D&D 3.5: invited to play in a game, I'm totally unfamiliar with the game

[Amechra]

You'll want to check this for your race. Otherwise, I'm sure we can find you a handy homebrew one that isn't too wonky.

What do you want your Sorcerer to do?

[NumberKruncher]

Hmmm, not sure yet. I guess I'd like my character to be a bit of a Swiss Army knife: able to adapt to a few situations as well as be that glass cannon.

Since he'll have a high CHA (Sorcerer still goes off charisma, right?), I'll probably want to be the face of the party.

[Solo]

Behold!

[RobbyPants]

Picking some initial spells would be a huge help. I know I'll be using point buy for the stats, so any race that boosts CHA will help, I guess. I'll get back with a starting level as soon as I know.

The better an idea you have of starting level, the more help that would be.

I'd pick different spells if I had to roll a level 1 sorcerer and play up through level 10 than I would if I were rolling up a level 10 sorcerer. General tips I'd suggest are:

• Aim to make many of your spells versatile. You don't know a lot of spells, so ones that have multiple uses are good.
• Don't pick up a lot of blasting spells. You don't know a lot of spells, so you won't want more than two or three (even at high levels).
• Do pick up some metamagic, especially if you want to blast a bit. Being able to use other-level spell slots for your blasting spells adds to your versatility. For example: using a 5th level slot for an empowered Fireball is likely better than blowing one of your 5th level spells known on Cone of Cold.
  
• Make sure you can target all three saves as early on as you can.

Anybody else with more experience in sorcerers than me, feel free to chime in. I'll look at the first few levels of spells and say why these would make my short list. Again, once we know your starting level, it's a lot easier to nail down your specific spells.

Level 1:

• Shield. Not good at low levels, but if you take the Abjurant Champion PrC (Complete Mage), this spell is great.
• Grease. Not very useful at level 1 (1 round/level duration), but this targets Reflex and does a good job of stopping threats for a round or two. Also, a rogue can Sneak Attack anyone balancing on grease from a distance. Good pick for your 3rd 1st level spell. SR: No.
• Charm Person. Targets Will. Can end a fight before it starts. Great out of combat. Limited by only affecting humanoids and being [mind affecting]
• Sleep. Note the long casting time. Still, it has good range and can end fights. [mind affecting], though. Swap out at level 6.
• Magic Missile. Not good at low level, but when you get a lot of 1st level slots, this can be some nice, (almost) guaranteed damage. Mostly good for killing weak threats or taking out someone who is almost dead.
• Color Spray. This spell ends fights. Targets Will. Note the 15-foot range and [mind affecting]. You'll likely swap this out at level 6 as it's HD-dependent on the target.
  
• Silent Image. This spell is great if your DM likes illusions. It's limited only on your creativity. It can make for interesting crowd control in combat and help solve certain social situations. Check with your DM first on how he interprets "interactions" to see when people get saves.
• Enlarge Person. This buff is great on your melee allies. It will give them a solid damage boost and reach, at the expense of two points AC. You will probably not find a better source of damage for a single, first level slot.
  
• Wall of Smoke. Not in SRD (in Spell Compendium). Targets Fort. Nauseates anyone who passes through.
  
• Lesser Orb of X. Not in SRD (in Spell Compendium). A line of blasting spells that use a touch attack instead of a save. SR: No. Not that great at low level, but they can metamagic okay. Only take one (if any).

Level 2:

• Glitterdust. ZOMG, this spell ends fights. Targets Will, good range, SR: no, makes it so people cannot target you in most circumstances. Also, as a side benefit, it reveals invisible targets in the AoE. This should be your first 2nd level spell in most circumstances.
  
