For reasons I won't get into, I'll be playing a multiclassed Lore Bard (lvl3)/Sorcerer (lvl3). I've played a Bard before but I've never played a sorcerer, and I've never multiclassed in 5e. The rest of my group will consist of a Barbarian and a Paladin.
The other players are less experienced so I want to focus primarily on building a character that is best at 1) helping them through buffs, 2) has some general spell utility, and 3) has some ability to do damage in battle, but that's lower priority than the other two.
Can anyone give me some guidance? General tips, spell list suggestions, Sorcerer origin, etc.?
For reasons I won't get into, I'll be playing a multiclassed Lore Bard (lvl3)/Sorcerer (lvl3). I've played a Bard before but I've never played a sorcerer, and I've never multiclassed in 5e. The rest of my group will consist of a Barbarian and a Paladin.
The other players are less experienced so I want to focus primarily on building a character that is best at 1) helping them through buffs, 2) has some general spell utility, and 3) has some ability to do damage in battle, but that's lower priority than the other two.
Can anyone give me some guidance? General tips, spell list suggestions, Sorcerer origin, etc.?
Start Sorcerer if you want con save proficiency, which will be nice for your support spells with concentration. If you do, and none of the sorcerer subclasses are speaking to you, go Draconic ancestry for the extra health (aside from choosing sorcerer at first level, all of your levels will give you the same average HP as your bard levels) and the AC calculation (freeing you from needing to take Mage Armor or using a slot on it. This will give you more flexibility with your limited Sorcerer spell choices.
Take Vicious Mockery with a bard cantrip for the times when you want to do damage and still do some support. Grab utility cantrips with the other bard cantrips. Grab Mold Earth, probably Fire Bolt, one of Frostbite, Chill Touch, and Ray of Frost and something else that catches your eye. Shocking Grasp is a good option for a melee cantrip, but Vicious Mockery will serve there since it forces a save. Grab Shield and your offensive spells with Sorcerer selections and your support utility spells with Bard ones, unless there is a spell from one list that doesn't show on the other list like Heat Metal.
Draconic ancestry, Shadow Magic, and Storm Sorcery are the 3 subclasses that say bard to me, but you could manage with the other two as well.
remember that you cannot take 3rd level spells, so you are stuck with things like scorching ray and hold person, but keep in mind that whenever you gain levels you can replace old spells with new ones in the class you leveled up in, so if you really want you can have up to 4 of your 10 spells be of 2nd level.
Since you are an sard? barcerer? Anyways metamagic is an fantastic thing and it is important that you pick spells that synnergize well with your chosen metamagic options, for example if you pick up twinned spell you should defenetly choose a lot of spells that only targets a single creature like cure wounds, charm person and chromatic orb and try to avoid AoE spells like burning hands and spells that can have multiple targets like magic missile and scorching ray. If you also have extended spell you should try to pick up spells that are viable to be extended like disguise self, alter self and charm person, if you have heightened spell try to use a lot of save spells like burning hands, thunderwave and charm person etc etc
Since bards have proficiency in many melee weapons, picking up green flame blade or booming blade might be a really fun idea, as is thunderclap, and if you wanna go the melee route dragonic sorcerer can be an good fit for this character since you in the nude has better armor class than the light armor granted by bard
starting with sorcerer grants you proficiency in constituion saving throws, starting with bard grants you superior armor and skill proficiencies
choose expertise skills with your spells and what you want your character to be
remember that you have bardic inspiration, and that you can as a lore bard decrease the damage dealt to you or others by attacks using your reaction
hold person inflicts the paralyzed condition, any attack roll that hits a paralyzed creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 ft of the paralyzed creature, so your palladin and barbarian can enjoy infinite free critical hits against a single enemy
oh yeah and if you choose divine soulas your sorcerer origin, you get even more versatillity in the kinds of spells you can cast and gives you one additional cleric spell that can be anything you want since you can replace it when you level up, something you already have in the theoretical past, you can cast guidance to make you more likely to suceed on your own skill checks or to make the skill checks of your party more likely to succeed that also stacks with bardic inspiration, bless buffs your allies and inflict wounds can deal a lot of damage, all of them can only be gotten by this path, and it also enables prayer of healing as an slightly better 2nd level healing spell, as well as aid, a spell that will without needing concentration like many other buffs infrease the hit point maximum of everyone in your 3 member party for 8 hours, but again only if you decide on divine soul s your sorcerer origin, i think it is the best option for your situation but it is up to you in the end
