(I'm assuming CHA is probably the highest) What do I want the 2nd highest to be: Dex or Con, when NOT playing a class that has some kind of natural armor or some other natural boost to either AC or HP?
Oops, sorry, sort of a dumb question: the "Basic Rules" says "followed by Constitution". That seems right, but AC seems concerning low, I know there are some spells and workarounds to help with that.
It honestly doesn`t matter too much. While it is arguable that health is more important, i normally just pick whatever. Low health? False Life. Low AC? Mage armor. It`s your choice.
mage armor and the shield spells for increasing armor class, constitution for increasing hit points and concentration, I prefer constitution higher than charisma since the class already has proficiency bonus to constitution saving throws it meshes well with concentration spells, only one concentration per character at all times unless stated otherwise
I usually tend to prioritise Dexterity over Constitution, trying for around +3 in Dexterity and Charisma and +2 in Constitution as starting scores, aiming to raise Charisma as fast as possible.
With mage armor, or Draconic Bloodline, +3 in DEX gives you a solid base AC of 16, which you can augment with shield when that isn't enough, and I've found +2 Constitution is plenty even late into the game, as your proficiency in Constitution saving throws is already a good boost for concentration; to maintain concentration more easily I prefer to try and take War Caster, either that or a 2-3 level dip into Warlock to grab the Eldritch Mind invocation, as both will give you advantage.
As Extremely_Vicious_Mockery says, if you need more hit-points you can always take false life (or armor of agathys if you do the Warlock dip) to grab some temporary hit-points when heading into what seems like a dangerous area.
Honestly, it's pretty freeform on back row casters aside from the casting stat. I'd say pick one for a +2 and give the other +1 and see how much aggro your DM throws your way in combat, but you're free to focus on INT or WIS as a secondary ability if you want. Can even dump STR to 8 if you want to play into the spindly caster bit and have some more room to play with. Personally I think I'd favor CON over DEX; enemy to-hit is gonna scale faster than your AC, so I'd favor making sure you can hold your concentration spells better.
You could go either way, but for a sorcerer I usually favor Con because it’s your “good” saving throw, and try to rely on positioning and mage armor to not get hit.
I recommend dex. You'll get better initiative, improved AC and I make more dex saves than any other. Additionally, you can use ranged weapons, which are flat out better than your cantrips at low levels, and frankly not being hit (better AC) is more useful than a couple extra hit points when you do get hit.
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I'd recommend Constitution slightly over Dexterity, because of that puny d6 hit die, but Dexterity is still more versatile, and is almost as good an option.
Low level Dex is going to save you more since most enemies are a threat against your AC. But at higher levels the number of save effects goes up considerably, and for that you'll want more hp and a better con save. Plus, the use of a crossbow is great until 5th level, but after that your cantrips hit harder, so that's another drop off for dex being useful.
It isn't big difference though, both are fine. Pick which to be higher based your vision of the character imo.
Draconic bloodline: definitely pump up dex. You've now got plenty of HP for a full caster that shouldn't be on the front lines anyway.
For any other bloodline, I agree with everyone else: it doesn't particularly matter. There might be a slight advantage to a higher dex at early levels (like Ravnodaus explained) but it's not significant enough to make or break your character. And you shouldn't expect to rely on mage armor/shield for AC either. In my experience it's simply not worth using one of your very few known spells on them. Save known spells for powerful blasts, it's what sorcerers tend to do best. If you want to play a controller/buffer, roll a wizard instead.
I'd say that the most important thing when playing a squishy full caster like a sorcerer or wizard is to remember your place in combat. You should NEVER be in the front. As long as you keep that in mind, you shouldn't have too many issues. Of course, having a high con for HP and concentration and high dex for AC is nice, but if you're barely ever getting targeted with attacks, they become less vital.
Feels like you wouldn’t be making a critical mistake by prioritising either, so choosing the one which fits better with your character concept shouldn’t penalise you unduly. For my Fairy Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, I chose Dexterity, as I envisaged her as dodging hits more than tanking them.
Dex modifies more abilities that are used more often. AC, Stealth, Slight of Hand, Acrobatics, Initiative , Damage Modifier, to hit, Dex Saves, Dex Checks.
Remember if you have +2 or better dex, its usually more efficient to use a crossbow than cantrips for levels 1-4.
Con modifies far fewer. Concentration, Con Saves, Con Checks and Health which is probably the most important.
