So, pretty much the title. I have 9 hp and 15 AC. It was mostly my fault for trying to get close and use poison spray, but how was I supposed to know this cultist would roll a nat 20? I'd be thankful for any advice from people that have played a class like this, specifically dealing with combat. Roleplay tips are appreciated too though!
With a d6 for hp but 9 hp, you have good con. With no armour, you have 20 dex. I might be wrong about this if your DM allows different things but let's assume he doesn't. It doesn't really matter really. The point is, it's not your fault, but getting close might not be the best idea after all.
Also, just a general tip: Think well before choosing your metamagic when you reach lvl 3. I made a bad choice (it's not a bad metamagic but it doesn't work well with my character and campaign) and I'm sorry for it. (I picked empowered spell but I wish I took subtle spell instead.)
Yeah, at low levels the stakes are pretty high. Many groups don't even have access to healing potions yet, so a few bad rolls or low party synergy can turn into a TPK pretty quick.
For a Sorcerer, if you don't need to get into melee range, it's probably better to stay away. Don't be afraid to use a crossbow or sling, if you don't have a good ranged cantrip.
One of features of Poison Spray is that it has a 10ft range; Use that to get a tactical advantage. If your tank is fighting a Cultist, stand in such a way that the cultist would need to trigger an Attack of Opportunity to target you. If you're fighting something without a tank, run in, spray, and run away. Think about where you want to end your turn as much or more than what you want to do with your action.
If you can get 35ft away from your victim, then they will usually have to burn their action to get into melee range with you, so a spell like Longstrider can give you just enough mobility to harry your target without putting yourself at risk. However, that is not a sorcerer spell, so you'll need to find an alternative way of gaining access to a speed boost.
Oh, right. Never really played that subclass so I forgot about it. Well, as I wrote, it doesn't actually matter how he got it. 15 is good enough for most classes, ceetainly for low levels.
As others have said. Your HP and AC are fine. Nat 20s are nasty at low levels. My life cleric died on the first combat. 10hp, 18AC. Thought he could walk into combat with a few skeletons but a Nat20 and a nat1 death save showed that was a bad idea.
Basic rules of most casters - use ranged cantrips, stay out of combat as much as possible. You might be tempted to pick up Mage Armor or Shield. Not an awful idea, but it really depends on your group and DM. I am playing a Divine Soul sorcerer at the moment and have neither of those. Just hit level 7 though picking up a elven chain and a cloak of protection helps (AC 17).
Lucky is obscenely good also - if you want to think about feats. Good luck, have fun. If it was a life without danger you wouldn't be an adventurer.
I did pick up shield! It seems useful, so I hope it’ll come in handy. I have fire bolt, and I was mainly using that for like the last two encounters, so I wanted to change it up and go for a poison spray. Needless to say, I learned my lesson. I’ll try and stay far away from now on, haha
I picked up fire bolt for range, and it had been working pretty well. I stupidly went in just for the 1d12 damage of poison spray instead on the 1d10 of fire bolt, and the cultist succeeded on the con save anyway, so all I ended up with was a few broken ribs. I’m not a very experienced player, if you couldn’t tell, haha. I just can’t find many people to play with. This group looks promising though. Thanks for the advice!
Personally I like the firebolt/toll the dead combo. Gives you an attack roll option, a saving throw option and two different types of damage. As I said, I am playing Divine Soul so most of my turns are "I cast firebolt and that is it" because I want to make sure to keep my spell slots for healing. Can be a little boring but then most melee people just go "I attack with my weapon".
With shield you are up to an AC of 20 (until the start of your next turn) which is very respectable. It is definitely not the worst choice for survivability. But yes, stay as far away as you can. Learn your spell ranges.
As a long time player and DM, I've seen super-awesome character concepts die to bad rolls on the player's part, or good luck on the DMs' part, especially at early levels.
Sometimes, it's just what happens, from Wizard to Sorcerer, to Paladin to Barbarian.
And yes, I had a raging Goliath barbarian die to a first level encounter because the main bad guy in the encounter rolled a 20.