the bane spell is available to bards and if the targets fails their charisma saves they subtract an d4 from all their saving throws, making it a great combination with any of your good sorcerer spells who requires a failed save to work, especially since it stacks with heightened spell
heroism is great to put on an fellow spell caster since it is the temporary hit points the spell grants and not you who takes damage first, making it easier to maintain concentration on a bunch of things, with twinned spell you can cast it on both of your melee based companions
sleep is always a good thing to have
minor illusion and mage hand are two really useful utillity cantrips, vicious mockery is just fun, prestidigitation is also a really good option
enlarge / reduce is also an really fun spell that is available at your fingertips, with the twinned spells option you can make both of your party members into ogre-sized beasts that deal a lot of damage
locate object and detect thoughts might be worth while utillity spells, and with no other support spellcasters it might be dangerous to not have lesser restoration, however you might be able to live without it
dexterity (stealth) and charisma (persuasion) are good choices for things to have expertise in, as is strength (athletics) since you can become a better grappler than the barbarian (not a good idea but you can)
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
heroism is great to put on an fellow spell caster since it is the temporary hit points the spell grants and not you who takes damage first, making it easier to maintain concentration on a bunch of things, with twinned spell you can cast it on both of your melee based companions
Just a warning, temporary HP still ends up being damage taken and you still need to make concentration checks on that damage. What you are describing is closer to the abjuration wizard's Arcane Ward.
A Lore Bard gets 3 skill proficiencies at 3rd level, so I would recommend starting off as Sorcerer for the proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws.
Thematically, which fits your character idea better? Wild Magic Sorcerer, Draconic Ancestry Sorcerer, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Shadow Sorcerer, or Storm Sorcerer? Divine Soul Sorcerer gives you access to Cleric spells, which you might want, as it gives you access to some nice support and utility spells, such as Bless. It also gives you Spiritual Weapon, which is a great damage spell. Bless is such an incredibly powerful spell, I would probably recommend Divine Soul Sorcerer just for that spell alone. Especially because of your stated desire to help your teammates by buffing them.
Edit: And how could I forget: Divine Soul Sorcerer also lets you choose Aid which if you upcast it in a 3rd level spell slot will increase your max HP and the max HPs of both your teammates by 10. It lasts 8 hours, and it doesn't require concentration. It's another really fantastic spell you could choose to buff your teammates.
Lore bard with sorcerer is pretty nice for twinning telekinesis to restrain two foes fairly reliably as you can add Jack of all trades and use cutting word to assist with the skill contests, Jack of all trades also helps a little with your subtle counterspells.
As far as picking a sorcerer subclass non really jump out at me. If allowed UA clockwork is pretty good from 14 sorc/3 bard as you will be able to automatically counterspell up to level 8 spells with a baseline counterspell, also makes using telekinesis on low cr mobs very reliable but unfortunately won't help with the super strong stuff as it improves your minimum role with out improving the max.
I agree with ArtificeMeal. Take a serious look at Divine Soul Sorcerer. The Cleric list will have a lot of buff/debuff spells and also healing. A twinned Guided Bolt has it's uses :D
Lore bard with sorcerer is pretty nice for twinning telekinesis to restrain two foes fairly reliably as you can add Jack of all trades and use cutting word to assist with the skill contests, Jack of all trades also helps a little with your subtle counterspells.
As far as picking a sorcerer subclass non really jump out at me. If allowed UA clockwork is pretty good from 14 sorc/3 bard as you will be able to automatically counterspell up to level 8 spells with a baseline counterspell, also makes using telekinesis on low cr mobs very reliable but unfortunately won't help with the super strong stuff as it improves your minimum role with out improving the max.
this dude is an person whose highest level slot is 3 and whose highest spells will be 2nd level, thinking this far ahead might not be nessesary
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
Me and one other guys in my group had our characters die in the last session a week and a half ago, and so we've had to create new characters. The party is level 6, so we're at the exact same level as your party.