• Web. Targets Reflex. Locks down a large area. Note you need opposing surfaces as anchors (two walls, floor and ceiling) in order to cast this.
• Detect Thoughts. not an early choice, but it can be super helpful out of combat.
• Scorching Ray. One of the better blast spells in the SRD.
• Shatter. Good utility. Descent debuff. Shatter an oger's club to reduce his damage output to about a quarter of what it could do. Note: don't shatter valuable loot! :p
• Invisibility. Great utility. Moderate buff.
• Mirror Image. Good buff. Nice later pick.
  
• Alter Self. A strong, versatile buff. Right when you learn it, you can turn into a troglodyte (+6 natural AC boost). Also, good utility for disguises/scouting/skulduggery.
  

Level 3:

• Dispel Magic. Good debuff and utility.
  
• Sleet Storm. Like a broader version of Grease, plus blinding in the area. SR: No.
• Stinking Cloud. Targets Fort. Nauseates targets. SR: No.
  
• Suggestion. Can end fights/social encounters. Targets Will. [Mind affecting]
• Fireball. Good range and area. Damage isn't that great. Mostly for killing weak targets. Better to take later (not one of your early 3rd level spells).
• Fly. Good utility and buff.
• Haste. Good party buff. Likely more damage from one casting than Fireball, over the entire combat.
  

Level 4:

• Black tentacles. Targets grapple check (rare case). SR: no. Shuts down a lot of fights and does damage over time.
  
• Solid Fog. No save. SR: no. Keeps people trapped for a few rounds with very little recourse. Minor utility.
  
• Charm Monster. As Charm Person, but targets more than humanoids.
• Enervation. Deals negative levels. Can metamagic well if you build for it.
• Polylmorph. This spell can be stupidly good. Work with your DM to avoid pissing him off.
  
• Orb of X. Not SRD (Spell Compendium). A line of decent direct damage spells that can metamagic well. Only take one (if any).

That's about all I have time for, now. Others can chime in with other good suggestions and/or point out why mine are stupid.

[NumberKruncher]

Thanks. 4th level, and I'd like to choose my race from those in the SRD.

I'm leaning towards human, halfling, or gnome.

28 point buy.

[NumberKruncher]

Thanks again for all the help everybody.

If there are any last minute tips/ advice, please give it to me now.

I'm supposed to play tomorrow.

[stanprollyright]

Some of this may seem obvious.  In no particular order:

Remember to check the chart in the ability scores chapter to see how many bonus spells you get (a lot of new players don't about that, and experienced players forget to remind them).
Don't neglect your familiar.  A little animal can be really useful as a scout or extra set of eyes.  Also can deliver touch-range spells.
Touch attacks succeed more often than saving throws fail.
Your best spells will do something even if the target succeeds their save.
Casting spells provokes attacks of opportunity, so make sure you're out of their threatened area before you cast.  If that's not feasible, use a full-round action to cast defensively.
The Summon Monster line of spells is extremely useful for all sorts of reasons. Don't get more than one every couple spell levels, though.  You don't want to be too redundant.
Don't forget to cast Mage Armor and other long duration buffs when you're expecting trouble.
Don't overdo it with offensive spells.  One of the easiest ways to run out of spells per day is to use them all trying to do direct damage.  Oftentimes a buff on a teammate at the beginning of combat or a well-placed battlefield control effect can have a bigger impact.
Remember how squishy you are.  Don't go into melee or place yourself in harm's way for any reason.  Stand behind your big, tough buddies.

[RobbyPants]

Thanks. 4th level, and I'd like to choose my race from those in the SRD.

I'm leaning towards human, halfling, or gnome.

28 point buy.

I don't know if you already picked your spells or not, but I'd suggest:

Level 2: Glitterdust
Level 1: Enlarge Person, Grease, and Charm Person.

