Sorcerer 5E — DnD class guide 2023

Power was a natural gift of yours, blossoming from within and taking the form of impressive magical feats. Now you’re ready to harness that power and fulfill your potential, learning what you’re truly capable of. You want to play a Sorcerer, so grab your staff, and let’s get to casting.

In this Sorcerer DnD 5E guide, we’ll train you on your options as a Sorcerer, as well as supportive choices you can make to build your character to achieve what you want. Whilst reading through this guide, you may find article on DnD jargon and list of DnD books (and their common abbreviations) helpful.

This Sorcerer DnD 5E guide will evaluate each option for the Sorcerer on a scale of 1-5 — this is a rating of the abilities’ potency and overall usefulness, primarily focusing on combat where appropriate. That said, I will still evaluate everything, hopefully to aid you weigh any choices you might be considering at a glance, helping you know what to expect and make changes accordingly, if desired. The rating scheme is:

1 – Usually a bad choice, to be avoided
2 – Below average, this can apply to powerful but very niche abilities
3 – Average to Good, you won’t go wrong with it
4 – Very good
5 – Amazing, a must-have if there is such a thing

Be sure to check our other DnD 5E class guides: Artificer 5E guide, Barbarian 5E guide, Fighter 5E guide, Monk 5E guide, Paladin 5E guide, Ranger 5E guide, Rogue 5E guide, and Warlock 5E guide.

Sorcerer Class Abilities Guide

Hit Dice 2 – This is the smallest Hit Die available. The only reason that this doesn’t get a 1 is that the Sorcerer class, and one subclass, have tools to help mitigate the lack of hit points and the Sorcerer is likely to be at range and at less risk of melee damage.

Sorcerer DnD 5E Proficiencies Guide

Armor 1 – You don’t know how to wear anything heavier than a winter coat.

Weapons 2 – A very restricted list, this is saved from a 1 by giving you access to light crossbows and daggers for practical use, and quarterstaffs in case you have to resort to hitting something with a focus.

Tools 1 – You don’t have access to any tools, which is a shame given your power is innate.

Saving Throws 5 – Charisma saves are not very common, however, Constitution saves are not only common against nasty effects and damage, but they will also help you keep concentration on your spells.

Skills 2 – The highlight of this list is Arcana, which barely saves it from a 1. This is a terrible skill list to choose from if you don’t want to be a face character. 

Spellcasting 4 – Your bread and butter, as a fullcaster you gain access to all spell levels at the fastest progression available. Using Charisma for your spellcasting modifier means that you will be inherently decent, to say the least, at social skills even if you don’t choose proficiency in them. The Sorcerer’s spell list is essentially a more restricted version of the Wizard spell list, this restricted list also doesn’t get updated as frequently as the lists of other fullcasters. There is only one Sorcerer exclusive spell, Chaos Bolt, in stark contrast to other spellcasters. 

The Sorcerer also has a very small amount of spells known, which can be problematic when several spells are often regarded as necessary such as Mage Armor and Shield. This restriction is eased by certain subclasses adding spells, or mitigating their need for certain spells, to begin with. This feature only gets a 4 due to the limited spell list and the number of spells known, both of which are somewhat mitigated by the Metamagic feature and larger than average number of cantrips.

Font of Magic 4 – One of two things that set Sorcerers apart from other casters, this feature allows you to tailor your casting to your play style. If you want to use more Metamagic or subclass features, you can trade your spell slots for more sorcery points (SP). If you value casting as many spells as possible, you can convert your SP to more spell slots, and rearrange your existing spell slots to levels that suit you best. This only gets a 4 as the formula for SP, SP = Sorcerer level, is a bit low for a long rest resource, ideally, the Sorcerer would gain some SP back on a short rest.

Metamagic 5 – In general, this is a great feature that can drastically increase the power of a spell. The actual power of this feature, however, greatly relies on the options that you choose, which we will review in depth later in the guide.

Sorcerous Restoration 3 – This is an okay feature, equivalent to recovering a little more than a 2nd level spell slot per short rest. This feature only gets a 3 because 4 SP is a very small amount, especially with more and more subclass features using SP. Ideally, this ability would either allow you to recover all of your SP with an action once per long rest, or recover 4 SP every time you roll initiative.

Sorcerer Metamagic Options Guide

The following list of Metamagic options in our Sorcerer DnD 5E guide is arranged alphabetically but divided by the books they are found in, to make it easy to see what you can choose from if certain sources are not allowed at your table. The sorcery point (SP) cost for each option is denoted in [brackets].

PHB

Careful Spell [1 SP] 4 – This is a solid option, allowing you to use AoE effects with a much greater degree of freedom, without endangering your party too much. This is only a 4 as it doesn’t prevent damage spells from still doing half damage to your allies.

Distant Spell [1 SP] 2 – A very niche option, range is rarely an issue that can’t be solved with positioning. The biggest strength of Distant Spell is changing touch spell to a range of 30 feet, the value of this is extremely dependent on your spell list.

Empowered Spell [1 SP] 4 – Good insurance against rolling abysmally on your Fireball etc., part of the benefit of this option is that you can use it in conjunction with another Metamagic, such as Quickened Spell. This only gets a 4 because it forces you to use the new rolls, instead of allowing you to choose between them.

