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Shadow Magic Sorcerer Features
Best Species Options For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Best Ability Scores For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Best Spells For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Best Feats For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Setting up a new character can be both exciting and daunting when looking over each and every option. Especially as the fifth edition of has only continued to grow with thanks to the publication of more sourcebooks that bring new species and classes. And that's exactly where a Shadow Magic Sorcerer draws its existence from.
In Xanathar's Guide To Everything, the Sorcerer gains three additional subclasses, including this Shadow Magic variant. Move over always-angsty Rogue. There's a new shadowy and mysterious option for players to choose from. But, in speaking about choices, what are your best options when picking this class?
Shadow Magic Sorcerer Features
As a Shadow Magic Sorcerer, you will gain five new abilities as you level up, as well as an improvement to one of your abilities, making for a total of six. The way they break down is:
Sorcerer Level | Feature Name |
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1st Level |
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3rd Level |
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6th Level |
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14th |
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18th |
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Eyes of the Dark gives you Darkvision up to 120ft away, and then at third level, you have the ability to cast Darkness with this feature. If you decide to use two Sorcery Points when you cast it, you're able to see through the magical darkness, giving you a massive advantage as most other creatures will not be able to peer through it.
Strength of the Grave gives you an opportunity to stay conscious when knocked down to zero hit points. Shadow Walk allows you to teleport up to 120 feet away as a bonus action, so long as there is a shadow within range you can step into.
Though, the two biggest features here are Hound of Ill Omen and Umbral Form. Hound of Ill Omen allows you to summon a Hound (based on a Dire Wolf's stats) to the field as a bonus action, though you have to use three Sorcery Points to do this. The Hound will target whichever enemy you choose, but they know where this creature is, even if hidden, and they can move through creatures and other obstacles.
And, once it's within five feet of the intended target, they impose disadvantage on all saving throws the target would roll against your spells.
Umbral Form allows you to turn yourself into a shadow of a figure, making you resistant to all but two damage types: Force and Radiant. Like your Hound, you can also move through creatures and objects. You spend six Sorcery Points to do this and it lasts for one minute, which can be incredibly helpful in the heat of combat.
Best Species Options For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
One of the first choices players usually consider is which species to play as. A variant human still remains one of the best across the board, but there are other species that pair very well with a Shadow Magic Sorcerer. An air genasi will give you access to other Sorcerer spells that don't count against your known total while giving you a damage resistance.
Other options include astral elves, deep gnomes, dragonborn, drow, faeries, githyanki, half-elves, satyrs, warforged (if you can convince your dungeon master of your magic "lineage"), and yuan-ti. Below is a table that will go over each of these options in terms of their benefits to a Shadow Magic Sorcerer.
Though, as a basic rule of thumb, a species that helps you max out your Charisma, or one that helps you defensively, like adding to your Constitution or Dexterity, can ultimately serve you and your character.
Your Dungeon Master (DM) may not allow you to be a Warforged, seeing as how they wouldn't have a "bloodline" to explain how your character is a Sorcerer. As with all things, check with your DM first.
Species | Sourcebook Used | Benefits |
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Air genasi | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Astral elf | Spelljammer: Adventures in Space |
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Deep gnomes | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Dragonborn (Chromatic) | Player's Handbook |
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Drow | Player's Handbook |
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Fairy | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Githyanki | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Half-elf (drow) | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide |
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Satyr | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Warforged | Eberron: Rising From The Last War |
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Yuan-Ti | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
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Best Ability Scores For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
The name of the game for Shadow Magic Sorcerers is Charisma. This is your Spellcasting Ability, so all of the magic that you use is reliant on your Charisma modifier. Naturally, the higher you can get this ability, the higher your Spell Save DC is as well as your Spell Attack modifier.
After that, depending on your playstyle and what you are looking to aid your character with, place your next highest stat in either Constitution or Dexterity.
Your Constitution modifier will grant you additional health, which is particularly helpful with Sorcerers because you will be using a d6 to determine your hit points, the lowest possible option. So, without a high Constitution, you'll be very squishy.
When you see d6, that is a dice and its number of sides. Likewise, if you see a number before that, such as 2d6, that means two six-sided dice will be rolled.
