Hello there! I'm just getting started in a new Curse of Strahd campaign, and my knowledge of the module basically extends to "has a lot of undead in it." The group is small, and I'm going to be the only full caster in the group, so I figured a divine soul sorcerer would let me cover the most spellcasting bases while still having a radiant damage cantrip. As I try and plan out my build, though, I'm realizing just how limiting the sorcerer's spells known can be. Which spells do people suggest I should prioritize as I level up to ten, and what spells that I would normally need can I leave off the list? For the record, I went for the neutrality divine soul, since I figured Protection from Evil and Good would see a lot of use in this campaign.
With sorcerers it always depends on your metamagic since some spells work better paired with certain metamagics. Twinned is something that is usually taken and very good for healing sorcerers since many cleric healing spells are single target so eligible to be twinned. Keep in mind the sorcery point costs because twinned is expensive at higher levels. I got a lot of use out of quicken to cast heals followed by sacred flame or toll the dead.
For doing damage Guiding Bolt is a great radiant damage spell that can be twinned. Spiritual Weapon is good because it is a bonus action to use and sorcerers don't get many. Also once it is up you can start casting a leveled spell and use it as a bonus action. Some people like Spirit Guardians. I always feel if you are a sorcerer and 15 feet away from bad guys, you are too close.
You are going to get a lot of advice on multi classing with cleric, warlock or paladin for extra power. I never did this with my Divine Soul and it was fine but I can see why people might want to do that.
I appreciate the suggestions; I did end up dipping one level of life cleric, so bless, cure wounds, detect magic, and protection from evil and good are on my list through that. What other bases do I really need to cover in spell selections to take care of the utility caster role? Are invisible enemies common enough that See Invisibility is worth a spell known? How about the conditions that Lesser Restoration, Calm Emotions, or Remove Curse take care of? Will there be enough opportunity to obtain costly components that Revivify or Greater Restoration will be worthwhile? Will there be enough languages in play that Tongues will be worth it? Are there divination spells that I should pick up? I know this seems to be verging into spoiler territory, but with so few spells known on the lone spellcaster in the party, I want to make sure I'm being as efficient as possible.
I've never played Strahd so no chance of spoilers. Not knowing the composition of the rest of the party, it's hard to say which spells you will get the most use out of. Got tanks? Twinning Haste is usually a good thing. Got a rogue? Twin invisibility. Those are the most common examples. If you have half casters in the party see what spells they are planning to take so you don't waste spells known on something everyone else already has.
From what I've heard about Stradh, the dip into life cleric is worth it for the spells you mentioned. If you don't have a cleric in the party then take Revivify. Someone should always have that in their back pocket. You might want to consider Beacon of Hope. Gives advantage on Wisdom saving throws (always good when vamps are around) and Death Saves. You also might want to look at Death Ward.
Sorcerers are not meant to be utility casters. They just aren't. That's the wizard's bag. Divine Soul can be a trap to be honest. The party tends to rely on you for both Revivify and Fireball. It's a tough line to walk. Your healing spells are going to be the most useful for the party. If there are half casters in the party, see what spells they are packing. With so few spells known why duplicate what someone else can do? The Ritual Caster Feat Wizard can be good to get two first level utility spells like Alarm, for example. If you have a kind DM and lots of gold you might find spell scrolls you can copy.
You also want to see if there are spells you can get multiuse out of. For example, I usually have Suggestion on my spell list. It is DM dependent and mine is pretty chill about it but in general, you can say, I suggest you recognize we are friends (takes the place of Charm Person). I suggest that you tell us the truth (takes the place of Zone of Truth) that type of thing. It isn't mind control - more of a Jedi mind trick if that makes sense. Sorcerers tend to be the "Face" of the party as they are Charisma casters.
Sorcerers require a great deal of creativity to play because you have to get a lot of use out of those spells
If you are allowed to take a feat or when you can take a feat, your best bet will be Metamagic Adept since it will give you two more sorcery points and two more metamagics. Asking the Dm to let you have a Bloodwell Vial at some point never hurts.
That's all I can think of. Divine Souls are my favorite sorcerers even of the two newest subclasses get more spells. Good luck.
