Also, in regards to "when to use Quicken Spell", one of the really underappreciated uses for it (especially in the earlier levels before you learn Sunbeam) is to quicken your spell in order to use your Action to Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or use items. So many players tunnel vision into casting spells and forget Dash and Dodge actions are often incredibly beneficial in the right circumstance.
Yes! It's great to get in the habit of asking yourself, "What if _this turn_ I could..." "... reposition myself without incurring opportunity attacks _and_ cast this spell?" "... cast this spell _and_ outrun my enemies?" "... cast this spell _and,_ until my next turn, impose disadvantage on all attack rolls against me and gain advantage on Dex saves?" "... cast this spell _and_ use a healer's kit or potion to save my ally?" And don't forget the Hide action. "What if I could cast this spell _and_ go unseen, which imposes disadvantage on attacks against me, makes my enemies unable to target me with non-attack spells (including Counterspell), and gives me advantage on my next attack?" Or the Ready action: "What if I could cast this spell _and_ prepare for something I expect to happen before my next turn?" Going prone imposes disadvantage on attacks against you from farther than 5 feet, but even at longish range (60+ feet) most casters have to be afraid that in a pinch it will heavily limit their movement on their next turn. Sorcerers who can afford to use Quickened Spell (if needed) have much less to worry about in that regard. Action economy is king in 5e, and these actions allow you to do a lot more than other casters.
This comment got me thinking about items that sorcerers can use better than other players because of Quickened Spell: items with non-spell effects that cost an action. Turns out there's a lot of cool stuff you can do, and you should really get priority on those items. For example, in combat you can... ... debuff enemies' saving throws with Synaptic Static, Mind Sliver, or (for Divine Souls) Bane, and then immediately use any item (non-spell) effect that forces a saving throw; ... shove an enemy with a _Ring of the Ram_ into the area you're about to nuke with your main spell, or push an adjacent enemy away so you can maneuver, or knock an enemy spellcaster out of Counterspell range, ... or, _after_ the main spell, push them into that spell's area of effect, so they immediately get hit with Web, Sleet Storm, Cloudkill (double the expected damage this round!), or Sickening Radiance (double damage _and_ up to two levels of exhaustion as they start their turn) before having to make a second save at the beginning of their next turn; ... find invisible foes with a _Gem of Seeing_ or the "protective aura" of the _Rod of Alertness_ and hit those foes with a spell before they can pull any shenanigans; ... blind enemies in various ways with a _Gem of Brightness,_ an _Eversmoking Bottle,_ the "insect cloud" of the _Staff of Swarming Insects,_ or a _Ring of Invisibility_ so they can't effectively use a range of reactions; ... try to snag an enemy with a _Rope of Entanglement_ or a _Tentacle Rod_ to give him disadvantage on the Dex save against your main spell (Disintegrate? Reverse Gravity? Web for double restraints? Just don't use a spell that destroys the _Rope_ too); ... frighten multiple enemies with a _Wand of Fear_ so that they (a.) can't use reactions and (b.) have disadvantage on ability checks they'll need to break free of your Web/Telekinesis/Maximilian's Earthen Grasp spell (all good combos because they can stop the enemies from moving away from the source of their fear) or see through your illusions; ... or, even better, incapacitate enemies with a _Wand of Paralysis_ or _Robe of Scintillating Colors_ right before casting a spell with a Strength save, Dex save, or attack roll; ... use a _Cube of Force_ or a _Bead of Force_ immediately after casting Fear to prevent frightened enemies from running out of view; ... or set the _Cube_ to block gases and cast Cloudkill nearby; ... or use a _Bead_ on a group of foes and then Levitate all of them at once, no matter how heavy they are, with no additional save, and then they'll fall hard instead of safely (since you targeted the bubble, not the creatures), ... or, for enemies in a corner or small room with one exit, use an area-of-effect spell like Silence to stop casters from doing most of what they want to do (including Dispel Magic) and then use the _Cube_ to prevent them from escaping, ... or simply use the _Cube/Bead_ to prevent a Counterspell; ... summon a creature with a _Figurine of Wondrous Power_ or similar item and cast a spell on that creature (Polymorph? Haste? Enlarge? Invisibility?) or its target on the summoned creature's first turn; ... take off with the _Wings of Flying_ or a _Carpet of Flying_ to reposition yourself for whatever you want to cast this turn; ... cast a spell and then vanish to the Astral Plane with the _Robe of Stars_ for safety, then you can come back and cast another spell on that turn if you still have a pair of sorcery points; ... fire off the _Ring of Shooting Stars_ for extra damage / concentration saves and still be able to cast your main spell; ... and so on. So many possibilities with Quickened Spell.
Wait, question. Does quicken spell allow you to cast 2 spells that requite a spell slot? Like sunbeam? I thought it only allowed a spell and cantrip, not 2 spells
@@Sovann_the_Mighty You're correct. If you cast a spell with a casting time of a bonus action, the only other spell you can cast that turn is a cantrip with a casting time of one action-though I think most DMs would allow you to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 reaction instead.
As much as it flack as it gets, and admitting that there are stronger options, I love Disintegrate. The fact that you can Twin it, it doesn't require concentration, does a boat load of damage when you need it to (especially in combination with other spells like Telekinesis or Hold Monster), AND can affect the world in meaningful, permanent ways should never be overlooked. There are so many problems that aren't creatures that can be solved by turning something to dust. Have an army crossing a massive bridge to kill you? Dust bridge, no more army. Need to get through a wall? No more wall. And one that I just recently did, do you have a group of archers or cannons firing at you from a tower? No more tower. I feel like too many people look at the damaging aspect of Disintegrate and ignore the out of combat applications, so I will continue to mention it every time its relevant to the conversation. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
I consider disintegrate an essential spell to have in the party. The amount of encounters I've seen failed or end in tpk's simply because no one could deal with a well placed wall of force or a forcecage is honestly insane. Not taking it is a huge risk because of those two spells alone, the numerous other applications for it are just icing on the cake.
Disintegrate is awesome. Especially if you can restrain or stun the enemies first. You bring up a great point about the out of combat utility. I usually overlook that myself...
Disintegrate is also a lovely way to solve puzzles for unlocking a door. And after your DM figures out that the door should be magical to counteract that... tunnel through the wall next to the door.
Rules as Intended, you can't Twin Spell Metamagic Disintegrate, FYI. The Errata released by Wizards of the Coast explicitly states that spells that *can* target objects are ineligible to be used with Twin Spell. imgur.com/gallery/A9DhEd9
Agreed! I was surprised they didn’t take it. They have several attack cantrips with different damage types, but they are all attack rolls. Why not Mind Sliver with an Intelligence Save (one of the worst saves for most creatures), Psychic Damage (one of the least resisted), and a potential penalty on the next save which works perfectly with Quickened Spell?
Any caster that has access to Mind Sliver should take it. INT save, Psychic damage, & a debuff to the next saving throw. It's a mean cantrip, & even better because it's D6 over Vicious Mockery's D4.
Lemme tell you, I immediately asked my DMs if I could use Mind Sliver when the new spells came out and they agreed. I have yet to have an enemy pass a DC check against any of my spells. Grab it
@@natashasurvivallady8021 What other options do you usually take? Misty step is typically the only one i want to cast when captured. My typical other use for subtle spell is to cast things like detect thoughts or suggestion mid conversation.
@@___i3ambi126 Dimension Door and Teleport are both the same way as Misty Step, and if you get there Time Stop is as well, and can actually combo with the teleport spells. Subtle Spell also gets rid of Somatic components, so all of your cantrips/spells that only require VS are fair game. Just filter out anything with a material component, and you could be struck dumb with your arms removed and still cast your heart out.
You don't need subtle spell for that unless by "tied up" you mean gagged, as well - Misty Step requires a verbal component only. That said, I do think that subtle spell is an under-used/rated metamagic option.
I actually love that you specifically mentioned the fact that you went over which lower level spells to hold onto as you get stronger. I’d love to see that approach across other Mage videos. Another super video, Dudes! Way to go!
Crown of stars is another great pick for 7th level spell slots. No concentration, bonus action 4d12 on a spell attack which basically always hit at that level
I'm so disappointed theres no love for Crown of Stars, it weaponises your bonus action so so nicely, 4d12 radiant damage 7 times is really nothing to sneeze at.
And the best part? Not having to concentrate on it! Any time I play a high level caster I'm always trying to get more nonconcentration spells since something like twinned haste is likely to eat up your concentration and it's great, but you need more to do.
Another honorable mention for me is Crown of Stars (7th level). It's non-concentration, if you hit with every attack roll it's 28d12 damage, and you only need to use a bonus action on your turn for each attack. Also if you are worried about the 1 hour duration you can double it with extended spell. I have it on my Aberrant Mind sorcerer and it's beautiful!
@@Arkegox You can only cast one leveled spell a turn. So as he said you can’t cast sunbeam AND fireball. It only allows you to cast a leveled spell and then a cantrip. Like firebolt as an action then quicken fireball as a ba.
