D&D 5E Draconic Sorcerer or Wizard Next Up

[Gray Lensman]

Yeah, I decided to tackle the hardest (for me anyway) build next.

A Female Elf (draconic) Sorcerer (no intention for PrC at this time)

Rolled a 14, 13, 16, 10, 13, 08, and 13 so I am going to discard the 08.

Draconic Template gives STR +2, CON +2, CHA +2
Elf Gives DEX +2 and CON -2

So, (in reverse)

CHA 16+2=18
WIS 10+0=10
INT 13+0=13
CON 14+2-2+14
DEX 13+2=15
STR 13+2=15

Since I am an Elf and proficient anyway I may as well keep longsword/longbow (heck, I even get bonuses)

If I use the draconic template instead of starting at level 3 I have to start at level 2, yes? (remember, all my characters start as third level)

And if I use the draconic racial class I gain better bonusus eventually but fall further behind in spellcasting.

I suppose that using the draconic template puts Dragon Disciple out of the question (altho the DMG says characters cannot be half dragon)

Today is the first time I have really started reading the Races of the Dragon.

LOL, I am really gonna have to practice this, just for kicks I want to do an entire party of Half Dragon and Half that. Hmmm... Half Dragon/Orc Barbarian, Half Dragon/Human Paladin.....

 

[Dandu]

Elf is arguably a poor choice for sorcerer; you need Con for HP and Concentration much more than you need Dex. Using a elf subrace that switches the penalty to Str is a bit better, but still not that great. Elve's just don't give much that's good for sorcery.

The +1 LA from the template sets you back a level when it comes to spellcasting. Again, not worth it.

You ABSOLUTELY do not want to take Dragon Disciple AT ALL. It is for a melee focused build who does not care about caster levels.

Here, I wrote a guide to sorcerers a while back. It's a good read.

 

[xigbar]

Not to mention already being behind a spell level by playing a Sorceror. The only decent Wizard races in Core, without an LA are Human, Gnome, and Dwarves. There are a few decent Sorcerer races, although they're LA+1 mostly, and up.

 

[Dandu]

Gray Elf is good, but you have to work around the drawbacks of having -2 Con.

 

[xigbar]

It looks like he's only doing Core, which I don't think Gray Elf is in. I'm (probably) wrong though.

 

[Empirate]

Gold Dwarf is excellent for Sorcerers IMO, as is Human, and Strongheart Halfling.

Concerning PrCs: you absolutely want one. Straight Sorcerer offers nothing in the way of class features, except familiar progression. Anything is better than that. How about Incantatrix, or Mage of the Arcane Order, or Fatespinner? Radically different tacks, but all good for a Sorc.

 

[xigbar]

Initiative of the Seven Fold Veil is a great PrC, but hard to enter from Sorcerer.

 

[Dandu]

It looks like he's only doing Core, which I don't think Gray Elf is in. I'm (probably) wrong though.

It's in the SRD and everything.

 

[xigbar]

It's in the SRD and everything.

Gotcha.

 

[Dandu]

Gray Lensman, I urge you to read through Races of the Dragon and throw every bit of fluff you find out of your mind. The WotC writers have absolutely no idea how to play their own game and their suggestions for race and class combinations are often atrocious.

For example, elves making great wizards is a persistent theme throught the entirety of 3.5E, but the default elf race sucks at being a wizard. The default elf does not get anything that makes them better at wizardry compared to Humans or even Dwarves.

If your aim is to make a mechanically optimized character, you've got to dissociate yourself from the fluff like a proton from hydrochloric acid.