Critty Critty Bang Bang: D&D Ep

[@DnDDeepDive]

Errata (sort of): I forgot that you don't have disadvantage on ranged attacks within 5 feet if the target is incapacitated! Thus, so long as Hold Person/Monster sticks, Spell Sniper isn't absolutely necessary. I still think it's a good feat to take regardless, for the half feat, the increased range, AND for the times that an enemy gets up in your business when you don't want them there, but good catch, people!

[@Kunteki]

btw don't sleep on Chromatic Orb on large groups, after you get to the 5/6th level spells it just does more damage than scorching ray, and it has a great synergy with Elemental adept, making it even more likely to bounce ^^

[@theresnoracelikegnome]

@@Kunteki Elemental Adept doesn’t reroll dice, it just treats 1s as 2s.

[@Kunteki]

@@theresnoracelikegnome exactly meaning when roling to see if you get any doubles you get a higher chance to get one

[@theresnoracelikegnome]

@@Kunteki oh, right! I was mixing it up with Sorcerous Burst, thinking you needed 8s! 🤪

[@erdmaennchen105]

I like how you mention that it is a halffeat, even so every feat is one now 😂

[@catchingphoenixrtr]

Critty Critty Bang Bang is probably the best name you’ve ever done omg

[@EktorasPanagiotidis]

100% agree

[@mpetrov2402]

I think there was one called the critlander that was also really good

[@s.p.1434]

It is a catchy name for sure!

[@damanstover2035]

I also like "Big Critties"

[@JasonPatz]

I agree. Best. d4 video title. Evar!

[@Odisseia-hh2td]

17:51, a 1 lvl Paladin dip now counts as 1 lvl caster when *multiclassing* (due to now rounding up). So an option that would get you Armor and Weapon proficiency, Weapon Mastery, and Smite for a single-level dip at no cost to spell levels.

[@fasterpet]

And divine favor for additional 1d4 per hit

[@funmaker77]

Oh… that’s awesome and will definitely be used. (But it would still require a 13str and would not work in this case)

[@Odisseia-hh2td]

@@funmaker77 If you are willing to drop your constitution from 14 to 12, you could get str 13, Paly dip, and +2 to AC with a shield (and maybe more with medium armor). The best way to maintain concentration is not to get hit :)

[@whoopwoopwhoop]

Interesting, but you don't get smite at level 1, you get that at level 2

[@Odisseia-hh2td]

@@whoopwoopwhoop you do get most smite spells at level one afaik, since they are level 1 spells. But at level 2 you get a free cast of smite.

[@B.J.Camire]

I don't know if they changed the wording in the 2024 PHB, but in the 2014 version, you don't have disadvantage on ranged attacks if the hostile target you're standing next to is incapacitated (p. 195, Ranged Attacks in Close Combat). So as long as you're always attacking a target you paralyzed, you can forego Spell Sniper (not that it doesn't have many other situationally great benefits).

[@henrymalinowski5125]

You’re correct. The wording was not changed.

[@DnDDeepDive]

truth! just pinned a comment on this

[@James-kv3ll]

Burst builds have always been fun Imo. I once made an Echo Knight Monk build that was all about that one time a day I get to scream “Ora Ora Ora Ora” while punching 10 times in 1 turn. It wasn’t very good. But it was fun.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Burst as long as it comes with downsides is IMO a core part of the TTRPG style games - you want it to be impactful but risky. Being impactful but risky/unsustainable creates a resource management element and provides something for a skilled player to really latch on to. Which is the case in the 2014 Paladin smite for instance - burning out all their spell slots in the first combat and the like - fun while it lasts, very effective but doesn't last. And therefore not too bad for a DM to deal with, doesn't get to entirely overshadow the rest of the party, every now and then that Paladin gets to go mad with power which everyone at the table should enjoy but afterwards they become a mediocre fighter with an aura and no tricks left up your sleeves.

[@James-kv3ll]

@@foldionepapyrus3441 Most DMs I’ve talked to and seen videos or posts from say that 2014 Paladin was a pain in the ass. You don’t want to spend months building up a BBEG only for 1 guy who’s good at 1 thing to obliterate that BBEG in 1 round. That’s not fun for anyone at the table, especially while you sit there watching the Paladin player roll a bunch of dice. Who tf thought that was fun outside of the Paladin? Glad they changed it to essentially once per turn. Most reasonable people are. Only wish it wasn’t a spell and didn’t use a bonus action.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

@@James-kv3ll Its pretty darn easy to manage a paladin - give the BBEG a few tough buddies in that fight - something you kinda have to do for any party as single target control spells are just too darn powerful and providing enough legendary resistances to counter that isn't fun for anybody either. Or make them radiant resistance. Or bait the paladin into smiting early on the really quite harmless wave of early minions that just look really scary. They haven't got the spell slots to be that effective for very long so it really isn't hard to work around it. I wouldn't object at all to some alterations don't get me wrong there is scope to make the 2014 paladin better. But what WoTC actually did was just stupid, especially when your going to have CME for the spell casters etc... It just kills the one thing beyond being an aura generator that a Paladin is good at, one or two powerful novas. The right alteration from 2014 to keep the multi class in check is just to limit the maximum number of die in a smite to being related to your paladin level - no more take the tiny dip to get smite you can use on your huge number of large real spell caster spell slots at the highest power!