I think they meant: Quickened sunbeam to fire twice on turn 1. Then turn 2 use sunbeam and quicken crown of stars to get that rolling. From turn 3 onwards you can sunbeam and shoot a star every turn. I tend to have crown of stars up way before combat though so I don't have to use an action to get it rolling 👌
I just twin-hasted my groups Paladin and Fighter last night in out fight against Strahd, tanked 3 fireballs, and maintained concentration long enough for them (and our Rogue) to take on 7 undead and Strahd himself. It was awesome!
Currently also doing the twin haste thing. However once I get 4th level spells I am switching to greater invisibility. That is because I have the elven accuracy feat. 3 dice attack rolls? Yes please hehe.
Blindness/Deafness is a fantastic spell that you left out. It scales nicely when you upcast it, and it's such a great way to shut down enemy casters. So many spells rely on being able to see your enemy, and if the enemy can't see, they can't use these spells. And that includes Counterspell. It's a great feeling to make the DM have to check the spell descriptions to see whether or not his blinded BBEG is still able to use them or not. And all of your martial characters are getting advantage on all of their attacks against the blinded enemy, too. And best of all, it is not concentration, so you can use it while you're concentrating on a twinned Polymorph or twinned Haste. P.S. Blindness/Deafness is especially great for a Shadow Sorcerer that puts a Hound of Ill Omen next to the target.
Honestly one of my favorite spells. 5th level hieghtened blindness has ended entire encounters for me more reliably than anything else. Plus I've used it in place of misty step to avoid opportunity attacks (misty step is obviously better) but hitting a blindness and just walking away leaving an enemy gutted is awesome.
The hard part of the sorcerer is picking a limited number of spells from an extensive list. The hard part of the Divine Soul Sorcerer is that you have access to two lists!
True. Be sure to pick strategically from the Cleric spell list: 1st lvl Healing Word/ Shield/ Magic Missiles/ Command, 2nd lvl Shatter/ Spiritual Weapon/Misty Step /Scortching Ray, 3rd : Circle of Protection/ Fireball/ Counterspell 4th. Polymorph/Call Construct and you will be very versatile and effective..
I'm playing a shadow sorcerer who is at level three right now and I've been going back and forth on some spell choices coming up so this was a perfectly timed video for me.
Great job on touching on how there are many ways to play a sorcerer (blaster, utility, etc) I think that's a super important point about sorcerers that many people don't talk about.
We have a Sorcerer in our group and we're about to hit level 4. I've a Druid, & at level 4 I'm planning to pick up the feat Telekinetic (as you two have advised) so I can try to push folks into the Sorcerer's area effect spells.
I feel like each sorceror knows so little spells that they can't even get a majority of the spells that i feel like every sorcerer should have, like shield, counterspell, dispel magic, detect magic. Other classes just don't have this problem of picking and choosing with their best spells even the warlock and the bard are generally satisfied with what spells they have, bards knowing more spells warlocks not needing lower level options when they only have higher level spells. It's just not a healthy place for the sorcerer they should have more spells. Maybe sorcerer origin spells for each subclass
I read somewhere that the sorcerer makes you specialize in only a few spells to test your creativity along with mostly being a supportive class and not strictly a damage dealer. I don’t really agree with that, but it does help explain why the sorcerer has fewer spells. It is still annoying
@@couragew6260 Well, the sorcerer can be a damage dealer, but that’s gonna be all it is. The sorcerer as is forces you to specialize in one specific playstyle. Wanna deal damage? You can AMAZING at that, but you’re gonna be bad at everything else? Wanna debuff? Buff? Focus on illusion? Same deal
@@yooooo8600 *Sigh 😞 You make a good point; it just doesn’t seem like a good idea to leave fewer spell options. You only get 15 spells. An extra 3 doesn’t sound too bad. Including their spell books, Wizards could learn 25 spells and Bards can learn 22 minimum
Sorcerer's get to maximise the spells potential damage with metamagic. Twin polymorph. Twinned haste. Empower fireball. Careful AOE spells to save party members. Distant spell and/or spell sniper for fireball or wall of fire for battlefield control when you use aarakocra to fly above and manipulate the field to channel enemies or clear routes. Plus double the spell slots early on by trading metamagic points and spell slots. High charisma helps in game play as well so it is advantageous for more than just magic. They are creative and enhance spells. But not the longest lasting or versatile. When you get a level 4 spell slot like polymorph for the first time. It's already broken as a way of adding HP to a character. 157HP for giant Ape. By twinning it, you can use 1 Lvl 4 slot to increase the health pool by 314 and damage output of Spellcasters who have spent their slots to 6d10+12 or ranged attack 50/100ft 7d6+6. No other class can help allies as much at this level. Or for a 4 player party which is a common size. Turn 2 into giant eagles and now you all have flight as they can carry one character each. Twinned spell is OP.
Honestly its the main reason why aberrant mind and clockwork soul are the two best subclasses. Not only do you get good utility spells but if you want you can also swap them out for warlock,sorcerer,or wizards spells of the same level (with the spell school restriction). As a clockwork soul for instance, if you arnt using the included alarm spell, once you level up you can swap it out for Armor of Agathys which is a extremely good upcast.
very much like how you guided through the spell choices at different levels !! lately have been using the metamagic option of "transmuted spell" as a basic utility to circumvent resistance and immunity issues, and it costs just 1 sorcery point - can transmute your fireball to thunder damage, cone of cold into acid damage, etc.
My 5th level wild magic sorcerer: 1st - burning hands 2nd - Enlarge Reduce, Invisibility, 3rd - Fireball, counterspell. He also has a home brew 2nd level spell called “Touch of Chaos” where we roll a 1d20 to find out what happens (low roll = bad for me, high roll = bad for you)- it’s awesome fun and makes up for the general lack of “wild magic” themed spells.
As a new-to-the-game sorcerer, this video is a blessing! 🙏I know some things are definitely not up-to-date (since Strixhaven and a few other big shake-ups) but this format is so welcoming and viewer-friendly! 🎉🎉 Would love to have you both make an updated version of this in the future, but I've already gotten so much value out of this video for the upcoming campaign I'll be starting! Cheers to you both! 🥂
As far as versatile spells go: •Enlarge Reduce is an extremely versatile spell for the early game. I was honestly quite amazed at how I was using that in literally every session, both in and out of combat. Everything from shrinking obstacles out of the way, to helping carry massive objects, to enlarging a monster so they are too large to chase your party out of a cave. •Polymorph, as you said, is already on every single sorcerer's spellbook, no real extra detail needed. •Also worth noting that since Tasha's came out, Bigby's Hand is now a Sorcerer spells. It's so an incredibly versatile spell I would strongly recommend it for any Sorcerer, as it basically covers 99% of the use cases that Telekinesis AND Animate Objects both have, and it's combined into one spell.
I just love the multiclass of warlock with sorc, so you can quicken eldritch blast for your damage dealing needs. Means you can pick more utility spells. That and the great metamagic recovery by transferring your warlock slots to sorcery points (and since you get them back on a short rest, you can do this quite a bit!) I suggest 3 levels of warlock, so both your slots are second level.
I think there’s something they’re forgetting about: Subtle Spell with mind altering spells are INSANE. Cast suggestion without others knowing you’ve cast it because you can get rid of the obvious verbal component (which is NOT what you’re suggesting) or hallucinatory terrain on a single person so they think they’re going insane. You have options. Edit: Never mind. They brought it up.
@@hopelessnecromantic2794 Exactly. Subtle spell is maybe the best metamagic. Quickened spell and twinned spell give it some competition but it’s SO good.
Yeah Subtle Spell Suggestion is our Divine Soul Sorcerer's signature move right now in our Avernus game XD So good. Soon to be also Twinned Haste... it'll be fun to be a part of that party If I play a sorcerer again (which I hope I will) I actually really want to take Subtle Spell exactly for stuff like Subtle Counterspell, Suggestion, Charm Person/Monster, Message... would be so fun
Sorcerers, bards, and warlocks all scream to be one level dipped if you are a charisma heavy character. So much added versatility. The capstones for each kinda suck compared to other classes, so those dips can make for great fun. :)
Do Sorcerer next! I'm currently in the middle of doing a series of one shots like this, for each of the classes. Our next one is sorcerer. So far, we've done druid, paladin, ranger, cleric.
Really enjoyed Drakenheim campaign, season 1. Monty, Kelly, Jill n Joe knocked it outa the park with so many memorable characters. Here to see if Kelly has any regrets for Sebastian.
Mage Armor is a useful spell to choose, especially if you're choosing Polymorph. It's nice for any Sorcerer (other than a Draconic Sorcerer) to use Mage Armor on themselves. But casting Mage Armor on the Giant Apes after you used Polymorph gives a nice AC boost to your Giant Ape, too.
Synaptic Static is such an underrated spell. It's basically a psychic version of fireball, but it also gives enemies reverse guidance. Where they have to subtract a d6 to most of their checks for a minute, which in combat is 10 rounds. It's a lot of damage and a debuff in one 5th level spell. And it doesn't even take concentration
The Sorcerer in the game I GM used Twin Polymorph on 2 team members to turn them into Sperm Whales to fight against Giant Sharks. Combined with the Druid changing into a Killer Whale, they made quick work out of combat at sea. It was very entertaining
Dominate Monster can be a pretty great 8th level Sorcerer spell. You can even Twin Spell it and get 2 monsters. It lasts for an hour. It's a great way to have your Sorcerer sneak in, take control of the enemy forces most powerful monster and use it against them. You can Teleport away to anywhere once you get control as the telepathic link has no distance limit as long as you are on the same plane.