Con Saves are also generally more important than Dex Saves but "Con Checks" are also very few and far between
That's the best i can do of the top of my head.
But i'd say that as long as you reach a "minimum" Con, then Dex. But until you reach that, it would be Con.
OPTION 1: Dexterity. Hear me out, you could be a Draconic bloodline sorcerer for a boost of 3 to your AC. Max out your Charisma and Dexterity, and then get the tough feat. It is infinitely better than two ASI on constitution for a sorcerer. It is actually equal to 5 (and that’s with 20 constitution). So you’ve now got a sorc with a good AC and an armour class.
PROS:
More Hitpoints than Option 2
Freedom of Race
CONS:
Lack of freedom over sorcerer, resulting in limited or reduced power
OPTION 2: Constitution. Become a tortle for the base AC, then max out your charisma, and constitution, and get the tough feat.
PROS:
Better AC over Option 1
More hitpoints
Freedom of subclass
Able to dump dexterity, to focus on something else like wisdom
CONS:
Lack of freedom over Race
Race doesn’t give you ideal bonuses to your ability scores (Custom Origin can help)
Multiclassing will limit tankieness
Overall it is your choice on which to take (if any). I’d take option 2 personally. Alternatively you could just be a hill dwarf with the tough feat and the Draconic bloodline, then you’ve got a solid 260hp (with max constitution). Keep in mind that sorcerers aren’t supposed to be played like tanks, and are at best when behind the front lines decimating the battlefields with their spells, so you may not necessarily need an Armour Class to be that high.
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Assuming you aren't playing a race with natural armor, I would go for Constitution over Dexterity for a couple of reasons.
1) As a caster, you should generally try to stay away from enemies, and there are spells like Mage Armor and Shield to help boost your AC when you can't avoid the enemies altogether.
2) More CON will help you on saving throws to maintain concentration for when you can't avoid being hit.
3) More Con will also help mitigate the disadvantage from the measly d6 hit die that sorcerers get. More hit points means you can survive a little longer in case enemy spell casters throw down AoE's at the party (like the classic almighty Fireball).
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(I'm assuming CHA is probably the highest) What do I want the 2nd highest to be: Dex or Con, when NOT playing a class that has some kind of natural armor or some other natural boost to either AC or HP?
Oops, sorry, sort of a dumb question: the "Basic Rules" says "followed by Constitution". That seems right, but AC seems concerning low, I know there are some spells and workarounds to help with that.
It honestly doesn`t matter too much. While it is arguable that health is more important, i normally just pick whatever. Low health? False Life. Low AC? Mage armor. It`s your choice.
Studded Leather: He does exactly what I do
Natural Armor: But better
mage armor and the shield spells for increasing armor class, constitution for increasing hit points and concentration, I prefer constitution higher than charisma since the class already has proficiency bonus to constitution saving throws it meshes well with concentration spells, only one concentration per character at all times unless stated otherwise
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Does not really matter. What is wrong with having them the same 14 in each is a pretty good option.
CHA, CON, then DEX...but yeah, you could get away with 14 CON and DEX.
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I usually tend to prioritise Dexterity over Constitution, trying for around +3 in Dexterity and Charisma and +2 in Constitution as starting scores, aiming to raise Charisma as fast as possible.
With mage armor, or Draconic Bloodline, +3 in DEX gives you a solid base AC of 16, which you can augment with shield when that isn't enough, and I've found +2 Constitution is plenty even late into the game, as your proficiency in Constitution saving throws is already a good boost for concentration; to maintain concentration more easily I prefer to try and take War Caster, either that or a 2-3 level dip into Warlock to grab the Eldritch Mind invocation, as both will give you advantage.
As Extremely_Vicious_Mockery says, if you need more hit-points you can always take false life (or armor of agathys if you do the Warlock dip) to grab some temporary hit-points when heading into what seems like a dangerous area.
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Honestly, it's pretty freeform on back row casters aside from the casting stat. I'd say pick one for a +2 and give the other +1 and see how much aggro your DM throws your way in combat, but you're free to focus on INT or WIS as a secondary ability if you want. Can even dump STR to 8 if you want to play into the spindly caster bit and have some more room to play with. Personally I think I'd favor CON over DEX; enemy to-hit is gonna scale faster than your AC, so I'd favor making sure you can hold your concentration spells better.
You could go either way, but for a sorcerer I usually favor Con because it’s your “good” saving throw, and try to rely on positioning and mage armor to not get hit.