[@End3r97]

Feels wrong to say that burst damage wasn't nerfed in 2024 when the majority of your damage is coming from the Bugbear surprise feature. Like your 6th lvl hold person + scorching ray + true strike does 38d6+2d8+8 which is a lot, but 20d6 of that is coming from the Bugbear, not anything printed in the 2024 PHB. Without that we're looking at 18d6+2d8+8 = 80 damage, which is still good, but not nearly as good (and I'm not looking at accuracy here either)

[@capnhook33_]

Especially when it is a monster manual species and the surprise damage was intended for a DM playing a monster getting a weapon attack, and not originally a player character species. That's a lot of extra to make this thing work. Plus this very well may not work in 2025 MM so in like 4 months this could be useless.

[@alegbh8713]

@@capnhook33_ it will only stop working if they reprint the Bugbear PC race, it doesn’t matter if they reprint the enemy statblocks

[@apjapki]

​@@alegbh8713So the build probably has a ticking clock over it in other words.

[@alegbh8713]

@@apjapki I don’t think so, the 2014 Monster Manual has no playable races, I see no reason why the 2024 one would even go to the trouble of reprinting old ones

[@apjapki]

@@alegbh8713 No it won't be in the monster manual....but the monster manual won't be the last book in 5.5. It's highly likely that everything popular eventually is replaced and Bugbear characters are sneakily popular.

[@markpekel4517]

When I initially saw the video title I had a flashback to Dick Van Dyke flying thru the air.

[@samuelcroshill9408]

Yes, me to

[@frandals]

This build can only be picture in my mind as Dick Van Dyke bugbear...

[@grantstratton2239]

Yes, now I'm imagining Dick Van Dyke shooting beams of fire from his hands, probably while apologizing if he's inconvenienced anyone while welding the power of elemental chaos.

[@mpetrov2402]

You make my Tuesdays extra special.

[@BLynn]

Critty Critty Bang Bang: D&D Ep #188 Level 01 (see above) [sorcerer 1, species, background] Level 02 (see above) [sorcerer 2 & metamagic] Level 03 (@16:04) [sorcerer 3 & subclass] Level 04 (@20:07) [sorcerer 4 & feat] Level 05 (@21:00) [sorcerer 5] Level 06 (@21:47) [sorcerer 6] Level 07 (see above) [sorcerer 7] Level 08 (@29:43) [sorcerer 8 & feat] Level 09 (@31:33) [sorcerer 9] Level 10 (see above) [sorcerer 10 & metamagic] Level 11 (@37:18) [bard 1] Level 12 (@40:12) [bard 2 & expertise] Level 13 (@40:32) [bard 3 & subclass] Level 14 (see above) [bard 4 & feat] Level 15 (@44:06) [bard 5] Level 16 (@44:40) [bard 6 & magical discoveries] Level 17 (@46:40) [bard 7]

[@laszloszikorszky9866]

The new searing smite is pretty awesome when multiclassed for higher level spell slots, as it does damage when you hit and right before they make the saving throw, meaning for example a third level casting deos 3d6 fire on hit and 3d6 before the save, thus dealing more damage than divine smite does (4d8 at that level). Add to that, that you can still smite + Eldritch smite on the same turn (the new rule doesn't let you expend more than 1 spell slot for spellcasting, but Eldritch smite is not a spell) and you can get up to some silly numbers still. For example, Paladin 1/ Blade Pact Warlock 5/Fighter 4/ Warlock X does some premium burst damage that all comes back on a short rest!

[@CivilWarMan]

There are two standouts for getting some crazy Searing Smite numbers with Paladin 1/Warlock X builds. First is the two turn combo of Paladin 1/Great Old One 10, because their Hex also grants disadvantage on the saving throws of the chosen ability, to one of those Warlocks who targets Constitution is going to have their Searing Smite stick around longer. Second is Paladin 1/Celestial Warlock 6, because Celestial gets Radiant Soul, which allows them to add their Charisma modifier to damage once per turn whenever a spell they cast deals Radiant or Fire damage. Note, in this case, it's worded "when a spell you cast deals Radiant or Fire damage", not "when you cast a spell that deals Radiant or Fire damage", which implies that they can also add their Charisma modifier to the tick damage of Searing Smite, so long as it only happens once per turn. So the Paladin 1/Celestial Warlock 6's Searing Smite, assuming they had 18 Charisma, would deal 3d6+4 initial fire damage, and then an additional 3d6+4 per tick, for a minimum of 6d6+8 assuming the enemy makes the first save, which is about as much average damage as a Divine Smite cast with a level 5-6 spell slot.