As for Dexterity, having a higher modifier in this increases your Armor Class, or AC for short. Your AC is what's used to calculate if a weapon or magic attack hits you. The lower the AC, the more you will be getting hit. The higher it is, then it will be harder to hit you, meaning that overall you'll be taking less damage.
After that, it's up to your preferences. The skill that is the least important to your character should be your Strength. This is often a negative modifier for those who play Sorcerers, leaving any Strength-based rolls to other party members who rely on Strength, such as Barbarians and Fighters.
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Best Spells For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Some of the best spells you can select should mix well with your Hound of Ill Omen. Now, granted, you ultimately can choose any spell that seems to work best for your character and their backstory, but if you want to maximize your impact on any battle, having spells that force other creatures to roll a saving throw at disadvantage means that you can turn the tide of battle even more than usual.
One nasty combo is to use Blindness/Deafness when you have your Hound of Ill Omen out and near your chosen enemy. Your Hound will give them disadvantage on the Saving Throw they need to make, of course, making it more likely that you can either blind or deafen your enemy. Choose Blindness. This will give your Hound, as well as your teammates, advantage on attack rolls against the enemy.
This also means that your foe will make their attacks at disadvantage. A real win/win combo that is sure to make your DM question everything.
You'll also want to consider Hold Person. All Sorcerers can, potentially, have a creature roll at disadvantage on this if they Heighten the spell with Sorcery Points. But that only applies to the initial roll, allowing you to successfully hold the person in question for one turn, but after that the dice decide how much longer they will be kept in place.
With your Hound of Ill Omen, that person will be rolling at disadvantage against the spell each turn. They can still break free, but your Hound will make it much less likely that they will.
Hold Monster, which is a fifth level spell, is another stellar option for the same reason. Your Hound of Ill Omen will make it harder and harder for a Monster to break free. And, if you know you are going up against anything with a low Wisdom modifier, they are going to be paralyzed for a long time to come.
Paralyzed is a condition. This means a creature is incapacitated, they automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws, all attacks made against them are at advantage, and any successful melee attack (within five feet) is a critical hit.
After that, all of your other spells are truly up to you, but one more recommendation is for when you're able to cast the most powerful, ninth level spells. Psychic Scream, from Xanathar's Guide To Everything, has creatures of your choice rolling Intelligence Saving Throws. On a fail, they take a massive 14d6 wroth of damage and are stunned.
With your Hound of Ill Omen, you can put a creature at disadvantage not just for the first roll, but every roll they make after that to end the stunned effect.
Best Feats For A Shadow Magic Sorcerer
Naturally, the most important thing to do is to get your Charisma as high as you can before the end of the campaign. If you didn't roll well when determining your character's stats, or used another form of stat building that didn't get that modifier as high as you'd like, it is still your best option to take the stat increases you get as you level up instead of feats.
But, if your Charisma is in a good place, or you still would rather grab some feats, here are some of the best options for you to consider.
Cartomancer | Allows you to load a spell into a card once per long rest. You can then use that card, as a bonus action, allowing you to cast that spell. The spell must be one from your class, must have a casting time of one action, and be a spell level you have access to. |
Inspiring leader | This makes excellent use of your high Charisma. You take ten minutes to inspire up to six friendly creatures. In doing so, they gain temporary hit points equal to your level plus your Charisma modifier. |
Metamagic adept | This will give you access to an additional form of Metamagic as well as two additional Sorcery Points. However, those two points can only be used for Metamagic, not giving yourself spell slots back or summoning your Hound. |
Lucky | This feat is always good as it gives you three d20's, allowing you to re-roll whenever you choose, particularly when you roll low. |
Skill expert | This allows you to add a new skill to your repertoire as well as gain expertise in a skill you already have. |
Spell sniper | While this won't help with every spell, if you like making spell attack rolls, you'll gain a handful of benefits. These are the ability to double the range of a spell, ignore half and three-quarters cover, and to learn a cantrip from the Bard, Sorcerer, or Warlock spell list. |
Telekinetic | You get to increase either your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma stat by one. It also gives you Mage Hand, and if you already know it, you can increase its range by 30 feet. Plus you can attempt to shove or pull a target five feet. This can help allies reposition or put enemies in a harmful position. |
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