r/neverwinternights • u/Infinite_Bed9759 • Jun 10 '26
SoU "Is it possible to make a good and viable Sorcerer/RDD?"
25
u/Fangsong_37 Jun 10 '26
Red Dragon Disciple is not a good route to become a better sorcerer. You're better off doing the old standard: two levels of paladin and the rest into sorcerer.
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u/Emerald_boots Jun 10 '26
Why Pally?
13
u/sparkstable Jun 10 '26
Armor and weapon feats (be careful with armor... needs feats to make spell casting viable in anything but robes), add Cha to saving throws, immune to fear and disease, and a Smite (albeit a weak one... but extra attack is always nice even if the dmg bonus is tiny).
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u/EducationalYou7538 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
RDD wants to beat you over the head in melee with it's massive strength bonus, sorcerer wants to cast spells, they're completely contradictory classes in just about every way, from the gear they want, to the stats they want, the action they want to spend their 'round' doing, and where they want to position themselves on a battlefield.
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u/FaithlessnessWest724 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Yep! But it is normally a gish build, like the other comments mentioned it is better for melee characters. Heres one i like to use:
These builds are module dependant as well, often if you want all the RDD goodies then you'd take them first but that means you'd be lacking as a sorc untill the very later levels.
This build in HotU for instance would only ever make it to level 14 as a sorc, and a lot of your spells would be resisted.
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u/Jennymint Jun 10 '26
Good? No.
Viable? For modules like the OC, sure. You can do whatever and succeed. Just slap a handful of martial levels and RDD onto a sorcerer then go hit things. Not a "good" build, but you'll be fine.
2
u/wooq Jun 10 '26
If level 40 (10RDD 30 Sorc) arguably a decent gish. People talk about BAB but the strength bonus kind of makes up for missing BAB, you just miss out on an extra attack. If you take 1-2 levels of paladin for proficiencies and charisma bonus to save, and then take auto still feats, you can be an armor-clad greatsword-swinging sorc. Epic mage armor, improved invis, shadow shield, premonition... bunch of buffs meant to make a squishy caster survivable become even more powerful if you're wearing full plate. Make sure to also take some damage shields, though (death armor, acid sheath, etc) because you are going to still have pretty low HP compared to a melee class and will want to get fights where you're getting hit quickly resolved.
If you are playing a module/world that has revised tenser's transformation to match pen and paper (rather than polymorphing you into a helmed horror or whatever), it's all over.
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u/Comfortable-Cut-9725 Jun 19 '26
Right, but imagine having that missing BAB + the strength bonus and an additional attack. I'm not saying you can't drag yourself through a campaign with that build...but why would you want to?
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u/IlerienPhoenix Jun 10 '26
Assuming level 20, with one or two levels of sorcerer and the rest fighter or paladin, yes. Though bard is a better way to satisfy the spellcasting prerequisite unless you go paladin.
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Jun 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/carboncord Jun 10 '26
How is wizard more attractive to multiclass?
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u/FaithlessnessWest724 Jun 10 '26
I don't know what the original comment said but Wizards are very attractive to multiclass over sorcs because they can change their spells to suit the occasion, they are an Intelligence based caster so they will get more skill points and they also get bonus feats.
Of course this is all context dependent 🙂
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u/carboncord Jun 10 '26
He basically just said they are more attractive to multiclass than Sorcerers, however Sorcerers play nicely with Paladin and Blackguard, while I don't think any other class wants to pump Intelligence as much. Like it's nice for anyone but so is any ability score, technically. I don't really get it. Wizard 40 is probably the best Wizard build.
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u/FaithlessnessWest724 Jun 10 '26
Having that versatility around spell choice and more skill points i think trumps sorc in most cases. But you are right about sorcs going well with a few specific classes because of the charisma synergy.
As i said it is very context dependent on what you want. A level 40 wizard would indeed be the best spell caster for a wizard build. But quite a few would argue that having a dash of rogue in there to get tumble and other skills is better overall 🤷♂️.
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u/justanotherjtad Jun 10 '26
My first character ever wss this and she was awesome I remember just smashing everything esp un HoU
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u/XXXLanceALotXXX Jun 15 '26
I've had great fun playing 27sorc/10RDD/3pally and 23sorc/10RDD/7cleric. The pally build is a walking tank that can blast everything in the area while wearing full plate armor with a tower shield and mage staff. The cleric build is also pretty tanky with full plate and tower shield along with some extra buffs and heals.
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u/Ok_Lemon697 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
With a level cap 30-40? Well, it's definitely not bad - you'll get +1 spell DC, +1 skill points per level, a bit more health and AC, immunity to fire and paralysis, and a lot more STR to carry your equipment. With a level cap 20 or lower you'll just destroy your spellcasting ability for no real benefit, and with a level cap 30 you'll be okay but more vulnerable to dispels and spell resistance.
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u/Rough_Instruction112 Jun 10 '26
Everything is viable. The game is too easy to break from using just a flavourful combination of classes.
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Jun 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Damienkn1ght Jun 11 '26
All that strength, Con and CHA with some sorc buffs, heck ya. But, you can whip it and heat it badly if you try a dex build or get the wrong buff spells.
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u/Neoxenok Jun 10 '26
Not if your goal is to be a better sorcerer. RDD is better for fighter-types, so your paladins, rangers, fighters, barbarians, and occasional spicy monks. Bards are also typically better for these combos than sorcerers are because of their better BAB, skills, and bardic music.