Extended Spell [1 SP] 5 – Doubling the duration of a spell is similar in power to casting it twice. Whilst this does depend on your spell list, most Sorcerers can benefit from a single casting of Mage Armor lasting them all day, or the previous day’s casting lasting into part of the next days. This is particularly valuable for the Divine Soul subclass, which can increase the duration of buffs such as Aid and Death Ward.

Heightened Spell [3 SP] 4 – Used on spells such as Hypnotic Pattern, this option is very powerful and can really help you land devastating spells that can change the direction of an encounter. This only gets a 4 as it is relatively expensive compared to other options and the total size of your SP pool. As you gain levels this will also often be downgraded from disadvantage against your saves to straight rolls, as Magic Resistance becomes a more common trait on monsters as CR increases.

Quickened Spell [2 SP] 5 – An excellent option that allows you to cast a cantrip alongside a leveled spell, or to still cast a spell whilst taking actions such as Disengage, Dodge, or Dash as necessary.

Subtle Spell [1 SP] 3 – A niche option that’s primary benefit is making your spells invulnerable to Counterspell, with side benefits of letting you cast with your hands full or being unable to speak. This gets a 3 despite being niche, as the effect is powerful within those niches and it is very cheap.

Twinned Spell [1 SP per spell level] 5 – Another excellent option that gives you the benefits of casting a spell twice, but with none of the drawbacks. You can use this option to blast the battlefield or more potently, you can use it to buff two allies at once with the same concentration requirement. A common example of this would be twinning Haste to buff two party martial characters without needing a second spellcaster to concentrate on the second target.

TCoE

Seeking Spell [2 SP] 5 – Getting a second chance to hit when it really counts can be invaluable, especially as you get to know the result of the roll first and can use this in addition to another Metamagic option.

Transmuted Spell [1 SP] 4 – Being able to change damage types helps you make the most of the very limited number of spells known a Sorcerer has and helps you make a particular elemental Sorcerer of your choice, regardless of spell support. This only gets a 4, as it locks you out of using any other options for a relatively minor effect.

Sorcerer DnD 5E Stats Guide

It’s important to go through how pertinent each stat is for a Sorcerer before we get into the nitty-gritty of the subclasses. This part of the Sorcerer DnD 5E guide will rate the stats in the game based on how good they are for a Sorcerer; you may decide to use a build that relies on a stat rated lowly here, but that doesn’t mean your concept can’t work! 

Strength 1 – You have no use for this stat unless you want to bop monsters with your staff.

Dexterity 3 – A useful stat for all classes, you’ll need this for your AC and initiative primarily, with various skills also benefitting. 

Constitution 4 – Con is important to compensate for the low hit points that result from having a d6 Hit Die, as well as boosting your Con saving throw modifier to maintain concentration on your spells.

Intelligence 1 – The only reason to invest in this stat is for the roleplay of your character, if you want to be good at Investigation, or if you want to multiclass into Artificer or Wizard.

Wisdom 4 – A very valuable stat, Wisdom saves can be very debilitating and become increasingly more common as levels increase. Perception is also valuable at all levels and having a 13 or higher opens the possibility of multiclassing into Cleric, Druid, or Ranger if you really wanted to.

Charisma 5 – As a Charisma-based caster this is easily your most important stat and should take priority when deciding your stats. This has the side effects of making you good at social skills and hard to banish, yay!

Sorcerous DnD 5E Origins (Subclasses)

What subclass you choose can greatly change how you play your Sorcerer, this can manifest in a number of ways such as giving you access to different spells, or granting benefits to certain types of spells. These things can then ripple down into the Metamagic options that you select. In this Sorcerer DnD 5E guide we suggest you should consider your subclass in terms of your entire character, rather than just the specific features it grants.

Draconic Bloodline

This subclass is an all-rounder, providing benefits in various different aspects of your character. This is a good choice for players looking to play a blasting character, an elemental-themed mage, or simply want to mitigate some negatives associated with being a Sorcerer.

Draconic Resilience 4 – This compensates for your d6 Hit Die and means that you don’t have to spend a spell known and spell slots on Mage Armor, a significant benefit for a Sorcerer! This only gets a 4 as there are no active abilities here and the benefit of not needing Mage Armor is more significant in earlier levels.

Elemental Affinity 5 – A cheap way to gain resistance for an hour and a solid damage boost to your chosen element, this makes your cantrips formidable and your leveled damage spells often act as if they were upcast by one level.

Dragon Wings 5 – At-will flight that you can turn on and off with a bonus action is a fantastic ability. This allows you to trade out the Fly spell, use it on others, or just save your spell slot and concentration for other things.

Draconic Presence 3 – A lot of creatures in tier 4 play are going to have immunity to the charmed and frightened condition, limiting the usefulness of this ability. This would be rated better if it wasn’t so expensive and consumed your concentration.

Wild Magic

A wildcard, so to speak, this subclass allows you to embrace the chaotic fun that wild magic brings, whilst leveraging this magic to help you control the results on the battlefield. This subclass is somewhat hindered by being DM-dependent more than any others, it’s advised that you talk with your DM beforehand, so that you know they support your concept and will use your Wild Magic Surge to recharge Tides of Chaos.

Tides of Chaos 3 – This is potentially a very potent ability, however, being reliant on your DM having you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table makes it extremely unreliable. This ability would be rated much higher if it also recharged on a short rest.

