D&D 5E Sorcerer Multiclassing?

[usefulmuse]

Hey! I need some advice on how to best multiclass as it'll be my first time trying it. So far I have a level 5 half-elf Wild Magic sorcerer with the following stats:

Strength 10/ Intelligence 10/ Dexterity 16/ Wisdom 12/ Constitution 16/ Charisma 18

My goal is to be more offensive and less squishy. I've heard good things about Sorcerer/Warlock multiclassing. Any thoughts?

 

[Horwath]

War2/sor X is the go-to multiclass.

If you want tankiness and melee power go with hexblade. That will give you martial weapons and medium armor and shields.

 

[Gladius Legis]

If your STR was at least 13, I'd have definitely recommended Paladin.

Warlock is good, though. Quickened Eldritch Blast makes for a solid nova, even moreso if you go Warlock 2 and take the Agonizing Blast invocation.

 

[ccs]

Mechanics you'd want to combine as much as you can with your high Cha.
But besides the mechanics, what makes sense storywise, for this particular character?

 

[5ekyu]

When i was looking to maybe MC my sorc (already an entertainer) i gave long look at bard.

Remember warlock levels *do not* increase your spellcasting. So every level of warlock loses you a level on you "do i get to big friggin spells" race.

In addition to some new weapons, maybe armor and the bardic dice and abilities - you get a goodly number of new known spells right off the bat and honestly the bardic colleges at 3rd are a full buffet of "what do we want to be."

The cost in sorcery points is noticeable but the bard hands out a lot of benefits you can tie together to get a sizeable power-up right off and then ongoing. After you get to a college, then look at focusing back on the sorc for their sorcery points.

All without slowing your spell progressions one bit...

Warlock to me gives you some gimmicks but at cost of your center of power - spells of level X.

 

[Yunru]

When i was looking to maybe MC my sorc (already an entertainer) i gave long look at bard.

Remember warlock levels *do not* increase your spellcasting. So every level of warlock loses you a level on you "do i get to big friggin spells" race.

In addition to some new weapons, maybe armor and the bardic dice and abilities - you get a goodly number of new known spells right off the bat and honestly the bardic colleges at 3rd are a full buffet of "what do we want to be."

The cost in sorcery points is noticeable but the bard hands out a lot of benefits you can tie together to get a sizeable power-up right off and then ongoing. After you get to a college, then look at focusing back on the sorc for their sorcery points.

All without slowing your spell progressions one bit...

Warlock to me gives you some gimmicks but at cost of your center of power - spells of level X.

I would say the opposite, Warlock costs you some gimmicks - spells of above level X, but gives a massive boost to your centre of power - being able to cast spells of level X.

 

[5ekyu]

It depends a lot of the campaign and expectations.

The warlock gain to spellcasting comes from imx short rest slots including possible conversion to sorc pts etc, but are themselves limited to the warlock spell level. If you get a short rest t o long rest ratio of say 3 or more that shifts to warlock but if it's less predictable - more to warlock.

To me without campaign info to go on, that's a risky payoff bought at cost of guaranteed loss of sorc points and spell levels.

Three levels of spell warlock costs you 1.5 max spell levels, usually like 2 slots at that higher level to gain two second level slots per short rest (plus the other non-spell features trade-offs,)

If your plan is to spam lesser effects and you can expect plentiful short rests, warlock can stack up numbers, but I find the bigger gains are from getting the higher spells available the quickest **while** gaining the other side-abilities - not sacrificing one for the other.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I would say the opposite, Warlock costs you some gimmicks - spells of above level X, but gives a massive boost to your centre of power - being able to cast spells of level X.

If I'm Sorc 5 casting fireballs, how does War2 improve my fireballs, or other 3rd level spell? Is this a reference to overstocking sorcery points through short rest spamming?

 

[5ekyu]

If I'm Sorc 5 casting fireballs, how does War2 improve my fireballs, or other 3rd level spell? Is this a reference to overstocking sorcery points through short rest spamming?

Since you can never have more sorc pts than the list, the res no overstock of those. It can be short rest reload of spent ones thru burning pact slots **if** the GM allows pact slots to feed flexible casting.

But even then the math gets iffy and situational

Sorc 6 has 6 sorc pts and 4 first, 3 second, 3 third level slots.

Sorc 3/bard 3 loses 3 sorc pts but get the same 4 first, 3 second, 3 third level slots and trades off sorc stuff for bard stuff. Lost the ability to cast actual third level spells but can cast lowers as up-slotted to third.

But sorc 3 war 3 has only 3 sorc pts but for slots only 4 first and 2 second plus 2 short rest seconds. Lost the ability to cast actual third and the ability to up-tick lowers to third.

So there are some hard set in stone spell caster hits - max spell level and max up-tick if you go warlock.

But if you look at the flex cast rest stuff...

Warlock gets 2 short rest second level slots but gives up three third level slots and one second level slots each long rest.

Just as flex-cast or total spells -

If you get two short rests, your total spells equalizes at four each but the sorc or sorc bard has higher slots mostly. The flex cast is 8 sp if two short rests vs 11 sp for the thirdsand second.

At three short rests between long rests you catch up with six total castings vs four and possibly flexing 12 so vs 111 (vs 14 for pure sorc if you count the 3 sp edge to start.)

As far as "spellcasting core" goes you gotta be pretty sure of three or more short rests per long rest for this to measure up.

Maybe one sees the warlock gains from invoc and pact/patron as superior to bard gains - but I dont. Too many gains.

Outside of white rooms, you gotta be looking at triple shorts or more regularly and aiming to spam a lot of lesser spells to get the warlock mc over the bard mc from sorc, imo.

Me, I take the guaranteed higher end gains from the sorc-bard over the maybe shorts in threes or more on the sor-lock for actual campaign play where the circumstances will vary.

 

[Yunru]

If I'm Sorc 5 casting fireballs, how does War2 improve my fireballs, or other 3rd level spell? Is this a reference to overstocking sorcery points through short rest spamming?

It doesn't, but War 5 does.