We still have a couple of days to finalize our characters, but it looks like he's doing a Draconic Sorcerer 1 Lore Bard 5. His plan is to select Spiritual Weapon and Counterspell next level when he gets Magical Secrets. He'll be able to upcast Spiritual Weapon in a 4th level spell slot next level, and it's a darn good choice for his magical secrets. Clerics do have a really nice spell list, it's partly why two of my five characters have been Clerics (the character I'm starting this week is a Celestial Warlock, so it's almost like I'm making my 3rd Cleric). He's doing the 1 level dip in Sorcerer because Bard attack cantrips suck. The AC bonus of a Draconic Sorcerer and the proficiency in Constitution Saves are nice bonuses, too.
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For reasons I won't get into, I'll be playing a multiclassed Lore Bard (lvl3)/Sorcerer (lvl3). I've played a Bard before but I've never played a sorcerer, and I've never multiclassed in 5e. The rest of my group will consist of a Barbarian and a Paladin.
The other players are less experienced so I want to focus primarily on building a character that is best at 1) helping them through buffs, 2) has some general spell utility, and 3) has some ability to do damage in battle, but that's lower priority than the other two.
Can anyone give me some guidance? General tips, spell list suggestions, Sorcerer origin, etc.?
Start Sorcerer if you want con save proficiency, which will be nice for your support spells with concentration. If you do, and none of the sorcerer subclasses are speaking to you, go Draconic ancestry for the extra health (aside from choosing sorcerer at first level, all of your levels will give you the same average HP as your bard levels) and the AC calculation (freeing you from needing to take Mage Armor or using a slot on it. This will give you more flexibility with your limited Sorcerer spell choices.
Take Vicious Mockery with a bard cantrip for the times when you want to do damage and still do some support. Grab utility cantrips with the other bard cantrips. Grab Mold Earth, probably Fire Bolt, one of Frostbite, Chill Touch, and Ray of Frost and something else that catches your eye. Shocking Grasp is a good option for a melee cantrip, but Vicious Mockery will serve there since it forces a save. Grab Shield and your offensive spells with Sorcerer selections and your support utility spells with Bard ones, unless there is a spell from one list that doesn't show on the other list like Heat Metal.
Draconic ancestry, Shadow Magic, and Storm Sorcery are the 3 subclasses that say bard to me, but you could manage with the other two as well.
remember that you cannot take 3rd level spells, so you are stuck with things like scorching ray and hold person, but keep in mind that whenever you gain levels you can replace old spells with new ones in the class you leveled up in, so if you really want you can have up to 4 of your 10 spells be of 2nd level.
Since you are an sard? barcerer? Anyways metamagic is an fantastic thing and it is important that you pick spells that synnergize well with your chosen metamagic options, for example if you pick up twinned spell you should defenetly choose a lot of spells that only targets a single creature like cure wounds, charm person and chromatic orb and try to avoid AoE spells like burning hands and spells that can have multiple targets like magic missile and scorching ray. If you also have extended spell you should try to pick up spells that are viable to be extended like disguise self, alter self and charm person, if you have heightened spell try to use a lot of save spells like burning hands, thunderwave and charm person etc etc
Since bards have proficiency in many melee weapons, picking up green flame blade or booming blade might be a really fun idea, as is thunderclap, and if you wanna go the melee route dragonic sorcerer can be an good fit for this character since you in the nude has better armor class than the light armor granted by bard
starting with sorcerer grants you proficiency in constituion saving throws, starting with bard grants you superior armor and skill proficiencies
choose expertise skills with your spells and what you want your character to be
remember that you have bardic inspiration, and that you can as a lore bard decrease the damage dealt to you or others by attacks using your reaction
hold person inflicts the paralyzed condition, any attack roll that hits a paralyzed creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 ft of the paralyzed creature, so your palladin and barbarian can enjoy infinite free critical hits against a single enemy
remember to have fun
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
oh yeah and if you choose divine soul as your sorcerer origin, you get even more versatillity in the kinds of spells you can cast and gives you one additional cleric spell that can be anything you want since you can replace it when you level up, something you already have in the theoretical past, you can cast guidance to make you more likely to suceed on your own skill checks or to make the skill checks of your party more likely to succeed that also stacks with bardic inspiration, bless buffs your allies and inflict wounds can deal a lot of damage, all of them can only be gotten by this path, and it also enables prayer of healing as an slightly better 2nd level healing spell, as well as aid, a spell that will without needing concentration like many other buffs infrease the hit point maximum of everyone in your 3 member party for 8 hours, but again only if you decide on divine soul s your sorcerer origin, i think it is the best option for your situation but it is up to you in the end
