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Draconic Sorcery is a fun class option for roleplay and learning the basics of playing a spellcaster in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:D&D's fifth edition. In roleplaying, you can get interesting moments from either embracing the valu🀅es and ideals of a draconic p🐬arent or by rejecting them.
Mechanically, Draconic Sorcery gives you a strong baseline skill set that encourages you to invest more heavily into a single type of elemental damage. This can be a stumbling block: If you bring a poison dragon to a campaign where you're fighting undead, you won't get to use most of your cool features. Good build planning can emphasize these strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
Best Species For A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
Dragonborn seems like th🦂e obvious choice for a sorce༒rer with a dragon ancestor, but it can be a trap.
The features a Dragonborn gains overlap with class features, and you end up losing out. Here are 🍨some other options that may fit better:
|
Species |
Benefits |
Details |
|
Kobold |
Draconic C♍ry: A powerful area buff that us﷽es your bonus action. An additional cantrip from the sorcerer's spell list |
Many Kobolds worship dragons, so having one wielding draconic magic is a position of great prestige among them. It can give a reason for playing kobolds differently from what you'd normally expect. |
|
Dwarf |
Medium Armour Proficiency Bonus hitpoints, one per level. Resistance to Poison both against the damage type and on saving throws toꦑ resist it. |
Draconic Sorcerers already gain bonus hitpoints compared to other subclasses. Combining this with the bonus hitpoints of a hill dwarf or the medium armour proficiency of a mountain dwarf and your sorcerer will be far more durable. |
|
Dragonborn |
Resistance to one element Breath weapon of the same element |
While the Dragonborn can very easily end up with redundant features as draconic sorcerers, there is an easy workaround: Your Dragonborn lineage does not have to be the same as the lineage your sorcery comes from. In fact, having two draconic ancestors can create interesting stories if you have to choose between honouring one or the other when t🍌heir ♔values or motivations come into conflict. Having two elemental resistances can let you resist the damage of most common damaging spells. |
Best Ability Scores For A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
Sorcerers benefit fro♈m having oꦫne important stat they can focus almost exclusively on, Charisma.
This doesn't mean other ability scores should be neglected, but you should aim to start your charisma as high as possible and boost it with items and ability score increases. We ca🍒n sort the ability scores into a loose pyramid for how𝓀 important they are:
Tier One: Charisma
Charisma determines the strength of your spells, meaning that you'll rely on it for almost all of your abilities. A high charisma means your spells will land more often and be harder to resist while 💦also allow✱ing your sorcerer to take a leading role in social encounters.
Tier Two: Constitution and Dexterity
Your charisma lets you contribute to both combat and social encounters but dexterity and constitution allow you to survive long enough to make use of those impressive spells and winni𝓰ng 🀅personality.
Dexterity increases your Armour Class making it harder for enemies to hit you. Dexterity saving throws are also among the most common and are normally tied to spells like fireball that you'll want to evade.
Constitution takes a more direct approach to survivability by letting you take more punishment. Both ability scores are useful, but you ca🅠n allow either one to be weaker to enable spec🐠ific multiclassing or roleplaying options.
If you took Mountain Dwarf or multiclassed for the medium armour proficiency you won't need a dexterity score above 14: Medium armour limits the amount of dexterity you can add to your AC to two.
Tier Three: Wisdom, Strength, and Intelligence
The three remaining ability scores don't feature heavily in your class features, and you can safely ignore them for the most part.
Wisdom does improve your perception, which no character wants to be꧙ terrible at, but leaving a weaknessಌ in your character can allow other players to shine by covering that weakness.
The same applies to strength and carrying capacity, though few tables manage inventory too strictly.
Intelligence has the fewest fringe uses, and in fact, some spell e🅷ffects will completely ignore a character with below three intelligence. This is impossible to achieve with a standard array or point buy and can be very difficult to roleplay.
Best Ancestry For A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
The type of draconic an♋cestor your character draws their power from is important both mechanically and in role-pla🔯y.
A scion of an evil chromatic dragon and a good metallic dragon will be treated very differently, and the chromatic sorcer🃏er is far more likely to be killed for acting against their progenit𓆉or.
A good aligned met𝔍allic dragon might also be more likely to take an active role in the fate of their descendan🦹ts.
In a good-aligned party, metallic dragons are a safer bet, but just like in the real world, you don't need to mirror the alignment of your parents and grandparents.
Di🐟fferent settings –or even regions of the same setting– will draw the lines in different places where dragons, drakes, and wyverns differ🅠.
Be careful not to commit a🙈 social faux pas by implying your revered progenitor was one of the unintelligent types of giant lizard.
