I've been thinking about a backup character for the campaign I'm playing with my friends and I wanted to play a Storm Sorcerer. I also wanted to try multiclassing, which I thought could be mixed with my backstory, but I don't really have an idea how to do this narative wise.
The base idea for this character was for him to be born into slavery, spending some time as a slave -> ending up on a ship that got hit by a storm and was sunk -> character was saved by a deity of the sea and storms that felt pity on him (due to him being a slave his entire life) and gave him storm powers (storm sorcerer).
I had the idea of going with tempest cleric as first 2-3 levels which also could've led to him being saved in the storm and the deity choosing to grant him "more" abilities and becoming a sorcerer. However, I have no clue as to how I would roleplay this or have this make sense narative wise.
So my question to you all is: "How would it make sense to go from a cleric whorshipping a certain deity, to a sorcerer with the same deity that made him one?" The main problem being that I don't know why the character wouldn't still be a cleric in the sense of gaining abilities by whorshipping the deity.
I don’t see a huge problem with this. The story seems relatively solid and if you role play it well, I think it could be pretty cool.
Combat wise it’s really smart, because you get channel divinity: wrath of the storm. That paired with the transmuted spell meta magic is one of the most powerful combos in the game.
It could make sense that your worshipping this god almost as a way to make up for him making you a sorcerer but that does seem more like celestial warlock type
I do find it strange that a cleric was given sorcery powers by his deity instead of just continuing the path of the cleric. I would actually do the opposite: a sorcerer received a revelation from a god and decided to worship them and become a cleric.
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Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
@Flaxo Yeah I know, thats kind off the problem I have with this. But Like Bybyroro said, this is can work good combat wise as well, so I'm really trying to make this work rp wise as well
@Bybyroro Yeah I wanted him to keep worshipping the god, but then again it would feel strange to be a sorcerer instead of just stayiuing a cleric. I was thinking of maybe going with the "you're free now, so I'll give you powers of your own so you I don't have to keep an eye on you all the time", but it feels like a lame excuse to make him a sorcerer
True. I actually think that’s one of the better backstories. Idk if you’re looking for more but I’ve seen much worse. It’s an interesting concept and I’ll definitely try and find a few other ideas.
@Flaxo Yeah I know, thats kind off the problem I have with this. But Like Bybyroro said, this is can work good combat wise as well, so I'm really trying to make this work rp wise as well
Switching the starting class doesn't invalid what Bybyboro said. The difference between a Sorcerer/Cleric and a Cleric/Sorcerer is trivial. Here, let me show you the difference between the two.
Cleric/Sorcerer
Prerequisite: 13 Charisma
Saving Throws: Wisdom & Charisma
Sorcerer/Cleric
Prerequisite: 13 Wisdom
Saving Throws: Constitution & Charisma
Everything else remains the same. It's up to you which class you choose when you level up. By starting as a Cleric, you need a minimum of 13 Charisma to multiclass as a Sorcerer. By starting as a Sorcerer, you need a minimum of 13 Wisdom to multiclass as a Cleric. By starting as a Cleric, you get proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. By starting as a Sorcerer, you get proficiency in Constitution saving throws. Aside from these two minor differences, both combinations are exactly the same. If you only want a few levels as a Cleric, nothing stops you from going back to leveling up as a Sorcerer once you've reached the level you want as a Cleric.
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Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
People besides clerics can worship gods - a sorcerer can be a devout believer and follower just as much as a cleric or paladin can. I see no problem with this as you've written it.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
A simpler solution is that the deity didn’t grant the sorcery powers but that he simply absorbed them from the storm - maybe he got hit by lightning and survived and discovered afterwards that he extra storm related powers his being a cleric couldn’t explain. Just because the powers are similar doesn’t mean they have to have the same source.
According to lore, like if you wanted to be real accurate, wouldn't it be impossible to become a sorcerer unless you were born as one or destroyed and reborn as one? Because the whole thing is that sorcerers ARE magic and naturally imbued. Multi-classing as a sorcerer wouldn't work (lore wise) because it's not a skill you learn like wizards or given by a deity like a warlock or cleric. It would make more sense to start as a sorcerer and multiclass into cleric. I think at least...
