Divine Soul Sorcerer Build | D&D 5E Divine Soul Sorcerer Buid Guide

If you have been playing DnD for a while, you appreciate the complex beauty of Dungeons and Dragons classes, subclasses, feats, and quirks. If you are fairly new to the world, you might find it a little truncated at first, but nothing that a few guides and YouTube videos can’t fix. 

One subclass that has often been at the helm of heated debates and discussions is the Divine Soul Sorcerer. This is where we acknowledge the inclination of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything to favor subclasses that offer Cleric features to their non-Cleric counterparts. We have seen divine worship in subclasses such as the Forge Cleric, but imagine having ancestors who were Gods, Demigods, or even angels!

Divine Soul Sorcerer 5E Guide 

With a natural alignment with Gods, the Divine Soul Sorcerer build puts you on a pedestal for the religious sects and envious monarchies of D&D alike! So, what is the Divine Soul Sorcerer? First, let’s understand the subclass through the eyes of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything:

“Sometimes the spark of magic that fuels a sorcerer comes from a divine source that glimmers within the soul. Having such a blessed soul is a sign that your innate magic might come from a distant but powerful familial connection to a divine being. Perhaps your ancestor was an angel, transformed into a mortal and sent to fight in a god’s name. Or your birth might align with an ancient prophecy, marking you as a servant of the gods or a chosen vessel of divine magic.

A Divine Soul, with natural magnetism, is seen as a threat by some religious hierarchies. As an outsider who commands celestial power, these sorcerers can undermine the existing order by claiming a direct tie to the divine.

In some cultures, only those who can claim the power of a Divine Soul may command religious power. In these lands, ecclesiastical positions are dominated by a few bloodlines and preserved over generations.”

One of the most versatile of the lot, the Divine Soul Sorcerer, is a hybrid arcane and divine, predominantly Charisma-driven spell-casting subclass. While the Sorcerer is no less than a conduit for unadulterated magical energy, imbued with the power to sway the laws of physics and magic as per their wish, the Divine Soul Sorcerer is a melange of divine power and pure arcane energy.

Not only do you have access to the Sorcerer’s power, but you can also get your hands on the Cleric’s spell list. What makes this subclass one of the best in the world’s most-played tabletop games? Let’s dive deep into this Divine Soul Sorcerer 5E guide!

Divine Soul Sorcerer Build Spell List

Spell Level	Spell Name	Description
1st	Cure Wounds	Restore a small amount of hit points to a creature.
1st	Guiding Bolt	Deal radiant damage and grant advantage on next attack against target.
1st	Shield of Faith	Grant a creature a +2 bonus to AC until the spell ends.
2nd	Lesser Restoration	Remove conditions: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned.
2nd	Spiritual Weapon	Create a spectral weapon to attack enemies.
3rd	Beacon of Hope	Grant a bonus to healing spells cast within the area.
3rd	Fireball	Create a ball of fire dealing damage in a 20-foot radius.
3rd	Healing Word	Restore a small amount of hit points as a bonus action.
4th	Aura of Vitality	Continuous healing to creatures in a 30-foot radius.
4th	Freedom of Movement	Allow a creature to move freely and ignore restrictions.
4th	Polymorph	Transform a creature into a beast of your choice.
5th	Cone of Cold	Create a cone of cold dealing damage in its path.
5th	Greater Restoration	Remove various conditions from a creature.
5th	Mass Healing Word	Restore hit points to multiple creatures equal to modifier.
6th	Heal	Restore a large amount of hit points to a creature.
6th	Heroes’ Feast	Grant benefits to creatures in a 30-foot radius.
6th	Mass Suggestion	Suggest a course of action to multiple creatures.
7th	Teleport	Instantly travel to a previously seen location.
7th	Resurrection	Bring a dead creature back to life, up to a century.
7th	Wall of Force	Create an impassable wall of force.
8th	Antimagic Field	Suppress all magic within the area.
8th	Earthquake	Cause the ground to shake, damaging creatures in the area.
8th	Holy Aura	Grant benefits to creatures in a 30-foot radius.
9th	Wish	Perform any imaginable action within limits.
9th	Divine Intervention	Ask your deity for a miracle.

These are just a few of the spells that a Divine Soul Sorcerer can choose from. The specific spells that you choose will depend on your own personal preferences and playstyle.

Here are some additional tips for choosing spells for your Divine Soul Sorcerer:

• Consider your party’s needs – What types of spells do your allies need? What spells would be most helpful in the situations you expect to encounter?
• Consider your own playstyle – Are you a front-line fighter? A support character? A blaster? Choose spells that will complement your playstyle.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment – Try out different spells and see what works best for you. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing spells for your Divine Soul Sorcerer.