Thanks, I appreciate the well wishes. The other two party members are a Path of the Beast Barbarian and a Gloom Stalker Ranger, neither of which have a great charisma modifier, so I figured that the only way to be a party face who was also able to deal radiant damage from level one and be a full caster was to go Divine Soul. Given the limited casting options of the rest of the party, the only spell I'd contemplate taking that I might be able to leave to someone else would be asking that the ranger pick up Lesser Restoration. And yeah, I fully intend to take Suggestion once I have the ability to pick second level spells. I definitely want to take Revivify as well, but given the scarcity of shops that we've encountered so far, I worry that I may never find the material component to be able to cast it.
I would definitely take Haste. I've Twinned it on our barbarian and ranger to great effect. With armor you shouldn't have too much trouble maintaining concentration. Most DMs are good about giving out diamonds. Even if they aren't in shops they turn up in treasure hoards. I hear Strahd is fun but also a grind.
I’m confused. A divine soul has full access to the cleric and the sorcerer spell list. There’s no need to dip to get access to Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic or PFG&E (or any other cleric spell for that matter).The dip into life cleric is mainly for the boost to healing spells and heavy armour proficiency. If those are not of great value to you, you are better off sticking to straight sorcerer.
The spells I consider mandatory for my healer/buffer divine soul 6/life cleric 1 are Guidance, Prestidigitation, Fire Bolt, Mind Sliver, Toll the Dead (Sacred Flame is prolly better for CoS), Bless, Shield and Spiritual Weapon. I just recently picked up Haste to twin but my group is 5-6 so I often stick with an upcast Bless instead. In your small party, I suspect twinned Haste on your melee characters will be of higher value relatively but you might miss the +1d4 to your own saving throw and attack rolls—I sure do when Hasting instead of Blessing. Being the only one with access to the condition removing spells and Revivify, you are kind of beholden to take those for the overall benefit of the group.
I personally adore Prestidigitation for out of combat fun and hijinks; YMMV. I also spam the crap out of Guidance out of combat, to great effect. In combat, I’ll cast Bless the opening round. Next round is a bonus attack Spiritual Weapon and whichever damage cantrip is the most suitable. After that, I’ll continue to plink away with Spiritual Weapon bonus attacks and a damage cantrip while maintaining that sweet, sweet Bless. If needed, I can Cure Wounds in place of the damage cantrip or Healing Word in place of the Spiritual Weapon attack and follow up with a damage cantrip. Shield is Shield—you want it.
I do have a couple other tricks up my sleeve—Dissonant Whispers from the Fey-Touched feat, the aforementioned Haste that I eschew more often than not, Magic Missile, Command, Bane and Inflict Wounds—but make use of them far less reliably. These are the ones to choose differently and/or not spend a feat to get, as you see fit.
The dip is about the armor proficiencies, and also about the extra spells known. A sorcerer level gives me one spell known and one sorcery point; that cleric level gives me four spells known, and a much higher AC without spending a spell known on Mage Armor, and lets me Detect Magic as a ritual. I figured that was worth slightly slower access to leveled spells. Your mention of Fey Touched does raise another question, though. How do people feel about the extra spells known feats like Fey Touched and Shadow Touched on a sorcerer? If you know the campaign won't go past ten, is it worth taking one or both of those, or should I just stick with increasing charisma?
The dip is about the armor proficiencies, and also about the extra spells known. A sorcerer level gives me one spell known and one sorcery point; that cleric level gives me four spells known, and a much higher AC without spending a spell known on Mage Armor, and lets me Detect Magic as a ritual. I figured that was worth slightly slower access to leveled spells. Your mention of Fey Touched does raise another question, though. How do people feel about the extra spells known feats like Fey Touched and Shadow Touched on a sorcerer? If you know the campaign won't go past ten, is it worth taking one or both of those, or should I just stick with increasing charisma?
Personally I always increase my main stat as a caster.
But if you did want the feat there are some really good options....like twinning inflict wounds!
I’ve not worried about increasing my charisma too much since I mainly buff and heal. The feat topped it up to 16 and MIsty Step has proven to be handy on a number of occasions. Your party is quite a lot smaller than mine though. You are likely going to be called upon to contribute a bit more offensively than I am so your charisma may be more of a priority.