There is nothing in the lore about having to be “reborn” as a sorceror. Some subclasses have the the magical links inherited, while others call for some event to saturate the sorceror with magic in some way linking them into the magic of the world. For storm sorcery in particular that could be surviving being hit by lightning during a massive storm, surviving being whirled up into the heart of the storm by a tornado and then being dropped safely back on the ground or other possible events. I suppose you could think of such things as being “born again” into the sorcery but it doesn’t really call for deaths and reconstruction as a magical being.
Some Sorcerer subclasses are called bloodlines, but there is nothing even in the lore really requiring birth (or rebirth). One's sorcerous origin sometimes presumes someone is born with something which could be a result of parentage, but nothing insists on that, there could be other interests at play in the sorcerer's birth. Some sorcerous origins presume at some point in the character's life, including the day or moments before the campaign starts, the sorcerer was "touched" by something that granted the sorcerer their powers. Draconic bloodlines, for example, could simply be bestowed on a PC by a very powerful draconic entity, which may or may not be an actual dragon.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
As far as "role-playing" the back story, which sounds more like making the back story plausible, one think I think you don't have to do is having a timeline where he was a Cleric from level 1-3, and then he got his sorceror level(s). Classes are structures or conceits that have mechanics governing leveling growth during play. There's no RAW that requires you to follow that mechanic when building a character starting at level 4+ (with let's say a 3/1 split or higher) or whatever level the DM is saying to build characters to. Up to the point in the game where the character starts being played, the character's lived experience has been one of service to a deity while also making use of sorcerous powers that may have a similar or altogether separate origin. You can have the sorcerous powers arrive whenever, but you don't have to marry the chronology of the characters life to the leveling mechanics.
You could for example, have a 10th level character who is a 2nd level cleric and 8th level sorcerer, but is a 12 year old human who has this power leveling because he's the prophesied chosen one.
I like to play martial rogue mixes ... maybe they're all pale references to Bronn from Game of Thrones, I don't know. Anyway, I've been in groups where during session 0 or 1 and it's back story time, I've heard players recount, "first he was raised to be a warrior, but then he joined some bandits, but when this or that war started he joined the army, after the war he used his experience as a bandit to get work in the thieves guild...." I don't do that, as far as my character's multi class to date, I'll just explain, "He enjoys fighting, and he's always played dirty." I don't have to identify where on the timeline he was at certain class levels, because for all that a backstory holds for utility, it's largely immaterial.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
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Hi,
I've been thinking about a backup character for the campaign I'm playing with my friends and I wanted to play a Storm Sorcerer. I also wanted to try multiclassing, which I thought could be mixed with my backstory, but I don't really have an idea how to do this narative wise.
The base idea for this character was for him to be born into slavery, spending some time as a slave -> ending up on a ship that got hit by a storm and was sunk -> character was saved by a deity of the sea and storms that felt pity on him (due to him being a slave his entire life) and gave him storm powers (storm sorcerer).
I had the idea of going with tempest cleric as first 2-3 levels which also could've led to him being saved in the storm and the deity choosing to grant him "more" abilities and becoming a sorcerer. However, I have no clue as to how I would roleplay this or have this make sense narative wise.
So my question to you all is: "How would it make sense to go from a cleric whorshipping a certain deity, to a sorcerer with the same deity that made him one?" The main problem being that I don't know why the character wouldn't still be a cleric in the sense of gaining abilities by whorshipping the deity.
I don’t see a huge problem with this. The story seems relatively solid and if you role play it well, I think it could be pretty cool.
Combat wise it’s really smart, because you get channel divinity: wrath of the storm. That paired with the transmuted spell meta magic is one of the most powerful combos in the game.
It could make sense that your worshipping this god almost as a way to make up for him making you a sorcerer but that does seem more like celestial warlock type
I do find it strange that a cleric was given sorcery powers by his deity instead of just continuing the path of the cleric. I would actually do the opposite: a sorcerer received a revelation from a god and decided to worship them and become a cleric.
Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
@Flaxo Yeah I know, thats kind off the problem I have with this. But Like Bybyroro said, this is can work good combat wise as well, so I'm really trying to make this work rp wise as well
@Bybyroro Yeah I wanted him to keep worshipping the god, but then again it would feel strange to be a sorcerer instead of just stayiuing a cleric. I was thinking of maybe going with the "you're free now, so I'll give you powers of your own so you I don't have to keep an eye on you all the time", but it feels like a lame excuse to make him a sorcerer
True. I actually think that’s one of the better backstories. Idk if you’re looking for more but I’ve seen much worse. It’s an interesting concept and I’ll definitely try and find a few other ideas.