Bend Luck 3 – This is like selectively applying the Bless or Bane spell as a reaction, this can be what makes the difference in an encounter, pushing an ally over a saving throw DC, or a monster below one. This only gets a 3 because 2 SP is a little steep for the effect, and consuming your reaction prevents you from using defensive options, such as Shield and Absorb Elements.

Controlled Chaos 3 – This greatly helps insulate you from bad results on the Wild Magic Surge table, however, you can still have to choose between two bad options. This doesn’t warrant more than a 3, a feature should do more than help you deal with a hindrance of your other subclass features.

Spell Bombardment 2 – Triggered entirely randomly, with the only effect being a small bump in damage. This is a terrible capstone feature, but the small bump in damage is enough to prevent it from being a 1.

Storm

A subclass built around using lightning and thunder damage, combining this with mobility around the battlefield to compensate for putting yourself in compromising positions to leverage your abilities. If you choose this subclass, it’s recommended to take fitting spells, such as Chromatic Orb, Thunderwave, Shatter, and Lightning Bolt.

Wind Speaker 3 – Primordial is a very niche language but is at least thematic and more useful than just getting Auran.

Tempestuous Magic 3 – The real purpose of this feature is to get you out of melee range, and it does that reasonably well. The downside here is that you need to be using touch spells to really get the most out of this feature. This improves when you get Heart of the Storm.

Heart of the Storm 5 – Two resistances are very nice, adding auto-hitting AoE damage that doesn’t risk friendly fire is even better. At first, the thought of being within 10 feet of monsters to use this ability may seem scary, but this feature pairs well with Tempestuous Magic, giving you a 10 ft. jump to get out of a monster’s reach. The more monsters you can hit, the higher the value of this ability, to be safe you should seek out boosts to your movement speed to ensure that you can get away.

Storm Guide 3 – This is a very thematic ribbon ability, but to get the most out of it you would need to be regularly at sea, protecting the ship and pushing wind into the sails.

Storm’s Fury 4 – This is a very good retributive reaction, dealing a reasonable amount of damage and giving a chance to push the monster a significant distance away.

Wind Soul 5 – Permanent damage immunity is not easy to come by, getting two is fantastic, even if it does retroactively reduce the value of Heart of the Storm. Not only do you get an always-on fly speed, but it’s at a very nice 60 ft. and you can allow up to 8 other creatures to fly for a tiny cost! This is an excellent capstone that allows your high-level party to take it to the BBEG no matter what altitude they’re at.

Divine Soul

A unique subclass for the Sorcerer, the Divine Soul allows you to choose any spell you please from the Cleric spell list, in addition to effectively giving you an additional spell known from that spell list. This gives you access to fantastic combat spells such as Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, and Spirit Guardians, in addition to allowing you to become a very potent healer by combining healing spells with your Metamagic options.

Divine Magic 5 – Gaining access to the Cleric spell list opens up a whole new world of possibilities with Metamagic, even allowing you to act as a solid healer. Adding another spell to your limited spells known is what clinches this as a 5.

Favored by the Gods 5 – An excellent addition to your toolbox, helping you land an attack or pass a save when you need to most. Part of what makes this feature so valuable is adding a short rest resource to an otherwise long rest dependent class.

Empowered Healing 2 – An incredibly niche ability due to the range restriction, for a very small benefit. This would be better if there were no range restriction and it instead allowed you to take the maximum value of the dice, rather than just rerolling them.

Otherworldly Wings 5 – This is the same ability that Draconic Bloodline sorcerers get, just with a different appearance for the wings, and is great for the same reasons. At-will, bonus action flight is a complete change to how you approach movement, possibly also saving you spells known and spell slots.

Unearthly Recovery 4 – The fragility of having a d6 Hit Die is largely mitigated by this feature, allowing you to take a large amount of damage in a single fight without wavering. This only gets a 4 as it doesn’t directly aid your spells, and requires that you survive to your turn in order to use it, rather than simply being an increase in maximum HP.

Shadow

With a decidedly creepy feel, this subclass is well suited for races that lack darkvision and is the only subclass to provide a non-spell-based summon, with the Hound of Ill Omen. This subclass makes you a little tougher to kill whilst giving an overall theme of control of the battlefield in one way or another.

Eyes of the Dark 5 – The darkvision granted by this feature is better than that provided by most races, with the addition of Darkness easing the burden on your spells known. This is a 5 because it allows you to see through your own Darkness when casting it with SP, which is cheaper than creating a 2nd level spell slot from SP.

Strength of the Grave 3 – At early levels this can save your life, however, due to the formula used for setting the DC this feature ages poorly. It wouldn’t be difficult for some monsters to set a DC that is impossible for you to meet, whilst it offers no protection against critical hits, which is a significant reason why you might suddenly drop to 0 HP. This is saved from a 2 by coming alongside Eyes of the Dark but would be better served without the saving throw, similar to the half-orc feature Relentless Endurance.

Hound of Ill Omen 4 – A great summoning feature that has some scaling built-in to keep it relevant. In some instances this allows you to focus on other enemies whilst the hound deals with its quarry, in others it serves as a distraction and source of disadvantage against your spells. The only thing keeping this from a 5 is that it doesn’t make the hound’s attacks magical, meaning that its damage will age poorly.