Your HP and AC are fine. Critical hits can really challenge almost any low level character. If you were a wild magic or divine soul sorcerer there would be more of an incentive to be close to the melee fighting but as a draconic bloodline you are more effective as a long ranged damage dealer. (Spellslinger, blaster, caster dps, glass canon, whatever you want to call it).
Stay as far away from the melee fighting as possible (you just aren't going to be as effective here) while keeping as much of the battlefield in view as you can.
Use poison spray as more of an "oh crap" spell when you get stuck in close combat. Same as you would use shocking grasp. Or use a familiar to get close to cast it while you stay at range. (you would need a feat like ritual caster to get a familiar though)
Try to stay between 35 ft. & the 'maximum range of your spell' away from the bulk of the melee fighting (aka the front line). That would be between 35 & 120 ft for the fire bolt spell as an example.
While at range stay behind as much cover as possible. (3/4 if you can, 1/2 if nothing else)
If you are not casting then try to get behind as much total cover as possible and use stealth to become "hidden" if you can.
Twin spell and Quickened spell are great metamagics to help with the action economy for combat. With them you could cast Fireball as a bonus action and 2x fire bolt via twin spell, all in the same turn. You can also twin single target buff spells like Haste. Strong choices for combat.
Use your shield spell if the +5 to ac would stop the triggering hit. Wont help with a nat 20 but great for your protection overall.
These are some of the basics I can suggest to point you in the right direction. Hope they help but Ultimately just have fun. Play however you picture your character being, so long as you are enjoying yourself.
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
Cantrips that only do damage (like Fire Bolt) and 1st level blast spells really suck.
Get Frostbite or any other cantrip with a good secondary effect. Get Sleep which is the most effective spell at low levels.
Stay out of range, abuse cover as much as possible and drop Frostbites at your enemy to debuff their attacks. If it’s a hard encounter, drop your Sleep and watch at least 3 Goblins going down. Don’t forget to use Dodge action when you don’t have anything really good or consistent to do. Sometimes staying alive is the better decision.
Cantrips that only do damage (like Fire Bolt) and 1st level blast spells really suck.
Get Frostbite or any other cantrip with a good secondary effect. Get Sleep which is the most effective spell at low levels.
Stay out of range, abuse cover as much as possible and drop Frostbites at your enemy to debuff their attacks. If it’s a hard encounter, drop your Sleep and watch at least 3 Goblins going down. Don’t forget to use Dodge action when you don’t have anything really good or consistent to do. Sometimes staying alive is the better decision.
I agree with first level blast spells but disagree with the damage only cantrips.
While disadvantage is a significant debuff it only applies to weapon attack rolls so against a casting Frostbite just does on average 63% f the damage of fire bolt (ignoring the chance of resistences). It only applies to a single attack so is less strong for creatures with multi attack.
The greatest de-buff you can can the enemy is death, quite frequently the extra damage you do with a d10 compared to a d6 is enough to kill the monster.
I'm not saying frostbite is bad but that I thing it is pretty balanced with fire bolt.
I find taking magic initiate is helpful as you can get mage armor. And a spell like shocking grasp can save your ass if someone gets too close cause you can take away their ability to use their reaction for an opportunity attack. And to echo others, only get up close and personal if you have no choice.
I find taking magic initiate is helpful as you can get mage armor. And a spell like shocking grasp can save your ass if someone gets too close cause you can take away their ability to use their reaction for an opportunity attack. And to echo others, only get up close and personal if you have no choice.
Never thought about that, so good point, but it will burn an ASI (which is no small deal) and being draconic bloodline sorcerer he has natural AC of 13. Mage armor wouldn't stack with this I don't believe. Hence a complete waste.
Just a quick example of how deadly a nat 20 can be at level 1.
The party get into combat with a Hobgoblin and a goblin, they are next to each other and 20ft from the party. On initiative the party (melee) fighter rolls highest and the hobgoblin second highest.
The fighter runs up to the hobgoblin and attacks him (or the goblin does not really matter here), unfortuntely he either misses or rolls low enough on damage not to kill him. With point buy the maximum hit point the fighter can have is 13, but given he would want ot prioritise his attack ability 12 HP is more likely unless he is min-maxxing and choosing a race with an ability boost to both strength and con and is willing to put nearly all his points in those abilities.
