Help for my Sorcerer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help for my Sorcerer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ToddMorgan
03-01-07, 05:28 PM Hey all. I am playing a pure Sorcerer that is currently 1 AR past 5th level. His spell list is as follows:
Cantrips:
Mending, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Light
1st:
Grease, Mage Armor, Lesser Orb of Electricity, Magic Missles
2nd:
Scorching Ray, Glitterdust

Stats:
Str 8
Dex 14
Con 10
Int 14
Wis 12
Cha 17

He is now about to play Red Hand of Doom and if he doesn't die in the first encounter, he will level to 6th and gain access to one third level spell (granted he will be able to cast it a few times) and I wanted to know which would be best. I have narrowed it down to Fireball, whatever spell is the electrical equivalent of fireball (Electricity Sphere or some such) or Dispel Magic. He has bought a few scrolls of Haste, and is saving up for a cloak of Charisma +2.
trollbill
03-01-07, 05:44 PM Tough one. I am 2 ARs through RHoD with my, now 8th-level, sorcerer. I picked Haste as my first 3rd level and Fly as my 2nd. Both have worked out superbly. Of course, I have a breath weapon, so the Fireballs etc. aren't as necessary to me. Dispel Magic is very tempting, as well. I garauntee you every spell you mentioned will get a good workout in RHoD.
Rerednaw
03-01-07, 05:50 PM Hey all. I am playing a pure Sorcerer that is currently 1 AR past 5th level. His spell list is as follows:
...
If you have narrowed it down to 2 nukes and a dispel magic...it still depends.

Are there other casters in the group who can cover the other bases? (stealth, mobility, utility, buff, divination, etc.)

Another thing to consider. You hit level 6! What feats do you have? Have you picked your next feat?

If you've gone the spell focus evocation route then I'd probably stick to being a nuker.

If you like nuking, consider one of the reserve feats from the Complete Mage. Having a SU popgun all day long AND a +1 caster level may be well worth it. Fiery Burst or Storm Bolt are what I'd consider if I were in your shoes.

Another consideration: Metamagic School Focus (Complete Mage). A free +1 metamagic 3x a day in your chosen school (specialist OR spell focus) is pretty sweet. If you already have metamagic rods or the rewards card (raging spell) I'd probably give this feat a pass.

My wizard just hit 6th and he is a Conjurer (not specialist). He doesn't know fireball or lightning bolt. He webs, blinds, greases and summons great honking giant bugs from the nether regions to wallop on the party's foes.

If someone else in the party can Dispel, stick with what appears to be your focus, blowing things up. My personal preference is a line (lightning bolt) over a burst (fireball) spell but YMMV.

Dispel is very very useful, but carry a few scrolls for the time being. You need to blow up stuff more often than you need the occasional dispel, at least at the lower levels.
Puggle Halfwine
03-01-07, 05:51 PM Fireball is useful, particularly with the range- since I can't see any spell with a range of "long" there. However, I'd definately put my vote in for haste- particularly if your fighters are 6th level. This means they have three attacks, which significantly increases their damage output.
copper_wyrmling
03-01-07, 06:29 PM Fireball is useful, particularly with the range- since I can't see any spell with a range of "long" there. However, I'd definately put my vote in for haste- particularly if your fighters are 6th level. This means they have three attacks, which significantly increases their damage output.

You have the immense luxury of knowing what your party is going to be for the next few levels :) If it's heavy on melee fighters and you don't have a bard, then yeah, Haste ftw. If, otoh, the damage dealers are you and an archer, then fireball (or the electric version, assuming you have access) can be extremely valuable. Being able to fight at long range is good, being able to take out lots of small enemies fast (the extreme case of this is swarms) is also good.

If you have several divine casters, then dispel magic might be better left to one of them. Fly is also extremely useful. As others have said, take a look at your feats (especially metamagic) and how various spells will synergize with them, and also think about your future plans.