Shadow Walk 4 – A potentially very valuable mobility boost, the requirement to both be in and teleport to, dim light or darkness is mitigated by your ability to cast Darkness. This doesn’t warrant a 5 as it is still possible for intelligent monsters to disrupt your ability to teleport.

Umbral Form 5 – Whilst this ability is expensive at 6 SP, a bonus action to give yourself resistance to most forms of damage is very powerful. This not only increases your survivability but, also makes it much easier to retain concentration on your spells. The ability to move through solid objects is a lesser benefit, best for making getting into and out of cover easier.

Aberrant Mind

A Sorcerer with a psionic or otherworldly feel, this is the only Sorcerer subclass to offer a form of telepathy and has a strong selection of control and utility options, thanks to various features and the Psionic Spells they benefit from. 

Psionic Spells 5 – This is a lot of spells to add to your repertoire, what seals this as a 5 is that you can swap out these spells for other spells that wouldn’t normally be on your own spell list.

Telepathic Speech 5 – Whilst needing a bonus action to use is worse than some other telepathy features, having the other person be able to reply to you is definitely an improvement. This, combined with also getting Psionic Spells at this level, makes this feature a 5. Note that, whilst the distance on this feature is impressive, the duration will never be long enough for that distance to be practically useful.

Psionic Sorcery 5 – This is a great feature, akin to getting an enhanced version of Subtle Spell when using it. Whilst the lack of components is what grabs your attention first, this ability is also incredibly efficient, costing less than creating spell slots out of your sorcery points to cast with.

Psychic Defenses 5 – Charmed and Frightened are common enough monster-imposed conditions that this is a valuable feature, whilst psychic is a less common damage type, it’s still a worthwhile resistance to have.

Revelation in Flesh 3 – None of the benefits you can gain from this feature are bad but, this feature doesn’t feel like a 14th-level feature. This would be better served as being a transformation for all of the benefits, whilst costing 2 or 3 SP.

Warping Implosion 3 – The damage of this feature is lackluster and it targets a typically strong monster save. The only real benefits to this ability are being able to teleport whilst casting a bonus action spell, and potentially setting up a Quickened AoE spell as a bonus action. The cost of using this ability again is very steep and the benefits are similar to using Thunder Step. This would be better if it targeted a different saving throw and dealt more damage.

Clockwork Soul

This subclass is a great option for a support Sorcerer, allowing you to buff and protect allies whilst robbing monsters of advantage, should they benefit from it. It’s recommended that you keep some spells that use attack rolls to hand to take advantage of Trance of Order fully. Extended and Twinned are great Metamagic options for this subclass, allowing you to make buffs like Aid and Protection from Evil and Good even more potent.

Clockwork Magic 5 – A big boost to your spells known and a good selection of spells for your Sorcerer to have access to. Being able to swap these spells out is just gravy!

Restore Balance 5 – This feature acts as insurance for yourself and the party, which can really neuter the threat of some monsters and environments.

Bastion of Law 4 – The ward that this feature creates is similar to the ward of the Abjuration Wizard, as it can stack alongside temporary hit points. This allows you to build a formidable defense by stacking it with spells such as False Life. The only thing holding this back from being a 5 is the swingy nature of using dice to determine the amount of damage reduction. It’s recommended to swap out one of your 1st level clockwork spells for Armor of Agathys to make the most of this ability.

Trance of Order 5 – An excellent buff that makes everything you do more reliable, to capitalize on this the most of this you should have some attack roll-based spells on hand. This also boosts the reliability of using Dispel Magic and Counterspell.

Clockwork Cavalcade 4 – This is a pretty good capstone that has the potential to completely avoid TPKs in some situations. The repairing of items is very niche, and probably won’t see use, but a fat pile of hit points will always be welcome in high-level combat. The price for reusing this ability is a little steep given the amount of SP you get for free and how situational most of it is. Ideally, it would end effects that aren’t explicitly spells to increase its relevance.

Lunar Sorcery

Released for the Dragonlance setting, this subclass gives you a large number of spells known and stretches your resources further with free castings and more efficient Metamagic use. This is a very flexible Sorcerous Origin thanks to the changing of your lunar phase and is a great choice for builds that focus on casting, rather than additional abilities.

Lunar Embodiment 5 – This is a large number of spells for a Sorcerer to gain access to, with Shield, in particular, freeing up a spell known you would have likely spent on it. The spells you wouldn’t normally have access to, such as Death Ward, are good additions and work well with Metamagic options like Twinned Spell. The free casting is a nice boost to your resources and will be best spent on Shield a lot of the time. 

Moon Fire 4 – Sacred Flame isn’t the best cantrip in the game, but being able to target two creatures with it at once certainly sweetens the deal. This only gets a 4 as the creatures need to be next to each other, this feature would be improved if they could be 10 ft. apart.

Lunar Boons 4 – Combined with Waxing and Waning this allows you to be more liberal in your use of Metamagic on your favorite spells. This only gets a 4 as none of the options will allow you to reduce the sorcery point cost for evocation spells.

Waxing and Waning 3 – This is an essential ability for getting the most out of Lunar Boons and the ability to cast all of your 1st-level spells for the combined cost of 2 SP is nice. However, the spells you get won’t age particularly well and it would be far improved by allowing you to change your phase for free on a rest, in addition to the sorcery point cost.

