I'm /extremely/ new to DnD, as in, I haven't even played yet. But I've wanted to for a while! I'm exploring my options for joining local or online groups, but in the meantime, I've been thinking about a few characters and thought I'd finally write one out for fun.
So I guess I'm just looking for tips, and to see if you guys think these starting spells and stats are viable? I'm not too concerned with totally "optimising" anything, as long as it'll get her through the campaign, or at least part of it, haha. I wanna have fun rping with her, and tried to pick her abilities based on her personality and backstory.
Lv 1 Gnome sorcerer, silver draconic bloodline
Str-9
Dex- 11
Con- 14
Int- 16
Wis- 10
Cha- 15
Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, Gust and Shape Water
Lv 1 Spells: Ice Knife and Charm Person
Her short-and-sweet backstory is she's a disgraced and exiled heiress of a big mining corporation, who takes a lot of pride in her draconic heritage and values wealth and power. If you wanna read the whole (like, paragraphs-long) thing, I'll link her chara page with all the pertinent info, haha.
looks pretty solid to me, only tweaks might be (depending on your play style) switching your Dex and Int scores around, as a Cha based caster and mainly Cha based Skills selection you might find the extra +2 bonus AC and Initiative a bit more beneficial. From a more backstory orientated cantrip selection Prestidigitation might be worth a peek, very useful to tidying yourself (and your wares) up before going into a merchant/public gathering or just for general utility.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
First, welcome to Dungeons & Dragons and to D&D Beyond!
I have to agree with Rob about the ability scores. For survivability you want higher AC and better initiative. Sorcerers are squishy by nature, so you have to find a way to mitigate that. Taking the 1st level Shield spell will also help to that end. And I also always recommend taking some odd three utility cantrips and spells. They help round out a character and in my expertise can set up some great role play moments. Creative use of Presdigitation and Thaumaturgy have to some of the funniest and most memorable moments in my campaigns.
I went ahead and swapped out for Dex. This is silly, but I must have skimmed over how it helps your AC. Makes sense, and it is a definite improvement.
Prestidigitation does look fun! More fun than Gust, anyway. I'm also playing around with the idea of swapping out something else, Mending and Message also look neat. (Shape Water kinda looks the most obsolete unless in certain situations, but I enjoy the idea of it... It seems like the type of thing someone would learn before moving on to bigger ice/elemental spells.) Both offensive cants may be overkill?
Anyway, I also realize anything I swap out I can add back in later with leveling, I guess. Thanks again for the help and welcome!
Keep in mind that Charm Person isn't very useful in combat. It's really more of a utility spell you use to get somebody that you cannot easily convince to perform a specific set of actions in your favor to be more inclined to help you out.
Some ideas for 1st level spells:
Sleep - great at low levels. Useful in and out of combat
Fog Cloud - enemy archers can't hit what they can't see
Burning Hands or Thunderwave - mini area of effect spells that do damage
Silent Image - very useful for hiding the party or for creating distractions
I don't see a lot of benefit to taking fire bolt and ray of frost at first level, you do get more 2 cantrips as you level up. If you are looking to replace a cantrip i would change out fire bolt for thematic reasons.
Mage hand is also a lot of fun, being as you are a gnome, reduce person (second level spell reduce/enlarge) could reduce your weight to under 5 pounds which is light enough to travel around on mage hand.
Yeah, I like to take one or two non-combat cantrips. Mage hand, mending, message, minor illusion, or prestidigitation are all good.
Ray of frost is a good choice for a ranged cantrip, and the movement reduction can come in handy. And cold is less-resisted than fire. Shocking grasp can be a great up-close cantrip. Advantage if they're wearing metal armor AND it kills their reaction so you can run away.
For a first level spell I highly recommend chaos bolt = 2d8 + 1d6 damage, varying damage types, and a chance (1 in 64) to zap an extra target. Mage armor and shield are also solid choices for first level spells.