I actually made this character an eladrin, so Misty step isn't as big a priority. I was thinking about maybe taking Shadow Touched and getting Invisibility and Silent Image with it, but the more I think about it, the more I should probably just stick with the charisma. This character may turn out to be more of a buffer than a blaster, but I do want to be able to do at least the occasional battlefield control spell that requires a save. Thank you all for helping me work through what the build needs! With any luck, I'll be able to figure out what things like invisibility or curses are common before taking a spell slot to address them. The trick is just not dying to those things before leveling up...fingers crossed...
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Hello there! I'm just getting started in a new Curse of Strahd campaign, and my knowledge of the module basically extends to "has a lot of undead in it." The group is small, and I'm going to be the only full caster in the group, so I figured a divine soul sorcerer would let me cover the most spellcasting bases while still having a radiant damage cantrip. As I try and plan out my build, though, I'm realizing just how limiting the sorcerer's spells known can be. Which spells do people suggest I should prioritize as I level up to ten, and what spells that I would normally need can I leave off the list? For the record, I went for the neutrality divine soul, since I figured Protection from Evil and Good would see a lot of use in this campaign.
With sorcerers it always depends on your metamagic since some spells work better paired with certain metamagics. Twinned is something that is usually taken and very good for healing sorcerers since many cleric healing spells are single target so eligible to be twinned. Keep in mind the sorcery point costs because twinned is expensive at higher levels. I got a lot of use out of quicken to cast heals followed by sacred flame or toll the dead.
For doing damage Guiding Bolt is a great radiant damage spell that can be twinned. Spiritual Weapon is good because it is a bonus action to use and sorcerers don't get many. Also once it is up you can start casting a leveled spell and use it as a bonus action. Some people like Spirit Guardians. I always feel if you are a sorcerer and 15 feet away from bad guys, you are too close.
You are going to get a lot of advice on multi classing with cleric, warlock or paladin for extra power. I never did this with my Divine Soul and it was fine but I can see why people might want to do that.
I appreciate the suggestions; I did end up dipping one level of life cleric, so bless, cure wounds, detect magic, and protection from evil and good are on my list through that. What other bases do I really need to cover in spell selections to take care of the utility caster role? Are invisible enemies common enough that See Invisibility is worth a spell known? How about the conditions that Lesser Restoration, Calm Emotions, or Remove Curse take care of? Will there be enough opportunity to obtain costly components that Revivify or Greater Restoration will be worthwhile? Will there be enough languages in play that Tongues will be worth it? Are there divination spells that I should pick up? I know this seems to be verging into spoiler territory, but with so few spells known on the lone spellcaster in the party, I want to make sure I'm being as efficient as possible.
I've never played Strahd so no chance of spoilers. Not knowing the composition of the rest of the party, it's hard to say which spells you will get the most use out of. Got tanks? Twinning Haste is usually a good thing. Got a rogue? Twin invisibility. Those are the most common examples. If you have half casters in the party see what spells they are planning to take so you don't waste spells known on something everyone else already has.
From what I've heard about Stradh, the dip into life cleric is worth it for the spells you mentioned. If you don't have a cleric in the party then take Revivify. Someone should always have that in their back pocket. You might want to consider Beacon of Hope. Gives advantage on Wisdom saving throws (always good when vamps are around) and Death Saves. You also might want to look at Death Ward.
Sorcerers are not meant to be utility casters. They just aren't. That's the wizard's bag. Divine Soul can be a trap to be honest. The party tends to rely on you for both Revivify and Fireball. It's a tough line to walk. Your healing spells are going to be the most useful for the party. If there are half casters in the party, see what spells they are packing. With so few spells known why duplicate what someone else can do? The Ritual Caster Feat Wizard can be good to get two first level utility spells like Alarm, for example. If you have a kind DM and lots of gold you might find spell scrolls you can copy.
You also want to see if there are spells you can get multiuse out of. For example, I usually have Suggestion on my spell list. It is DM dependent and mine is pretty chill about it but in general, you can say, I suggest you recognize we are friends (takes the place of Charm Person). I suggest that you tell us the truth (takes the place of Zone of Truth) that type of thing. It isn't mind control - more of a Jedi mind trick if that makes sense. Sorcerers tend to be the "Face" of the party as they are Charisma casters.
Sorcerers require a great deal of creativity to play because you have to get a lot of use out of those spells
If you are allowed to take a feat or when you can take a feat, your best bet will be Metamagic Adept since it will give you two more sorcery points and two more metamagics. Asking the Dm to let you have a Bloodwell Vial at some point never hurts.
