best sorcerer spells [Archive] - Wizards Community

best sorcerer spells [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
G_Mancer
01-30-08, 03:21 PM hey, i here to start a poll on the top 5 spells from spell levels 0-9 for sorcerer/wizards.

i'll be playing one soon, and i've never played one before.
Seflore
01-30-08, 03:37 PM Ghoul Gauntlets (Spell level 5) is one of my personal favorites. All you have to do is go up to someone, make a melee touch attack and they just have to fail their save. Then they begin to take 3d6 points of damage every round until they die. Once they die they turn into a ghoul under your control.

Spell is located in the Spell Compendium.
JamesMaissen
01-30-08, 04:10 PM hey, i here to start a poll on the top 5 spells from spell levels 0-9 for sorcerer/wizards.

i'll be playing one soon, and i've never played one before.

My advice to you is to look holistically. Don't have lots of flashy pieces, but rather something that meshes together.

Its easy to be drawn to a PrC or a specific spell as a sorcerer, but there are costs there that are not as obvious. Always take a step back and see how the whole thing works.

-James
Obsidianjaerc
01-30-08, 04:12 PM Without the time to go through a run-down...
(The folks on the Char-Op board can more properly help there.)

Scorching Ray!
Seeker95
01-30-08, 04:31 PM Sorcerers are limited in the number of spells they know. The shadow conjuration (and greater) and shadow evocation (and greater) spells remove a lot of this limitation, collectively expanding the effective spells known list by 72 and counting. Best spells ever for a sorcerer.
pigknight
01-30-08, 08:38 PM lvl1-magic missle. lvl3-fireball/lightningbolt. lvl9-wish. nuff said.
Roelandt
01-30-08, 09:26 PM Detect Magic
Dispel Magic
Identify

(or you're a guy pretending to be a caster)

Amber Sarcophagus and or Forcecage (flawless attack no save spells)
Trap the Soul (the ULTIMATE power in the entire game)

Silence
Teleport
Greater Invisibility
Lightning Bolt
Cone of Cold

And, the best spell in the game...
Simulacrum
narack
01-31-08, 08:32 AM Evocation there is Ice Storm at level 4. Really nasty spell.

For sure Shadow are a must, it help the sorcerer by adding like 50 new possible spells. that's just with the player handbook. Get spell compendium and you reach 100 spell known.
Wind of Darkness
01-31-08, 01:14 PM It's a bit overrated, but there's a reason most people take magic missile. The damage is a bit light, but it always hits, and it's a godsend against incorporeal foes early on.

A warning about third level spells: Fireball is tempting, but I can name three good reasons off the bat why you shouldn't take it. Dispel magic, haste, and fly come to mind immediately. There are others, but my point is that there are too many good third level spells to waste a spell known on something like damage. If you have a Cleric in the party, you might get away with skipping dispel magic, but I guarantee you'll get more out of a haste or a well placed stinking could than you would get out of a fireball or lightning bolt in most situations.

This can be applied to most spell levels, by the way, it just seems to me to be most pronounced at 3rd. Having a few damage spells around isn't bad, but don't focus on it.
bjorsa
06-29-08, 05:44 PM Wings of Cover - Absolute cheeze
Wings of Flurry - Uncapped D6/lev + save-or-suck in large area never hitting allies, it may be the best spell ever
Nerveskitter - Enough of them for the whole party
Celerity - Of course
Enervation - Stack up with Metamagic and perhaps Arcane Thesis
Haste - Always Haste your Fighter
Ruin Delver's Fortune - Cha bonus to saves
The Dispel Magic Line - Sorcerers are rather good at it

And preferably go for Persistent Spell (Incantatrix style) on:
Arcane Spellsurge - ...and get a Belt of Battle too just to make sure
Polymorph Line
Assay Spell Resistance

Buff your BSF with Persistent Spelled:
Draconic Might
Greater Mighty Wallop
Wraithstrike
runestar
06-29-08, 09:44 PM Limited wish.
RobbyPants
06-29-08, 09:59 PM I'm a big fan of crowd control and other save-or-suck spells. I'd recommend trying to get at least one of each of the different types of saves (Fort, Ref, and Will). Notable spells include (you don't need all of these):

Web
Glitterdust
Wall of Smoke
Stinking Cloud
Black Tenticles (no save, but grapple instead)

I'd generally limit the direct damage. Some of my favorites are:

Magic Missile
Lesser Orb of X
Scorching Ray
Maw of Chaos

For over all versitility (as in, each of these are really worth quite a few other spells):

Shadow Evocation
Shadow Conjuration
Polymorph
Shapechange

Also, if you're looking for a way to debuff someone before forcing them to make a save, Enervation can be a lot of fun. This one also really works well with various metamagic feats.

lvl9-wish. nuff said.
Honnestly, I'd rather have Gate for two reasons:

It's generally more versitle
Wish costs you 5,000 XP and Gate only costs 1,000. You could Gate in an efreeti and have him grant you three Wishes, effectively at 1/15th the XP cost.
runestar
06-29-08, 10:09 PM Wish costs you 5,000 XP and Gate only costs 1,000. You could Gate in an efreeti and have him grant you three Wishes, effectively at 1/15th the XP cost.