[@carctct6435]

You can take a level of paladin (or ranger) and it doesn't affect your spell LEVEL progression, spell selection is still affected. Multiclass spell table rounds up for half casters. This can give access to shields, heavy armor, wpn mastery for that truestrike, lay on hands, bless, divine smite, cure wounds.

[@gaidencastro9706]

I adore this build's name so much. That reason alone is enough for me to have this build as a top priority when I finally play a D&D 2024 game.

[@williameichenberg4632]

10:05 with the old school Critty Critty Bang Bang reference, you missed a perfect Bear Necessities pun moment...

[@digerson]

I wish see more 2024 rules, not old rules. Shout out from Brasil!!!!

[@SpcGrdnr]

Love you Colby. Thanks for the level of positivity you bring to the Internet.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

I'd ask my player to describe how their innate sorcery manifests - if its a subtle effect with minimal outward sign now then that is how it works from now on - so no using it trying to gain a bonus to an intimidation check, or as part of a distraction etc later. But if you describe it as something more subtle then sure you have a chance to get it off without initiating combat (if your targets are magically sensitive or very perceptive they will be given a chance to detect your building up to something - you win that roll they didn't notice but if you lost better hope your ready for the fight to break out, roll initiative.

[@TMRyan]

Id say that even in the case that effect is very visible that you could use the subtle spell and spend a sorcery point to make it tamer and no threat of starting combat yet.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

@@TMRyan Indeed, going a little more off the script with that one, as technically its not a spell. But if you want to spend a point for that I'd allow it. Just as I would allow them to change how it manifests if they have good reason to - maybe they multiclass. So they have bartered with a devil and now as they channel magic their hair turns into a inferno of hellfire, or found faith in a god so some divine spark reveals itself, etc. Can't change the way things work on a whim and nor will I do it to them - reasonable consistency and logic to the setting is what is important, so everyone can have fun not slavishly sticking to the precedent/rules.

[@andrevelloso3038]

The sorcerer's burst cantrip is so fun. Yesterday me and my friends were playing on level 1 and he manage to get a crit on the spell AND 2 extra die on the cantrip. This never gonna happen again.

[@Ichareus]

I've been refreshing my youtube feed all day waiting for this upload Thanks for making amazing content, Colby ❤

[@brynwtsn]

I recently made a similar character. I didn't use bugbear. I had 3 levels of grave cleric for path to the grave. Turns out, auto crits and vulnerability are nice together. I also picked up heightened spell for disadvantage on all of the hold person saves. Round 1: BA innate sorcery. Action cast hold person with heightened spell. Round 2: action, path to the grave, BA quicken scorching ray. I got 158 damage at level 6, assuming a standard 60% chance to hit before advantage.

[@GödekeMichels_72]

Oh I had someone who I guess was useing one of your builds or a similar optimiser (for burst damage) in a short campaign (3 sessions) recently. Their problem they picked the wrong sittuation to go all out in round 1. The scenario was meant to spook the group into thinking oh this is a big fight, but it wasn't (illusions and so forth were involved). Which meant that for the real fight that character was out of gas. And it showed. A character build to extreme to burst has to be very sure when to trigger their burst else it might backfire. The PCs with a more conservative build only used one of their more valuable resources before the group realised that the sittuation was basically a setup to scare people away.

[@geoffreyperrin4347]

22:22 just a heads up, they changed the wording on AOE spells. Magic missile isn't a "roll once" spell anymore

[@artilerath3]

This is definitely a 'talk to your DM' build about how initiative works. Polls aside, describe what exactly you're doing and make sure this works. Or tag team this, that always works!

[@apjapki]

You are correct (assumimg you mean the application of subtle spell to cast hold monster outside of combat) but my question to DMs reading that would rule initiative would need to be rolled first is - "What are we doing here exactly when a subtle spell is obvious and noticeable?" Is the use case for subtle spell just being able to bypass Silence?

[@jlbernardes]

This is one of my favorite builds from you now, nice!

[@CaideJordan]

This is a wild build!!! I think it’s hilarious to build a character that exists to turn social encounters into combat situations. This is a MURDER HOBO and I love it

[@Phiro00]

20:03 actually, if the enemy is incapacitated (which they are if theyre paralyzed), ranged attacks do not have disadvantage even within 5 feet.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Truth! Someone else pointed this out too - gonna pin a comment...

