Giants in stature, the Goliath race seems naturally suited to warrior classes, but does that mean they’re not good spellcasters? 

Nothing could be further from the truth, and it turns out the 7ft mountain of muscle only becomes more terrifying when they start firing lightning bolts out of their eyes. This quick start guide breaks down what you need to know to build a Goliath Sorcerer.  

How to Make a Goliath Sorcerer

The Sorcerer is a relatively simple class to build: Initially, you’ll want to max Charisma, which governs spellcasting DCs and attack rolls. Any spare points should go into Dexterity and Constitution, which help you pass concentration checks for spells and also helps you die less.  

The gear options for the Sorcerer class are incredibly limited. No armor. No tools. A whole five weapon options, all of which are worse than casting any cantrip you have available. Pick for flavor, and maybe take a quarterstaff at level 1 just in case. 

Skills are equally limited; two options out of a small list. However, the class has the stats for many great skills, including social options. Persuasion and Deception are both excellent choices here. Sneaky skills like Stealth and Sleight of Hand are also on the table, and finding a way to pick up Thieves’ Tools from your background can easily turn the character into a budget Rogue. 

Sorcerers are generally squishy characters with no armor and low HP, but the Goliath goes some way to mitigating this with a built-in flat damage reduction ability that lowers the damage done on an attack. This is incredibly powerful in the early levels, where one bad crit can drop you, and still handy to have later in your adventuring career. 

Proficiency in Athletics is … less useful, but it’s still a skill proficiency for a class that has a  limited amount of those and pairs well with the boost to carrying capacity, which is unlikely to come up in many campaigns but is generally handy to have. 

Finally, an elemental resistance (cold) is always nice. Many creatures and spells in 5e deal this type of damage, and the Sorcerer also has multiple ways to play into the elements, so this is nice both mechanically and thematically.  

How to Play a Goliath Sorcerer

As a Sorcerer, it pays to specialize. No other class can do what a Sorcerer does with Metamagic and class features, whether that’s throwing down massive damage blast spells or high-impact disables. 

But no Sorcerer can do it all, and the class also tends towards a serious risk of spreading itself too thin and reducing its own effectiveness. 

Sample simple builds include the Blaster, built with Draconic Ancestry, offering a boost to elemental damage, plus making the class a little bit more survivable with bonus HP, AC, and another elemental resistance when needed.  

Sorcerers can also be built to be powerful disablers, especially using the Shadow Sorcerer bloodline. Take the Heightened Spell and Twin metamagics to throw out strong debuffs, and the subclass’s Hound summon, available from level 6, can force continuous disadvantage on one target until killed, which is simply incredible. 

Taking the Divine Soul bloodline even allows the Sorcerer to take the place of the Cleric, giving them access to the Divine spell list plus some unique and powerful options like Twinned buffs, boosted healing, and constant flight at higher levels.  

A severe limitation of the Sorcerer, especially at earlier levels, is spells known. For a main spellcaster, the Sorcerer is incredibly limited on the total amount of spells it has at its potential, only learning a maximum of 15 at its highest level. 

A recommendation here, especially for players who might be new to the class, is to take one of the most recent subclass options: Aberrant Mind, Clockwork Soul, or Lunar Sorcery. Each of these adds at least 10 more spells to the Sorcerer’s spell list, completely for free, which at certain levels almost doubles your spells known.

Otherwise, again, it pays to specialize. Pick a theme and a role, and lean into it with at least half of your spells known. Only once you’ve taken staple spells you’re going to use every encounter should you branch out into utility or less used options.  

Finally, Metamagic. The Sorcerer gains two of these at level 3 and doesn’t gain a third until 10, so it’s important to make choices that are going to be useful across the broadest spectrum of situations. 

Great choices include:

• Empowered Spell: Exclusively for the blasters, rerolling multiple damage dice on bad rolls is very very good. 
• Heightened Spell: Expensive, but forcing Disadvantage on a key saving throw can take an enemy out of the fight when it matters. 
• Twinned Spell: Doubles the effectiveness of single-target buffs or disables. Cheap in terms of sorcery points, too. 

How to Roleplay as a Goliath Sorcerer

As a race, Goliath have a preference towards physical acts and personal achievement, with a fatalistic attitude towards life. Strength is valued, and so is family, and the clan. 

Sorcerous power comes from the blood, so ties directly into every single one of these things. Unlike many races, many Goliath would probably regard their powers as a point of pride, something to be nurtured and used as a tool, instead of something that marks them as different or outcast. 

Good questions to ask are where this power came from, and how it first manifested. Also consider what your character wants from life, and why they’ve decided (or been forced) to step away from their tribe to achieve it. 

Finally, the Sorcerer is a class with high Charisma, which matters a lot for personal interaction in 5e. There’s more than one way to have a charismatic personality, and Goliath culture, which rewards strong views and a dominant outlook, reflects that. Consider how your character speaks to people; perhaps they simply state facts that they expect to be believed, or perhaps civilization has smoothed the rough edges of their personality. 

Either way, you’re playing a character that’s a literal force of personality. Your ancestors smile upon you, so don’t be afraid to let loose a little, now and then.