My sorcerer took Fireball first, because her area had a distinct lack of people who could actually do damage. In a certain module at L5, she did about 95% of the party damage over the scenario, INCLUDING the encounter where we fought a golem, and that was before the orb spells were legal. (It's really sad when the L5 sorcerer is doing more damage with Acid Splash than the L8 monk can manage.) She needed to be a nuker, for the tables where four of the other five PCs were incapable of doing more than 3 damage / round. Then she took Fly, because it's just an amazing defence and it stops all-flying encounters from screwing over your tanks. At L9 she took Haste, and it didn't really live up to my expectations - at least until I realized that I actually had enough Haste spells to cast them when I thought a combat might be imminent, accepting that I'd waste a few each day. She still doesn't have a dispel option - she usually has better offensive actions to take, and if she needs to fix a nasty condition on a party member, she has scrolls of several low-level restorative spells and a +25 UMD check to activate them.

Oh, and also, you might want to consider False Life as a L2 spell pick, if that 10 Con is causing trouble for you.
ToddMorgan
03-01-07, 06:31 PM The fighters are not 6th. my party is made up of an 8th level cleric, myself, a 5th level arcane caster, a 7th tank, a 4th tank, a 5th tank, and 6th of something (not sure what yet). i think i may be the only arcane caster, which is why i have scrolls of a bunch of stuff. but as my known spell that will be cast often, i'm thinking fireball or the electrical equivalent. scroll of dispel should work ok.
Timlagor
03-01-07, 10:11 PM I'd definitely leave Dispelling to the cleric then.

I'd definitely take Haste with that group but Fireball is second choice.
Do you have Empower or Sculpt yet?