[@DR-023-17]

A Sord? A Barderer? What another sweet! Can't wait to see a Goliath War cleric! Thanks for the content as always Colby ❤

[@bartroberts1514]

Kinda a burst homebrew, 'correcting' the oversight of Hunter Ranger lacking its own specific spell list: Hunter Subclass Spell List Ranger Level 3 (Spell Level 1) Chromatic Orb Rationale: Fits well with the Hunter's theme of adaptability and targeting the weaknesses of various enemies. Allows upcasting on a (really expensive) scroll to get 8 orbs, guaranteeing six strikes with one casting. Ranger Level 5 (Spell Level 2) Scorching Ray Rationale: The Hunter’s ability to hit several enemies with precision matches the feel of multiple rays of fire striking enemies. See note on scrolls. Ranger Level 9 (Spell Level 3) Thunder Step Rationale: The ability to strike fast and then retreat with a burst of thunder is thematically aligned with the Hunter's hit-and-run tactics, allowing repositioning and mobility while still being highly offensive. Ranger Level 13 (Spell Level 4) Fount of Moonlight (from 2024 Druid Spell List) Rationale: The combination of added radiant damage and the ability to blind enemies after taking damage pairs with the Hunter’s attacks, adding an extra layer of battlefield control and damage output. Big CME-like nova burst, plus advantage on those it blinds. Ranger Level 17 (Spell Level 5) Transmute Rock Rationale: This spell provides control over the battlefield, helping the Hunter funnel enemies into traps, create bottlenecks for optimal Horde Breaker use, or manipulate terrain for tactical advantage. Thoughts?

[@rdchris6556]

Thankfully crafting scrolls is in the PHB and we can craft scrolls of hold person so we can do both hold person and scorching ray on the same turn.

[@georgeskinner3217]

One of the greatest build names for any RPG character on the INTERNET

[@dirtiestdan4756]

I love chitty chitty bang bang, it was a great show as a kid and those songs still slap

[@elkcibdej]

I like the idea of draconic sorcerers being like demigods or “Demidragons” I guess, produced by a tryst between an ordinary humanoid and a shapeshifted dragon in his/her humanoid form. It gives a lot of fun options to the DM for fun story moments. Like imagine the party faces a dragon who gets to have a “Luke, I am your father” moment with that character.

[@Hanafuss]

Another interaction that few people have realized, if you carefully read the words of Twinned Spell, and the Scorching ray spell, you will realize that Scorching Ray can now be twinned. It results in one extra ray over the spell slot you used to cast it. This may be relevant for this build as you can use it to gain one extra ray during the Nova round.

[@shoganmajere7913]

i don't think that you can twin scorching ray, since the desc. of twinned reads you can use it on a spell that targets another creature with a higher spell slot per se, since scorching ray just adds another ray so most DM's would not allow it ..... i'm alos very sure RAI it's not permittable to be used on ray, even RAW would be stretching it imho

[@Hanafuss]

@@shoganmajere7913 RAW it is fairly unequivocable. The wording of Twinned Spell says it applies to any spell that can target another creature when upcast. Since Scorching Rays can target one creature per ray, this applies because upcasting scorching ray can allow it to target an extra creature. Furthermore, Twinned spell doesn't say it must target multiple critters like the 2014 version required. RAI is open to interpretation and DM's can ultimately do whatever they like, but RAW there is nothing that stops Scorching Ray from being twinned, and that the extra ray generated from this can all target a single creature.

[@noahseus3665]

@@Hanafuss IMO this is a bad faith reading of that feature

[@Hanafuss]

@@noahseus3665 On the contrary, it is faithful to RAW. Now, RAI and DM Fiat, that is fair that it seems to have been reserved for spells that can only affect multiple creatures when upcast, but that is not what they wrote. Please don't mistake me, either. I am not saying it is good, but I also don't see it as a broken interaction either, whether it was intended or not. This isnt like we are casting two spells here, we're talking about using a sorcery point and a spell slot to gain 1 extra ray.

[@SortKaffe]

RAI is very clear, it shouldn't apply to *Scorching Ray:* _"When you cast a spell, such as _*_Charm Person,_*_ that can be cast with a higher-level spell slot to target an additional creature..."_ Upcasting *Fog Cloud* increases its radius, potentially affecting more creatures, but in a very different way than a spell such as *Charm Person, Jump, Longstrider, Tasha's Hideous Laughter,* etc., that all has the identical wording that *Twinned Spell* refers to: *_"Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot._*_ You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 1."_

[@BananaManDrew]

Action surge can't be used to take the magic action, but AFAIK you could still use it to get an extra cantrip cast via a "replace an attack with a cantrip" feature from EK / valor bard / bladesinger. There might still be an Eldritch Blast nova build in there somewhere

[@LordOz3]

_Opens campaign notebook_ "Ban bugbears." Actually, I'd probably just nerf them so the extra 2d6 worked on the first attack that hit in the surprise round.