Not that any DM is likely to allow it though. It would be easier to get wish, scribe 2-3 few scrolls, and combine it with your regular castings to get +5 inherent bonus to cha ASAP.

Outside of this, the 5000xp cost is very expensive though, so you probably won't get to use it much.
Lycanthromancer
06-29-08, 10:55 PM I'd say that if you're going to make a sorcerer, you'd be best to specialize in an area that gives you the most flexibility for your money. A focused illusionist, necromancer, or summoner is one of the most versatile characters out there, and we all know that A.) focusing on a single thing can make a caster incredibly powerful, and B.) versatility is incredibly potent.
Azire
06-30-08, 04:33 PM Without the time to go through a run-down...
(The folks on the Char-Op board can more properly help there.)

Scorching Ray!

YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!
bjorsa
06-30-08, 05:45 PM Have you Scorching-Ray-guys ever tried to compare Scorching Ray to Wings of Flurry? Granted Scorching comes at level 2, but Flurry with Arcane thesis is just of the charts (especially with Greater Arcane Fusion) both damage-wise and more importantly because of the reflex save.

Dragonblood Sorcerer level 10, metamagic specialist, with Thesis on Flurry:
Empower, Practical empower, Accelerate Empower (+0)
Twin, Practical twin (+2)
Sudden Maximize (-1)

CL total 13; 13x6x1.5x2=234 direct damage (save for 1/2) plus 2 reflex save-or-sucks, all on a 30ft radius WITHOUT hitting allies. With the right feats at level 20 it gets to be silly.