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I'm /extremely/ new to DnD, as in, I haven't even played yet. But I've wanted to for a while! I'm exploring my options for joining local or online groups, but in the meantime, I've been thinking about a few characters and thought I'd finally write one out for fun.
So I guess I'm just looking for tips, and to see if you guys think these starting spells and stats are viable? I'm not too concerned with totally "optimising" anything, as long as it'll get her through the campaign, or at least part of it, haha. I wanna have fun rping with her, and tried to pick her abilities based on her personality and backstory.
Lv 1 Gnome sorcerer, silver draconic bloodline
Str-9
Dex- 11
Con- 14
Int- 16
Wis- 10
Cha- 15
Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, Gust and Shape Water
Lv 1 Spells: Ice Knife and Charm Person
Her short-and-sweet backstory is she's a disgraced and exiled heiress of a big mining corporation, who takes a lot of pride in her draconic heritage and values wealth and power. If you wanna read the whole (like, paragraphs-long) thing, I'll link her chara page with all the pertinent info, haha.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/winterkid/characters/20356076
Thanks!
looks pretty solid to me, only tweaks might be (depending on your play style) switching your Dex and Int scores around, as a Cha based caster and mainly Cha based Skills selection you might find the extra +2 bonus AC and Initiative a bit more beneficial. From a more backstory orientated cantrip selection Prestidigitation might be worth a peek, very useful to tidying yourself (and your wares) up before going into a merchant/public gathering or just for general utility.
First, welcome to Dungeons & Dragons and to D&D Beyond!
I have to agree with Rob about the ability scores. For survivability you want higher AC and better initiative. Sorcerers are squishy by nature, so you have to find a way to mitigate that. Taking the 1st level Shield spell will also help to that end. And I also always recommend taking some odd three utility cantrips and spells. They help round out a character and in my expertise can set up some great role play moments. Creative use of Presdigitation and Thaumaturgy have to some of the funniest and most memorable moments in my campaigns.
Understood, thank you both!
I went ahead and swapped out for Dex. This is silly, but I must have skimmed over how it helps your AC. Makes sense, and it is a definite improvement.
Prestidigitation does look fun! More fun than Gust, anyway. I'm also playing around with the idea of swapping out something else, Mending and Message also look neat. (Shape Water kinda looks the most obsolete unless in certain situations, but I enjoy the idea of it... It seems like the type of thing someone would learn before moving on to bigger ice/elemental spells.) Both offensive cants may be overkill?
Anyway, I also realize anything I swap out I can add back in later with leveling, I guess. Thanks again for the help and welcome!
Keep in mind that Charm Person isn't very useful in combat. It's really more of a utility spell you use to get somebody that you cannot easily convince to perform a specific set of actions in your favor to be more inclined to help you out.
Some ideas for 1st level spells:
Sleep - great at low levels. Useful in and out of combat
Fog Cloud - enemy archers can't hit what they can't see
Burning Hands or Thunderwave - mini area of effect spells that do damage
Silent Image - very useful for hiding the party or for creating distractions
Also helpful, thank you! Sleep looks wicked. I'd assumed it was limited to a single target. And also good for out of combat shenanigans, haha.
I don't see a lot of benefit to taking fire bolt and ray of frost at first level, you do get more 2 cantrips as you level up. If you are looking to replace a cantrip i would change out fire bolt for thematic reasons.
Mage hand is also a lot of fun, being as you are a gnome, reduce person (second level spell reduce/enlarge) could reduce your weight to under 5 pounds which is light enough to travel around on mage hand.
Yeah, I like to take one or two non-combat cantrips. Mage hand, mending, message, minor illusion, or prestidigitation are all good.
Ray of frost is a good choice for a ranged cantrip, and the movement reduction can come in handy. And cold is less-resisted than fire. Shocking grasp can be a great up-close cantrip. Advantage if they're wearing metal armor AND it kills their reaction so you can run away.
For a first level spell I highly recommend chaos bolt = 2d8 + 1d6 damage, varying damage types, and a chance (1 in 64) to zap an extra target. Mage armor and shield are also solid choices for first level spells.