So, I've been looking around the various Unearthed Arcana while debating alternative concepts for a coming 5E campaign. I wanted to consider something off the beaten path, particularly given just how melee-centric the intended six-person party will be (three melee-centered (barbarian or monk; paladin; rogue), a fourth that can be melee and ranged both (ranger), and a druid of some sort).
The first thing that caught my eye was something of the Sorcerer variety -- I know a lot of people say that the UA Phoenix Sorcery is perhaps a bit underpowered in many respects, but it interested me from a flavor perspective, so I began to consider options. Right off, I know that I want to multiclass, and Warlock is probably the best one to multi-class into, particularly given the whole Font of Magic/Flexible Casting/Sorcery Point deal and technically being able to use the Pact Magic spell slots for more Sorcery Points and all that.
The trick, though, is what sort of build do I make? With the UA options out there, it looks like there's three potential builds I could look at, which would make for an interesting character.... but all three have pros and cons. So:
1) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery) 6 / Warlock (Celestial / Pact of the Tome) 14: Spellcasting-wise, this is rather weak: 4/3/3 spells per day (with 7 spells known and 4 cantrips) from Sorcerer, and three 5th-level slots from Warlock (7 cantrips (thanks to Pact of the Tome), 12 spells known, ranging from 1st- to 5th-level spells, with a single 6th- and 7th-level spell that I could cast one per long rest, and there aren't many options that scream "take me!" with the Mystic Arcanum choices). It would take all the way to 20th level to do it (with no guarantee that I'll reach that far, but I know I can get at least to 15th level or perhaps a bit further), but by the end of it, I'd have three different ways to cheat death on a long rest: Phoenix Spark from Sorcerer 6, Gift of the Protectors (a UA invocation from the recent Class Features UA) at Warlock 9, and then Searing Vengeance at Warlock 14. The problem, of course, is the super-limited spellcasting, and invocations won't completely fix that, nor will the spells known from Warlock. I would, however, be able to ritual-cast from any ritual spell list up to 5th level (at least, I'm assuming that's the case -- I don't recall offhand if there are ritual spells past 5th-level spells).
2) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery) 14 / Warlock (Undying Light / Pact of the Tome) 6: This one could conceivably be more problematic in certain respects, seeing as how Undying Light was rewritten to be the Celestial in Xanathar's, but I do benefit in several respects over option 1. Warlock is more limited here (6 cantrips with Pact of the Tome, 7 spells known, two 3rd-level slots), but Sorcerer does get a lot more (6 cantrips, 13 spells known, 4/3/3/3/2/1/1 spells per day; three Metamagic selections, and the 14th-level Phoenix Sorcery ability, letting me heal spell slot level + Cha modifier for each fire spell I cast -- probably a good thing that it's limited, because healing at whim from random castings of fire bolt would be a bit overpowered). Here, I'd likely need to look at the Elemental Adept (Fire) feat to bypass fire resistance.
3) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery 18) / Warlock (Hexblade) 2: This would be closest to the typical sorlock build: Sorcerer has pretty much everything spellcasting-wise (6 cantrips, 15 spells known, 4/3/3/3/3/1/1/1/1 spells per day; 4 Metamagic selections; full Phoenix Sorcery origin abilities); Warlock (Hexblade) will give us a bit more leeway to amp our damage (Hexblade's Curse), give us medium armor proficiency in addition to the light armor, and let us lean even more into Charisma for damage outside of regular spellcasting in those instances where I'm forced into melee; we also get 2 cantrips, 3 spells known (all 1st-level), as well as two invocations. I think Elemental Adept (Fire) will still be handy to have for taking care of fire-resistant foes.
Given all that, which of the three options would seem most viable? And how would I best optimize it? Starting stats are 12, 15, 16, 16, 16, 17 (I rolled pretty darned well).
The first thing that caught my eye was something of the Sorcerer variety -- I know a lot of people say that the UA Phoenix Sorcery is perhaps a bit underpowered in many respects, but it interested me from a flavor perspective, so I began to consider options. Right off, I know that I want to multiclass, and Warlock is probably the best one to multi-class into, particularly given the whole Font of Magic/Flexible Casting/Sorcery Point deal and technically being able to use the Pact Magic spell slots for more Sorcery Points and all that.
The trick, though, is what sort of build do I make? With the UA options out there, it looks like there's three potential builds I could look at, which would make for an interesting character.... but all three have pros and cons. So:
1) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery) 6 / Warlock (Celestial / Pact of the Tome) 14: Spellcasting-wise, this is rather weak: 4/3/3 spells per day (with 7 spells known and 4 cantrips) from Sorcerer, and three 5th-level slots from Warlock (7 cantrips (thanks to Pact of the Tome), 12 spells known, ranging from 1st- to 5th-level spells, with a single 6th- and 7th-level spell that I could cast one per long rest, and there aren't many options that scream "take me!" with the Mystic Arcanum choices). It would take all the way to 20th level to do it (with no guarantee that I'll reach that far, but I know I can get at least to 15th level or perhaps a bit further), but by the end of it, I'd have three different ways to cheat death on a long rest: Phoenix Spark from Sorcerer 6, Gift of the Protectors (a UA invocation from the recent Class Features UA) at Warlock 9, and then Searing Vengeance at Warlock 14. The problem, of course, is the super-limited spellcasting, and invocations won't completely fix that, nor will the spells known from Warlock. I would, however, be able to ritual-cast from any ritual spell list up to 5th level (at least, I'm assuming that's the case -- I don't recall offhand if there are ritual spells past 5th-level spells).
2) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery) 14 / Warlock (Undying Light / Pact of the Tome) 6: This one could conceivably be more problematic in certain respects, seeing as how Undying Light was rewritten to be the Celestial in Xanathar's, but I do benefit in several respects over option 1. Warlock is more limited here (6 cantrips with Pact of the Tome, 7 spells known, two 3rd-level slots), but Sorcerer does get a lot more (6 cantrips, 13 spells known, 4/3/3/3/2/1/1 spells per day; three Metamagic selections, and the 14th-level Phoenix Sorcery ability, letting me heal spell slot level + Cha modifier for each fire spell I cast -- probably a good thing that it's limited, because healing at whim from random castings of fire bolt would be a bit overpowered). Here, I'd likely need to look at the Elemental Adept (Fire) feat to bypass fire resistance.
3) Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery 18) / Warlock (Hexblade) 2: This would be closest to the typical sorlock build: Sorcerer has pretty much everything spellcasting-wise (6 cantrips, 15 spells known, 4/3/3/3/3/1/1/1/1 spells per day; 4 Metamagic selections; full Phoenix Sorcery origin abilities); Warlock (Hexblade) will give us a bit more leeway to amp our damage (Hexblade's Curse), give us medium armor proficiency in addition to the light armor, and let us lean even more into Charisma for damage outside of regular spellcasting in those instances where I'm forced into melee; we also get 2 cantrips, 3 spells known (all 1st-level), as well as two invocations. I think Elemental Adept (Fire) will still be handy to have for taking care of fire-resistant foes.
Given all that, which of the three options would seem most viable? And how would I best optimize it? Starting stats are 12, 15, 16, 16, 16, 17 (I rolled pretty darned well).