Make Your Dungeon Master Cry: Shadow Sorcerer

Make Your Dungeon Master Cry: Shadow Sorcerer

So, it's nice to talk about things other than comic books or comic book twitter drama. One of my major passions/ hobbies is playing tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. The game has gone through several iterations over time. One spin-off game that has gained a high volume of popularity is the Pathfinder game. Described by some as Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition plus (3.5 is seen as one of the best editions), Pathfinder is of particular note because of its character class additions and balancing.

That being said, there is still an overwhelming amount of opportunities to break this game with certain synergies. Let's talk about my personal favorite: The Shadow Sorcerer.

Like in DnD, sorcerers do not have to prepare spells, but their weakness lies in that they end up knowing far fewer spells than wizards. As such, Sorcerers do not have the utility of wizards, and some players believe that this class does not scale well into later levels. Let's prove 'em wrong!

Pathfinder gives sorcerers class additions that address their lackluster kit: the bloodline. Chosen at character creation, the bloodline grants additional abilities and buffs as the sorcerer levels up. These abilities scale up pretty well, lending to some pretty neat powers later on. However, even with these additional benefits, the weakness of having so few spells still acts like an Achilles Heel.

Enter the Shadow Sorcerer. First off, shadow sorcerers gain some really neat stealth related abilities, even gaining a rogue's "Hide in Plain Sight" ability. Being able to gain total concealment at any given moment in combat is immensely useful. Even if your enemies can target you, they still have a 50% chance at missing.

But let's look at what really makes the Shadow Sorcerer amazing: Shadow mimicry spells. "Shadow Conjuration" allows you to mimic all conjuration spells of an appropriate level, while Shadow Evocation does the same thing for offensive spells. Other Pathfinder modules and books even have Shadow Enchantment and shadow transmutation. The 9th-level spell "Shades" (which you get for free as a shadow sorcerer) lets you mimic any conjuration spell 8th-level and below. At high enough levels, having access to these spells means that you have a much larger spell library that you can cast at will.

Now, there is the caveat that shadow spells are illusions, and each spell adds an additional saving throw to see if your target disbelieves the effect (if they do, the result means that the spell's strength is much diminished). In order to cover this weakness, the shadow sorcerer, at level 20, makes all shadow spells 20% more real. This means that "Shades," which is 80% real when disbelieved, works at full strength even if someone makes the illusion saving throw. Add in the "Solid Shadows" feat, which also adds 20% more reality to shadow spells when disbelieved, and spells like "Greater Shadow Evocation" that cap at 60% when disbelieved also hit full strength once you hit level 20.

As a cherry on top, take human as your race and select the alternate racial trait that gives you a free spell when you level up (netting you another 20 spells to your repertoire), and you have a sorcerer who not only scales well into late game but also one whose available spell effects and utility rivals wizards.

Have fun zipping around the battlefield, popping in and out of visibility, casting whatever spell fits the situation at your discretion! But don't blame me when your Dungeon Master tears his hair out and dogpiles you first in combat.