The hobgoblin then attacks the fighter, he could attack two handed with his longsword extra damage but I will assume he either attacks with his box or single handed longsword due to martial advantage on a hit he does 1d8+2d6+1 damage
With a crit that becomes 2d8+4d6+1 not only is that almost guaranteed to knock him down more than half the time (54%) it will kill him outright, even if the fighter had a +3 to con he would be killed outright 37% of the time.
Conversely say the fighter gets the nat 20 instead, if the hobgoblin has the standard 11 hit points with a 1d8+3 there is a greater than 50% chance that this downs the hobgoblin (with a two handed weapon it is even higher), suddenly the encounter which has a very high chance of killing a PC has bocvem a trivial fight with just a single goblin left after the first attack.
Sorcerer is my favorite class but it can be difficult to play.
You are a glass canon so stay out of melee range leave that to your tank and skirmish fighters.
Sorcerers have more cantrips than other classes so choose carefully. Firebolt is good. I would find another ranged cantrip in case whatever you are up against is resistant to fire damage. Ray of frost might be a good one for you. If you think you are going to be in melee more than you want, you could try blade ward. It's not a favorite of mine but it could come in handy if you are out of slots for Shield.
A lot of people like Sleep for a first level spell. I like magic missile since it always hits and can be cast from a distance.
Mage armor won't do you a lot of good as a Draconic sorcerer but get Shield. You can pick up Expeditious Retreat or Absorb Elements at some point.
As noted by others, take cover! You are harder to hit if you are behind a rock or tree. I got teased a lot for hiding behind things at lower levels but I stayed alive long enough to get Fireball at Level 5 :-)
Once you get to Level 3 choose your metamagics with care. At low levels you don't have many so taking costly metamagics might be an issue. Twin is always good as is Subtle. I tend not to take Quicken until Level 11 when my cantrips do a lot of damage but other people like to have it immediately. It's up to you and what you think will help the party.
Choose double duty spells. Suggestion is a great multipurpose spell. Don't have Zone of Truth? No problem, suggest that your victim tell the truth for the next hour. Not good a stealth? Suggest to the guard that you are a friend and he should just walk on by. It is somewhat DM dependent but if you word it carefully... It's also just fun.
Looking ahead. Decide what type of sorcerer you want to be - a blaster caster, buffer or control specialist. You can pretty much only be one of them. Sorcerer lends itself mostly to blasting but you can control the battle field with spells like Banishment for example. Buffing allies can be done with Haste and Invisibility. You can twin those which will make your tank and rogue happy.
One last point for any caster but especially for sorcerer who can't swap spells easily - be careful about how many concentration spells you have. They tend to be more powerful hence why they have concentration, but there is not point having only concentration spells because you can't use them all at once.
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So, pretty much the title. I have 9 hp and 15 AC. It was mostly my fault for trying to get close and use poison spray, but how was I supposed to know this cultist would roll a nat 20? I'd be thankful for any advice from people that have played a class like this, specifically dealing with combat. Roleplay tips are appreciated too though!
Almost all classes at level 1 are vulnerable to dying from a Nat 20.
With a d6 for hp but 9 hp, you have good con. With no armour, you have 20 dex. I might be wrong about this if your DM allows different things but let's assume he doesn't. It doesn't really matter really.
The point is, it's not your fault, but getting close might not be the best idea after all.
Also, just a general tip: Think well before choosing your metamagic when you reach lvl 3. I made a bad choice (it's not a bad metamagic but it doesn't work well with my character and campaign) and I'm sorry for it. (I picked empowered spell but I wish I took subtle spell instead.)
Varielky
Yeah, at low levels the stakes are pretty high. Many groups don't even have access to healing potions yet, so a few bad rolls or low party synergy can turn into a TPK pretty quick.
For a Sorcerer, if you don't need to get into melee range, it's probably better to stay away. Don't be afraid to use a crossbow or sling, if you don't have a good ranged cantrip.
