I need other people's opinions on this

[centipedes]

I never end up playing wizard simply because the spell preparation pisses me off.

I always thought that way too.

Well I think I'm going to play a sorceror.

Any suggestions on races?

 

[IronWolf]

Well I think I'm going to play a sorceror.

Any suggestions on races?

Not half-orc or Dwarf.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

First, Welcome to the boards!

Just for the record, according to this book:

Power Gamer's 3.5 Wizard Strategy Guide

Sorcerers & Wizards are roughly equivalent in power. Differences are largely in terms of what flavor of mechanics you want to deal with.

(FWIW, I like them both.)

As for races...what books do you have access to?

 

[Cor_Malek]

It's best to pick race due to that character you want to play. No race adds to charisma score, so the differences are quite cosmetic. It might not seem like it, but IMO humans are best for the job (because, how often do you need high caster level with illusions...?) Also, depending on your backstory - gnome on dragon action seems even more disturbing than involving human. I sure hope it was dragoness.

Gnomes: trade least important ability (strength) for a quite important one (const). AC boost due to small size, illusion spells get boost to CL, you get bonus to alchemy.

Halfling: trade least important ability (strength) for a very important one (dexterity). AC boost due to small size, helluva bonuses to saving throws.

Human: no ability change, but you get additional feat - which is really important for all mages, and especially sorcerers. Remember those slots you don't have to commit in the morning? It makes quickened, silent, still and maximized spell feats really useful, as you can decide to tweak any spell in the heat of the battle. You also get additional skill points, and this can be handy for sorcerers as int isn't their main ability.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

If races from the Monster Manual are allowed then the Aasimar has a CHA bonus. But Cor-Malek has summed up PHB races pretty well.

Off topic: Oryan, you have just described to a tee the wizard in the campaign I'm currently in. (Not my character.)

Back on topic: Our stinky dwarven wizard is very good at what he does. We try, as party, to get info about situations before we go blundering in, thereby allowing the wizard (and cleric) to prep more useful spells. Works pretty well if we, as players, have time to strategise.

I find sorcerers work best as artillery. A sorcerer who takes a lot of utility spells will find they are even more limited for combat options. A sorcerer who takes nothing but utility spells won't work well in the average campaign.

cheers.

 

[Dausuul]

If races from the Monster Manual are allowed then the Aasimar has a CHA bonus. But Cor-Malek has summed up PHB races pretty well.

Aasimar also have a level adjustment in 3E as I recall. Level adjustment is a bad, bad thing for a pure caster. They'd have to give a +6 or so to Charisma before I'd even consider it.

I think there might be some weird elf variant with a Charisma bonus and no level adjustment... there's an elf variant for just about everything in 3E. (Edit: Yes, they're called star elves. They're in the "Unapproachable East" Forgotten Realms sourcebook. And "Races of the Dragon" has spellscale, if you don't mind being part reptile.) Barring that, just play whatever you want. Halflings get +2 to AC and ranged touch attacks. Humans are good for the extra feat and skill points.

You mentioned you were thinking about playing an elf. Even if you don't have access to Unapproachable East, I suggest looking at the elf variants, since that Con penalty really stings with your 1d4 hit dice. Wild elf if you don't mind taking a hit to Intelligence. If your DM allows Unearthed Arcana, check out arctic elves, who combine lack of Con penalty with a boatload of style. Or you can just play a straight-up elf and not worry about it.

I find sorcerers work best as artillery. A sorcerer who takes a lot of utility spells will find they are even more limited for combat options.

Mmm... can't say I agree with this. If you want to be artillery, play a warmage; you'll be more flexible and do more damage. The trick with sorcerors is to pick a small but versatile handful of direct-damage spells, so you have as much room as possible for debuffs, save-or-lose, utilities, and battlefield control. Don't feel like you have to have one at every level; it's okay to use a second-level slot to cast magic missile now and then. In fact, you can do fine with nothing but magic missile, fireball, and a couple of metamagic feats. Remember: Keep casting the same friggin' spell at them until they roll over and die.

This is a good general principle to keep in mind with a sorceror. You have a very limited selection of spells known, so make the most of every single one. If you already have one version of a spell, don't pick up the one-level-higher version of that same spell. You can always use a higher-level slot to cast the lower-level version, or metamagic it up. Look for spells that will be useful in many situations and have minimal overlap with the ones you've already got. Load up on scrolls for the oddball spells that you only need once in a blue moon.

Since you seem to play long campaigns, also look for spells that will "wear well"--that is, they'll still be useful at high levels. Glitterdust good, sleep bad. And don't forget that you get to swap out one spell every other level.

Finally, metamagic is your friend. Yes, even though it takes a full-round action to cast. Metamagic feats increase your flexibility considerably, and sorcs need all the flexibility they can get. Energy Substitution lets you fireball things immune to fire. (I recommend cold, since very little is immune to both.) Empower Spell and Maximize Spell dramatically extend the useful lifespan of direct-damage spells, and can be applied to some debuffs as well, especially enervation. Heighten Spell is great for making sure your save-or-lose spells don't fall behind the curve. You can't use Quicken Spell, unfortunately, but them's the breaks.

 

[Herobizkit]

I also prefer sorcerers to wizards for the same reasons as Dausuul:

because I hate the bookkeeping aspect of Vancian casting and I like the additional spells per day.

As for race, I agree with choosing whatever race you enjoy. Although Dwarves and Half-Orcs get a -2 to Cha, they still net a +2 to Con, which will help survivability. Dwarves are arguably the most "powerful" +0 LA race, and Half-Orcs... well... they take a hit on Int AND Cha, so probably aren't well-suited to Sorcerers, but don't let that stop you if you like the concept.

Believe it or not, Halflings make decent sorcerers. Their small size gives them a few choice bonuses for ranged combat (+1 to hit, +1 AC, +1 to all saves, +1 more to hit with thrown weapons and slings), and, well... they're short.

 

[Nifft]

Yeah, what Dausuul said: Sorcerers can be as strong as Wizards, but the Sorcerer spends a bunch of time making hard decisions once (per level), while the Wizard also spends a bunch of time making hard decisions every time he wakes up.

If you love tactical micro-management, go for the Wizard. If you like having a few tools that work very well and the resources to use them creatively, go for the Sorcerer. Both are awesomely powerful... though if you really like being awesomely powerful, consider the Druid.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Plane Sailing]

What do you guys suggest?
I'm playing 3.5E

I suggest that I move it to the 3e forum.

I fail my saving throw and complete the move.

Cheers!

 

[Dandu]

So my DM just recently wrapped up a campaign where I played a rogue 10/sorcerer 1/arcane archer 6

I enjoyed playing that character but for our new campaign, I'm pretty dead-set on wanting to play something more magic oriented. I am thinking about either an Elven Wizard (possibly sorcerer) or maybe a Druid or Ranger even.

What do you guys suggest?
I'm playing 3.5E

All good choices, although elves are not a great race for wizards from an optimization point of view, except for Grey Elves.

Sorcerers are simpler than wizards or druids, but it's harder build them well.

See guide for details.