Lunar Empowerment 5 – This rating is primarily carried by the sheer power of the New Moon option, combining advantage on a valuable skill check, Stealth, and the powerful defense of disadvantage on attacks against you is great, especially as being in darkness is an easy requirement to fulfill. The other options are now quite as powerful, but in their situations, they are valuable enough to make this a 5 altogether.

Lunar Phenomenon 4 – Great action economy and two very good options make this a 4, there are just so many benefits crammed into a single bonus action. However, the Full Moon option is lackluster compared to the others. At this level, it should be a much larger heal or have a generous flat number as part of the formula, but as is it is hard to justify spending 5 sorcery points to do it again.

Sorcerer DnD 5E Recommended Spells Guide

The list of spells available to you can seem intimidating to even seasoned players, so this section of our Sorcerer DnD 5E guide will go through some spells that are great for most, if not all, Sorcerers:

Chill Touch [Cantrip] – Necrotic is a good damage type against most creatures, with the rider shutting down healing being extremely valuable against some monsters, largely neutering their threat in the process. This is eligible for Twinned Spell, which makes it great at dealing with groups of regenerating enemies, although that is a little niche.

Ray of Frost [Cantrip] – A fairly reliable damage type, cold is typically resisted much more than completely nullified by immunity, the rider effect of this cantrip is what you’re really after. An at-will control effect whilst dealing damage is a great package, reducing your enemy’s speed by 10 ft. can make the difference between them getting in range of your party or not and makes a skirmisher’s role easier.

Absorb Elements [1st level Spell] – With so few hit points, a solid and well-rounded defense is essential and this spell provides you with coverage against all elemental types as you need it. The damage boost to your next melee attack will likely be wasted on most Sorcerer builds, however, it’s not why you want this spell anyway.

Mage Armor [1st level Spell] – Without any armor proficiencies, this is practically mandatory to save you from a tragically low AC. As a bonus, you can cast, or twin, this spell on some allies or summoned creatures to up their AC too. This is not recommended for Draconic Origin Sorcerers or any builds that gain medium armor from a race or multiclass.

Magic Missile [1st level Spell] – Force damage is the least resisted/immune to damage type in the game, making this a very reliable spell when combined with the auto-hit nature of Magic Missile. 

Shield [1st level Spell] – A key, and iconic, part of your defense, Shield is a spell that everyone would like access to. This makes your mediocre AC towering at the times when you need it most.

Invisibility [2nd level Spell] – An excellent utility spell, this has significantly more value for you as you have the option of using Metamagic options such as Twinned Spell and Extended Spell. This allows you to get a large amount of value out of this spell compared to others.

Misty Step [2nd level Spell] – As you level up, this will become increasingly cheap to use but will always be valuable throughout your career. Being able to move around the battlefield without provoking attacks of opportunity is extremely valuable for a d6 Hit Die class, with some usability out of combat to overcome environmental challenges.

Fireball [3rd level Spell] – Quite simply, it’s Fireball, a big area filled with fire! This spell is a bit overtuned for its level thanks to its heritage, with the Sorcerer able to increase this even further with Heightened Spell, Quickened Spell, or being the right kind of Draconic Sorcerer.

Haste [3rd level Spell] – A powerful buff for your martial allies, your proficiency in Con saves makes it unlikely that you’ll lose concentration and leave a friend in the lurch. In addition, you can use Twinned Spell to buff two allies at once, just be prepared for twice the frustration if you lose concentration!

Sorcerer DnD 5E Race Choices Guide

Races are good places to pick up abilities for certain character concepts, so if you’re thinking about playing a certain Sorcerer but that race isn’t rated well here, it doesn’t mean your particular combination wouldn’t work or be fun to play. Like I said, it’s actually pretty difficult to make a truly bad character in 5e. 

Some examples of strong race choices for a Sorcerer are:

Protector Aasimar 4 – +2 Charisma is a great start, with two resistances, healing, and a damage boost this is a great option for any Sorcerer. The damage from the transformation can greatly aid any blasting-centric builds. Wisdom is a good tertiary stat to have, although a Dex of Con bump would have been more desirable. Access to flight is very valuable but doesn’t last long enough to really replace the Fly spell.

Changeling 4 – Excellent stats, skill proficiencies that leverage your high Charisma, and the Shapechanger feature to use in some social situations. This only gets a 4 as it doesn’t actually make you a better Sorcerer but, is a great choice for those looking to make a face character.

Half-Elf 5 – Excellent stats that allow you to bump everything that matters and helps with some of the more MAD multiclass builds. Fey Ancestry and Skill Versatility round out your build nicely, giving you a solid 5 race for any Sorcerer, although the lack of active abilities may not be interesting to some.

Sorcerer Feats Guide

Feats can be a fantastic way to build out the toolkit of the Sorcerer, giving them additional resources and spell casting to round out and compensate for their limited number of spells known and desire to convert spell slots into sorcery points. Where possible, I would advise choosing feats in a way that won’t interfere much with your Charisma progression, such as half feats that give +1 Cha, or getting your Cha to 18 first.

Some examples of strong feat choices for a Sorcerer are:

Alert 4 – With a middling Dex score and no subclasses that provide an initiative bonus, this feat can help ensure that you get the chance to unleash your opening spell of choice before the bad guys get a chance to act. One of the things that help push this to a 4 is preventing you from being surprised, something that is likely to happen with a lower Wisdom modifier and that you can’t afford with a smaller hit point total than most classes.