Chill Touch and Shocking Grasp seem to be underused IMO. Chill touch can stop healing from any source (screw Trolls and most high CR enemies), necrotic is rarely resisted and is a d8 to boot. If an enemy has you locked down, a quickened shocking grasp and the dash action can get you to safety (particularly if they've got metal armour/shield).
At lower levels magic missile has saved my ass many times especially against fire resistant enemies. I think it is an underrated spell. Having force damage that automatically hits has a lot of value at lower levels.
Careful spell, wall of force for 5th level spell. Honestly being able to launch it through an ally and use it as a pushing force is great for setting up a battle field or convincing illusions. I love WOF's utility.
Really, really loved the way you guys explained your logic and it's making me even rethink what spells I prep on my wizard and how I might change my divine soul sorc. Would definitely like to see more videos like this in the future for other casters, especially the wizard!
I'm currently playing a level 6 Divine Soul Sorcerer, started at 1, and I must say that I'm glad you didn't include Divine Soul because it deserves a video of it's own. Two full spell lists and one spell to choose, two if you're replacing one, it's been a challenge to list my favorites. But the one constant is guiding bolt at level 1, no question, hands down best first level twin spell. 1 sorcery point and you can do 4d6 to two creatures and the next attacks now have advantage. So nice and never becomes outdated when you have a Paladin in the group ready to Nuke someone. I've been waiting for this video because my spell choices have been ROUGH, so thank you for throwing it up. My list coincides well with yours despite having an entire Cleric list included.
I agree, picking for a Divine Soul is torture. Until my DM allowed me to use spell versatility, I literally was working on spreadsheets to plan my spells 5 or 10 levels in advance. Now that I do have the chance to shift 1 spell per long rest (as long as it's the same level), it's taken all of the stress. I now have a "home base" of spells, and then I shift them around as the situation dictates. It's also been good to reflect her character growth. Funnily enough, I went very heavy on Cleric spells for her. It fits her character concept, but several of them can get absolutely nuts with the proper metamagic. She's only cast Fireball once, and that was to cast it into the air to show the illusionist what the casting looked like so he could Counterspell it. She's never cast Polymorph or Haste. Instead, she has a balance of attack, utility, and support spells that serve very well in a variety of situations. She's probably not the most effective character out there, but she's definitely one of the most fun I've ever played.
@@Nilandia It's so damn hard to pick spells with one spell list already haha. I'm the only caster in the party, at least until the others make new characters (Half our party just died to, who I assume is now our active antagonist), so I've been spread thin on keeping utility and healing going. Sorcerer's life is hard when trying to figure out what Cleric spell you want to twin.
For 3 years of playing having never played a Sorcerer I've finally gotten into and had a blast(hehehe). I basically went full control and with all the most recent spells being added a bunch of them are great for a Sorcerer to keep even at high levels. I mean when I forcecage a bunch of enemies and constantly twinned spell vortex warp them in the cage or subtle spell VW my mageslayer rogue right next to the lich, it feels pretty awesome.
Twin/Extended Death Ward, Hold Person/Monster + Upcasted Inflict Wounds for the free crit(12d10 at 4th level!), Twin Shield of Faith, Subtle Spell + inverted Magic Circle while someone in the party distracts the target for a minute are some of my favorite DivSoul shenanigans.
DS is going to be a 3-5 Lvl dip w/ my Celestial Warlock. Just enough to make her a slightly better healer w/ Prayer of Healing & Aid upcasted w/ Pact Magic slots.
You can never go wrong with shield. Been thinking of what spells to give my Divine Soul Sorcerer that's a back up character for a campain. I've settled on the cantrips, shield, counterspell and spiritual weapon. this had defiantly helped me figure out some of the spells I want to pick.
I've just started playing my first Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind) and at Level 4 I'm struggling to decide which spells to pick, even with the extra psionic spells available. I would love to see more of this style of character build examples from you guys in the future, it's very interesting and helpful :)
I love using the Twinned Spell Metamagic with spells like Haste, Protection from Energy, or any sort of support spell. Sorcerer can be more than just blaster mages.
Divine Soul can twin Protection from Evil and Good, which is an incredibly powerful buff spell against nearly every truly dangerous monster in the game.
I love this format when it comes to "best spells" and "best spells for" stuff. Would love to see these for more sorcerers, as well as all the other known spells casters.
I, too, would love to see a video on this from DD. There is another channel, Treantmonk, that has a pretty comprehensive breakdown of those options, btw. The dungeon dudes have made a "best spells by level" where Kelly and Monty pick their favorite from cantrip-9th level. Might get an idea of their picks from that vid. I imagine wall of force and find greater steed for 10th level, contingency and simulacrum for 14th, and wish and (whatever) for 18th. Counterspell and spirit guardians at 6th if lore Bard. Cheers. :) Edit: check the 31 minute mark of their Bard guide video. I knew they had talked about it somewhere.
Web is a great spell. I took it on my artificer and recently we were clearing a mine. My party walked into a trap that paralyzed everyone but me and the paladin. I cast web for my concentration spell, and then used my Eldredge Canon to push enemies backwards from behind the paladin. The paladin stood at the edge of the area and held off in the music that damaged to make it through until I could push them backwards. We held off nine enemies for 10 rounds of combat until the party was no longer paralyzed.
12d8 damage to a line of enemies from Quickened Sunbeam opener, I like it. And if you Blind them you give your party Advantage. Great for fighting the Undead too, since they get Disadvantage on the save.
@@whisperedwrath8920 It's actually 1 spell being cast. 1 instance of Sunbeam. Sunbeam has a recurring effect, like Witchbolt, where you can use an Action on any turn in which you Concentrate on the spell to deal an additional pulse of damage.
On the topic of Twin spell, try Greater Invisibility, any rogue will love you for it and you can either hit yourself with it as well to up your chances of not getting targeted yourself, or hit another party member such as a fighter that can benefit greatly from that advantage on attack rolls because the enemy cant see them.
Quickened Mind Sliver + a Heightened save-or-suck spell is a fun way to disrespect the hours of planning your DM has put into planning the encounter with your campaign’s BBEG
I've spent hours imagining all the uses for the shape water cantrip. Even if you assume the rules for shape the flowing river from the elemental monk, that an ice object can only be one third of five feet in any direction, it's still awesome. And that's not written as a rule for shape water so you can make anything within a five foot cube, freeze and animate it for one hour without concentration. Maximum utility.
I’m currently playing a storm sorcerer. The spells I’ve been using and having fun with are Chaos Bolt, Thunder Step, Lightning Bolt, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm, and Wall of Fire.
Good picks, and I really appreciate the thought process behind each spell. Even in cases where a player picks different spells, I think that following that thought process will result in a hugely effective AND fun character.
I'm playing d&d for the first time since 1997 lol I joined a large group when they were level 4, we're now lvl 6. And it's interesting how plugging into an existing group that already has a lot of bases covered changes my spell selection, and I'm mostly utility. As I'm trying to record which 4th level spells to take when we lvl up.
Levitate-Enlarge reduce-polymorph Are amazing for sorcs because they fulfill as buffs AND debuffs, also can be twinned. I have a wounded party member and a scary big enemy? Polymorph them both!
I *Wish* that I permanently have one extra spell slot for every level of spell I can cast, without effecting my known or readied spells, or my spellcasting ability.
4:54 FWIW, knocking an enemy into Flaming Sphere via Thunderwave doesn't cause damage per RAW. Flaming Sphere only does damage if you ram it into an enemy as part of the bonus action to move it, or if the end their turn within 5 feet of it. No effect at the start of their turn As always, your DM might rule differently (it is a big ball of fire after all)
@@BlueTressym Completely agreed, amd I would probably rule the same way. But this channel often talks to RAW, which only discusses ramming the sphere into enemies are part of the bonus action the spell grants you
As a caster, I like to take a cantrip that forces a saving throw to supplement my main spell attack cantrip for foes with high AC. Mind Sliver is perfect for that. I'm also surprised that neither of you took Dispel Magic; I've found it to be just as clutch and lifesaving as Counterspell in some situations. I'd probably even take it over Counterspell in a party without it.
When using paladin or creating a "melee sorcerer" green flame blade, and booming blade make great cantrips to use twin spell (BB) or quicken spell (GFB, BB) to get extra powerful extra attacks in.
I think anyone who can cast mage hand and mending will always be paid well by a ship captain or anyone in construction. Not always combat useful, but "in the real world" they'd be unbelievably useful. .
The first 5E character I had was a sorcerer (wild magic) which I played to level six as a ranged blaster in a party with a War cleric, a college of swords bard and a battle master fighter. I had access to every type of magical damage except psychic and radiant. Having picked up Magic Initiate (Warlock) at level 4, my spells were: cantrips: Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Light, Mending, Ray of Frost, Chill Touch, Magic Stone Level 1: Chaos Bolt, Mage Armor, Thunderwave (and a 1/day Hellish Rebuke) Level 2: Dragon's breath, Gust of Wind Level 3: Thunder Step, Melf's Minature Meteors With my meta-magic feats of Careful Spell and Twinned Spell I had a great time. Our DM allowed twinning of Dragon's Breath (take THAT JCraw!), so some fights were rather spectacular. - One of my favorite moments was an encounter with a hag who was bloodied and fleeing via flight. I grabbed the fighter who had readied a grapple, cast Thunder Step to put the fighter right above the hag, and all three of use fell about 50 feet to our near-deaths. (Statistically, the fall could have done enough damage to auto-kill me, but not the fighter.) The cleric showed up in time to save us from dying, and the bard beheaded the hag. The DM was flabbergasted. He expected to be able to use the hag to come back to harass us another one or two times.