[@scotttaylor1479]

On the CME note: I feel like you or Chris (Treantmonk) should just suggest a good homebrew alternative that still keeps the spell relatively good (and doesn’t just turn it into Spirit Shroud) and then the community can just get behind it. Like taking a potion as a bonus action used to be. Be the change you want to see in the world (and WoTC)😁

[@DeadmanwalkingXI]

I believe Treantmonk's suggestion was 1d8 per two levels of upcasting. That does make it similar to Spirit Shroud, but higher damage at many levels and its other non-damage effects are different. The other suggestion I've seen is keeping the damage the same, but having it only kick in once per turn. That also seems reasonable enough...maybe a little more powerful on average, but not too terrible.

[@sillvvasensei]

The odds of getting the max additional exploder d8's on Sorcerous Burst is (1-(7/8)^4)*(1/8)^4 = 0.01% chance at level 17 with 20 CHA. (1-(7/8)^4) = the odds of getting at least one 8 on the first 4 dice, by inverting the probability of getting all 7's or less. (1/8)^4 = the odds of the next 4 added d8's rolling an 8 to reach 5 exploders.

[@SeanBoyce-gp]

I miss when it was 2d6, scaling with addl d6s and exploded on a 6. Just felt better.

[@sillvvasensei]

@@SeanBoyce-gp It did less damage than a d8 cantrip, though.

[@ynedd]

Cody, 'Jim's Magic Missile' is a variant of Magic Missile that has ONE more spell attack than Scorching Ray per spell slot level. Also, you can pick it up from Magic Initiate - Wizard as an origin feat... It's worth considering.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@ynedd yep! As long as you can play with Penny Arcade content! Which… most people can’t, I gather 😉

[@garion046]

I mean i think the scorching ray bugbear combo is cool. But tbh... i think the assumptions on this are HEROIC if you include hold person. Even hold monster is quite a stretch. Still, the damage ignoring that is still good!

[@Drunsul]

If you're looking for extra defense while not sacrificing sorcerer levels, just take the defensive duelist feat at level 4. You add your proficiency bonus to your AC as a reaction. You don't even have to be proficient in a finesse weapon, just holding one. Like a no spell slot cast shield spell forever. Plus with True Strike cantrip you can still melee pretty decently if you wanted.

[@KordTheDestroyer]

My Draconic power? I was permanently polymorphed into a donkey by an evil wizard. I got better. But, I went on an adventure once with an Ogre. The rest is history.

[@BraghDaMan]

This video has it all: reminds me of Ace Ventura, a fun way to build a caster, AND it works in BG3. Just build a fire draconic sorc, PYF for race, wear gear that either adds more fire damage sources, or to your save dc to make sure a quickened hold works, then unload with that juicy upcasted scorching ray

[@adamguy1984]

Colby, I love the channel. Have seen every video. “I stand by my statement that nova damage didn’t get nerfed.” “We have to dip bard for 7 levels to have a respectable nova damage number.” I love the channel and the builds. And don’t change the optimism. D4 combined with Treantmonk is such an amazing combo of optimistic vs pessimistic (realistic?) takes. It’s just that at some point the ‘I would actually do this.’ ‘Definitely do that instead.’ Etc etc. means we’re losing our way a bit. I get the ‘I have to care about the spreadsheet’ thing. But I’m suggesting some sort of new guideline. An ‘if I change more than 5 things that I would actually do for the spreadsheet, I’m not going to do it’ guideline or something. Because at some point, it’s just devaluing said spreadsheet to a meaningless level.

[@jpperron1835]

Well done on getting the song looping in my head hahahaha

[@Wayaha13]

If your table allows it, silvery barbs would be absolutely essential on this to help land that hold person/monster. Burst damage was nerfed in that it takes more effort to set up, which I think is good. If you can line everything up, everyone can appreciate it as an awesome moment. If not, the encounter can go as planned and the DM doesn't have to build around one character being able to nuke their biggest monster. This is hard enough to set up that as a DM, you could probably not balance for it at all

[@t.s.6188]

I love that the sorcerer is first used in a burst damage build. It is as fitting as the name of the build.

[@henrymalinowski5125]

You don’t need spellsniper for removing ranged attacks DA because you only suffer the disadvantage if the foe within 5ft is NOT Incapacitated (PHB 2024 p26)

[@RickMcQuay]

At Lvl6, Quarterstaff would be 1d8-1 (0-7 damage) vs. Dagger 1d4+3 (4-7 damage); base dmg not counting crits. Also Qtrstaff is +2/hit, Dagger is +6/hit. Dagger is better for high dex/low strength builds. Even a rapier, without proficiency, would be +3/hit, 1d8+3 dmg. (edit, I can't use bugbear so I chose Human, maybe that makes a difference)

[@josephhall657]

I did a mix on the monk and chaos Cleric. I only ran up 10 levels for the Vecna campaign 5 trickster cleric and 5 elemental Monk. Bugbear race for the 5' reach and stealth. Sailor for tavern. Then feats of grappler and war caster His reach naturally becomes 20' and can do the shanagans of tossing around a spike pit. Or just pop guardians and grapple in it. We also have a psi knife/hunter goblin build going in for wrath of the small. He can cast spike growth as needed Should be a misfit group going in. F-Troop

