Pathfinder 1E Am i going to screw up my sorcerer?

[Grimmjow]

I am playing a 11th level dragon sorcerer. At level 13 i am going to replace one of my old feats with martial weapon training, focus the great sword for my 13th level feat and use magic and blade.

Is this going to get me killed? can a sorcerer battle on the front lines without leather armor? if i use a great sword can i let go with one hand to cast my spell (or do somatic components)? basically im asking if this is going to hurt me more than it is worth?

I already have toughness so i have HP and i can use mage armor to boost my AC when i go up but i want to be able to slice and dice as well as blast fire balls!

 

[steenan]

It's not survivability that will hurt you, it's action economy.

At level 13, you have access to 6th level spells. Even if you buff yourself, whatever you'll do with the sword in a round won't be anywhere near what a single spell would do.

If you want to be able to fight in melee as a backup, it's ok. One feat isn't a high cost.
But if you consider doing it while you could cast instead, it's a really bad idea.

 

[Wycen]

This spell does what you want, but with a trade off: http://paizo.com/prd/spells/transformation.html

Without it, your BAB sucks and we don't know what other buffs you have, either through items or spells. The action economy steenan mentioned above is the secret trick of DnD and Pathfinder. How many actions you have and what you can do with those actions will reflect how well or prepared you are in combat, and even out of combat.

 

[paradox42]

Indeed- around 13th-15th level, the action economy starts to become important, and by 20th, it's all-important. I ran several 3.5 games that got to that point, so I became very familiar with this facet of the game. The action economy is why they changed Haste from 3.0 to 3.5 so that you couldn't use it to cast extra spells in a round anymore- it was far too good for a 3rd-level spell that way, and some people who kept it in as a house-rule spell after the edition change (I know a couple) think it's too good even at 6th.

Greatswords are the highest-damage melee weapon, certainly, but even if you have a STR of 18 or higher (without the Transformation spell) you won't be able to dish out damage the way a Fighter or other martial class who's been using it since 1st level will be able. But at 13th, you have access to neat spells like Disintegrate and Chain Lightning, so damage isn't really a problem for you if you stick to using spells as a first option. You need feats like Power Attack, Vital Strike, and Improved Critical to really get mileage out of weapon damage at levels above 10th- and as a Sorcerer, you won't have many (if any) of those.

As for your question about taking a hand off the weapon to cast in one round, RAW says no- if you're holding the weapon it must be with both hands, and if you're using a two-handed weapon, then no spells that round. You have to put the weapon away if you want to cast again. If you have the Quick Draw feat then this becomes less of a problem for you, but under normal circumstances it's gonna suck up actions and therefore Just Plain Suck.

Honestly, it's sounding like you want a Magus instead of a Sorcerer, on some level, but there is an option you might consider if you really want to go down the melee path: the Eldritch Knight PrC. You'll need to multiclass one level in Fighter or some other martial class to get it, but on the up side that would save you spending the feat on weapon proficiency.

 

[Storminator]

Indeed- around 13th-15th level, the action economy starts to become important, and by 20th, it's all-important. I ran several 3.5 games that got to that point, so I became very familiar with this facet of the game. The action economy is why they changed Haste from 3.0 to 3.5 so that you couldn't use it to cast extra spells in a round anymore- it was far too good for a 3rd-level spell that way, and some people who kept it in as a house-rule spell after the edition change (I know a couple) think it's too good even at 6th.

I'm pretty sure 3.0 Haste was too good for any level of spell. It would almost certainly be the first spell you took at any level - even 9th. Only Time Stop compares.

PS

 

[Grimmjow]

So what im hearing is "dont do it!" because i wont be able to cast the powerful spells. And im guessing that taking quikended spell wouldnt make up for this because i still wouldnt be able to cast the high level spells?

 

[paradox42]

Casting a Quickened spell still requires hands, so you wouldn't be able to do even that while using a two-handed weapon. And yes, it also takes +4 spell levels, so you would indeed lose much of your spell power if you start relying on those.

 

[tangleknot]

Take 1 level of Magus for the "Spell Combat" Ability. Use a Bastard sword so you can either sling a spell and attack one handed, or use it two handed style and do extra damage.

 

[DogBackward]

Casting a Quickened spell still requires hands, so you wouldn't be able to do even that while using a two-handed weapon.

You don't have to be wielding a greatsword to be holding it: you can easily hold even a greatsword in one hand, you just can't swing it with one hand. You can rest it on your shoulder or rest the tip on the ground with your main hand, use your off-hand to cast a spell, then replace your grip on the sword (changing your grip on a weapon is a free action). The only reason the Magus disallows this is because you're casting and attacking as part of the same action, instead of casting using one (swift) action and attacking with a different (standard or full) action.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

I wouldn't do it either. You are pretty far invested in the sorcerer and if you wanted to be magic and weapon wielding you should seriously think about the Magus as that is what they are really good at. Maybe do it for your next character, but definitely keep that blade away from this character if you want to make him viable. If you want someone who wields a sword think about getting leadership and hire yourself a cohort who wields a massive greatsword, just some food for thought.