@Bybyroro Well thanks, for now I'm gonna go with it. Perhaps something else comes to mind when writing it down. If so, I'll post it here as well
Switching the starting class doesn't invalid what Bybyboro said. The difference between a Sorcerer/Cleric and a Cleric/Sorcerer is trivial. Here, let me show you the difference between the two.
Cleric/Sorcerer
Sorcerer/Cleric
Everything else remains the same. It's up to you which class you choose when you level up. By starting as a Cleric, you need a minimum of 13 Charisma to multiclass as a Sorcerer. By starting as a Sorcerer, you need a minimum of 13 Wisdom to multiclass as a Cleric. By starting as a Cleric, you get proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. By starting as a Sorcerer, you get proficiency in Constitution saving throws. Aside from these two minor differences, both combinations are exactly the same. If you only want a few levels as a Cleric, nothing stops you from going back to leveling up as a Sorcerer once you've reached the level you want as a Cleric.
Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
People besides clerics can worship gods - a sorcerer can be a devout believer and follower just as much as a cleric or paladin can. I see no problem with this as you've written it.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
A divine charism doesn’t have to be one size fits all. The particulars of the multi laws can just be part of the nature of the deity’s gift.
A simpler solution is that the deity didn’t grant the sorcery powers but that he simply absorbed them from the storm - maybe he got hit by lightning and survived and discovered afterwards that he extra storm related powers his being a cleric couldn’t explain. Just because the powers are similar doesn’t mean they have to have the same source.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
According to lore, like if you wanted to be real accurate, wouldn't it be impossible to become a sorcerer unless you were born as one or destroyed and reborn as one? Because the whole thing is that sorcerers ARE magic and naturally imbued. Multi-classing as a sorcerer wouldn't work (lore wise) because it's not a skill you learn like wizards or given by a deity like a warlock or cleric. It would make more sense to start as a sorcerer and multiclass into cleric. I think at least...
There is nothing in the lore about having to be “reborn” as a sorceror. Some subclasses have the the magical links inherited, while others call for some event to saturate the sorceror with magic in some way linking them into the magic of the world. For storm sorcery in particular that could be surviving being hit by lightning during a massive storm, surviving being whirled up into the heart of the storm by a tornado and then being dropped safely back on the ground or other possible events. I suppose you could think of such things as being “born again” into the sorcery but it doesn’t really call for deaths and reconstruction as a magical being.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Some Sorcerer subclasses are called bloodlines, but there is nothing even in the lore really requiring birth (or rebirth). One's sorcerous origin sometimes presumes someone is born with something which could be a result of parentage, but nothing insists on that, there could be other interests at play in the sorcerer's birth. Some sorcerous origins presume at some point in the character's life, including the day or moments before the campaign starts, the sorcerer was "touched" by something that granted the sorcerer their powers. Draconic bloodlines, for example, could simply be bestowed on a PC by a very powerful draconic entity, which may or may not be an actual dragon.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
As far as "role-playing" the back story, which sounds more like making the back story plausible, one think I think you don't have to do is having a timeline where he was a Cleric from level 1-3, and then he got his sorceror level(s). Classes are structures or conceits that have mechanics governing leveling growth during play. There's no RAW that requires you to follow that mechanic when building a character starting at level 4+ (with let's say a 3/1 split or higher) or whatever level the DM is saying to build characters to. Up to the point in the game where the character starts being played, the character's lived experience has been one of service to a deity while also making use of sorcerous powers that may have a similar or altogether separate origin. You can have the sorcerous powers arrive whenever, but you don't have to marry the chronology of the characters life to the leveling mechanics.
You could for example, have a 10th level character who is a 2nd level cleric and 8th level sorcerer, but is a 12 year old human who has this power leveling because he's the prophesied chosen one.
I like to play martial rogue mixes ... maybe they're all pale references to Bronn from Game of Thrones, I don't know. Anyway, I've been in groups where during session 0 or 1 and it's back story time, I've heard players recount, "first he was raised to be a warrior, but then he joined some bandits, but when this or that war started he joined the army, after the war he used his experience as a bandit to get work in the thieves guild...." I don't do that, as far as my character's multi class to date, I'll just explain, "He enjoys fighting, and he's always played dirty." I don't have to identify where on the timeline he was at certain class levels, because for all that a backstory holds for utility, it's largely immaterial.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.