One of features of Poison Spray is that it has a 10ft range; Use that to get a tactical advantage. If your tank is fighting a Cultist, stand in such a way that the cultist would need to trigger an Attack of Opportunity to target you. If you're fighting something without a tank, run in, spray, and run away. Think about where you want to end your turn as much or more than what you want to do with your action.
If you can get 35ft away from your victim, then they will usually have to burn their action to get into melee range with you, so a spell like Longstrider can give you just enough mobility to harry your target without putting yourself at risk. However, that is not a sorcerer spell, so you'll need to find an alternative way of gaining access to a speed boost.
He’s a draconic bloodline sorcerer. Their AC is 13+ dex mod. He has 14-15 Dex.
Oh, right. Never really played that subclass so I forgot about it. Well, as I wrote, it doesn't actually matter how he got it. 15 is good enough for most classes, ceetainly for low levels.
Varielky
As others have said. Your HP and AC are fine. Nat 20s are nasty at low levels. My life cleric died on the first combat. 10hp, 18AC. Thought he could walk into combat with a few skeletons but a Nat20 and a nat1 death save showed that was a bad idea.
Basic rules of most casters - use ranged cantrips, stay out of combat as much as possible. You might be tempted to pick up Mage Armor or Shield. Not an awful idea, but it really depends on your group and DM. I am playing a Divine Soul sorcerer at the moment and have neither of those. Just hit level 7 though picking up a elven chain and a cloak of protection helps (AC 17).
Lucky is obscenely good also - if you want to think about feats.
Good luck, have fun. If it was a life without danger you wouldn't be an adventurer.
I did pick up shield! It seems useful, so I hope it’ll come in handy. I have fire bolt, and I was mainly using that for like the last two encounters, so I wanted to change it up and go for a poison spray. Needless to say, I learned my lesson. I’ll try and stay far away from now on, haha
I picked up fire bolt for range, and it had been working pretty well. I stupidly went in just for the 1d12 damage of poison spray instead on the 1d10 of fire bolt, and the cultist succeeded on the con save anyway, so all I ended up with was a few broken ribs. I’m not a very experienced player, if you couldn’t tell, haha. I just can’t find many people to play with. This group looks promising though. Thanks for the advice!
Personally I like the firebolt/toll the dead combo. Gives you an attack roll option, a saving throw option and two different types of damage. As I said, I am playing Divine Soul so most of my turns are "I cast firebolt and that is it" because I want to make sure to keep my spell slots for healing. Can be a little boring but then most melee people just go "I attack with my weapon".
With shield you are up to an AC of 20 (until the start of your next turn) which is very respectable. It is definitely not the worst choice for survivability. But yes, stay as far away as you can. Learn your spell ranges.
As a long time player and DM, I've seen super-awesome character concepts die to bad rolls on the player's part, or good luck on the DMs' part, especially at early levels.
Sometimes, it's just what happens, from Wizard to Sorcerer, to Paladin to Barbarian.
And yes, I had a raging Goliath barbarian die to a first level encounter because the main bad guy in the encounter rolled a 20.
Your HP and AC are fine. Critical hits can really challenge almost any low level character. If you were a wild magic or divine soul sorcerer there would be more of an incentive to be close to the melee fighting but as a draconic bloodline you are more effective as a long ranged damage dealer. (Spellslinger, blaster, caster dps, glass canon, whatever you want to call it).
These are some of the basics I can suggest to point you in the right direction. Hope they help but Ultimately just have fun. Play however you picture your character being, so long as you are enjoying yourself.
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPmyTI0tZ6nM-bzY0IG3ww
Cantrips that only do damage (like Fire Bolt) and 1st level blast spells really suck.
Get Frostbite or any other cantrip with a good secondary effect. Get Sleep which is the most effective spell at low levels.
Stay out of range, abuse cover as much as possible and drop Frostbites at your enemy to debuff their attacks. If it’s a hard encounter, drop your Sleep and watch at least 3 Goblins going down. Don’t forget to use Dodge action when you don’t have anything really good or consistent to do. Sometimes staying alive is the better decision.
I agree with first level blast spells but disagree with the damage only cantrips.