the bane spell is available to bards and if the targets fails their charisma saves they subtract an d4 from all their saving throws, making it a great combination with any of your good sorcerer spells who requires a failed save to work, especially since it stacks with heightened spell
heroism is great to put on an fellow spell caster since it is the temporary hit points the spell grants and not you who takes damage first, making it easier to maintain concentration on a bunch of things, with twinned spell you can cast it on both of your melee based companions
sleep is always a good thing to have
minor illusion and mage hand are two really useful utillity cantrips, vicious mockery is just fun, prestidigitation is also a really good option
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
enlarge / reduce is also an really fun spell that is available at your fingertips, with the twinned spells option you can make both of your party members into ogre-sized beasts that deal a lot of damage
locate object and detect thoughts might be worth while utillity spells, and with no other support spellcasters it might be dangerous to not have lesser restoration, however you might be able to live without it
dexterity (stealth) and charisma (persuasion) are good choices for things to have expertise in, as is strength (athletics) since you can become a better grappler than the barbarian (not a good idea but you can)
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
Just a warning, temporary HP still ends up being damage taken and you still need to make concentration checks on that damage. What you are describing is closer to the abjuration wizard's Arcane Ward.
A Lore Bard gets 3 skill proficiencies at 3rd level, so I would recommend starting off as Sorcerer for the proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws.
Thematically, which fits your character idea better? Wild Magic Sorcerer, Draconic Ancestry Sorcerer, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Shadow Sorcerer, or Storm Sorcerer? Divine Soul Sorcerer gives you access to Cleric spells, which you might want, as it gives you access to some nice support and utility spells, such as Bless. It also gives you Spiritual Weapon, which is a great damage spell. Bless is such an incredibly powerful spell, I would probably recommend Divine Soul Sorcerer just for that spell alone. Especially because of your stated desire to help your teammates by buffing them.
Edit: And how could I forget: Divine Soul Sorcerer also lets you choose Aid which if you upcast it in a 3rd level spell slot will increase your max HP and the max HPs of both your teammates by 10. It lasts 8 hours, and it doesn't require concentration. It's another really fantastic spell you could choose to buff your teammates.
Heat metal with your bard. It’s damage and utility.
Lore bard with sorcerer is pretty nice for twinning telekinesis to restrain two foes fairly reliably as you can add Jack of all trades and use cutting word to assist with the skill contests, Jack of all trades also helps a little with your subtle counterspells.
As far as picking a sorcerer subclass non really jump out at me. If allowed UA clockwork is pretty good from 14 sorc/3 bard as you will be able to automatically counterspell up to level 8 spells with a baseline counterspell, also makes using telekinesis on low cr mobs very reliable but unfortunately won't help with the super strong stuff as it improves your minimum role with out improving the max.
I agree with ArtificeMeal. Take a serious look at Divine Soul Sorcerer. The Cleric list will have a lot of buff/debuff spells and also healing. A twinned Guided Bolt has it's uses :D
this dude is an person whose highest level slot is 3 and whose highest spells will be 2nd level, thinking this far ahead might not be nessesary
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
Aye and just found out you can't twin telekinesis anyway, so my advice was complete rubbish anyhow.
Me and one other guys in my group had our characters die in the last session a week and a half ago, and so we've had to create new characters. The party is level 6, so we're at the exact same level as your party.
We still have a couple of days to finalize our characters, but it looks like he's doing a Draconic Sorcerer 1 Lore Bard 5. His plan is to select Spiritual Weapon and Counterspell next level when he gets Magical Secrets. He'll be able to upcast Spiritual Weapon in a 4th level spell slot next level, and it's a darn good choice for his magical secrets. Clerics do have a really nice spell list, it's partly why two of my five characters have been Clerics (the character I'm starting this week is a Celestial Warlock, so it's almost like I'm making my 3rd Cleric). He's doing the 1 level dip in Sorcerer because Bard attack cantrips suck. The AC bonus of a Draconic Sorcerer and the proficiency in Constitution Saves are nice bonuses, too.