My favorite sorcerer build is a level 20 Divine soul Sorcerer Cantrips chill touch, firebolt, mage hand, spare the dying, and toll the dead. 1st cure wounds from the type of sorcerer healing word and shield 2nd aganazzars scorcher and mind spike. 3rd create food/water revivify and tidal wave. 4th control water wall of fire. 5th mass cure wounds synaptic static 6th heal 7th fire storm. 8th sunburst. 9th psychic scream.
I've an idea for a Storm Sorcerer/Tempest Cleric with Transmuted Spell - at 7 sorcerer and 6 cleric you can transmute wall of fire to lightning and trigger thunderbolt strike. Make the wall a ring and it would be very painful for a (non-flying) creature to get out. And if they do, push em right back in.
When do you have druid and/or wizard with familiar on the team, there's one spell in Xanatar's Guide: Dragon Breath. It's not considered an attack so you can weaponise familiars or animals - yes, right now you should be thinking about twin metamagic! So, twin Dragon's Breath and suddenly you have 2 allies who deals 3d6 aoe damage with versatile damage type. It's absolutely bonkers at low levels and still good at mid levels, but you'll need to swap it at some point due to needed concentration
I was going through this and the previous video and I had an idea for a character build that might be interesting. That being a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer mixed with either 2 or 6 levels of Tempest Domain Cleric. The idea would be to have lightning as your primary element, and use stuff like Chain Lightning or other lightning based spells and combine it with the Channel Divinity Tempest Domain Clerics have to just deal the max damage with those spells. That's the basic idea of it at least. Maybe also add the Transmute spell Metamagic to be able to deal 48 or 24 damage with a Level 3 Fireball. A lot of the spells that don't play into either of these would probably be pretty standard stuff like Counterspell, Haste and Polymorph.
Tasha’s Mind Whip has great synergy with Web. A creature hit with Tasha’s Mind Whip can either choose to move, take an Action, or a Bonus Action and it can only do one of those. To get out of Web, you need to take an Acton to make a Strength check and then Move. Even if the creature succeeds on its strength check, it’s no longer restrained but it can’t move out of the Web and it will start its next turn in the Web which will require another Dex saving throw to see if it gets stuck again.
Tasha's Mind Whip is just so good at battlefield control. An aberrant mind can upgrade from Web to Evard's Black Tentacles for the same immobilizing effect with damage added on top of that
Not to echo but I too was surprised by not having Mind Sliver in there as a cantrip choice. Glad to see a lot of love for Banishment though, I love that spell especially if the campaign (or just the GM) has extraplanar enemies as big threats.
Polymorph was a lifesaver when the playtesting party consisted of three full spellcasters and a paladin, and the entire adventure was in a slaad lair. Mind Sliver also came in handy because advantage doesn't help that much if the probability of success with one die is far below 50%, so attacking their INT almost made the advantage from spell resistance irrelevant. But when the flying feces hit the fan, the Scribes wizard decided that if her spells weren't going to get through then she'd have to get to them another way, and Polymorphed _herself_ because she was tired of standing around spamming Mind Sliver. This is also where we figured out that bladesingers do not make even half decent front line melee combatants. It's not just the d6 hit dice, but they don't do a lot of damage with the sword either, and getting back _out_ of melee can be tricky, or cost a Misty Step. Also, they only get [Proficiency] uses per Long rest, instead of two uses a short rest like when they were still in UA playtesting. This means if you're in more than three fights a day, then at least some of the time the bladesinger will just have to hang back and be a wizard with no specialty. Sometimes they didn't even get three, as some battles lasted more than a minute and the bladesinger had to re-up. I'm sure they have a role they slot into quite nicely, I'm just not sure it's one that comes up a whole lot.
Since I subscribe to single-target dmg/aoe or multi-target control school of combat spellcasting, here was my loadout for my level 6 shadow sorcerer for level 10 play (multiclassed a couple of levels into fighter and tempest cleric): cantrips: mage hand, minor illusion, mold earth, shocking grasp, mind sliver 1st: shield, absorb elements 2nd: darkness*, mind whip, invisibility, scorching ray (for tempest cleric nova), hold person 3rd: counterspell metamagic: transmute spell (for tempest cleric nova), seeking spell
Unless you are a dragonborn, you can pick up mage armor over shield if you have a decent dexterity. Drop it for shield or another spell if you get an elven chain.
I really love this style of video! It gives a lot of different perspectives on the spells 😊 Very usable! I'm playing a sorcerer soon-ish, so this was very helpful!
Frost bite, magic missle misty step and levitate are all amazing things for a soccerer. Levitate lets you get up stay safe and blast. Frost bite is a icy vicious mockery Misty step is a get outa here spell And magic missle is litterly the best 1st lvl spell in the game. And is great upcasted if you know the boss is weak launching a lvl5 MM is a reliable finisher.
I've been watching all sorts of videos as I'm getting ready to play my first sorcerer (outside of BG3) Catapult is looking like it will be my favorite 1st level spell, dealing 3d8 damage. Place your flask of acid on the ground at the start, and catapult it for an addition 2d6 damage. In my mind it works great, fingers crossed it will in play too.
I literally just made a 3rd lv dragon sorcerer blaster before this video where I took Dragon Breath for the quicken combo they were talking about with Sunbeam and Telekinesis. I realize at that level Flaming Sphere is probably just better, but I wanted it to be more thematic
2:04 I mean ... I guess. It isn’t like a warlock or anything. I still like the idea of taking spells for different play style rather than not picking them overall for a class.
Also, in regards to "when to use Quicken Spell", one of the really underappreciated uses for it (especially in the earlier levels before you learn Sunbeam) is to quicken your spell in order to use your Action to Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or use items. So many players tunnel vision into casting spells and forget Dash and Dodge actions are often incredibly beneficial in the right circumstance.
Yes! It's great to get in the habit of asking yourself, "What if _this turn_ I could..."
"... reposition myself without incurring opportunity attacks _and_ cast this spell?"
"... cast this spell _and_ outrun my enemies?"
"... cast this spell _and,_ until my next turn, impose disadvantage on all attack rolls against me and gain advantage on Dex saves?"
"... cast this spell _and_ use a healer's kit or potion to save my ally?"
And don't forget the Hide action. "What if I could cast this spell _and_ go unseen, which imposes disadvantage on attacks against me, makes my enemies unable to target me with non-attack spells (including Counterspell), and gives me advantage on my next attack?"
Or the Ready action: "What if I could cast this spell _and_ prepare for something I expect to happen before my next turn?"
Going prone imposes disadvantage on attacks against you from farther than 5 feet, but even at longish range (60+ feet) most casters have to be afraid that in a pinch it will heavily limit their movement on their next turn. Sorcerers who can afford to use Quickened Spell (if needed) have much less to worry about in that regard.
Action economy is king in 5e, and these actions allow you to do a lot more than other casters.
This comment got me thinking about items that sorcerers can use better than other players because of Quickened Spell: items with non-spell effects that cost an action. Turns out there's a lot of cool stuff you can do, and you should really get priority on those items.
For example, in combat you can...
... debuff enemies' saving throws with Synaptic Static, Mind Sliver, or (for Divine Souls) Bane, and then immediately use any item (non-spell) effect that forces a saving throw;
... shove an enemy with a _Ring of the Ram_ into the area you're about to nuke with your main spell, or push an adjacent enemy away so you can maneuver, or knock an enemy spellcaster out of Counterspell range,
... or, _after_ the main spell, push them into that spell's area of effect, so they immediately get hit with Web, Sleet Storm, Cloudkill (double the expected damage this round!), or Sickening Radiance (double damage _and_ up to two levels of exhaustion as they start their turn) before having to make a second save at the beginning of their next turn;
... find invisible foes with a _Gem of Seeing_ or the "protective aura" of the _Rod of Alertness_ and hit those foes with a spell before they can pull any shenanigans;
... blind enemies in various ways with a _Gem of Brightness,_ an _Eversmoking Bottle,_ the "insect cloud" of the _Staff of Swarming Insects,_ or a _Ring of Invisibility_ so they can't effectively use a range of reactions;
... try to snag an enemy with a _Rope of Entanglement_ or a _Tentacle Rod_ to give him disadvantage on the Dex save against your main spell (Disintegrate? Reverse Gravity? Web for double restraints? Just don't use a spell that destroys the _Rope_ too);
... frighten multiple enemies with a _Wand of Fear_ so that they (a.) can't use reactions and (b.) have disadvantage on ability checks they'll need to break free of your Web/Telekinesis/Maximilian's Earthen Grasp spell (all good combos because they can stop the enemies from moving away from the source of their fear) or see through your illusions;
... or, even better, incapacitate enemies with a _Wand of Paralysis_ or _Robe of Scintillating Colors_ right before casting a spell with a Strength save, Dex save, or attack roll;
... use a _Cube of Force_ or a _Bead of Force_ immediately after casting Fear to prevent frightened enemies from running out of view;
... or set the _Cube_ to block gases and cast Cloudkill nearby;
... or use a _Bead_ on a group of foes and then Levitate all of them at once, no matter how heavy they are, with no additional save, and then they'll fall hard instead of safely (since you targeted the bubble, not the creatures),
... or, for enemies in a corner or small room with one exit, use an area-of-effect spell like Silence to stop casters from doing most of what they want to do (including Dispel Magic) and then use the _Cube_ to prevent them from escaping,
... or simply use the _Cube/Bead_ to prevent a Counterspell;
... summon a creature with a _Figurine of Wondrous Power_ or similar item and cast a spell on that creature (Polymorph? Haste? Enlarge? Invisibility?) or its target on the summoned creature's first turn;
... take off with the _Wings of Flying_ or a _Carpet of Flying_ to reposition yourself for whatever you want to cast this turn;
... cast a spell and then vanish to the Astral Plane with the _Robe of Stars_ for safety, then you can come back and cast another spell on that turn if you still have a pair of sorcery points;
... fire off the _Ring of Shooting Stars_ for extra damage / concentration saves and still be able to cast your main spell;
... and so on. So many possibilities with Quickened Spell.