That's all I can think of. Divine Souls are my favorite sorcerers even of the two newest subclasses get more spells. Good luck.
Thanks, I appreciate the well wishes. The other two party members are a Path of the Beast Barbarian and a Gloom Stalker Ranger, neither of which have a great charisma modifier, so I figured that the only way to be a party face who was also able to deal radiant damage from level one and be a full caster was to go Divine Soul. Given the limited casting options of the rest of the party, the only spell I'd contemplate taking that I might be able to leave to someone else would be asking that the ranger pick up Lesser Restoration. And yeah, I fully intend to take Suggestion once I have the ability to pick second level spells. I definitely want to take Revivify as well, but given the scarcity of shops that we've encountered so far, I worry that I may never find the material component to be able to cast it.
I would definitely take Haste. I've Twinned it on our barbarian and ranger to great effect. With armor you shouldn't have too much trouble maintaining concentration. Most DMs are good about giving out diamonds. Even if they aren't in shops they turn up in treasure hoards. I hear Strahd is fun but also a grind.
I’m confused. A divine soul has full access to the cleric and the sorcerer spell list. There’s no need to dip to get access to Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic or PFG&E (or any other cleric spell for that matter).The dip into life cleric is mainly for the boost to healing spells and heavy armour proficiency. If those are not of great value to you, you are better off sticking to straight sorcerer.
The spells I consider mandatory for my healer/buffer divine soul 6/life cleric 1 are Guidance, Prestidigitation, Fire Bolt, Mind Sliver, Toll the Dead (Sacred Flame is prolly better for CoS), Bless, Shield and Spiritual Weapon. I just recently picked up Haste to twin but my group is 5-6 so I often stick with an upcast Bless instead. In your small party, I suspect twinned Haste on your melee characters will be of higher value relatively but you might miss the +1d4 to your own saving throw and attack rolls—I sure do when Hasting instead of Blessing. Being the only one with access to the condition removing spells and Revivify, you are kind of beholden to take those for the overall benefit of the group.
I personally adore Prestidigitation for out of combat fun and hijinks; YMMV. I also spam the crap out of Guidance out of combat, to great effect. In combat, I’ll cast Bless the opening round. Next round is a bonus attack Spiritual Weapon and whichever damage cantrip is the most suitable. After that, I’ll continue to plink away with Spiritual Weapon bonus attacks and a damage cantrip while maintaining that sweet, sweet Bless. If needed, I can Cure Wounds in place of the damage cantrip or Healing Word in place of the Spiritual Weapon attack and follow up with a damage cantrip. Shield is Shield—you want it.
I do have a couple other tricks up my sleeve—Dissonant Whispers from the Fey-Touched feat, the aforementioned Haste that I eschew more often than not, Magic Missile, Command, Bane and Inflict Wounds—but make use of them far less reliably. These are the ones to choose differently and/or not spend a feat to get, as you see fit.
The dip is about the armor proficiencies, and also about the extra spells known. A sorcerer level gives me one spell known and one sorcery point; that cleric level gives me four spells known, and a much higher AC without spending a spell known on Mage Armor, and lets me Detect Magic as a ritual. I figured that was worth slightly slower access to leveled spells. Your mention of Fey Touched does raise another question, though. How do people feel about the extra spells known feats like Fey Touched and Shadow Touched on a sorcerer? If you know the campaign won't go past ten, is it worth taking one or both of those, or should I just stick with increasing charisma?
Personally I always increase my main stat as a caster.
But if you did want the feat there are some really good options....like twinning inflict wounds!
I’ve not worried about increasing my charisma too much since I mainly buff and heal. The feat topped it up to 16 and MIsty Step has proven to be handy on a number of occasions. Your party is quite a lot smaller than mine though. You are likely going to be called upon to contribute a bit more offensively than I am so your charisma may be more of a priority.
I actually made this character an eladrin, so Misty step isn't as big a priority. I was thinking about maybe taking Shadow Touched and getting Invisibility and Silent Image with it, but the more I think about it, the more I should probably just stick with the charisma. This character may turn out to be more of a buffer than a blaster, but I do want to be able to do at least the occasional battlefield control spell that requires a save. Thank you all for helping me work through what the build needs! With any luck, I'll be able to figure out what things like invisibility or curses are common before taking a spell slot to address them. The trick is just not dying to those things before leveling up...fingers crossed...