13th Age 2e Pregenerated Character Builds: Pyroclastic Dragon Sorcerer

By Jay Godden

In this series, I’m presenting two different pregenerated builds for every 13^th Age Heroes’ Handbook character class, at all levels. My goal is to present complete mechanical builds using only standard elements and rules from the Heroes’ Handbook, ready for you to apply your own backgrounds, icon relationships, and One Unique Thing.

In this pair of articles, we look at two potential builds for the Sorcerer.

The Sorcerer is responsible for providing their party with unmatched damage output from their spells. Their class feature Gather Power lets them spend a turn charging up their arcane batteries, and then the spell cast on their next turn deals double damage. When paired with limited use spells, this offers significant monster clearing power. Because of Gather Power, the Sorcerer’s damage is more stochastic than someone like the Wizard. Their best spells affect multiple enemies, so they might not do as much damage to single targets as someone like the Ranger or Rogue, but they can take out groups better than anyone.

When you Gather Power, you also get access to an Overspill Effect, new for second edition. There’s one generic overspill feat, and then each talent offers you its own power, with its own use frequency. These range from defensive buffs, to additional magical damage, or even flight. Many Sorcerer spells also have their own special rules, like breath weapons critting more easily when the escalation die is high, chain spells hitting multiple enemies, and surging spells that have a chance to be used again. Your Sorcerer can specialise and invest in one type of spell, pick from a wider range, or embrace a more chaotic playstyle.

Second edition has now included even-level versions of all spells, so every level up you have improves your casting in some way.

PYROCLASTIC DRAGON SORCERER
Download the Pyroclastic Dragon Sorcerer character sheets here. These sheets make use of the class-specific character sheets designed for second edition by Miguel Friginal.

This Sorcerer build focuses on using breath spells to deal lots of elemental damage, with a particular penchant for fire damage. As Sorcerers go, this build doesn’t have a huge number of moving parts, but it also lacks many reliable defensive options. This means in a party with a tank or healer it might be quite simple to play, but in a party where you are often in lots of danger? Complexity will go up.

You’ll have to explain to your group how you can cast Breath of Red Fire and Three Dooms if you use those spells as I suggest since they’re not available to most Sorcerers, but I think being a fire-breathing Dragonic is as good an excuse as any. As usual magic item choices are left out of the character sheets, check with your GM to see if they will be granting you any. Suitable magic items for you include arcane implements, along with anything dragon or fire-themed that increases damage.

Talents

Arcane Heritage

What this build is missing is Fireball, and this talent fixes that problem for us from 5th level. Its overspill effect also adds to your arcane barrage.

Chromatic Heritage

The main bulk of your spells are Breath Weapon spells, which this talent lets you occasionally target extra enemies with whenever you cast them. The overspill effect grants you some limited flight.

Infernal Heritage

Your love of fire has led you down a path dabbling with demons as well as dragon magic, which offers you dangerous and random abyssal powers. Like Arcane Heritage, its overspill effect lets you deal more damage.

Kin Power

Dragonics make iconic Sorcerers, and the Energized Attacks kin power lets you add even more fire damage on top of a spell each battle. Eventually you get access to Dragonic’s Dragon Breath too.

Attributes

Charisma makes all your spells more powerful, and Dexterity lets you act first to use those spells quickly, especially important if you are going to be delaying your attack by gathering power: Str 10 (+0) Dex 16 (+3) Con 15 (+2) Wis 13 (+1) Int 12 (+1) Cha 19 (+4).

1^st level

Attributes: Str 10 (+0) Dex 16 (+3) Con 15 (+2) Wis 13 (+1) Int 12 (+1) Cha 19 (+4).

Kin Power: Energized Attacks

Talents: Arcane Heritage, Chromatic Heritage, Infernal Heritage

Spells: Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Breath of Blue Lightning, Breath of White Ice (You can change your spells freely when you have a full heal up, these spells are just suggestions for a default arc)

Feat: A: Wild Breath

2^nd level

New spell (Lightning Fork), new feat (A: Scorching Ray).

3^rd level

New spell (Golden Shield replaces Lightning Fork), new feat (A: Chromatic Heritage).

4^th level

+1 to three attributes (Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma), new spell (Breath of Black Acid), new feat (A: Infernal Heritage).

5^th level

New spell (Fireball replaces Breath of Black Acid), new feat (C: Infernal Heritage).

6^th level

New spell (Breath of Black Acid), new feat (C: Breath of Black Acid).

7^th level

+1 to four attributes (Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma), new feat (C: Energized Attacks).

8^th level

New spell (Breath of Red Fire), new feat (E: Fireball).

9^th level

New feat (E: Powerful Kin), new kin power (Breath Weapon (Fire)).

10^th level

+1 to five attributes (Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma), new spell (Three Dooms), new feat (E: Chromatic Heritage).

Zenith feat

New feat (Z: Fireball)