spells on your turn, excepting 1 action cantrips. That does mean that reaction spells are not available on that turn, including Silvery Barbs. If you Quicken a spell, you cannot use Silvery Barbs to force a reroll of the save against that spell.
That’s actually false. A bonus action spell and a reaction spell are different action spells.
@@BossTripp1 The rule for bonus action spells says that on a turn in which you cast a bonus action spell you cannot cast any other spells. The only exception is that you're allowed to cast a cantrip with a casting time of one action. Any reaction spells are, by default, not a cantrip with a casting time of one action, therefore you cannot cast one on a turn in which you cast a spell as a bonus action. It has nothing to do with bonus actions and reactions being the same thing because they are not. It has to do with the very specific rule about bonus action spells, and realizing that the restriction they entail against casting other spells on that turn also applies to reaction spells, not just actions.
So nice to see a shadow sorcerer! That was my first character I ever made! It was a half demon (custom race made with Dm permission, basically a Tasha’s variant before Tasha’s) and I took the shadow touched feat for flavor. He was the son of a woman who wanted power, so a demon made a deal with her for a child and as long as she up held her contract he would have the child and she would have power. He “poofed” a baby into her arms (theirs) and then took the baby to raise and dipped. As soon as she set the contract down he poofed back holding the contract and pointed to the “up hold” the contract and gave her the baby and took her power away. He was the resulting child. His mom hated him, he never knew his dad. SOOOO much fun to play… sadly the campaign died before level 3…
Can I just say, that i've recently found your channel and have been binging some of your videos.. and it's just so relaxing and chill, you have such a relaxing voice to listen to and really know your stuff, thank you for making this, keep it up
Awesome build dude. I played a shadow sorcerer for a while and had a lot of fun with that character. A cantrip that might go well with this build is Mind Sliver. It doesn't do much damage but the -1d4 to saving throws along with Bane and Hound of Ill Omen could cripple the saves of tougher enemies.
Very cool build! I made a Shadow Sorcerer once, also intended to capitalize on the disadvantage on saving throws from Hound of Ill Omen. Except rather than blasting, I doubled down on control and debuffs. Synaptic Static, Slow, Hold Monster... I even used Quickened Spell to first further debuff the enemy's saving throws with Mind Sliver, and THEN nail them with the big control spell I needed. Damage was predictably low, both because I didn't pick many intended for that, and enemies were all resistant to the stuff I did pick.
It was a solid character, I just think I was too inexperienced to really make it shine in practice. My decisions when we were in the thick of battle weren't the best, and I was prone to panicking because I was making everyone else wait while I looked through my spell list for whatever was best for that turn. Hopefully I've improved enough that I'll make better use of characters like this.
Really cool build!!
Bane is a very useful spell that could easily be upcast to effectively affect an entire room
The -d4 to attacks is basically giving a +2.5 AC, more AC than what spells that improve AC give (generally +2), to EVERYONE
And your party would LOVE that you help all of them land their save spells
I got this character concept I would love to see realized, a dive bomber sort or character. Could be a final fantasy dragoon type, or someone who worships meteors and wants to be one. Could be a grappler that flies and slams enemies. I'm giddy thinking about something you could throw together!
And I just found your dive bomber video! 😂
Playing a save or suck caster with hound of ill omen is so much fun. Being able to drop otherwise risky spell casts like hold person or dominate with disadvantage on your target(s) is so rewarding and fun.
I am currently playing a shadow sorcerer, for her backstory her magic came to her when she became a Dhampir, she "survived" a vampire attack. Which has led to some interesting roleplay as the party kind of figures out what she is. Went with the option that she doesn't breath when she sleeps.
For a shadow sorcerer, if there is a an aspect of social interaction and roleplay in the campaign you are in Subtle spell is incredibly useful, beyond not being able to be targeted by counterspell you can also use it to use spells such as suggestion in social situations without anyone knowing you used magic.
My favorite part about the hound is the fact that you can have multiple out at once.
For animate Objects, you can by the power of lore and research, still achieve full damage via a few means.
1) You can animate non-standard materials as long as they aren't magical. Silver, Adamantine, etc. Basically anything mentioned in a stat block.
2) You can dip the items in something after animating. Holy Water, oil, poison, etc.
