13th Age 2e Pregenerated Character Builds: Pain Battery Sorcerer

By Jay Godden

In this series, I’m presenting two different pre-generated builds for every 13th 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 specialize and invest in one type of spell, pick from a wider range, or embrace a more chaotic play style.

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

Pain Battery Sorcerer

Download the Pain Battery Sorcerer character sheets here. These sheets make use of the class-specific character sheets designed for second edition by Miguel Friginal.

This Sorcerer build is all about balancing high risks against big rewards. Thanks to Spell Fist, you are more comfortable in melee range than most other Sorcerers, and even perform better in some respects while engaged with multiple enemies and staggered. You are also rewarded for having Skulls, and for you and your allies having gone to 0 hp or below this battle. As a result, the Pain Battery likes to fight dangerously, get hurt, and come back even stronger. This can be a tricky tightrope to walk, having to choose when to activate your defensive powers to keep you alive. Thankfully, you do have reasonable defenses compared to many spell casters to help you do this. It’s also possible to play the Pain Battery as just a defensive version of a Sorcerer, for less risk and slightly lower reward.

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. You might be particularly interested in magic items that let you heal on demand, helping you return from low hit points after you have been getting yourself buffs from being staggered or reduced below 0 hp.

Talents

Metallic Protector Heritage

This talent helps improve your defenses a little after casting limited-use spells, and potentially improves them a lot as an overspill effect. Both are very useful on the front lines.

Spell Fist (Blood Ward, Twist of Power, Explosive Flares)

This talent makes you more dangerous while engaged with enemies, and makes opportunity attacks triggered by you casting ranged spells while engaged less oppressive. Overspill grants temporary hit points that rise with the number of enemies you’re engaged with.

Undead Remnant Heritage

Protecting you from the first critical hit you take this battle makes it less likely you’ll have your risky plays cut short by an errant 20. You can use the number of Skulls you currently possess as an attack modifier if it is higher than the escalation die, and the overspill effect grants you more temporary hit points the more creatures in a battle have been reduced to 0 hp, you and your allies included!

Kin Power

Halfling’s Evasive gives you some defence at a time of your choice. You might decide not to use this straight away, instead dropping to 0 hp early on in an arc to get a Skull and start powering Undead Remnant Heritage. Later on, when you don’t need any more “pain,” you can keep yourself safe with Evasive.

Attributes

Charisma makes all your spells more powerful, Constitution is second for hit points and recoveries, and Wisdom is third to help with armor class and mental defense: Str 10 (+0) Dex 13 (+1) Con 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Int 12 (+1) Cha 19 (+4).

1st level

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

Kin Power: Evasive

Talents: Metallic Protector Heritage, Spell Fist, Undead Remnant Heritage

Spells: Burning Hands, Chaos Bolt, Echoing Thunder, Energy Wave (You can change your spells freely when you have a full heal-up; these spells are just suggestions for a default arc)

Feat: A: Echoing Thunder

2nd level

New spell (Lightning Fork), new feat (A: Strong Recovery).

3rd level

New feat (A: Undead Remnant Heritage).

4th level

+1 to three attributes (Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma), new spell (Head Wrecker), new feat (A: Chain).

5th level

New feat (C: Spell Fist).

6th level

New spell (Unhallowed Torment), new feat (C: Reverberate).

7th level

+1 to four attributes (Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma), new feat (C: Metallic Protector Heritage).

8th level

New spell (Accursed Drain), new feat (E: Head Wrecker).

9th level

New feat (E: Metallic Protector Heritage).

10th level

+1 to five attributes (Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma), new spell (Breath of Empty Void), new feat (E: Spell Fist).

Zenith feat

New feats (Z: Zenith Adventurer, E: Wracking Echo, A: Burning Hands)