This gets you a solid combat buff for your melee allies, and you have some pretty good crowd control targeting tow saves. Charm Person can be good in and out of combat. Consider picking Alter Self for your next 2nd level spell. It's good out of combat but it is a solid combat buff (+6 natural AC as a troglodyte). Mage Armor might be attractive at this level, but you might want to check with your DM about the availability of magical items. A +1 Twilight Mithril Shirt (Twilight is in Book of Exalted Deeds/Magic Item Compendium, Mithril is in DMG) can get you +5 AC with 0% arcane spell failure. You can wear it without proficiency (-0 armor check penalty). If this is unattainable, you might want to swap Grease or Charm Person for Mage Armor.


Human is likely your best race, because of the bonus feat. Halfling and gnome are okay, but your speed will drop down to 20'. You could overcome that with a riding dog, but that opens up other things to worry about.


As far as feats go, it depends on what you want to focus on. Getting a couple metamagic feats isn't a bad idea to make your spells better. When focusing on crowd control, I like Extend Spell and Sculpt Spell (Complete Arcane). They can give you new AoEs to work with and also help you sculpt your spells in ways to avoid your allies. As you gain levels, if you start picking up some blasting spells, Empower Spell can be handy. Maximize is pretty overpriced unless you can get some metamagic reducers.

If you ever find yourself with a spare feat, Improved Initiative is always good. If you focus on Conjuration-based crowd control, Spell Focus (Conjuration) and Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration) could be worth the investment. If you go this route and also find summoning an attractive option, Spell Focus (Conjuration) gets you the prereq you need for Augment Summoning.


As far as tactics go, figure most of the time, you will be staying back (out of melee) and just using a crossbow (or similar weapon). You will use your spells as needed, but probably not every round. If cast early (or before combat), Enlarge Person will give a solid boost to damage for the entire fight. The reach granted from being large-sized can give your ally first-strike, and this will save HP, on average. Glitterdust can blind* several targets 140 feet away from you. This is four rounds they can't do much of anything useful. Grease can hold people in their location for a round or two.


* In addition to everything listed in that link, a blinded person cannot even target you if they don't know which square you're in. If you move out of your square afterward, they only ways they can find you (apart from guessing) is with blindsight (most things don't have that), scent (if they're adjacent to you), or by beating your Move Silently check with their Listen check by 20 points. So, even taking the -5 penalty to Move Silently for moving at full speed, you're still 15 points ahead of the guy on his d20 check to find you. Remind your DM of these rules if the monsters always seem to "find" you guys.

[NumberKruncher]

Warlocks are easier to play and harder to mess up than Sorcerers.

Let's compromise.







Sorcerer with a Reserve Feat.

ahhhh! What's a reserve feat??

I'm so close to starting, and I think I'm doing well so far!

[NumberKruncher]

1) What's the max skill points I can put in any skill at level 1?

2) It says as a human I get a bonus feat. Do you get one by class?

3) when do characters get more feats?

4) do stats increase at certain level ups?

Sorry guys, I'm trying to make sense of the srd here and having some issues. Luckily, I found a point buy generator.

Level 1 human sorcerer: 8/14/14/10/9/17. Good?

[Solo]

ahhhh! What's a reserve feat??

I'm so close to starting, and I think I'm doing well so far!

Reserve feats

I am partial to fiery burst and storm bolt myself.

[Vladeshi]

1) What's the max skill points I can put in any skill at level 1?

2) It says as a human I get a bonus feat. Do you get one by class?

3) when do characters get more feats?

4) do stats increase at certain level ups?

Sorry guys, I'm trying to make sense of the srd here and having some issues. Luckily, I found a point buy generator.

Level 1 human sorcerer: 8/14/14/10/9/17. Good?

1) The maximum number of skill points that you can put into a skill is HD +3, so 4 at level 1.
     This means 4 skill ranks for class skills, but only 2 ranks in cross-class.

2) Some classes grant extra feats but everyone gets one feat at level 1.

3) You get an additional feat at every level divisible by 3.

4) You get to increase one attribute by one point at every level divisible by 4.

No need to apologize, everyone is new to the system at some point and it tends to be very confusing for them.