Thank you so much for this vid. I’m waiting for Rogue Mastermind build ❤️
I know this is a bit odd, but this build got me thinking about the spell flesh to stone. I think a build like shadow sorcerer that prioritized making enemies fail saving throws might just be the perfect character to figure out how to use that spell effectively. you know whats better than damage after all? turning your enemy to stone, and then breaking off their head! something like silvery barbs+ disadvantage on saving throws might actually make the spell likely to work out after all.
How I went for a shadow sorcerer: I went half-elf (of drow descent), took elven accuracy and emphasized on things that worked well with advantage. Of course, see-through darkness helps a lot with that. Took shocking grasp as a backup, shadowblade+twin/quicken booming blade, twin haste for my allies. The combo for the hound of shadow was dissonant whispers (I got through fey touched but also through certain backgrounds). Summon hound, dissonant whisper, both you and your hound get AoP. All the defensive spells (mage armor, shield, silvery barbs) because you end up close to the enemies sometimes.
" so the Sorcerer conjures - from the deep arcana of bestial history - a composing shade."
I'm imagining a Brotherhood of the Wolf/Bloodborne kind of character in this role; a monster hunter who fights fire with fire, or in this case, shadow with shadow. Compelling stuff
I love this build. It might be weird to say here, but i don't actually care about the numbers particularly. I love these videos because i know i can trust Colby to optimise around the theme and i love the themes he goes for. And this character really sounds fun to play thematically.
Im going to have to build one for a game, i think.
Sorcerer is a lot of fun and underrated. Hound of Ill omen is a great feature that goes under the radar.
Here's an interesting idea, make a build around ritual casting or a "force wizard". Tensers disk is so underrated. It involves dm buy in but it could be so fun
I have yet to see one of your videos I haven't absolutely loved, but this one more than any other had my absolutely gidy. Big thanks you covered a few things I hadn't considered.
I just laid out a rough draft for my next character a few days ago as a Shadow Sorcerer, at least through level 12 where our games usually wrap up.
I'm planning more crowd control and debuff than damage, and dipping 2 levels of undead warlock. I'm really eager to stack Bane and Mind sliver with Form of Dread and Synaptic Static. Plus cuddly doggos.
Damage was a second thought, but now I'm going to make a couple metamagic and spell tweeks... why not also put out some decent damage if everything else seems under control.
Damn Colby, my heart. That intro blew me away.
I was partial to a character of mine that was a Shadow Sorcerer / Ancients Paladin hybrid. Character was a Yuan Ti Pureblood that was abandoned as a baby for being born with albinism, and raised by a wholesome retired knight to be a good boi. The whole nature/nurture thing was decently compelling imo. And from a gameplay perspective, using Shadow Hound to knock people prone to get advantage on weapon attacks was dope.
I'm so looking forward to an Abberant Mind sorcerer now. Twinned Spell and Psionic Sorcery and so much more for a control/damage build!
Oh my gosh, the more I think about Abberant Mind, the better it looks. Cheap Catnap, Charm Monster/Person, Detect Thoughts, Dissonant Whispers, Dominate Person, Hold Monster/Person, Silvery Barbs, Synaptic Static, and so much more.
Not to mention free Subtle Spell and the effects of Metamagic like Twinned Spell
When I saw the thumbnail, I said “YESSSSSS 👹👹👹”
Love the metal intro being back 👌 and love the content Colby. Any spots open at your table? I just learned a new build to try haha 😄
Rewatching this because I’m building a shadow sorcerer for a new campaign. This has really helped my build. For what it’s worth, here’s a few different selections I’ve made for a more DPR focus than Nova:
-Custom Lineage feat: Shadow Touched. Severely thematically supportive, plus the Shadow Walk feat achieves the Misty Step effects similarly enough. Grants free invisibility and another spell (I chose inflict wounds to later pair with Distant spell)
-3 levels of hexblade tome warlock. Invocation to gain advantage on concentration checks, plus the devastating Agonizing Eldritch Blast. Hexblade gives armor/shield bonuses, plus CHA for weapons in case you find an enemy closed the gap (could with Booming Blade and Warcaster). Add Hex to your blasts and keep your Hound up when possible. Tome provides ritual casting to offset sorcerer’s painfully limited known spells availability, as well as extra and wonderful cantrips
Great video, I love the hound!