Wait, question. Does quicken spell allow you to cast 2 spells that requite a spell slot? Like sunbeam? I thought it only allowed a spell and cantrip, not 2 spells
@@Sovann_the_Mighty You're correct. If you cast a spell with a casting time of a bonus action, the only other spell you can cast that turn is a cantrip with a casting time of one action-though I think most DMs would allow you to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 reaction instead.
Oh i did this so many times when i got surrounded, quicken spells, dodge action can save your life.
As much as it flack as it gets, and admitting that there are stronger options, I love Disintegrate. The fact that you can Twin it, it doesn't require concentration, does a boat load of damage when you need it to (especially in combination with other spells like Telekinesis or Hold Monster), AND can affect the world in meaningful, permanent ways should never be overlooked. There are so many problems that aren't creatures that can be solved by turning something to dust. Have an army crossing a massive bridge to kill you? Dust bridge, no more army. Need to get through a wall? No more wall. And one that I just recently did, do you have a group of archers or cannons firing at you from a tower? No more tower. I feel like too many people look at the damaging aspect of Disintegrate and ignore the out of combat applications, so I will continue to mention it every time its relevant to the conversation. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Wall of Force and Force Cage are both really great spell which is why I prefer choosing Disintegrate over them. F my DM.
I consider disintegrate an essential spell to have in the party. The amount of encounters I've seen failed or end in tpk's simply because no one could deal with a well placed wall of force or a forcecage is honestly insane. Not taking it is a huge risk because of those two spells alone, the numerous other applications for it are just icing on the cake.
Disintegrate is awesome. Especially if you can restrain or stun the enemies first.
You bring up a great point about the out of combat utility. I usually overlook that myself...
Disintegrate is also a lovely way to solve puzzles for unlocking a door. And after your DM figures out that the door should be magical to counteract that... tunnel through the wall next to the door.
Rules as Intended, you can't Twin Spell Metamagic Disintegrate, FYI. The Errata released by Wizards of the Coast explicitly states that spells that *can* target objects are ineligible to be used with Twin Spell. imgur.com/gallery/A9DhEd9
Mind Sliver is a must have cantrip for the sorcerer.
I have a Wild Magic build going that uses Mind Sliver + Bend Luck and an array of control spells. He's an absolute menace.
Agreed! I was surprised they didn’t take it. They have several attack cantrips with different damage types, but they are all attack rolls. Why not Mind Sliver with an Intelligence Save (one of the worst saves for most creatures), Psychic Damage (one of the least resisted), and a potential penalty on the next save which works perfectly with Quickened Spell?
Any caster that has access to Mind Sliver should take it. INT save, Psychic damage, & a debuff to the next saving throw. It's a mean cantrip, & even better because it's D6 over Vicious Mockery's D4.
Lemme tell you, I immediately asked my DMs if I could use Mind Sliver when the new spells came out and they agreed. I have yet to have an enemy pass a DC check against any of my spells. Grab it
Mind Sliver is phenomenal for a Sorcerer with Quickened spell.
I really enjoy subtle spell+ misty step. Someone could take all your stuff and tie you up, and you can still teleport away.
Whenever I am planning on taking Subtle Spell, I always try to keep my components as minimal as possible, because of these kinds of situations.
@@natashasurvivallady8021 What other options do you usually take? Misty step is typically the only one i want to cast when captured.
My typical other use for subtle spell is to cast things like detect thoughts or suggestion mid conversation.
@@___i3ambi126 Dimension Door and Teleport are both the same way as Misty Step, and if you get there Time Stop is as well, and can actually combo with the teleport spells. Subtle Spell also gets rid of Somatic components, so all of your cantrips/spells that only require VS are fair game. Just filter out anything with a material component, and you could be struck dumb with your arms removed and still cast your heart out.
You don't need subtle spell for that unless by "tied up" you mean gagged, as well - Misty Step requires a verbal component only. That said, I do think that subtle spell is an under-used/rated metamagic option.
@@AlbertaGeek true. I forgot to mention that
I actually love that you specifically mentioned the fact that you went over which lower level spells to hold onto as you get stronger. I’d love to see that approach across other Mage videos. Another super video, Dudes! Way to go!
Crown of stars is another great pick for 7th level spell slots. No concentration, bonus action 4d12 on a spell attack which basically always hit at that level
And since it lasts for an hour, you can cast it before combat. And it does radiant damage, which few things resist. It also doubles as a light source.
I miss the sword cutting the screen after "lets get rolling"
I find myself voicing "SHWING!" aloud every time :3
Ah man, that sound still plays in my mind every time too! 😂
I'm so disappointed theres no love for Crown of Stars, it weaponises your bonus action so so nicely, 4d12 radiant damage 7 times is really nothing to sneeze at.
And the best part? Not having to concentrate on it! Any time I play a high level caster I'm always trying to get more nonconcentration spells since something like twinned haste is likely to eat up your concentration and it's great, but you need more to do.
Another honorable mention for me is Crown of Stars (7th level). It's non-concentration, if you hit with every attack roll it's 28d12 damage, and you only need to use a bonus action on your turn for each attack.
Also if you are worried about the 1 hour duration you can double it with extended spell. I have it on my Aberrant Mind sorcerer and it's beautiful!
You could do the quickened sunbeam thing they described and then quicken crown of stars on your next turn. So much magic damage each turn!
@@Arkegox You can only cast one leveled spell a turn. So as he said you can’t cast sunbeam AND fireball. It only allows you to cast a leveled spell and then a cantrip. Like firebolt as an action then quicken fireball as a ba.
I think they meant: Quickened sunbeam to fire twice on turn 1. Then turn 2 use sunbeam and quicken crown of stars to get that rolling. From turn 3 onwards you can sunbeam and shoot a star every turn.
I tend to have crown of stars up way before combat though so I don't have to use an action to get it rolling 👌
I just twin-hasted my groups Paladin and Fighter last night in out fight against Strahd, tanked 3 fireballs, and maintained concentration long enough for them (and our Rogue) to take on 7 undead and Strahd himself. It was awesome!
Currently also doing the twin haste thing. However once I get 4th level spells I am switching to greater invisibility. That is because I have the elven accuracy feat. 3 dice attack rolls? Yes please hehe.
Blindness/Deafness is a fantastic spell that you left out. It scales nicely when you upcast it, and it's such a great way to shut down enemy casters. So many spells rely on being able to see your enemy, and if the enemy can't see, they can't use these spells. And that includes Counterspell. It's a great feeling to make the DM have to check the spell descriptions to see whether or not his blinded BBEG is still able to use them or not. And all of your martial characters are getting advantage on all of their attacks against the blinded enemy, too.
And best of all, it is not concentration, so you can use it while you're concentrating on a twinned Polymorph or twinned Haste.
P.S. Blindness/Deafness is especially great for a Shadow Sorcerer that puts a Hound of Ill Omen next to the target.
Honestly one of my favorite spells. 5th level hieghtened blindness has ended entire encounters for me more reliably than anything else. Plus I've used it in place of misty step to avoid opportunity attacks (misty step is obviously better) but hitting a blindness and just walking away leaving an enemy gutted is awesome.
The hard part of the sorcerer is picking a limited number of spells from an extensive list. The hard part of the Divine Soul Sorcerer is that you have access to two lists!
True. Be sure to pick strategically from the Cleric spell list: 1st lvl Healing Word/ Shield/ Magic Missiles/ Command, 2nd lvl Shatter/ Spiritual Weapon/Misty Step /Scortching Ray, 3rd : Circle of Protection/ Fireball/ Counterspell 4th. Polymorph/Call Construct and you will be very versatile and effective..
Crazy good timing on this one. I'm about to level up Sorcerer On the first character ever played a full campaign on. This will help.
I'm playing a shadow sorcerer who is at level three right now and I've been going back and forth on some spell choices coming up so this was a perfectly timed video for me.
y cual fue tu desicion ?