It matches Maw of Chaos, which in itself is a decent level 9 spell. Basically MoC is as a "Persisted Flurry" with extra concentration checks. Longer range but Flurry's larger area is easily better.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
G_Mancer 01-30-08, 03:21 PM	hey, i here to start a poll on the top 5 spells from spell levels 0-9 for sorcerer/wizards. i'll be playing one soon, and i've never played one before.
Seflore 01-30-08, 03:37 PM	Ghoul Gauntlets (Spell level 5) is one of my personal favorites. All you have to do is go up to someone, make a melee touch attack and they just have to fail their save. Then they begin to take 3d6 points of damage every round until they die. Once they die they turn into a ghoul under your control. Spell is located in the Spell Compendium.
JamesMaissen 01-30-08, 04:10 PM	hey, i here to start a poll on the top 5 spells from spell levels 0-9 for sorcerer/wizards. i'll be playing one soon, and i've never played one before. My advice to you is to look holistically. Don't have lots of flashy pieces, but rather something that meshes together. Its easy to be drawn to a PrC or a specific spell as a sorcerer, but there are costs there that are not as obvious. Always take a step back and see how the whole thing works. -James
Obsidianjaerc 01-30-08, 04:12 PM	Without the time to go through a run-down... (The folks on the Char-Op board can more properly help there.) Scorching Ray!
Seeker95 01-30-08, 04:31 PM	Sorcerers are limited in the number of spells they know. The shadow conjuration (and greater) and shadow evocation (and greater) spells remove a lot of this limitation, collectively expanding the effective spells known list by 72 and counting. Best spells ever for a sorcerer.
pigknight 01-30-08, 08:38 PM	lvl1-magic missle. lvl3-fireball/lightningbolt. lvl9-wish. nuff said.
Roelandt 01-30-08, 09:26 PM	Detect Magic Dispel Magic Identify (or you're a guy pretending to be a caster) Amber Sarcophagus and or Forcecage (flawless attack no save spells) Trap the Soul (the ULTIMATE power in the entire game) Silence Teleport Greater Invisibility Lightning Bolt Cone of Cold And, the best spell in the game... Simulacrum
narack 01-31-08, 08:32 AM	Evocation there is Ice Storm at level 4. Really nasty spell. For sure Shadow are a must, it help the sorcerer by adding like 50 new possible spells. that's just with the player handbook. Get spell compendium and you reach 100 spell known.
Wind of Darkness 01-31-08, 01:14 PM	It's a bit overrated, but there's a reason most people take magic missile. The damage is a bit light, but it always hits, and it's a godsend against incorporeal foes early on. A warning about third level spells: Fireball is tempting, but I can name three good reasons off the bat why you shouldn't take it. Dispel magic, haste, and fly come to mind immediately. There are others, but my point is that there are too many good third level spells to waste a spell known on something like damage. If you have a Cleric in the party, you might get away with skipping dispel magic, but I guarantee you'll get more out of a haste or a well placed stinking could than you would get out of a fireball or lightning bolt in most situations. This can be applied to most spell levels, by the way, it just seems to me to be most pronounced at 3rd. Having a few damage spells around isn't bad, but don't focus on it.
bjorsa 06-29-08, 05:44 PM	Wings of Cover - Absolute cheeze Wings of Flurry - Uncapped D6/lev + save-or-suck in large area never hitting allies, it may be the best spell ever Nerveskitter - Enough of them for the whole party Celerity - Of course Enervation - Stack up with Metamagic and perhaps Arcane Thesis Haste - Always Haste your Fighter Ruin Delver's Fortune - Cha bonus to saves The Dispel Magic Line - Sorcerers are rather good at it And preferably go for Persistent Spell (Incantatrix style) on: Arcane Spellsurge - ...and get a Belt of Battle too just to make sure Polymorph Line Assay Spell Resistance Buff your BSF with Persistent Spelled: Draconic Might Greater Mighty Wallop Wraithstrike
runestar 06-29-08, 09:44 PM	Limited wish.
RobbyPants 06-29-08, 09:59 PM	I'm a big fan of crowd control and other save-or-suck spells. I'd recommend trying to get at least one of each of the different types of saves (Fort, Ref, and Will). Notable spells include (you don't need all of these): Web Glitterdust Wall of Smoke Stinking Cloud Black Tenticles (no save, but grapple instead) I'd generally limit the direct damage. Some of my favorites are: Magic Missile Lesser Orb of X Scorching Ray Maw of Chaos For over all versitility (as in, each of these are really worth quite a few other spells): Shadow Evocation Shadow Conjuration Polymorph Shapechange Also, if you're looking for a way to debuff someone before forcing them to make a save, Enervation can be a lot of fun. This one also really works well with various metamagic feats. lvl9-wish. nuff said. Honnestly, I'd rather have Gate for two reasons: It's generally more versitle Wish costs you 5,000 XP and Gate only costs 1,000. You could Gate in an efreeti and have him grant you three Wishes, effectively at 1/15th the XP cost.
runestar 06-29-08, 10:09 PM	Wish costs you 5,000 XP and Gate only costs 1,000. You could Gate in an efreeti and have him grant you three Wishes, effectively at 1/15th the XP cost. Not that any DM is likely to allow it though. It would be easier to get wish, scribe 2-3 few scrolls, and combine it with your regular castings to get +5 inherent bonus to cha ASAP. Outside of this, the 5000xp cost is very expensive though, so you probably won't get to use it much.
Lycanthromancer 06-29-08, 10:55 PM	I'd say that if you're going to make a sorcerer, you'd be best to specialize in an area that gives you the most flexibility for your money. A focused illusionist, necromancer, or summoner is one of the most versatile characters out there, and we all know that A.) focusing on a single thing can make a caster incredibly powerful, and B.) versatility is incredibly potent.
Azire 06-30-08, 04:33 PM	Without the time to go through a run-down... (The folks on the Char-Op board can more properly help there.) Scorching Ray! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!
bjorsa 06-30-08, 05:45 PM	Have you Scorching-Ray-guys ever tried to compare Scorching Ray to Wings of Flurry? Granted Scorching comes at level 2, but Flurry with Arcane thesis is just of the charts (especially with Greater Arcane Fusion) both damage-wise and more importantly because of the reflex save. Dragonblood Sorcerer level 10, metamagic specialist, with Thesis on Flurry: Empower, Practical empower, Accelerate Empower (+0) Twin, Practical twin (+2) Sudden Maximize (-1) CL total 13; 13x6x1.5x2=234 direct damage (save for 1/2) plus 2 reflex save-or-sucks, all on a 30ft radius WITHOUT hitting allies. With the right feats at level 20 it gets to be silly. It matches Maw of Chaos, which in itself is a decent level 9 spell. Basically MoC is as a "Persisted Flurry" with extra concentration checks. Longer range but Flurry's larger area is easily better.