Inspiring Leader 5 – A great feat that increases the survivability of your entire party, and any summons or NPCs you might have tagging along. This allows you to leverage your high Charisma mod, making you a perfect candidate for it.

Second Chance [Halfling] 5 – Boosting your Charisma, Dexterity, or Constitution by +1 makes this feat low cost, and getting a potent defensive reaction that you can use every combat is a great weight off of your spell slots. This is particularly great for when a monster rolls a critical hit against you, allowing you to reroll it when Shield would not have been able to help you.

Fey Touched 5 – A Charisma boost and two leveled spells, one of which is arguably one of the best Tier 1 spells in the game. What really seals this as a 5 is the ability to use your own spell slots to cast your new spells when you’ve used your free castings. Bless, Hex, and Detect Magic are all good choices for the 1st level spell.

Metamagic Adept 5 – Sorcerers can always benefit from more sorcery points and Metamagic options. This can save you from cannibalizing your spell slots for more points, or can allow you to afford to convert some points into slots without cutting back on how often you use your Metamagic. This is particularly great for subclasses that use sorcery points to fuel features, allowing the feat to fuel your Metamagic whilst your natural sorcery points fuel your subclass.

FToD Feats

Gift of the Chromatic Dragon 3 – This is primarily valuable for the reaction resistance, taking the place of Absorb Elements and saving you the associated costs as a result. The weapon buff is a useful support ability for melee martials in the party, but unlikely to be used on yourself. This is a solid choice, but not compelling enough for a higher score.

Gift of the Metallic Dragon 4 -A good way to get some Charisma-based healing whilst giving you a Shield-like reaction that can help out your party members too. This only gets a 4 as the defensive reaction only applies to the triggering attack, making Shield still much higher value.

Gift of the Gem Dragon 4 – Being able to punish monsters for hitting you is a great reaction to have, this is a reasonable amount of damage and can push them far enough away that they may not be able to attack you again that turn. The Charisma bump makes this easy to pick up, and props the rating up to a 4.

SCoC Feats

Note: More so than the Eberron feats, the following feats are designed explicitly for the high magic Strixhaven setting, and this is reflected in the balance of the feats. 

Strixhaven Initiate 4 – A better version of Magic Initiate, this has the benefits of allowing you to grab spells from different spell lists and cast the 1st level spell with your own spell slots. Quandrix is a strong choice of college, giving you access to Guidance, Mage Hand, and either a Druid or Wizard spell.

Strixhaven Mascot 1 –  Feat chains are very expensive, unless you’re gaining Strixhaven Initiate for free in some way, this just isn’t worth two ASIs. If you’re interested in having minions, then you would be better served by taking summoning spells instead.

DSotDQ Feats

Note: Similar to the Strixhaven feats above, these feats are intended to be used in the Dragonlance setting. The intention to represent characters that have survived such a war-torn world skews the design of these feats to be more powerful than standard. To reflect this, each feat has the requirement of ‘Dragonlance Campaign,’ as this applies to all feats in this section it won’t be listed individually, but other requirements will be listed in [ ] as normal.

Divinely Favored [4th level] 4 – Not only are you getting free castings and learning spells most Sorcerers wouldn’t be able to learn, but you also unlock the ability to use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for all your spells. Cleric or Druid are the most recommended lists if you’re choosing your character’s alignment with this feat in mind, as the Warlock list has significant overlap with the Sorcerer’s, whilst the latter two open new options like healing. This feat has a lot of value and adds some spellcasting versatility that isn’t easy to come by, this doesn’t quite warrant a 5 given it competes against powerful feats like Fey Touched and the potency of Augury can swing wildly.

Initiate of High Sorcery [Sorcerer or Wizard levels or the High Sorcery Background] 4 –  The value of this feat depends on whether you take it with an ASI, or get it for ‘free’ from your background. It’s hard to justify this feat on its own in exchange for an ASI unless you really want certain spells from it without multiclassing out of Sorcerer or have a particular build in mind. The ideal use case for this feat is to get it from your background and later take one of the Adept feats that require this feat. The best moon for combat is Nuitari, as all spells are combat-centric, whereas Lunitari is a more versatile moon, and Solinari blends utility and defense. If you intend to take an Adept feat, remember that your choice determines which color of robes you can take.

Adept of the Black Robes [4th level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Nuitari Moon)] 3 – Additional spellcasting is great, but there aren’t many compelling choices for this feat. If you do go with this feat, then Blindness/Deafness is a strong choice that will be applicable throughout your career. The Life Channel part of the feat is a neat way to add damage to your spells, however, it only applies to saving throw spells and uses your Hit Die. This can leave you without enough to spend on a short rest to heal, whilst also only adding a meager d6 for a harsh trade-off.

Adept of the Red Robes [4th level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Lunitari Moon)] 5 –  Requiring a feat to get access to this is a high cost, but in this case, it’s more than worth it. Magical Balance is a great ability that scales with your level and will benefit all Sorcerer builds, whilst Insightful Magic gives you a relatively large list of spells to choose from, with some solid options included. Example spells that would be good to take are Dragon’s Breath, Invisibility, and Spike Growth.

