As the title suggests I'm currently playing with the idea of making a Favoured soul sorcerer as a primary support for a group. This group has some utility casters already and a few off healers but no one really to focus on buffing and heals. I wanted the ability for the strong buffs/debuffs such as haste or polymorph and still be able to heal. Hence the Favoured Soul. However limited spell list makes this harrowing.
Also I am thinking that perhaps dipping into warlock might be beneficial. Primary damage source for my character would then be eldritch blast and would give me access to extra spell slots for metamagic shenanigans and also a spell or two i wouldnt mind casting at highest level.
So with that being said. How would you suggest a Favoured Soul Support to be built? And is this just trying to hard to make the Sorc a priest? Also is the warlock dip redundant?
Favored Soul is... tricky as a full support caster. Not just because of the limited spells known*, but also because of a lack of synergy with meta-magics. For instance, two of the best support spells in the early game are Bless and Spiritual Weapon, neither of which qualify for any metamagic option. You'll be better off relying on something like Guiding Bolt, a blasty option that comes doubled with a debuff on the target. Guiding Bolt not only works better with metamagic, but also with Favored of the Gods subclass ability
Dipping warlock does give you access to more spell slots to be converted to sorcery points and eldritch blasts, which is a pretty strong blaster combination, but that goes against your goal of being a dedicated support character and pushes you back to being a blaster type as well as delaying access to higher level support magic like Death Ward. On the other hand, rechargable level 1 spell slots also makes it much easier to cast Bless more often, though I personally prefer to have access to higher level spells known. Side note - for cantrips, you're probably going to want to include Guidance, Spare the Dying and Sacred Flame, all common for support character cantrips. Well, maybe not sacred flame, as that's unique to clerics, but its a save-based damage option for getting around cover/teammates or you're stuck in melee range, so something you should also get.
All in all, the sorcerer really shines as an Evoker type, which does happen to include evocation spells like Healing Word. Even as a Favored Soul, your early abilities are best employed to correct your aim with attack spells and boosting your Healing magic. This is the reason that many people consider even Favored Soul to be an off-healer rather than dedicated one. Combined with your desire to go sorlock, that's a lot that's pushing you away from your goal.
All this is not to say going full support is impossible, but its going to definitely be tricky to pull off, and you might run into issues, depending on how your local table works out. There's a lot of little variables going on that, ultimately, you'll need to fill in with familiarity on your local table. So, you're going to need to plan things out based on your individual campaign, and feel out if its too much or to little. There's a lot that you're trying to cram into here, and you won't be able to pull off everything you might want.
* In general, with a dedicated support type, I find that you're going to want access to not just healing magic, but also restoration and resurrection magics. With the cleric and druid, you can leave them off your prepared spells until needed, but the sorcerer doesn't really get that option. With a party of off-healers, you may be able to spread the need for these magics among several. Things to keep in mind.
Also keep in mind that, unlike clerics, druids and bards with their armor, sorcerers still rely on things like mage armor and shield spells to avoid damage, further complicating your choices. Though, if you go with Aasmiar, their ability to gain flying adds mobility and damage avoidance, so that helps as well.
Also, keep an eye out for Concentration spells. Bless, as I said, is an awesome buff spell for the cleric, but you'll probably want to look at Twinned Haste spells here, also Concentration. You won't be able to run both at the same time.
For the most part, I agree with Mephista, who makes some great points. Warlock, with the possible exception of Celestial, is at odds with your goal of being support and/or healing. If you're going to multiclass, I might go with a class that complements your play style more directly. Bard, for instance, gives you light armor, some extra cantrips, four extra spells known, and the entire resource of inspiration, the pool of which scales with your Charisma. It fits very nicely with the healer/support theme. Wizard and Cleric are less synergistic, but if you have the stats, even one level goes a long way in increasing spells known, easing the burden on the Sorcerer's limited pool. I personally don't think that any multiclassing is necessary for this character, but a single level can help a lot. Bard is probably the most bang for your buck unless you have good secondary (WIS or INT) stats.
At low levels, healing word (which can be twinned to great effect) is enough to qualify a character as a healer, especially if there are other healers in the group. Access to mass cure wounds is great at mid and higher levels thanks to the ability to reroll dice as a divine soul. Bless and guiding bolt are enough to qualify as a support character at low levels, and twinned haste or greater invisibility are good at mid to high levels.