Your starting attributes look pretty good for a sorcerer in my opinion.

[kitep]

1) What's the max skill points I can put in any skill at level 1?

2) It says as a human I get a bonus feat. Do you get one by class?

3) when do characters get more feats?

4) do stats increase at certain level ups?

1) At 1st level, the max skill points for a class skill is 4.  For a cross-class skill the max is 2.
2) Some classes (eg fighter) get bonus feats, but the bonus feat for a human is race-based.  A human fighter will get 2 bonus feats -- 1 for human, 1 for fighter.  Some classes will give specific bonus feats, eg wizard gives scribe scroll.  These bonus feats are in addition to the regular feat everyone gets at 1st level, so a 1st level human fighter will have a total of 3 feats.
3) Characters get an extra feat every 3 levels, ie, levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18.  These are in addition to any feats they get based on class.
4) You can increase 1 stat 1 point every 4 levels, ie levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20.

Good luck!

[RobbyPants]

ahhhh! What's a reserve feat??

Soro sent you a link, but if you're looking for a book, they're in Complete Mage.

I'd second taking Fiery Burst. Then downside with these feats are that, as a sorcerer, you can't take one until 6th level (a wizard could get it at 3rd, because that's when they get 2nd level spells). If you take this, you'd probably want Scorching Ray as a 2nd level spell on your list by the time you hit 6th level.

I think you can take Heighten Spell to allow you to "cast" Scorching Ray as a 3rd level spell to have it available so you can use it for 3d6 damage (correct me if I'm wrong, guys. I've never made a sorcerer with a reserve feat).

[Solo]

ahhhh! What's a reserve feat??

Soro sent you a link, but if you're looking for a book, they're in Complete Mage.

How dare you, sir. I will not brook this insult.

[RobbyPants]

ahhhh! What's a reserve feat??

Soro sent you a link, but if you're looking for a book, they're in Complete Mage.

How dare you, sir. I will not brook this insult.

His DM may object if s/he can't find it in a physical book.

[Solo]

Look for the typo.

[RobbyPants]

Dammit! Sorry Solo.

[NumberKruncher]

That was great guys, thank you so much in helping me create my first 3.5 character.

I had a fun time with a new group tonight.

Question: why Sorcerer? I've done a little digging online about the Wizard, which is close to the Sorcerer, and the consensus seems to be that the Wizard is the more powerful of the two.

The question is just my curiousity. I prefer the Sorcerer since it doesn't force me to play a high INT character. I'd rather play a charmer than a genius.

[Endarire]

Simple advice:

-Initiative in D&D 3.5 is awesome.  It's quite possible to go first and force everything to save versus uselessness - if there is even a save!

-Your 3 most important stats are CHA (primary) and DEX/CON (secondary).  Whether you prioritize DEX or CON depends on whether you really want/need the extra HP.  While a starting stat of 12-14 in each (after racial adjustments) is preferable, and more is better, I'd generally prioritize DEX over CON (if you intend to focus on your normal form) and CON over DEX (if you expect to have polymorph up 24/7).

-Your CHA can never be too high unless your GM says so.  Higher CHA means higher save DCs and higher CHA-based skill checks.

-You are crowd control and artillery.  If you're in melee, it's because of (1) polymorph and co, (2) desperation, or/and (3) accident.

-As a Sorcerer, you can still obtain, buy, and use scrolls, wands, staves, and other magical items that Wizards can use.  Most arcane items are Sor/Wiz and not just Wizard-only!  These help you be versatile without your learning every spell.

-Most advice that applies to Wizards also applies to you.  Both classes cast from the same spell list with minor exceptions.  Sorcerers are CHA-based and spontaneous.  Wizards are INT-based and prepatory.

-The Internet is here to help if you ask.  We're experts.  We love discussing D&D.

-This is your first character in D&D 3.5.  Expect to learn a tremendous amount from the experience - in and out of character - and from yourself and others!