Adept of the White Robes [4th level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Solinari Moon)] 4 – A combination of solid spell access and a decent defensive ability makes this a middle-of-the-road feat compared to its two robed brethren. Stand-out spells to take with this feat are Aid, Pass without Trace, and Warding Bond, with the latter pairing well with the damage reduction of Protective Ward. That damage reduction feature offers a good, but not great, formula thanks to the inclusion of your Charisma modifier alongside the d6s. This doesn’t warrant a 5, however, as using Protective Ward will meaningfully cut into your spellcasting, Sorcery Points, or both.

Squire of Solamnia [Fighter or Paladin levels or the Knight of Solamnia background] 2 –  You won’t qualify for this feat by default, with the easiest way to get it being the background. The benefits of this feat have nothing to do with your spellcasting or most Sorcerer builds, however, as it can be very valuable to some builds, notably ‘Sorcadins,’ it warrants at least a low 2.

Knight of the Crown [4th level, Squire of Solamnia] 1 – If you qualify for this then you already invested in hitting monsters with a weapon yourself, taking a feat to let others do that is a waste of resources on a Sorcerer that could be Twinning Haste. The investment cost is high enough that even the +1 bump to a physical stat doesn’t save this from a 1.

Knight of the Rose [4th level, Squire of Solamnia] 3 –  Still niche to melee-based builds, but this feat allowing you to bump your Charisma goes a long way to helping the investment cost. The temp HP formula itself is decent and has ample scaling built in to remain relevant throughout your career, being able to give those temp HP to yourself or an ally is valuable flexibility. If this didn’t require the Squire of Solamnia feat it may even push up to a 4.

Knight of the Sword [4th level, Squire of Solamnia] 2 –  Being able to bump your Charisma saves this from a 1, but if you want to frighten an enemy you’re better off using a spell for it and giving them disadvantage on the save. This is best for Sorcerers that multiclass into Paladin with the Oath of Conquest and at least has the perk of not triggering Magic Resistance, unlike spells.

Sorcerer DnD 5E Multiclassing Guide

In this section of Sorcerer DnD 5E guide, we’ll review each class in terms of how good of a multiclass it is for a Sorcerer, mentioning how many levels and what subclass (if any) would work best. The ratings take multiclassing prerequisites into consideration; if a multiclass will require you to have a 13 in a stat other than Cha or Dex, then it may receive a lower score, but this isn’t as severe for Wis requirements as it’s a useful stat to have a +2 in if you can afford it. If it can be avoided, try not to just have a 13 in a prerequisite stat, an odd number is a dead number.

General multiclass tips for the Sorcerer:

• The primary weaknesses of the Sorcerer are the low number of spells known and the small Hit Die, so when multiclassing, consider classes that can help address these issues.
• As the Sorcerer lacks short rest resources, classes/subclasses which provide abilities or resources that do recharge on a short rest is a significant boon that would increase your endurance on long adventuring days.
• With sorcery points being tied to your Sorcerer level, you should try to avoid heavy multiclassing if your subclass uses sorcery points for its features, and set your Metamagic expectations according to your reduced pool of points. You may want to take the Metamagic Adept feat in order to compensate for the negatives of multiclassing.
• Consider why you want to multiclass. If it is to gain a mechanical benefit, perhaps look at races and feats to see if you can achieve the same thing without slowing your Sorcerer progression.
• Classes that use Charisma to some degree are preferred for dipping into, any other stat should be considered for its cost and benefits otherwise. For example, Wisdom is beneficial for Perception, and bolstering your Wisdom saves, which become increasingly common and debilitating as levels increase.

Artificer 3 -A niche multiclass given the Intelligence prerequisite and Int-based spellcasting, if you’re thinking about taking this class, you should try to aim for two levels to gain infusions. You should take spells that won’t rely on your Intelligence, such as Guidance, Absorb Elements, Sanctuary, etc. This gets at least a 3, due to adding some spells that you can rotate out daily, as well as giving you access to medium armor and shields, which is a substantial boost to your AC.

Barbarian 1 – Bad prerequisite, and the primary benefit shuts down your ability to cast spells. The only real benefit here is slightly more hit points and the medium armor and shield proficiencies, which are completely offset by the various downsides.

Bard 5 – A great dip for support Sorcerers looking to increase their support options and out of combat utility. Two levels are recommended for Jack of All Trades, which would also boost your initiative modifier. Bardic Inspiration being based on your Charisma modifier is excellent, however, it isn’t worth taking 5 levels in Bard to make the dice a short rest resource, and so taking a subclass isn’t recommended as they often rely on Bardic Inspiration for fuel. If you do take a subclass here, then Lore Bard is recommended for weaponizing your Bardic Inspiration, or the College of Valor for the medium armor and shield proficiency.

Cleric 5 – Wisdom makes this a very low-cost dip, whilst gaining a subclass at 1st level makes it particularly front-loaded. Avoiding spells that use your Wisdom is relatively easy with great choices like Guidance, Bless, Shield of Faith, and so on. There are a lot of fantastic subclass choices with Life Cleric making you a decent healer, an excellent healer if you are a Divine Soul, and/or have access to Twinned Spell. Twilight is also compelling for the boost to initiative and darkvision you can hand out to your allies. Depending on your chosen Domain, it might be worth taking a second level for Channel Divinity, this is particularly compelling for the Twilight domain as even 1d6+2 temporary hit points add up every round. The proficiency in medium armor and shields helps push this to a solid 5.