I very much think that you can make a divine soul as a primary support and healer, but to re-emphasize Mephista's caveat, you may find that you can't do everything you would like to. Plan ahead and you should be ok, especially if you're willing to make hard choices in spell picks.
Take a few levels of The Celestial warlock for Healing Light. This way you can bonus action heal and cast a spell when needed. Simply that is worth it when the need to bring someone up from a death save and then needing to push out a big spell is really good. and then twining healing word is also great. And if you take chain pack then Gift of the Ever-Living Ones is really nice at least to heal you :) though i would recommend Lance of Lethargy and Repelling Blast to help support the group without using as many spells. i played this build for a little bit and I enjoyed the ability to heal and still attack.
Few months ago i built a hobgoblin favored soul sorc / celestial warlock as our groups primary healer and support. I gave him well rounded spell choices and was great.
Id possibly suggest dipping a level or so into cleric for the life domain feature.
Sorc metamagic i had was twinned, distant (touch to ray whoo!) Combined with spell sniper (4x range total i believe or touch spells at 60ft.)
Warlock invocations i had were devils sight, grasp of hadar, repelling blast, pact of the tome for more spell choices.
Every fight he would use spiritual weapon. Great support spell.
Hey I main heal a group as a Divine Soul Sorcerer. Twin spell is amazing, highly recommend it. I also took quicken spell but have found I use it a lot less. I later took a couple levels in wizard and my DM was kind enough to let me move some of my sorcerer spells into wizard ones (suppressed memories, from his backstory). Granted him access to a lot of low level wizard spell utility and rituals. If I could redo my metamagics I'd probably swap quicken for distant or careful. While it can be handy I find that I don't end up being able to use it as often as I had expected as I prefer to save my points for the efficacy of twin spells heals or attacks.
Hello,
As the title suggests I'm currently playing with the idea of making a Favoured soul sorcerer as a primary support for a group.
This group has some utility casters already and a few off healers but no one really to focus on buffing and heals. I wanted the ability for the strong buffs/debuffs such as haste or polymorph and still be able to heal. Hence the Favoured Soul. However limited spell list makes this harrowing.
Also I am thinking that perhaps dipping into warlock might be beneficial. Primary damage source for my character would then be eldritch blast and would give me access to extra spell slots for metamagic shenanigans and also a spell or two i wouldnt mind casting at highest level.
So with that being said. How would you suggest a Favoured Soul Support to be built? And is this just trying to hard to make the Sorc a priest? Also is the warlock dip redundant?
Cheers !
Favored Soul is... tricky as a full support caster. Not just because of the limited spells known*, but also because of a lack of synergy with meta-magics. For instance, two of the best support spells in the early game are Bless and Spiritual Weapon, neither of which qualify for any metamagic option. You'll be better off relying on something like Guiding Bolt, a blasty option that comes doubled with a debuff on the target. Guiding Bolt not only works better with metamagic, but also with Favored of the Gods subclass ability
Dipping warlock does give you access to more spell slots to be converted to sorcery points and eldritch blasts, which is a pretty strong blaster combination, but that goes against your goal of being a dedicated support character and pushes you back to being a blaster type as well as delaying access to higher level support magic like Death Ward. On the other hand, rechargable level 1 spell slots also makes it much easier to cast Bless more often, though I personally prefer to have access to higher level spells known. Side note - for cantrips, you're probably going to want to include Guidance, Spare the Dying and Sacred Flame, all common for support character cantrips. Well, maybe not sacred flame, as that's unique to clerics, but its a save-based damage option for getting around cover/teammates or you're stuck in melee range, so something you should also get.
All in all, the sorcerer really shines as an Evoker type, which does happen to include evocation spells like Healing Word. Even as a Favored Soul, your early abilities are best employed to correct your aim with attack spells and boosting your Healing magic. This is the reason that many people consider even Favored Soul to be an off-healer rather than dedicated one. Combined with your desire to go sorlock, that's a lot that's pushing you away from your goal.