Just a heads up if you really want to make sure someone fails their save, you can quicken Mind Sliver to give them another minus d4 from their next save (presumably the spell you are about to spend your action on) and it stacks with Bane 😁
You would have to do this the other way around because of weird DnD Bonus Action spell rules (you can only cast cantrips on your turn if you cast ANY spell as a bonus action, even another cantrip), but the end result is the same. And it's a saving throw cantrip, which means it combos with hound as well. Pretty brutal lol
Cool build I am playing as a Yuan-ti pureblood shadow magic sorcerer if you want your sorcerer to be on the same level as the newer sorcerer subclasses make sure you pick Dimir operative as your background but it does come from Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica so make sure you talk with your DM before picking this background luckily my DM is very laid back person but not every DM is like my DM
A fun vid and always worth sticking around to the end. I too have ancestry from Sweden. They moved to Canada in 1685 and from Canada to the US 200 years later in 1865.
Hej Hej!
I don't play dnd much anymore but still watching your videos ♥
Cool art for the video btw
Its his alter ego! :D
Frankly the fact that your type of optimization is to double down on what makes something unique, rather than say ‘flavor is free’ and pretend this weapon/feature is a different one so you can take the most powerful option, is why this is my favorite DnD channel. Plus the stories for the characters are nice
Everytime I look at shadow sorc I think "hmmm how can I make use of hound?" and always end up trying to do some control oriented build to little effect cause the best CC is often aoe CC (perhaps until you get hold monster)
So I always end up ramming my head into a brick wall
Using it for nova damage never even crossed my mind! Cool build
For a loquacious gentleman, you have an amusing affinity for abbreviations.
❤️
Looking forward to see a "Love & Thunder" build!
I'm currently working on a Saving Throw debuffer build with Shadow Sorcerer and some levels in Eloquence Bard. But it's always interesting hearing other people's ideas like in the video.
Enjoy the builds and also the application of the sometimes ignored spells that prove useful under the right circumstances.
I love me a good sorcerer build!! I still need a good aberrant mind build from Colby tho!
Another great flavor for the Shadow Magic Sorcerer with the Fey Touched, in the Feywild lore, there are the Seelie and Unseelie courts, and the Unseelie court has a lot of shadow magickey stuff with it. You could be someone from the actual feywild, and for one reason or another you've found yourself in the material plane. Perhaps you're on a mission from a great archfey (which could potentially let you take archfey warlock levels as well, giving you access to *ELDRITCH BLAST* and some extra flavor!). You could also go Hexblade warlock as well, just cause'.
Personally though, I love the flavor of the shadowfell magic sorcerer, so to capitalize on that I'd actually go undead warlock 6 probably from Van Richten's Guide. The Form of Dread can be really nice for the flavor of the shadow magic, and having this undead patron just makes sense!
But of course, this is a pure shadow sorcerer (sort of!) build, which is also absolutely valid! Love the shadow magic!
Great video, currently playing a shadow sorcerer. Don't overlook casting hold person/creature and then casting disintegration. They auto fail dex saves if they are being held.
Shadow sorc is one of my fave sorcs theme wise and like you hound of ill omen is my build around ability. i went a different route though instead of playing it like a striker i went with the summoner route that you mentioned other classes are better suited for. It actually does very well as a summoner now post-tashas because of summon draconic spirit. with warcaster and a more melee sorc (i dipped cleric 1 for some spells and armor/shield profs), i would cast a dissonant whispers with the enemy at disadvantage beside me, my hound (pack tactics provides advantage ) and draconic spirit. the enemy would provoke 2 opportunity attacks and another spell from me via war caster and still have to suffer 3 attacks and a draconic breath afterwards. the burst dmg was pretty solid.
anyway here's how to compute empowered spells impact dice-wise: per reroll substitute the average of each possible roll below the average then add them all up and divide them by the number possible rolls. for example on a d6:
3.5 + 3.5 + 3.5 (substituted 1-3) + 4 + 5 + 6 = 25.5/6 = 4.25 is your new average dmg with empowered spell on a d6 which is 0.75 higher than the normal 3.5 average
on a lightning bolt and with a cha 20 you have 8d6 with 5 possible rerolls. so normally on average lightning bolt does:
3.5 x 8=28
with empowered spell:
(4.25 x 5) + (3.5 x 3)= 31.75
so essentially empowered spell just added 3.75 points of dmg for you. with that said empowered spell works better with high dice values such as the d12 of witch bolt or the d10 of inflict wounds.