Great job on touching on how there are many ways to play a sorcerer (blaster, utility, etc) I think that's a super important point about sorcerers that many people don't talk about.
We have a Sorcerer in our group and we're about to hit level 4. I've a Druid, & at level 4 I'm planning to pick up the feat Telekinetic (as you two have advised) so I can try to push folks into the Sorcerer's area effect spells.
I feel like each sorceror knows so little spells that they can't even get a majority of the spells that i feel like every sorcerer should have, like shield, counterspell, dispel magic, detect magic. Other classes just don't have this problem of picking and choosing with their best spells even the warlock and the bard are generally satisfied with what spells they have, bards knowing more spells warlocks not needing lower level options when they only have higher level spells. It's just not a healthy place for the sorcerer they should have more spells. Maybe sorcerer origin spells for each subclass
I read somewhere that the sorcerer makes you specialize in only a few spells to test your creativity along with mostly being a supportive class and not strictly a damage dealer.
I don’t really agree with that, but it does help explain why the sorcerer has fewer spells. It is still annoying
@@couragew6260 Well, the sorcerer can be a damage dealer, but that’s gonna be all it is. The sorcerer as is forces you to specialize in one specific playstyle. Wanna deal damage? You can AMAZING at that, but you’re gonna be bad at everything else? Wanna debuff? Buff? Focus on illusion? Same deal
@@yooooo8600
*Sigh 😞
You make a good point; it just doesn’t seem like a good idea to leave fewer spell options. You only get 15 spells. An extra 3 doesn’t sound too bad. Including their spell books, Wizards could learn 25 spells and Bards can learn 22 minimum
Sorcerer's get to maximise the spells potential damage with metamagic. Twin polymorph. Twinned haste. Empower fireball. Careful AOE spells to save party members.
Distant spell and/or spell sniper for fireball or wall of fire for battlefield control when you use aarakocra to fly above and manipulate the field to channel enemies or clear routes.
Plus double the spell slots early on by trading metamagic points and spell slots.
High charisma helps in game play as well so it is advantageous for more than just magic.
They are creative and enhance spells. But not the longest lasting or versatile.
When you get a level 4 spell slot like polymorph for the first time. It's already broken as a way of adding HP to a character. 157HP for giant Ape. By twinning it, you can use 1 Lvl 4 slot to increase the health pool by 314 and damage output of Spellcasters who have spent their slots to 6d10+12 or ranged attack 50/100ft 7d6+6.
No other class can help allies as much at this level.
Or for a 4 player party which is a common size. Turn 2 into giant eagles and now you all have flight as they can carry one character each.
Twinned spell is OP.
Honestly its the main reason why aberrant mind and clockwork soul are the two best subclasses. Not only do you get good utility spells but if you want you can also swap them out for warlock,sorcerer,or wizards spells of the same level (with the spell school restriction). As a clockwork soul for instance, if you arnt using the included alarm spell, once you level up you can swap it out for Armor of Agathys which is a extremely good upcast.
Sorcerers getting the love this week! 🥰
very much like how you guided through the spell choices at different levels !! lately have been using the metamagic option of "transmuted spell" as a basic utility to circumvent resistance and immunity issues, and it costs just 1 sorcery point - can transmute your fireball to thunder damage, cone of cold into acid damage, etc.
So happy sorcerers are getting love this week! I’ve been meaning to try em out and appreciate all the work!!
Hell yeah, just in time!
My loadout atm, for my *Rakdos Cultist Tiefling (Glasya) Wild Magic Sorcerer* with the *Ritual Caster (Wizard)* feat is:
- *Cantrips:* Mage Hand, _Minor Illusion,_ Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Mind Sliver, Ray of Frost
- *1st:* -Sleep,- _Vicious Mockery, [Find Familiar (ritual only)], [Detect Magic (ritual only)],_ Mage Armor
- *2nd:* Dragon's Breath, Enlarge/Reduce, [Disguise Self (1/day)]
- *3rd:* Fireball, Slow, [Invisibility (1/day)]
My 5th level wild magic sorcerer: 1st - burning hands 2nd - Enlarge Reduce, Invisibility, 3rd - Fireball, counterspell. He also has a home brew 2nd level spell called “Touch of Chaos” where we roll a 1d20 to find out what happens (low roll = bad for me, high roll = bad for you)- it’s awesome fun and makes up for the general lack of “wild magic” themed spells.
I’m getting so spoiled with the sorcerer videos this week thank you 😭💛
As a new-to-the-game sorcerer, this video is a blessing! 🙏I know some things are definitely not up-to-date (since Strixhaven and a few other big shake-ups) but this format is so welcoming and viewer-friendly! 🎉🎉 Would love to have you both make an updated version of this in the future, but I've already gotten so much value out of this video for the upcoming campaign I'll be starting!
Cheers to you both! 🥂
As far as versatile spells go:
•Enlarge Reduce is an extremely versatile spell for the early game. I was honestly quite amazed at how I was using that in literally every session, both in and out of combat. Everything from shrinking obstacles out of the way, to helping carry massive objects, to enlarging a monster so they are too large to chase your party out of a cave.
•Polymorph, as you said, is already on every single sorcerer's spellbook, no real extra detail needed.
•Also worth noting that since Tasha's came out, Bigby's Hand is now a Sorcerer spells. It's so an incredibly versatile spell I would strongly recommend it for any Sorcerer, as it basically covers 99% of the use cases that Telekinesis AND Animate Objects both have, and it's combined into one spell.
I just love the multiclass of warlock with sorc, so you can quicken eldritch blast for your damage dealing needs. Means you can pick more utility spells. That and the great metamagic recovery by transferring your warlock slots to sorcery points (and since you get them back on a short rest, you can do this quite a bit!)
I suggest 3 levels of warlock, so both your slots are second level.
I think there’s something they’re forgetting about: Subtle Spell with mind altering spells are INSANE. Cast suggestion without others knowing you’ve cast it because you can get rid of the obvious verbal component (which is NOT what you’re suggesting) or hallucinatory terrain on a single person so they think they’re going insane. You have options.
Edit: Never mind. They brought it up.
Detect Thoughts subtle spell, combined w message or minor ilusion. read their mind and then start talking to them from out of the darkness
@@hopelessnecromantic2794 Exactly. Subtle spell is maybe the best metamagic. Quickened spell and twinned spell give it some competition but it’s SO good.
Yeah Subtle Spell Suggestion is our Divine Soul Sorcerer's signature move right now in our Avernus game XD So good. Soon to be also Twinned Haste... it'll be fun to be a part of that party
If I play a sorcerer again (which I hope I will) I actually really want to take Subtle Spell exactly for stuff like Subtle Counterspell, Suggestion, Charm Person/Monster, Message... would be so fun
I abuse the fuck out of subtle spell and Phantasmal Force.
@@DoctorMcHerp As you should.
It's amazing. I've been thinking about multiclassing mi bard into a sorcerer like a week ago, and here you are, giving us all this content about them!
Sorcerers, bards, and warlocks all scream to be one level dipped if you are a charisma heavy character. So much added versatility. The capstones for each kinda suck compared to other classes, so those dips can make for great fun. :)
Do Sorcerer next! I'm currently in the middle of doing a series of one shots like this, for each of the classes. Our next one is sorcerer. So far, we've done druid, paladin, ranger, cleric.
Really enjoyed Drakenheim campaign, season 1. Monty, Kelly, Jill n Joe knocked it outa the park with so many memorable characters. Here to see if Kelly has any regrets for Sebastian.
First spell - Rat Prince Kill
Mage Armor is a useful spell to choose, especially if you're choosing Polymorph. It's nice for any Sorcerer (other than a Draconic Sorcerer) to use Mage Armor on themselves. But casting Mage Armor on the Giant Apes after you used Polymorph gives a nice AC boost to your Giant Ape, too.
Synaptic Static is such an underrated spell. It's basically a psychic version of fireball, but it also gives enemies reverse guidance. Where they have to subtract a d6 to most of their checks for a minute, which in combat is 10 rounds. It's a lot of damage and a debuff in one 5th level spell. And it doesn't even take concentration
"My name is Sebastian Crow, and I am here to teach you some nice spells"
The Sorcerer in the game I GM used Twin Polymorph on 2 team members to turn them into Sperm Whales to fight against Giant Sharks. Combined with the Druid changing into a Killer Whale, they made quick work out of combat at sea. It was very entertaining
I miss these sample characters. Any chance of making more samples of the other classes, maybe builds from Tasha's you're excited about?
Dominate Monster can be a pretty great 8th level Sorcerer spell. You can even Twin Spell it and get 2 monsters. It lasts for an hour. It's a great way to have your Sorcerer sneak in, take control of the enemy forces most powerful monster and use it against them. You can Teleport away to anywhere once you get control as the telepathic link has no distance limit as long as you are on the same plane.
This was an awesome video, Thank you! I wish all your spells casting class guides were done this way.
Chill Touch and Shocking Grasp seem to be underused IMO. Chill touch can stop healing from any source (screw Trolls and most high CR enemies), necrotic is rarely resisted and is a d8 to boot. If an enemy has you locked down, a quickened shocking grasp and the dash action can get you to safety (particularly if they've got metal armour/shield).