The mec💎hanical side of your ances💖try is the element your draconic predecessor wielded.
Your options include acid, fire, poison, cold, and lightning. The ability Elemental Affinity at level six gives you bonus damage and resistance to your chosen element.
- If the resistance appeals to you more, you can choose a commonly dealt damage type, such as fire or poison, but these are also more commonly resisted by enemies you'll encounter.
- You can alternatively choose a more rarely resisted element with the drawback that your resistance will see less use, and it'll become harder to find spells that utilise your element.
The adventure or module you are playing may determine what draconic heritage makes the most sense fo🍒r the narrative or will see the most use in terms of elemental matchups.
Bringing a fir🌼e Draconic Sorcerer to a game set in the elemental plane of fire will make the resistance valuable but also mandate that you rarely use fire magic.
Best Spells For A Draconic Sorcerer
Sorcerers learn a small number of spells which means that you'll want to focus on the ones that give near-universal utility, alongside damaging spells of your preferred element. Here are some good candidates for first level:
|
Spell |
Spell Effect |
Description |
|
Chromatic Orb |
Deals 3d8 damage in an element of your choice |
Choosing the type of elemental damage you deal with a spell lets you lean into your specialty while keeping versatility if yoꦕu encounter anything with resistance. |
|
Absorb Elements |
Gain resistance to an ღelemental damage type as a reaction |
Halving the damage from a powerful elemental attack is often enough to survive a fireball or dragon's breath that would kill an unprepared sorcerer. |
|
Shield |
Gain 5AC for one turn as a reaction to an attack |
Shield is an invaluable defensive tool. Draconic sorcerers may have more hitpoints but will still want other ways of extending their survivability. |
|
Silvery Barbs |
Force a🌠n enemy to reroll an attack or saving throw, then give one ally advantage on their next roll. |
This spell has staying power that will keep it relevant for all levels of play. Its only weakness is that since it forces a reroll rather than imposing disadvantage, it does not negate the enemy's ability to sneak attack if they have one. As a reaction spell, it will compete for time with absorb elements and shield. Silvery barbs works best against single attaꦫcks, while the other two are stronger against longer ons✤laughts. |
|
Grease |
Creates an area of grease that is di💙fficult to move through and easy to fa🐠ll over in |
Grease is one of the few spells of its type that does not require concentration. Sending several enemies prone gives your front-line fighters advantage on hitting them, and the leftover grease puddle will interfere with anyone else trying to get t🦩hrough. Coordinate with your team when using this spell. Your allies might be free from th🍌e initial area covered, but if the enemies attempt to run, you can end up tripping in your own spell trying to chase them. |
|
Catapult |
Propel a small object🔜 at high🥀 speed, dealing 3d8 damage |
While similar to chromatic orb for its use in combat, this spell gains utility in the hands of a creative player. Catapulting a piton with rope to embed on top of a cliff can negate an arduous climb. Flinging a bag of cal🍃trops🧜 into a person can both do damage of the spell and burst the bag open, spilling the caltrops. |
Don't take mage armour: Your heritage gives you natural armour that does not stack with this spell.
Best Metamagics For A Draconic Sorcerer
Metamagics are th♔e biggest draw of sorcerers as ꩵa class. They allow you to tailor the effects of your spells at the cost of spending additional resources.
The best metamagics are the ones that can be comfortably used on a vari♏ety of different spells as you level up and develop your play♏style.
|
Metamagic |
Effect |
Use Cases |
Best Spells To Use On |
|
Twinspell |
Cause a single target spell to affect two targets. (Duration and saving throws occ▨ur as normal). |
Doubling single-target damage and control spells is useful, but this me﷽tamagic shine♑s when combined with buff spells. Concentration spells like haste can potentially double the effectiveness of some party members, and sorcerers are unique for being able to cast it on multiple targe🅷ts. |
Haste |
|
Heightened Spell |
Forces the spell's saving throw to be made at disadvantage |
Forcing disadvantage on your saving throws will be useful at any level. Against enemies resistant to magic, this negates the advantage they'd typically have on the saving throw. |
Hold Person |
|
Subtle Spell |
Removes the somati🐬c and verbal co💖mponents of a spell. |
This is one of the more situational metamagic options but becomes invaluable in any campaign that involves intrigue and social elements. Using your magic to gain a social edge or cheat at gambling is often fro🅠wned upon, so having an extr🎉a level of deniability for one sorcery point is a cheap remedy. It's also useful for catching people off guard, by casting buff spells during a villain's monologue or weaving an attack spell into the middꦛle of your se♐ntences. |
Charm Person |