While disadvantage is a significant debuff it only applies to weapon attack rolls so against a casting Frostbite just does on average 63% f the damage of fire bolt (ignoring the chance of resistences). It only applies to a single attack so is less strong for creatures with multi attack.
The greatest de-buff you can can the enemy is death, quite frequently the extra damage you do with a d10 compared to a d6 is enough to kill the monster.
I'm not saying frostbite is bad but that I thing it is pretty balanced with fire bolt.
I find taking magic initiate is helpful as you can get mage armor. And a spell like shocking grasp can save your ass if someone gets too close cause you can take away their ability to use their reaction for an opportunity attack. And to echo others, only get up close and personal if you have no choice.
Never thought about that, so good point, but it will burn an ASI (which is no small deal) and being draconic bloodline sorcerer he has natural AC of 13. Mage armor wouldn't stack with this I don't believe. Hence a complete waste.
Just a quick example of how deadly a nat 20 can be at level 1.
The party get into combat with a Hobgoblin and a goblin, they are next to each other and 20ft from the party. On initiative the party (melee) fighter rolls highest and the hobgoblin second highest.
The fighter runs up to the hobgoblin and attacks him (or the goblin does not really matter here), unfortuntely he either misses or rolls low enough on damage not to kill him. With point buy the maximum hit point the fighter can have is 13, but given he would want ot prioritise his attack ability 12 HP is more likely unless he is min-maxxing and choosing a race with an ability boost to both strength and con and is willing to put nearly all his points in those abilities.
The hobgoblin then attacks the fighter, he could attack two handed with his longsword extra damage but I will assume he either attacks with his box or single handed longsword due to martial advantage on a hit he does 1d8+2d6+1 damage
With a crit that becomes 2d8+4d6+1 not only is that almost guaranteed to knock him down more than half the time (54%) it will kill him outright, even if the fighter had a +3 to con he would be killed outright 37% of the time.
Conversely say the fighter gets the nat 20 instead, if the hobgoblin has the standard 11 hit points with a 1d8+3 there is a greater than 50% chance that this downs the hobgoblin (with a two handed weapon it is even higher), suddenly the encounter which has a very high chance of killing a PC has bocvem a trivial fight with just a single goblin left after the first attack.
Sorcerer is my favorite class but it can be difficult to play.
You are a glass canon so stay out of melee range leave that to your tank and skirmish fighters.
Sorcerers have more cantrips than other classes so choose carefully. Firebolt is good. I would find another ranged cantrip in case whatever you are up against is resistant to fire damage. Ray of frost might be a good one for you. If you think you are going to be in melee more than you want, you could try blade ward. It's not a favorite of mine but it could come in handy if you are out of slots for Shield.
A lot of people like Sleep for a first level spell. I like magic missile since it always hits and can be cast from a distance.
Mage armor won't do you a lot of good as a Draconic sorcerer but get Shield. You can pick up Expeditious Retreat or Absorb Elements at some point.
As noted by others, take cover! You are harder to hit if you are behind a rock or tree. I got teased a lot for hiding behind things at lower levels but I stayed alive long enough to get Fireball at Level 5 :-)
Once you get to Level 3 choose your metamagics with care. At low levels you don't have many so taking costly metamagics might be an issue. Twin is always good as is Subtle. I tend not to take Quicken until Level 11 when my cantrips do a lot of damage but other people like to have it immediately. It's up to you and what you think will help the party.
Choose double duty spells. Suggestion is a great multipurpose spell. Don't have Zone of Truth? No problem, suggest that your victim tell the truth for the next hour. Not good a stealth? Suggest to the guard that you are a friend and he should just walk on by. It is somewhat DM dependent but if you word it carefully... It's also just fun.
Looking ahead. Decide what type of sorcerer you want to be - a blaster caster, buffer or control specialist. You can pretty much only be one of them. Sorcerer lends itself mostly to blasting but you can control the battle field with spells like Banishment for example. Buffing allies can be done with Haste and Invisibility. You can twin those which will make your tank and rogue happy.
Hope that helps.
One last point for any caster but especially for sorcerer who can't swap spells easily - be careful about how many concentration spells you have. They tend to be more powerful hence why they have concentration, but there is not point having only concentration spells because you can't use them all at once.