[@spartan1986og]

Oh you pretty Critty Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang We love you, And our Pretty Critty Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang loves us too High low anywhere we go On Critty Critty we depend Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang Our fine draconic friend Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang Our fine draconic friend It's truly sorcerial A foe burning oracle A fantasmagorical daydream It's more than spectacular To use the vernacular It's wizard It's smashing It's keen Oh Critty You Critty Pretty Critty Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang We love you And Critty, in Critty Pretty Critty Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang what we'll do Near Critty, far Critty In a fight or bar oh what a happy time we'll spend Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang Our fine draconic friend Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang Our fine draconic friend..... Critty Critty Bang Bang Critty Critty Bang Bang Fine draconic Critty Critty friend

[@bullabythecroissant2004]

I'd like to share a build...mine (please just mention ""master feng i would love it". Crazy how artillerists are under utilized. So, i call it the three headed dragon: Mind sharpener, infusion Cloak of flying infusion The rest in defense, or increase stats if you can (belt of giant strength or else) Haste (use both actions to dash, congrats you can air_ko them from 60-120 ft , and your concentration is very protected as long as you have a reaction) flamethrowwers or force ballistas mounted on each shoulder which you can both fire with a BA You have a free +5 to any roll if needed thanks to flash of genius (reaction). Give arcane firearm to homonculus, with a lvl 2 no save concentration spell (it works, read well the wand's description) i'd say bladesinger,, enlarge, or heat metal That is what i aimed for at lvl 16. The issue indeed...is to get there x) but that's another debate. But here you get an actual flying tank, with awesome damage (if grapple), movement, has decent spells, insane armor (up to 35 for me), and a lil bit cool too when you imagine it. I used an aaracokra crow to have flight lvl 1, use any race u like

[@Sweet_Zombie_Cheezuz]

Awesome title! 😎

[@lulospawn]

This build depends on so many things I just don't buy its numbers. Specially at lvl 6. To get the 140 dmg you need a single humanoid foe with an HP of about 140, that the DM is willing to put against a lvl 6 party and that doesn't have legendary resistances.

[@oshermdaddy2058]

13:40 to that point does the extra damage from dragon sorc of the elemental type of your bloodline apply to each bonus action damage application

[@EmraHemingway]

The bubbly SFX you used in your channel member read was like crack-cocaine for my ears

[@johngillan4475]

Wow a lot of work. Thank you

[@samuelhawkins3820]

Does the damage bonus from a bugbear’s surprise attack or CME apply to things like a wand of magic missiles? If so, thief rogues can do lots of burst damage. Just need to find a way to get proficiency in woodcarver’s tools, Arcana, and have levels in a class that gets magic missile, or the magic initiate feat

[@SeanBoyce-gp]

Both the Bugbear and the CME features work on attack rolls. Magic missile doesn't have attack rolls, so doesn't apply.

[@jeremybooth933]

You don't usually do builds based off of resource consumption because tables are different, but I think doing an experiment with 3 levels in thief rogue for fast hands that can bonus action use a scroll combined with a full caster that can scribe their own scrolls (since the rules are in the PHB) or make their own magic staffs (or staves) and wands, is something to look at for a burst damage build, since most tables are dripping with extra gold, and the new bastion rules even give you magic crafters hirelings.

[@Holycrapitschad]

I want to do a more utility focused build around that concept and use thief with knowledge cleric so I can skill monkey and have a bunch of cool utility spells and at the end of the day I’ll still be a full cleric that can throw out two guiding bolts a turn

[@jeremybooth933]

@@Holycrapitschad if you have a dm that will let you craft just scrolls, 3 levels of thief opens up a world of strategies and builds.

[@yurirobin]

If you really wanna a shield, you could pick up a half-caster level too, because now a 1 level dip count as a full spellcaster level. Like a paladin for smites?

[@noahseus3665]

Technically you do not need Spell Sniper. In the section “Ranged Attacks in Close Combat” under “Ranged Attacks” in the “Combat” section of Chapter 1 of the PHB, it specifies that you only suffer Disadvantage from being within 5 feet of an enemy who can see you and doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition. Since the Paralyzed condition includes the Incapacitated condition, you do not suffer Disadvantage from being within 5 feet of that enemy. Technically you could also inflict the Blinded condition on an enemy to circumvent the Disadvantage as well.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed! Just pinned a comment on this :)

[@samthompson261]

I like the idea of leaving the crazy damage but shortening duration to somehwere between 6 and 30 seconds or adding debuffs to cme, maybe disadvantage on saving throws and/or you take an instance of the damage at the start of each of your turns?