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I recommend dex. You'll get better initiative, improved AC and I make more dex saves than any other. Additionally, you can use ranged weapons, which are flat out better than your cantrips at low levels, and frankly not being hit (better AC) is more useful than a couple extra hit points when you do get hit.
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I'd recommend Constitution slightly over Dexterity, because of that puny d6 hit die, but Dexterity is still more versatile, and is almost as good an option.
Low level Dex is going to save you more since most enemies are a threat against your AC. But at higher levels the number of save effects goes up considerably, and for that you'll want more hp and a better con save. Plus, the use of a crossbow is great until 5th level, but after that your cantrips hit harder, so that's another drop off for dex being useful.
It isn't big difference though, both are fine. Pick which to be higher based your vision of the character imo.
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To me, it depends how I'm playing my sorcerer.
Draconic bloodline: definitely pump up dex. You've now got plenty of HP for a full caster that shouldn't be on the front lines anyway.
For any other bloodline, I agree with everyone else: it doesn't particularly matter. There might be a slight advantage to a higher dex at early levels (like Ravnodaus explained) but it's not significant enough to make or break your character. And you shouldn't expect to rely on mage armor/shield for AC either. In my experience it's simply not worth using one of your very few known spells on them. Save known spells for powerful blasts, it's what sorcerers tend to do best. If you want to play a controller/buffer, roll a wizard instead.
I'd say that the most important thing when playing a squishy full caster like a sorcerer or wizard is to remember your place in combat. You should NEVER be in the front. As long as you keep that in mind, you shouldn't have too many issues. Of course, having a high con for HP and concentration and high dex for AC is nice, but if you're barely ever getting targeted with attacks, they become less vital.
In my experience...
Generally i would say dex
I wonder how plummeting hundreds of feet feels
Feels like you wouldn’t be making a critical mistake by prioritising either, so choosing the one which fits better with your character concept shouldn’t penalise you unduly. For my Fairy Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, I chose Dexterity, as I envisaged her as dodging hits more than tanking them.
Annoying answer but it depends.
Dex modifies more abilities that are used more often. AC, Stealth, Slight of Hand, Acrobatics, Initiative , Damage Modifier, to hit, Dex Saves, Dex Checks.
Remember if you have +2 or better dex, its usually more efficient to use a crossbow than cantrips for levels 1-4.
Con modifies far fewer. Concentration, Con Saves, Con Checks and Health which is probably the most important.
Con Saves are also generally more important than Dex Saves but "Con Checks" are also very few and far between
That's the best i can do of the top of my head.
But i'd say that as long as you reach a "minimum" Con, then Dex. But until you reach that, it would be Con.
OPTION 1: Dexterity. Hear me out, you could be a Draconic bloodline sorcerer for a boost of 3 to your AC. Max out your Charisma and Dexterity, and then get the tough feat. It is infinitely better than two ASI on constitution for a sorcerer. It is actually equal to 5 (and that’s with 20 constitution). So you’ve now got a sorc with a good AC and an armour class.
PROS:
CONS:
OPTION 2: Constitution. Become a tortle for the base AC, then max out your charisma, and constitution, and get the tough feat.
PROS:
CONS:
Overall it is your choice on which to take (if any). I’d take option 2 personally. Alternatively you could just be a hill dwarf with the tough feat and the Draconic bloodline, then you’ve got a solid 260hp (with max constitution). Keep in mind that sorcerers aren’t supposed to be played like tanks, and are at best when behind the front lines decimating the battlefields with their spells, so you may not necessarily need an Armour Class to be that high.
DM: “Who’s your patron?”
Warlock: “Ummm”
DM: “Hurry Up”
Warlock: “yOu”
*All other players look at each other with utter fear*
__________________________________________________________________________________
Check out my homebrew: My Homebrew
Assuming you aren't playing a race with natural armor, I would go for Constitution over Dexterity for a couple of reasons.
1) As a caster, you should generally try to stay away from enemies, and there are spells like Mage Armor and Shield to help boost your AC when you can't avoid the enemies altogether.
2) More CON will help you on saving throws to maintain concentration for when you can't avoid being hit.
3) More Con will also help mitigate the disadvantage from the measly d6 hit die that sorcerers get. More hit points means you can survive a little longer in case enemy spell casters throw down AoE's at the party (like the classic almighty Fireball).