Socerer

The Pros and Cons of a Sorcerer

Sorcerers have a natural talent for casting arcane spells, thanks (some say) to the draconic blood flowing in their veins. Whatever their origins, these characters are paradoxes, gaining great tactical flexibility from their mastery of only a limited number of spells.

Sorcerer Assets

When you chose a sorcerer, you gain access to a small number of arcane spells. When chosen with care, a sorcerer's spells are sufficient to deal with nearly any situation. However, the character has other resources available as well. Below are several assets you have going for you when you play a sorcerer.

• • Winning Ways: A sorcerer needs to have a high Charisma score because that ability governs his spellcasting. But a high Charisma score also gives him an edge in negotiations.

• • Good Will Saves: A sorcerer uses the best save progression in the game for Will saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). This natural mental strength helps him resist most effects that fool his mind or assault his spirit, including charms, compulsions, illusions, fear effects, and even inflict spells.

• • Spells: The sorcerer's spell list has unmatched breadth and depth, and virtually its whole range is open to him.

• • Spontaneous Spellcasting: A sorcerer doesn't have a spellbook; instead, he chooses a personal repertoire of spells that he can cast anytime. He does have a daily limit on the number of spells of each level he can cast, but he can freely cast any spell he knows until he reaches that limit. So he doesn't have to guess ahead of time which spells to prepare -- if he needs to cast a particular spell several times in the same day, he can do so.

• • Familiar: By spending a little cash, a sorcerer can gain a familiar who can serve as a spy, lookout, and general assistant.

• • Fair Weapon Selection: The sorcerer is proficient only with simple weaponry. Though simple weapons aren't the most deadly ones available, the fact that the sorcerer has access to the whole category gives him more options than most other arcane spellcasters have. That versatility can be a lifesaver if his spells happen to fail him.

Sorcerer Weaknesses

Sorcerers pay a heavy price for their spellcasting abilities. Here are a few of the disadvantages you should keep in mind if you're considering a sorcerer character.

• • Low Hit Points: The sorcerer's 4-sided Hit Dice give him very few hit points.

• • Low Skill Points: At a mere two skill points per level, most sorcerers don't accumulate many skill ranks, even with quadruple skill points at 1st level.

• • Poor Armor Class: Because the sorcerer has no proficiency with any kind of armor or shield, he generally has a low Armor Class. The combination of low hit points and low Armor Class makes him extremely vulnerable in physical combat, especially melee. He can use spells and magic items to improve his defense, but doing so makes them less available for other purposes.

• • Poor Attack Bonus: A sorcerer's base attack bonus is +1 per two sorcerer levels, which is the worst in the game. Some sorcerers can dish out lots of damage with their spells, but they don't do well with weapons.

• • Poor Reflex and Fortitude Saving Throws: Sorcerers have the worst progression for Fortitude and Reflex saves in the game (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Thus, they aren't so great at avoiding attacks on their bodies.

• • Limited Spell Choices: Once a sorcerer chooses spells, his selection remains more or less fixed, except for new additions as he attains higher levels. He has a limited ability to change his repertoire, but for the most part, he is stuck with whatever spells he has chosen.