Druid 3 – A difficult dip to rate, the first level provides you little but access to armor and shields and the Druid spell list, with the catch that you are now limited to nonmetal armor the moment you take the 1st level of Druid. The second level is where this option really opens up, giving you access to Wild Shape for scouting and retreating purposes and a subclass. If you take this class as a dip, then two levels are strongly recommended to get the most value out of it as possible. Recommended Druid Circles are Land for the additional spell slot from Natural Recovery, and Stars for Guidance, free uses of Guiding Bolt, and Starry Form, which can make your healing worthwhile, and makes it extremely difficult to lose concentration on your spells.

Fighter 5 – You want a Dexterity high enough to qualify for this multiclass anyway, with 1 level bringing you a short rest self-heal, and a fighting style to boost your now-armored AC. What really pushes this to a 5 is taking a second level for Action Surge. You can now cast two leveled spells a turn, once per short rest, a massive boost to any fullcaster.

Monk 1 – You won’t have a high enough combination of Dexterity and Wisdom for this to be useful for you, and pivoting to being a melee fighter is not really a recommended suggestion for most Sorcerers. To make matters worse, your Ki pool, if you took multiple levels, would be incredibly small. Should you take three levels, Shadow is very attractive for once per short rest casting of Pass without Trace, Silence, or Darkness.

Paladin 3 – This is a popular multiclass combination that is mostly held back by the Strength requirement, the painful first level, and the need to take 5 levels to get the most out of leveraging Divine Smite. You need to take at least two levels of this class to make it worth your while, gaining access to Charisma-based healing and support spells you can swap out daily, a small pool of Lay on Hands, the ability to Smite with your high-level slots, and armor and shields. This is only rated as a 3, as it’s generally better to multiclass out of Paladin into Sorcerer, with the 1st level giving you little more than armor, and if you go five levels into it for Extra Attack, it’s probably questionable that you’re still mostly a Sorcerer for most builds. If you take three levels for an Oath, then Redemption is a great option for a social and combat boost, Watchers for a great mental save boost for your party, or Conquest for a control effect with Conquering Presence.

Ranger 2 – The Wisdom and Dexterity prerequisites are easy to meet, but the first level of this dip is mostly a dead level, whilst the magic you can gain at the second level isn’t worth the hindrance to your spellcasting and sorcery point progression. The main benefits to this dip would be access to armor and shields, Cure Wounds, and the Fighting Style, which can give you access to Guidance. If you take this far enough to choose a subclass, then Drakewarden and Beast Master, using the optional beasts from TCoE, is recommended as your companion will scale a lot with your proficiency bonus rather than your Ranger level.

Rogue 3 – The main benefits here are Expertise and Cunning Action, with the former able to make you an excellent face character and give you a Stealth modifier high enough to reliably hide away. Cunning Action adds valuable mobility to your Sorcerer without costing you spells known and spell slots, allowing you to retreat from any monsters that close into melee with you. Sneak Attack will rarely be used, but if you take Shadow Blade as a spell, you can shift to melee combat if need be and hit hard enough to be noticed, should you be feeling bold. If you take enough levels to gain a subclass, then Arcane Trickster is the most recommended, giving you an enhanced Mage Hand, increasing your spellcaster level, and giving you access to some Wizard spells.

Warlock 5 – An excellent multiclass option for many reasons, dipping into Warlock will give you a separate pool of spell slots that recharge on a short rest. These slots can be used to fuel your Shield and Absorb Elements defenses or cannibalized to top your sorcery points up to either use Metamagic more often or convert them into higher-level spell slots. A single level also gives you access to a subclass, whilst two levels double your short rest slots and give you access to Eldritch Invocations. The recommended level dip for this class is up to 3 levels, as every level brings you so much value, and the short rest spell slots offset your lost sorcery point progression. Recommended subclasses are the Celestial for access to healing, Hexblade for access to medium armor and shields alongside a damage bump in some combats, and Genie for a mix of damage and a utility storage space. Recommended invocations if you take two levels are Devil’s Sight, Agonizing Blast, Fiendish Vigor, and Armor of Shadows if you did not choose Hexblade as your Otherworldly Patron. If you take three levels, then recommended pacts are Chain for the enhanced familiar and Tome for access to ritual casting, which can include the vanilla version of Find Familiar.

Wizard 3 – Intelligence is a heavy price to pay for this multiclass, but if you are happy to pay it, then there is enough here to make it worth your while. This dip is best for grabbing the Ritual Casting feature, along with a slew of utility spells, and the added benefit of regaining a single 1st level spell slot once per day on a short rest courtesy of Arcane Recovery. Detect Magic, Find Familiar, Unseen Servant, and Alarm are all recommended ritual spells. If you take two levels in this class, then Divination, Evocation, War Wizard, and Bladesinger are all recommended subclasses, depending on your spellcasting style, with the last two being defense-orientated options.

Are you excited to channel the raw power you were born with, or are you just worried about burning the house down if you lose control? If you enjoyed this Sorcered DND 5E guide and found it helpful, comment below, and check out our other DnD 5E class guides. If you’re new to the game, or just looking to broaden your understanding, then check out our how to play DnD 5E section. Until next time, may your spell choices be wise and your sorcery points well spent!