I'm currently playing a character based on a similar concept: rather than nova, debilitation and support (witchcraft-flavoured). I started as Eloquence Bard for Bane and Unsettling Words (inspiration die as penalty to saves; also, cackling at enemies to unsettle them is pretty fun) before switching full-time to Shadow Sorcerer for metamagic and Hound. This delays access to the Hound and high level spells (but we're still full caster), but bard has decent debilitation early and there's a grateful Monk on the team. I also created them before Silvery Barbs/Fey-Touched were released, so I picked Fey-Touched later FOR Silvery Barbs.
I just wanna say, your voice is incredibly soothing and is perfect to fall asleep to.
Thank you! 😴😴😴
Using animate objects on 10 silver coins is my go to for that whole resistance thing.
I'm currently playing a shadow sorcerer in Tomb of Annihilation, and the flavor is SO good. I went changeling and have fun shenanigans with that, but not understanding the difference between interacting with the living and the dead is such a hilarious character concept. Thanks for the tips on how to make this subclass work!
Love you and all your vids man!
Oh man the story I imagine for this character is awesome! I imagine them as a descendant of a fallen fey, some Eladrin or fey creature that was banished from the Feywild and into the Shadowfell for something they did (or were accused of doing), even having their loyal pet, a blink dog, turned into something dark and twisted. You as the character would either have great hate towards the fey looking to wipe out the court responsible for banishing your ancestor or alternatively you may be trying to clear their name and be embraced by the Feywild once more.
Midna from Twilight Princess 🙃
@@oathboundhero1782 OH MY GOD YES
Character concept idea!
So we all know that what makes a good "tank" is not just being as durable as possible, but actually being able to protect your allies, as otherwise you will just be ignored. Well, what about a tank build that tries to maximize both durability and DPR against a single target? That way, your enemies cannot simply ignore you. Perhaps the archetype could be called the Juggernaut
Speaking of the Goblin's Fury of the Small feature, I've been toying with a short rest based nova character (a short-napper, or snapper, if you will) where they get back all of the resources needed to do their nova damage on a short rest rather than a long rest, and the goblin would be the perfect race for that build since their Fury of the Small damage comes back on a short rest. I haven't gone in-depth into the build yet, but my initial thought is to go at least 4 levels of battle master fighter to get the superiority dice, which come back on a short rest, and at least 10 levels in Genie Warlock so that you can use eldritch smite and get the Sanctuary Vessel feature so that your short rests are only 10 minutes. There might also be an argument for going monk, since ki comes back on a short rest, but RAW, you need 30 minutes to get your ki back, so 10 minutes in the Sanctuary Vessel wouldn't work.
Hell ya, new build, LETS GOOOO!!!
(Comments to come on build after I watch)
Best content out of Utah , ever. Colby is the master of the mini max
Cool build, as always! I think that TREANT Monk might have some strong objections against your use of Blight :)
Shadow Sorcerer is my absolute favorite Subclass/Class. Good to see it get some love here! I absolutely treasure the fact that you built this around the Hound of ill-Omen. With regards to the Metamagic, I was actually thinking Subtle spell, because not saying a word when you cast a spell while your hound attacks is pretty dark, lol. But also, what do you think about the Metamagic Feat? Getting two extra SP could help offset the cost of 3SP each time you summon the hound. AND, perhaps allowing us to have 2 hounds at once? Great video Colby, cheers!
Currently playing a shadow sorcerer debuff build with some nice DPR. Mind sliver, quicken hold person works great because your hound auto crits and they auto fail strength save when paralyzed so they are knocked prone with hound attacks, plus you can continue to mind sliver round after round until they break free or die, but they have to overcome saves at disadvantage minus d4, and their saves from mind sliver are ALSO at disadvantage. If you need them dead quick upcast Inflict Wounds(shadow touched feat) with advantage and that also auto crits, for some scary damage.
Also higher levels, replace inflict wounds with disintegrate. Paralyzed foes auto fail STR and DEX saves. Ouchies! Upcasted inflict wounds still does more damage on average, but you could still miss high AC foes and you have to be up close. Disintegrate just lands, which is awesome for such a big spell.
Witchlight hand background for sure!