All this is not to say going full support is impossible, but its going to definitely be tricky to pull off, and you might run into issues, depending on how your local table works out. There's a lot of little variables going on that, ultimately, you'll need to fill in with familiarity on your local table. So, you're going to need to plan things out based on your individual campaign, and feel out if its too much or to little. There's a lot that you're trying to cram into here, and you won't be able to pull off everything you might want.
* In general, with a dedicated support type, I find that you're going to want access to not just healing magic, but also restoration and resurrection magics. With the cleric and druid, you can leave them off your prepared spells until needed, but the sorcerer doesn't really get that option. With a party of off-healers, you may be able to spread the need for these magics among several. Things to keep in mind.
Also keep in mind that, unlike clerics, druids and bards with their armor, sorcerers still rely on things like mage armor and shield spells to avoid damage, further complicating your choices. Though, if you go with Aasmiar, their ability to gain flying adds mobility and damage avoidance, so that helps as well.
Also, keep an eye out for Concentration spells. Bless, as I said, is an awesome buff spell for the cleric, but you'll probably want to look at Twinned Haste spells here, also Concentration. You won't be able to run both at the same time.
For the most part, I agree with Mephista, who makes some great points. Warlock, with the possible exception of Celestial, is at odds with your goal of being support and/or healing. If you're going to multiclass, I might go with a class that complements your play style more directly. Bard, for instance, gives you light armor, some extra cantrips, four extra spells known, and the entire resource of inspiration, the pool of which scales with your Charisma. It fits very nicely with the healer/support theme. Wizard and Cleric are less synergistic, but if you have the stats, even one level goes a long way in increasing spells known, easing the burden on the Sorcerer's limited pool. I personally don't think that any multiclassing is necessary for this character, but a single level can help a lot. Bard is probably the most bang for your buck unless you have good secondary (WIS or INT) stats.
At low levels, healing word (which can be twinned to great effect) is enough to qualify a character as a healer, especially if there are other healers in the group. Access to mass cure wounds is great at mid and higher levels thanks to the ability to reroll dice as a divine soul. Bless and guiding bolt are enough to qualify as a support character at low levels, and twinned haste or greater invisibility are good at mid to high levels.
I very much think that you can make a divine soul as a primary support and healer, but to re-emphasize Mephista's caveat, you may find that you can't do everything you would like to. Plan ahead and you should be ok, especially if you're willing to make hard choices in spell picks.
Take a few levels of The Celestial warlock for Healing Light. This way you can bonus action heal and cast a spell when needed. Simply that is worth it when the need to bring someone up from a death save and then needing to push out a big spell is really good. and then twining healing word is also great. And if you take chain pack then Gift of the Ever-Living Ones is really nice at least to heal you :) though i would recommend Lance of Lethargy and Repelling Blast to help support the group without using as many spells. i played this build for a little bit and I enjoyed the ability to heal and still attack.
Few months ago i built a hobgoblin favored soul sorc / celestial warlock as our groups primary healer and support. I gave him well rounded spell choices and was great.
Id possibly suggest dipping a level or so into cleric for the life domain feature.
Sorc metamagic i had was twinned, distant (touch to ray whoo!) Combined with spell sniper (4x range total i believe or touch spells at 60ft.)
Warlock invocations i had were devils sight, grasp of hadar, repelling blast, pact of the tome for more spell choices.
Every fight he would use spiritual weapon. Great support spell.
Why choose Favored Soul instead of Divine Soul? Divine Soul gets one more spell known.
I think UA vs xanthar? Whichever the official legal one is. Mix of words.
Hey I main heal a group as a Divine Soul Sorcerer. Twin spell is amazing, highly recommend it. I also took quicken spell but have found I use it a lot less. I later took a couple levels in wizard and my DM was kind enough to let me move some of my sorcerer spells into wizard ones (suppressed memories, from his backstory). Granted him access to a lot of low level wizard spell utility and rituals. If I could redo my metamagics I'd probably swap quicken for distant or careful. While it can be handy I find that I don't end up being able to use it as often as I had expected as I prefer to save my points for the efficacy of twin spells heals or attacks.
I rather prefer Distant Spell with the Spell Sniper Feat.
Cure Wounds at range 60 please :)
But i tend to stick with Distant and Twinned as my metamagic.