making the most of my sorcerer

[Mark1733]

I play a chaotic good sorcerer within a group tending towards chaos where a dwarf barbarian rushes into battle as the typical battle "strategy" (not that it is surprising) well before any spells that can control the battlefield, have large area effects, set up illusions, or target specific enemies are cast? Any ideas on how to play as a sorcerer without collateral team damage that would tick them off? Or is this a matter of roleplaying? Would having strategy be for more lawful characters? Should I simply play chaotically? Not stupid or careless, necessarily.

Also, is there any better ways to improve my ability to engage in melee...or do I simply not want to do this? Should I take a level of rogue, and get sneak attack so that I can use my touch attacks and ranged touch attacks to a better degree. Or should I keep all my attack spells ranged.

 

[Will]

Well, you could tell your party, ICly, 'I will be fireballing and black tentacling our enemies. You've been warned' and f*k 'em.

Alternatively, be more blasty.

Alternatively, load up on single target debuffs (ray of enfeeblement, bestow curse, enervation, ...)

I'd avoid melee as much as possible. Use Spectral Hand if you must use touch spells.

 

[Herobizkit]

"Send in the Dwarf" is always a good strategy, but if you take the Improved Initiative feat and have likely high Dex, you will more often than not act before him. Area control spells do exactly that - control an area. If said Dwarf charges into the area of your spell, well, that is his choice. You can try and arrange for the Dwarf to delay his action until after you cast your spell, but hey, that's between you and the the other player.

Don't assume the Chaos in Chaotic Good means "act randomly":

"Chaos" implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility.

You do what works, and adapt your tactics when what you're doing isn't working. Being reckless means you may not always make the most tactical choices, but if your teammates are ALSO reckless, well, let the dice fall where they may.

A sorcerer, by design, is more typically a blaster than a melee combatant. Is there a specific reason you want to mix it up with the warriors? A few levels of Rogue would be the ticket if that is the play style you wish. Sneak Attack does apply to both ranged and melee touch attacks, and Evasion is never a bad thing. You can use your Sorcerer spells to somehow deny AC to your foes, or get your Barbarian fella to knock opponents on their butts, and Sneak Attack away from a safe (up to 30') distance.

Keep in mind, however, that the Sorcerer is generally a feat-starved class, and you may want to invest in a few combat-related feats to improve your melee (especially Weapon Finesse and Two-Weapon Fighting, assuming you have a high enough Dex). It might be worth a 2-level dip into Fighter to get those feats over Rogue's Sneak Attack schtick. You get armor proficiency, 2d10 of juicy HP, and you could even wield a reach weapon from a safe distance.

Now, on these boards, most players cry foul when multi-classing spellcasters because casters "lose" spell levels, effectively denying yourself access to your highest level abilities. To them, I say poo. I'm of the opinion that if you're already choosing to multi-class, you don't care about highest level spells; you want utility over raw power. Good news! With 2 levels of Fighter, you can still get access to 9th level spells when you hit character level 20. If you're like me, though, you doubt you'll ever see that high of a level.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

IME, nothing makes a Power Attacking, Cleaving, Great Cleaving warrior (of any race or class) happier than an arcane caster lobbing an AE damage spell that softens up a bunch of foes, setting up his Feat chain.

If you're actually worried about your allies getting hit, take the Sculpt Spell feat to aid in your targeting.

As for engaging in melee...its generally a non-starter for arcane spellcasters. However, I'm fond of martial arcanists, and have started a database with them in mind. Check out my sig.

If you want to MC your sorcerer to have more martial capability, Ftr is the obvious choice among the base classes (for the feats, if nothing else), followed by Marshal (for the Cha-boosting aura), or PrCls like Suel Arcanomach, Spellsword, Enlightened Fist or Eldritch Knight.

Then there are feats like Arcane Strike, Razing Strike and certain Heritage feats that let you transform spell slots into melee or ranged attacks that don't incur ASF.

FWIW, Duskblade, BttlSorc, Warmage, and the Stalwart Sorcerer are usually the first place people start when looking to play a martial arcanist.

 

[shadyizok]

or make sure your party invests some cash in some energy resitance items or that amulet that let's you ignore all penalties of cloud spells. Go solid fog!

 

[Runestar]

I recall reading somewhere about an arcane grappler build. Basically a wizard (but sorc fares equally well) who invests in grappling feats/spells. You are actually better at it than a fighter.

The Gaming Den :: View topic - Making a Grapple Wizard (Monks Suck)

Will likely require a complete overhaul/rebuild of your character though.

 

[concerro]

Well, you could tell your party, ICly, 'I will be fireballing and black tentacling our enemies. You've been warned' and f*k 'em.

Alternatively, be more blasty.

Alternatively, load up on single target debuffs (ray of enfeeblement, bestow curse, enervation, ...)

I'd avoid melee as much as possible. Use Spectral Hand if you must use touch spells.

I agree with this. Warn 'em then burn 'em.

 

[Dandu]

Any ideas on how to play as a sorcerer without collateral team damage that would tick them off?

Haste, Magic Missile, Ray of Enfeeblement, Resilient Sphere, Glitterdust, Enervation, etc, etc.

Or is this a matter of roleplaying? Would having strategy be for more lawful characters? Should I simply play chaotically? Not stupid or careless, necessarily.

Don't let alignment be your straightjacket. Play your character the way you want to, the way you envision him. Actions should dictate alignment, not the other way around.

Also, is there any better ways to improve my ability to engage in melee...or do I simply not want to do this?

You don't want to get into melee as a sorcerer. Taking a few levels of another class now won't give you what you need because your BaB will be low and your hp very little. This sort of thing has to be planned from character creation.

If you had build your character with the goal of melee from the start, though, things could be different. A Paladin2/Sorcerer4/Spellsword1/Abjuratn Champion5/Sacred Exorcist8 is a great gish build.

If you have any other questions, I refer you to my guide, which is linked to in my sig. Heed my words and know victory.

 

[NewJeffCT]

If you are high enough level, you can take Extraordinary Spell Aim (a feat from Complete Adventurer) - it allows you as part of a full round action to exclude one person from an Area of Effect spell. You need to make either a Concentration or Spellcraft check, but I don't have the book open right no, in order to exclude the person.

I think you need at least 15 ranks in either Concentration or Spellcraft.

 

[paigeoliver]

Adding a level of rogue to your sorcerer will make him less effective in melee combat, not more effective. That one level will grant you the ability to do 1d6 sneak attack damage, which will very rarely come up. It will however put you eternally down 1/2 a point of base attack bonus and will put your higher level spell acquisition back another level (and there are plenty of spells an arcane caster can cast to help them melee more effectively).

You really shouldn't be trying to melee with a sorcerer anyway, not unless you are going for a very specific character build. Since your party includes a hyperactive melee character I would simply suggest largely concentrating on spells that aren't area of effect or at least having a good enough mix that you aren't stuck with nothing to do.