[@JoshuaBLowery]

Holy shiiiiiiiiittt that first damage report is nuts 😂😂😂

[@KernalGohd]

I think the new spell slot ruling is pretty fun honestly. It lets people who may not have wanted the fighter dip get a similar result, while not allowing for massive caster nova that is hard to build encounters for. It also gives meaningful use to those free casts of what might be a really weak spell when not fed spell slots.

[@drizzledaddygaming994]

Innate Sorcery, to me, is the single strongest class ability in the new PHB. It means that, at every level, assuming equal magic items, you will ALWAYS have the highest spell save DC of any caster, and still have Heightened spell to make it even harder to succeed against our insanely powerful control spells. I am struggling to find any class that comes close to the raw power of a sorcerer. I think the closest class is actually Bard. Bard appears to be the most versatile caster and sorcerer is the most powerful. Wizard and Warlock are battling for bronze in my book.

[@guardiantree8879]

Sad Druid & cleric noises.

[@LawrenceDomkowski]

Fun build. I didn't like 2014 Sorcerers very much, but 2024 has me interested in their improvements.

[@joshuaclendenon]

Came for the build, stayed for the *Toot toot*! Burst is not dead!

[@aidandunne5978]

Bugbear Monk with a 2 level dip into fighter could WRECK SHOP on round 1. Easily 8 attacks by level 7, with 9 at level 13, not to mention using focused aim to turn misses into hits, and grappler for advantage at a 10 ft reach.

[@snickerdoodlr9926]

A single level of any half caster would give full spell slot progression now, right? So a dip to Paladin or Ranger would give shield proficiency and not mess with spells.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@snickerdoodlr9926 if you can afford the wisdom or str scores, yep!

[@TheBaffoonShow]

I think heightened spell should be considered to be taken earlier for this build to help securing the hold person

[@theresnoracelikegnome]

You don’t have disadvantage on ranged attacks if the enemy within 5 feet is incapacitated. Which they are if they’re paralyzed.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@theresnoracelikegnome duh! Totally forgot that. I think spell sniper is a good take for those times when an enemy is up your business, but yeah, good catch.

[@xxSADPUPPYxx]

I am still very looking forward to your wildmagic build you got me so excited for it in your videos with trentmonk.

[@michaellavy4482]

Spell sniper actually isn’t necessary to prevent disadvantage in this build. Ranged attacks only have disadvantage if the creature within 5ft of you isn’t incapacitated, and paralyzed creatures are incapacitated!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed! Just pinned a comment on this

[@AMRosa10]

The Popeye reference was related to The Potion of Pugilism magic item, which is illustrated in a glass vial with an "as green as spinach" liquid in it.

[@AndrewBrownK]

Ironically this build is BFFs with the new assassin because the new assassin feature now stacks with paralyzed auto-crits, instead of being redundant with them

[@gaidencastro9706]

What's the strongest tank you can make without armor?

[@williamtaylor6886]

How dare WoTC make picking a favorite sorcerer subclass so difficult!!! Thanks for this draconic deep dive.

[@cidlunius1076]

3:44 This is whybi leaned towards pf2e, crits still hurt and you can build a team to give a fighter or a Gunslinger one big hit a turn, but it's a team effort to nova, not a solo act

[@nanakiosuka3085]

I wonder if having 2 lvls of warlock to pair the multiple beams from eldritch blast with agonizing blast bump and a quickened scorcing ray. Would hold up. It would dely your nova round to round two.

[@facu2505]

I would add melf's minute meteors somehow somewhere in a battle and so you add 2d6 minimum or max of 4d6 as a bonus action

[@markcronan]

Does this whole build depend on being able to cast hold person/monster before initiative is rolled?

[@TheLibGamer]

Another content creator did some math on the exploding dice with Chromatic Orb, not sure how much of that math might translate to Sorcerous Burst. It was Game Easy Roll Good on KZbin.

[@ericrbacher9371]

should have taken fey touched and selected hunters mark. you can upcast hunters mark and keep it on an ally. on first turn, change the target for a bonus action (instead of casting it) and use your action to cast scorching ray. instead of getting the 2 extra dice from attacking with your staff, you'd get an extra 2d6 per ray of force damage and unlike hex, it doesn't do anything bad to your ally while you wait to transfer it to an enemy. also you'd get +1 cha and the ability to teleport into melee and out of melee range with misty step.

[@Staff7]

I hope they reduce its damage and make it only for melee attacks. It’s thematically a Druid spell first and foremost . I think it is meant for moon Druids and blade singers in its redesign. Knock the scaling to 1d8 and make it melee attack rolls only..