You should also plan your spells for the next few levels now.
paigeoliver
03-02-07, 04:01 AM Haste does a lot more damage than fireball does at 6th level. Your fireball is going to do 21 on a failed save or 10 on a successful one. That doesn't compare to the damage output of a haste spell.
Timlagor
03-02-07, 07:57 AM Just to add that while I would take Haste first, I would also take Dispel Magic in a level or three.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ToddMorgan 03-01-07, 05:28 PM	Hey all. I am playing a pure Sorcerer that is currently 1 AR past 5th level. His spell list is as follows: Cantrips: Mending, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Light 1st: Grease, Mage Armor, Lesser Orb of Electricity, Magic Missles 2nd: Scorching Ray, Glitterdust Stats: Str 8 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 17 He is now about to play Red Hand of Doom and if he doesn't die in the first encounter, he will level to 6th and gain access to one third level spell (granted he will be able to cast it a few times) and I wanted to know which would be best. I have narrowed it down to Fireball, whatever spell is the electrical equivalent of fireball (Electricity Sphere or some such) or Dispel Magic. He has bought a few scrolls of Haste, and is saving up for a cloak of Charisma +2.
trollbill 03-01-07, 05:44 PM	Tough one. I am 2 ARs through RHoD with my, now 8th-level, sorcerer. I picked Haste as my first 3rd level and Fly as my 2nd. Both have worked out superbly. Of course, I have a breath weapon, so the Fireballs etc. aren't as necessary to me. Dispel Magic is very tempting, as well. I garauntee you every spell you mentioned will get a good workout in RHoD.
Rerednaw 03-01-07, 05:50 PM	Hey all. I am playing a pure Sorcerer that is currently 1 AR past 5th level. His spell list is as follows: ... If you have narrowed it down to 2 nukes and a dispel magic...it still depends. Are there other casters in the group who can cover the other bases? (stealth, mobility, utility, buff, divination, etc.) Another thing to consider. You hit level 6! What feats do you have? Have you picked your next feat? If you've gone the spell focus evocation route then I'd probably stick to being a nuker. If you like nuking, consider one of the reserve feats from the Complete Mage. Having a SU popgun all day long AND a +1 caster level may be well worth it. Fiery Burst or Storm Bolt are what I'd consider if I were in your shoes. Another consideration: Metamagic School Focus (Complete Mage). A free +1 metamagic 3x a day in your chosen school (specialist OR spell focus) is pretty sweet. If you already have metamagic rods or the rewards card (raging spell) I'd probably give this feat a pass. My wizard just hit 6th and he is a Conjurer (not specialist). He doesn't know fireball or lightning bolt. He webs, blinds, greases and summons great honking giant bugs from the nether regions to wallop on the party's foes. If someone else in the party can Dispel, stick with what appears to be your focus, blowing things up. My personal preference is a line (lightning bolt) over a burst (fireball) spell but YMMV. Dispel is very very useful, but carry a few scrolls for the time being. You need to blow up stuff more often than you need the occasional dispel, at least at the lower levels.
Puggle Halfwine 03-01-07, 05:51 PM	Fireball is useful, particularly with the range- since I can't see any spell with a range of "long" there. However, I'd definately put my vote in for haste- particularly if your fighters are 6th level. This means they have three attacks, which significantly increases their damage output.
copper_wyrmling 03-01-07, 06:29 PM	Fireball is useful, particularly with the range- since I can't see any spell with a range of "long" there. However, I'd definately put my vote in for haste- particularly if your fighters are 6th level. This means they have three attacks, which significantly increases their damage output. You have the immense luxury of knowing what your party is going to be for the next few levels :) If it's heavy on melee fighters and you don't have a bard, then yeah, Haste ftw. If, otoh, the damage dealers are you and an archer, then fireball (or the electric version, assuming you have access) can be extremely valuable. Being able to fight at long range is good, being able to take out lots of small enemies fast (the extreme case of this is swarms) is also good. If you have several divine casters, then dispel magic might be better left to one of them. Fly is also extremely useful. As others have said, take a look at your feats (especially metamagic) and how various spells will synergize with them, and also think about your future plans. My sorcerer took Fireball first, because her area had a distinct lack of people who could actually do damage. In a certain module at L5, she did about 95% of the party damage over the scenario, INCLUDING the encounter where we fought a golem, and that was before the orb spells were legal. (It's really sad when the L5 sorcerer is doing more damage with Acid Splash than the L8 monk can manage.) She needed to be a nuker, for the tables where four of the other five PCs were incapable of doing more than 3 damage / round. Then she took Fly, because it's just an amazing defence and it stops all-flying encounters from screwing over your tanks. At L9 she took Haste, and it didn't really live up to my expectations - at least until I realized that I actually had enough Haste spells to cast them when I thought a combat might be imminent, accepting that I'd waste a few each day. She still doesn't have a dispel option - she usually has better offensive actions to take, and if she needs to fix a nasty condition on a party member, she has scrolls of several low-level restorative spells and a +25 UMD check to activate them. Oh, and also, you might want to consider False Life as a L2 spell pick, if that 10 Con is causing trouble for you.
ToddMorgan 03-01-07, 06:31 PM	The fighters are not 6th. my party is made up of an 8th level cleric, myself, a 5th level arcane caster, a 7th tank, a 4th tank, a 5th tank, and 6th of something (not sure what yet). i think i may be the only arcane caster, which is why i have scrolls of a bunch of stuff. but as my known spell that will be cast often, i'm thinking fireball or the electrical equivalent. scroll of dispel should work ok.
Timlagor 03-01-07, 10:11 PM	I'd definitely leave Dispelling to the cleric then. I'd definitely take Haste with that group but Fireball is second choice. Do you have Empower or Sculpt yet? You should also plan your spells for the next few levels now.
paigeoliver 03-02-07, 04:01 AM	Haste does a lot more damage than fireball does at 6th level. Your fireball is going to do 21 on a failed save or 10 on a successful one. That doesn't compare to the damage output of a haste spell.
Timlagor 03-02-07, 07:57 AM	Just to add that while I would take Haste first, I would also take Dispel Magic in a level or three.