"I think the sorcerer's level 8 spells are kind of lacking"
*laughs in Divine Soul with Holy Aura*
I may be in the minority, but I still love the idea of Earthquake. Being this elemental force of nature... Just hits home for me.
Divine Soul and Wild Magic are the only classes I play, and I can DEFINITELY notice a difference between the two.
My DM loves using Cha spellcasters against the party. I've learned to have Feeblemind prepared at all times
At lower levels magic missile has saved my ass many times especially against fire resistant enemies. I think it is an underrated spell. Having force damage that automatically hits has a lot of value at lower levels.
Careful spell, wall of force for 5th level spell. Honestly being able to launch it through an ally and use it as a pushing force is great for setting up a battle field or convincing illusions. I love WOF's utility.
Really, really loved the way you guys explained your logic and it's making me even rethink what spells I prep on my wizard and how I might change my divine soul sorc. Would definitely like to see more videos like this in the future for other casters, especially the wizard!
I'm currently playing a level 6 Divine Soul Sorcerer, started at 1, and I must say that I'm glad you didn't include Divine Soul because it deserves a video of it's own. Two full spell lists and one spell to choose, two if you're replacing one, it's been a challenge to list my favorites. But the one constant is guiding bolt at level 1, no question, hands down best first level twin spell. 1 sorcery point and you can do 4d6 to two creatures and the next attacks now have advantage. So nice and never becomes outdated when you have a Paladin in the group ready to Nuke someone. I've been waiting for this video because my spell choices have been ROUGH, so thank you for throwing it up. My list coincides well with yours despite having an entire Cleric list included.
I agree, picking for a Divine Soul is torture. Until my DM allowed me to use spell versatility, I literally was working on spreadsheets to plan my spells 5 or 10 levels in advance. Now that I do have the chance to shift 1 spell per long rest (as long as it's the same level), it's taken all of the stress. I now have a "home base" of spells, and then I shift them around as the situation dictates. It's also been good to reflect her character growth.
Funnily enough, I went very heavy on Cleric spells for her. It fits her character concept, but several of them can get absolutely nuts with the proper metamagic. She's only cast Fireball once, and that was to cast it into the air to show the illusionist what the casting looked like so he could Counterspell it. She's never cast Polymorph or Haste. Instead, she has a balance of attack, utility, and support spells that serve very well in a variety of situations. She's probably not the most effective character out there, but she's definitely one of the most fun I've ever played.
@@Nilandia It's so damn hard to pick spells with one spell list already haha. I'm the only caster in the party, at least until the others make new characters (Half our party just died to, who I assume is now our active antagonist), so I've been spread thin on keeping utility and healing going. Sorcerer's life is hard when trying to figure out what Cleric spell you want to twin.
For 3 years of playing having never played a Sorcerer I've finally gotten into and had a blast(hehehe). I basically went full control and with all the most recent spells being added a bunch of them are great for a Sorcerer to keep even at high levels. I mean when I forcecage a bunch of enemies and constantly twinned spell vortex warp them in the cage or subtle spell VW my mageslayer rogue right next to the lich, it feels pretty awesome.
When you bring divine soul socerer into the mix things get better
Twinning healing spells are clutch when most of the party is down...
@@adelheidbreidvik guiding bolt , inflict wounds and spiritual weapon are kind of OP for their level .
If I were playing a sorcerer, it'd be a divine soul sorcerer.
Twin/Extended Death Ward, Hold Person/Monster + Upcasted Inflict Wounds for the free crit(12d10 at 4th level!), Twin Shield of Faith, Subtle Spell + inverted Magic Circle while someone in the party distracts the target for a minute are some of my favorite DivSoul shenanigans.
DS is going to be a 3-5 Lvl dip w/ my Celestial Warlock. Just enough to make her a slightly better healer w/ Prayer of Healing & Aid upcasted w/ Pact Magic slots.
i love this format. it shows extremely well what choices can be made which spells are options and which are absolute staples :D great one!
You can never go wrong with shield. Been thinking of what spells to give my Divine Soul Sorcerer that's a back up character for a campain. I've settled on the cantrips, shield, counterspell and spiritual weapon. this had defiantly helped me figure out some of the spells I want to pick.
I've just started playing my first Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind) and at Level 4 I'm struggling to decide which spells to pick, even with the extra psionic spells available. I would love to see more of this style of character build examples from you guys in the future, it's very interesting and helpful :)
Would love to see this now with the two new Sorc subclasses, aberrant and clockwork, since their spell lists are so expanded.
I love using the Twinned Spell Metamagic with spells like Haste, Protection from Energy, or any sort of support spell. Sorcerer can be more than just blaster mages.
Divine Soul can twin Protection from Evil and Good, which is an incredibly powerful buff spell against nearly every truly dangerous monster in the game.
@@trapical Oh I actually didn't think of that. I'll have to take note
I’ve been wanting to get into D&D for a while now. But it’s been hard due to... you know...
*The Pestilence...*
Everybody I know who plays D&D is doing it online right now. They are either playing exclusively online or online the majority of the time.
@@lordzaboem Yeah. I'm using discord for my campaign and it's going smoothly except for the occasional video issue
I love this format when it comes to "best spells" and "best spells for" stuff. Would love to see these for more sorcerers, as well as all the other known spells casters.
This is a great format! I think having sample characters that you level up is much more useful than picking a top spell at each level with no context.
I would love to see a list like this for magical secrets and bards.
I, too, would love to see a video on this from DD. There is another channel, Treantmonk, that has a pretty comprehensive breakdown of those options, btw. The dungeon dudes have made a "best spells by level" where Kelly and Monty pick their favorite from cantrip-9th level. Might get an idea of their picks from that vid. I imagine wall of force and find greater steed for 10th level, contingency and simulacrum for 14th, and wish and (whatever) for 18th. Counterspell and spirit guardians at 6th if lore Bard. Cheers. :)
Edit: check the 31 minute mark of their Bard guide video. I knew they had talked about it somewhere.
I've been thinking about playing a sorcerer for a while now and I'm gonna take your recent videos as a sign that I should finally go for it 👍🏻
Web is a great spell. I took it on my artificer and recently we were clearing a mine. My party walked into a trap that paralyzed everyone but me and the paladin. I cast web for my concentration spell, and then used my Eldredge Canon to push enemies backwards from behind the paladin. The paladin stood at the edge of the area and held off in the music that damaged to make it through until I could push them backwards. We held off nine enemies for 10 rounds of combat until the party was no longer paralyzed.
12d8 damage to a line of enemies from Quickened Sunbeam opener, I like it. And if you Blind them you give your party Advantage. Great for fighting the Undead too, since they get Disadvantage on the save.
I always thought that with quicken your second spell could only be a cantrip. Is this a homerule they use to use 2 spells?
@@whisperedwrath8920 It's actually 1 spell being cast. 1 instance of Sunbeam. Sunbeam has a recurring effect, like Witchbolt, where you can use an Action on any turn in which you Concentrate on the spell to deal an additional pulse of damage.
Ah yes, of course! Thanks!
On the topic of Twin spell, try Greater Invisibility, any rogue will love you for it and you can either hit yourself with it as well to up your chances of not getting targeted yourself, or hit another party member such as a fighter that can benefit greatly from that advantage on attack rolls because the enemy cant see them.
Quickened Mind Sliver + a Heightened save-or-suck spell is a fun way to disrespect the hours of planning your DM has put into planning the encounter with your campaign’s BBEG
This should be helpful. I'm about to start playing a 3rd level drow shadow sorcerer on the day this is uploaded
Shadow Sorc? Take advantage of that doggo's forced disadvantage to saving throws and paralyze EVERYTHING.
I personally like mold water as an ice draconian sorcerer, because using it to run across water to get some distance between you can be amazing
I've spent hours imagining all the uses for the shape water cantrip.
Even if you assume the rules for shape the flowing river from the elemental monk, that an ice object can only be one third of five feet in any direction, it's still awesome.
And that's not written as a rule for shape water so you can make anything within a five foot cube, freeze and animate it for one hour without concentration.
Maximum utility.
I’m currently playing a storm sorcerer. The spells I’ve been using and having fun with are Chaos Bolt, Thunder Step, Lightning Bolt, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm, and Wall of Fire.
Good picks, and I really appreciate the thought process behind each spell. Even in cases where a player picks different spells, I think that following that thought process will result in a hugely effective AND fun character.
Mind sliver is an AMAZING cantrip because it gives any spell with a saving throw a great use for quickened spell!
I'm playing d&d for the first time since 1997 lol
I joined a large group when they were level 4, we're now lvl 6. And it's interesting how plugging into an existing group that already has a lot of bases covered changes my spell selection, and I'm mostly utility. As I'm trying to record which 4th level spells to take when we lvl up.
Levitate-Enlarge reduce-polymorph
Are amazing for sorcs because they fulfill as buffs AND debuffs, also can be twinned.
I have a wounded party member and a scary big enemy?
Polymorph them both!
Nice change of pace! Thanks for this. Pushing someone into a flaming sphere doesn't trigger a saving throw for damage.
I *Wish* that I permanently have one extra spell slot for every level of spell I can cast, without effecting my known or readied spells, or my spellcasting ability.
@Alaberti Mua ha ha ha ha.