[@Staff7]

CME that is

[@benin8or]

I am just so happy that the draconic sorcerer finally got some love

[@Theonemanoffire]

Oh you, Critty critty bang bang we love you

[@rodrigomineiro3238]

you could also try summon undead (putrid) against a non humanoid to paralyze them. yes, they do have to fail two con saves and many enemies are immune to poison but it is still an option

[@glitchking666]

Dance bard has the same unarmed defense as draconic sorcerer. Although the draconic sorcerer will be a much better damage dealer

[@WhatWouldBojackDo]

at some point i went from genuine interest in the build to genuine i want to see what Colby's up to

[@ElManReborn616]

You can approximate sorcerous burst as a a d10, it's actually just a little less

[@Lich-x2g]

Build suggestion: World Tree Barbarian tank? given at 6th level they can be the most annoying thing on the battlefield, dragging enemies back to them, its a really unique taunt- or would it be a pull? idk

[@jamesfoster9613]

Perkins and James Wyatt (head dev for Fizbans Treasury of Dragons and Bibg's Glory of Giants) were singing Popeye's song because the new item "Potion of Pugilism" is green like spinach lol

[@SavageGreywolf]

They were singing the Popeye song because they were talking about a new potion, described in the DMG as 'spinach green', which adds force damage to unarmed strikes.

[@chrisramsay8795]

If you had the strength taking a 1 level paladin dip would be available due to the round up rule for part casters

[@tuvasaldert4069]

While i understand that the bugbear is crazy good for nova, it seems like a lot of builds rely on being a bugbear which imo is kinda boring. I just wanna play a cute kobold draconic sorcerer and still do good damage

[@RickMcQuay]

My table doesn't allow playing as a bugbear, nor does any other table I've played.

[@sortehuse]

If you go by the new 2024 surprise rules, everyone that don't know that combat has started get disadvantage on their initiative, so if you use subtle spell to cast hold person, everyone but you (including the rest of your party) would be get disadvantage on their initiative roll. There wouldn't be a full round where you could cast the spell, while the opponents couldn't do anything.

[@robertmorgan7698]

I can't seem to find the part about incapacitated people being auto-crit. What page of 2024 PHB?

[@marcducorsky8736]

My Draconic Sorcerer had grandparent that Defeated a Dragon and had to cut her way out of the carcass that landed on him. 2 Generations later the Grandson had sorcerer like power and scales.

[@shoganmajere7913]

i would plan to add in defensive duelist somewhere and remove the shield spell :) it now works pretty much like the shield spell but instead of using a spell slot for a +5 you get +prof bonus to your ac without a spell slot and also like others have said, lvl 1 paladin dip would be great on this build, i personaly wouldn't start with paladin but take it maybe a 2nd lvl :) to get medium armor, shield, weapon mastery w/o any really cost maybe even take nick mastery and dual wield : light weapon / dagger and get 2 attacks ( 3 with dw feat ) only downside would be no sorcerer capstone, but tbh how much time will we be spending on 20th lvl another version would be 1 lvl of warlock / 6 lvl of valor bard / 13 lvl or sorcerer - divine soul your round would be ( sustained ) : atack, attack ( eldritch blast ), nick attack, quickened eldritch blast your round would be ( nova ) : atack, attack ( eldritch blast ), nick attack, quickened scorching ray prep-up would be : bestow curse ( 5th lvl ), spirit shroud ( 9th lvl ) - 1d6 + 5 + 4d8 + 1d8 4x 1d10 + 4d8 + 1d8 1d6 + 5 + 4d8 + 1d8 ( nick ) 4x 1d10 + 4d8 + 1d8 (q. Blast ) = 31 + 112 + 31 + 112 thats ~270 vs ac 10 - 1d6 + 5 + 4d8 + 1d8 4x 1d10 + 4d8 + 1d8 1d6 + 5 + 4d8 + 1d8 ( nick ) 9x 2d6 +5 +4d8 + 1d8 = 31 + 112 + 31 + 310,5 thats ~540 burst vs ac 10

[@nocoarto]

Correct me if i'm wrong, But shouldn't it be the 2 Advantages gained from Innate Sorcery and Paralyzed overcome the 1 Disadvantage gained from making Ranged attacks from 5 ft. distance? So there is no real need to take Spell Sniper if we are going Nova after we Hold Person/Monster anyway, right?

[@BananaManDrew]

That's not how advantage/disadvantage work. They don't cancel out, it's just that if you have both you roll as if you had neither. 100 sources of advantage and just 1 source of disadvantage still makes it a flat roll. That being said, it's a non-issue here. As others have pointed out, the disadvantage for being within 5' doesn't apply if the target is incapacitated (which they are from Hold Person)

[@nocoarto]

@@BananaManDrew Got it, thanks for correcting and explaining it even!

[@chiepah2]

Without crits, you can expect to roll 5 8s in a row 3 times... for every one-hundred thousand attacks. 7 times for every ten-thousand crits.

[@themorganrobertson]

Considering a Sniper firing from hidden causes init to roll, it feel bad not having the sorc do that. IDK.

[@RickMcQuay]

Many people don't like how 5e handles surprise, and every table I've played at did it differently.