Your wish is granted, but to contain that much magical energy it debilitates your body so much you can never have more than 1hp.
Good lists, however I have never regretted having Magic Missile. Good video, thanks.
4:54 FWIW, knocking an enemy into Flaming Sphere via Thunderwave doesn't cause damage per RAW. Flaming Sphere only does damage if you ram it into an enemy as part of the bonus action to move it, or if the end their turn within 5 feet of it. No effect at the start of their turn
As always, your DM might rule differently (it is a big ball of fire after all)
Interesting point. My take is that if ramming it into them causes damage, so does ramming them into it.
@@BlueTressym Completely agreed, amd I would probably rule the same way. But this channel often talks to RAW, which only discusses ramming the sphere into enemies are part of the bonus action the spell grants you
As a caster, I like to take a cantrip that forces a saving throw to supplement my main spell attack cantrip for foes with high AC. Mind Sliver is perfect for that. I'm also surprised that neither of you took Dispel Magic; I've found it to be just as clutch and lifesaving as Counterspell in some situations. I'd probably even take it over Counterspell in a party without it.
When using paladin or creating a "melee sorcerer" green flame blade, and booming blade make great cantrips to use twin spell (BB) or quicken spell (GFB, BB) to get extra powerful extra attacks in.
Always happy to see more Sorcerer content
Quickened Spell Web + Firebolt = Budget Fireball. It does comparable damage as if they Dex saved the Fireball, 4D6 vs 2D4+1D10.
I think anyone who can cast mage hand and mending will always be paid well by a ship captain or anyone in construction. Not always combat useful, but "in the real world" they'd be unbelievably useful.
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The first 5E character I had was a sorcerer (wild magic) which I played to level six as a ranged blaster in a party with a War cleric, a college of swords bard and a battle master fighter.
I had access to every type of magical damage except psychic and radiant.
Having picked up Magic Initiate (Warlock) at level 4, my spells were:
cantrips: Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Light, Mending, Ray of Frost, Chill Touch, Magic Stone
Level 1: Chaos Bolt, Mage Armor, Thunderwave (and a 1/day Hellish Rebuke)
Level 2: Dragon's breath, Gust of Wind
Level 3: Thunder Step, Melf's Minature Meteors
With my meta-magic feats of Careful Spell and Twinned Spell I had a great time. Our DM allowed twinning of Dragon's Breath (take THAT JCraw!), so some fights were rather spectacular.
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One of my favorite moments was an encounter with a hag who was bloodied and fleeing via flight. I grabbed the fighter who had readied a grapple, cast Thunder Step to put the fighter right above the hag, and all three of use fell about 50 feet to our near-deaths. (Statistically, the fall could have done enough damage to auto-kill me, but not the fighter.)
The cleric showed up in time to save us from dying, and the bard beheaded the hag.
The DM was flabbergasted. He expected to be able to use the hag to come back to harass us another one or two times.
my number one character i want to play right now is an abberant mind, control-based sorcer. I love the spells chosen here!
My favorite sorcerer build is a level 20 Divine soul Sorcerer
Cantrips chill touch, firebolt, mage hand, spare the dying, and toll the dead.
1st cure wounds from the type of sorcerer healing word and shield
2nd aganazzars scorcher and mind spike. 3rd create food/water revivify and tidal wave. 4th control water wall of fire. 5th mass cure wounds synaptic static 6th heal 7th fire storm. 8th sunburst. 9th psychic scream.
I've an idea for a Storm Sorcerer/Tempest Cleric with Transmuted Spell - at 7 sorcerer and 6 cleric you can transmute wall of fire to lightning and trigger thunderbolt strike. Make the wall a ring and it would be very painful for a (non-flying) creature to get out. And if they do, push em right back in.
When do you have druid and/or wizard with familiar on the team, there's one spell in Xanatar's Guide: Dragon Breath. It's not considered an attack so you can weaponise familiars or animals - yes, right now you should be thinking about twin metamagic! So, twin Dragon's Breath and suddenly you have 2 allies who deals 3d6 aoe damage with versatile damage type. It's absolutely bonkers at low levels and still good at mid levels, but you'll need to swap it at some point due to needed concentration
I was going through this and the previous video and I had an idea for a character build that might be interesting. That being a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer mixed with either 2 or 6 levels of Tempest Domain Cleric. The idea would be to have lightning as your primary element, and use stuff like Chain Lightning or other lightning based spells and combine it with the Channel Divinity Tempest Domain Clerics have to just deal the max damage with those spells. That's the basic idea of it at least. Maybe also add the Transmute spell Metamagic to be able to deal 48 or 24 damage with a Level 3 Fireball. A lot of the spells that don't play into either of these would probably be pretty standard stuff like Counterspell, Haste and Polymorph.
This is great timing. I just started playing again, and opted to go with a Sorcerer. Any tips are welcome!
For earlier levels, dragon's breathe can give you a similar combo with quickened spell as you get with the sunbeam later.
Tasha’s Mind Whip has great synergy with Web. A creature hit with Tasha’s Mind Whip can either choose to move, take an Action, or a Bonus Action and it can only do one of those. To get out of Web, you need to take an Acton to make a Strength check and then Move. Even if the creature succeeds on its strength check, it’s no longer restrained but it can’t move out of the Web and it will start its next turn in the Web which will require another Dex saving throw to see if it gets stuck again.
Tasha's Mind Whip is just so good at battlefield control. An aberrant mind can upgrade from Web to Evard's Black Tentacles for the same immobilizing effect with damage added on top of that
All the Sorcerer love recently is just SO GREAT!
Not to echo but I too was surprised by not having Mind Sliver in there as a cantrip choice. Glad to see a lot of love for Banishment though, I love that spell especially if the campaign (or just the GM) has extraplanar enemies as big threats.
I believe the taverns are up to 16 now. And they’re working on background music for each one.
Polymorph was a lifesaver when the playtesting party consisted of three full spellcasters and a paladin, and the entire adventure was in a slaad lair. Mind Sliver also came in handy because advantage doesn't help that much if the probability of success with one die is far below 50%, so attacking their INT almost made the advantage from spell resistance irrelevant. But when the flying feces hit the fan, the Scribes wizard decided that if her spells weren't going to get through then she'd have to get to them another way, and Polymorphed _herself_ because she was tired of standing around spamming Mind Sliver.
This is also where we figured out that bladesingers do not make even half decent front line melee combatants. It's not just the d6 hit dice, but they don't do a lot of damage with the sword either, and getting back _out_ of melee can be tricky, or cost a Misty Step. Also, they only get [Proficiency] uses per Long rest, instead of two uses a short rest like when they were still in UA playtesting. This means if you're in more than three fights a day, then at least some of the time the bladesinger will just have to hang back and be a wizard with no specialty. Sometimes they didn't even get three, as some battles lasted more than a minute and the bladesinger had to re-up. I'm sure they have a role they slot into quite nicely, I'm just not sure it's one that comes up a whole lot.
I've recently made a Shadow Sorcerer with 2 levels in Fighter, this'll help me out with figuring out a planned spell list
Since I subscribe to single-target dmg/aoe or multi-target control school of combat spellcasting, here was my loadout for my level 6 shadow sorcerer for level 10 play (multiclassed a couple of levels into fighter and tempest cleric):
cantrips: mage hand, minor illusion, mold earth, shocking grasp, mind sliver
1st: shield, absorb elements
2nd: darkness*, mind whip, invisibility, scorching ray (for tempest cleric nova), hold person
3rd: counterspell
metamagic: transmute spell (for tempest cleric nova), seeking spell
Unless you are a dragonborn, you can pick up mage armor over shield if you have a decent dexterity. Drop it for shield or another spell if you get an elven chain.
I really love this style of video! It gives a lot of different perspectives on the spells 😊 Very usable! I'm playing a sorcerer soon-ish, so this was very helpful!
Frost bite, magic missle misty step and levitate are all amazing things for a soccerer.
Levitate lets you get up stay safe and blast.
Frost bite is a icy vicious mockery
Misty step is a get outa here spell
And magic missle is litterly the best 1st lvl spell in the game. And is great upcasted if you know the boss is weak launching a lvl5 MM is a reliable finisher.
I play a Vengeance Paladin/Divine Soul Sorcerer multi class when I’m not DMing. Can confirm, Twin Haste is nasty.
Twinned Greater Invisibility is fun
my fighter with the magic adept feat just picked up a wand of web and my goodness it is effective. Probably one of my favourite lucky loots in DnD.
I've been watching all sorts of videos as I'm getting ready to play my first sorcerer (outside of BG3) Catapult is looking like it will be my favorite 1st level spell, dealing 3d8 damage. Place your flask of acid on the ground at the start, and catapult it for an addition 2d6 damage. In my mind it works great, fingers crossed it will in play too.
I literally just made a 3rd lv dragon sorcerer blaster before this video where I took Dragon Breath for the quicken combo they were talking about with Sunbeam and Telekinesis. I realize at that level Flaming Sphere is probably just better, but I wanted it to be more thematic
2:04 I mean ... I guess. It isn’t like a warlock or anything. I still like the idea of taking spells for different play style rather than not picking them overall for a class.
I enjoy a support based Clockwork Soul, of course still with some damage because sometimes the best support for your party is to kill the threat