Best Divine Soul Sorcerer Build Quirks 

Loaded with exquisite defense and support features, the Divine Soul Sorcerer boasts many helpful and exciting features and abilities. We have listed the 5 best Divine Soul Sorcerer quirks to help you along the way:

1. Angelic Form

This is quite an interesting quirk if utilized well. First, let’s see what Xanathar’s Guide to Everything has to say about the Angelic Form:

“Starting at 14th level, you can use a bonus action to manifest a pair of spectral wings from your back. While the wings are present, you have a flying speed of 30 feet. The wings last until you’re incapacitated, you die, or you dismiss them as a bonus action.

The affinity you chose for your Divine Magic feature determines the appearance of the spectral wings: eagle wings for good or law, bat wings for evil or chaos, and dragonfly wings for neutrality.”

Simply put, Divine Soul Sorcerers are gifted with permanent flight speed with the Angelic Form quirk. Essentially, you are now the proud owner of a level 3 spell. Arguably the best mobility in D&D, flight is an extremely potent ability that has many offensives and defensive benefits to offer.

Imagine fleeing the Areas of Effect by simply flying high above them. At that point, you are leaving your target with a choice between either your party or you. What if you are facing non-flying, spellcaster AC-loving melee targets? Once again, fly out of range!

Let’s look at the offensive plus-points: With the ability of flight, you are now better equipped to hurl projectiles overhead, right at your targets sequestered behind walls. Additionally, you can now hunt down fleeing enemies without much effort at all!

A permanent source of flight without having to attune to magic items can prove to be quintessential to late-game combats. It can open many doors of creativity and opportunity for you. Remember not to fly right above a group of foes with bows and arrows, though. That could quickly turn counter-productive, and dare we say, ugly.

2. Divine Magic

One of the most cherished and endearing level 1 quirks, the Divine Magic allows you to pick a spell from either the Sorcerer or Cleric spell list as soon as you are ready to learn your first cantrip. Looking at it realistically, if you are playing as a Divine Soul Sorcerer, you can use the Divine Magic quirk to iron out vulnerabilities in either yourself or your party. 

With this ability, you can access both the Sorcerer spell list focused on solid buffs and damage and the Cleric spell list centered around information, support, combat control, and buffs. If you happen to be the sole spell-caster in your party, Cleric spells might look better. However, it is never a bad idea to consider some Areas of Effect damage.

Here’s yet another aspect of the Divine Magic quirk: a free spell known! 

This depends on your affinity and can easily be replaced by a cantrip on the Cleric spell list.

Cure Wounds is a nice one for Divine Soul Sorcerers but can be outclassed by healing spells that use Bonus Actions. You do not want to use too many actions on your healing while in combat. It is best to incline towards spells that let a fellow someone heal while still allowing you to continue dealing damage with spells. So, if you are considering Good, try replacing the spell with that of the Healing Word.

As for Evil, it is greatly outclassed by almost every other spell. Your damage choices are much more diverse, versatile, flexible, and multi-targeted as a Sorcerer. Therefore, you ought to consider replacing this as soon as possible!

A great buff cantrip, Bless is a highly recommended use of low-level spell slots. It offers two to three saving throws and attacks, on average. Bless scales quite decently, too. However, it is probably better spent on 1st level spells.

As for Bane, well… it’s just fine. Picture Bless but more focused on preventing damage. Decreasing enemy attacks to 2 is no less than a 10% debuff to the chance to hit. Additionally, enemies also take around 10% debuff to saving throws. Note that, with Bane, you must break past one Charisma-saving throw. All in all, this is great, but Bless is better.

With Protection from Evil and Good, you can sometimes get a huge bonus to your player’s survivability against a little less than half of the types of enemies. In any standard campaign, this buff would be enough. At other times, you could find Protection from Evil and Good a little lacking. Simply put, it can be great, but not always. It depends on your campaign.

3. Empowered Healing

This Divine Soul Sorcerer quirk has often been deemed as slightly mediocre in comparison to some of the other ones available. Here’s what Xanathar’s Guide to Everything mentions about this quirk:

“Starting at 6th level, the divine energy coursing through you can empower healing spells. Whenever you or an ally within 5 feet of you rolls dice to determine the number of hit points a spell restores, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll any number of those dice once, provided you aren’t incapacitated. You can use this feature only once per turn.”

Here’s the issue with this: healing spells help pick your ally off the ground since you do not want them dead, but that does not mean you need them at max health. Be it 1 or 200 HP; they will fight the same. Moreover, you wouldn’t want to spend your sorcery points for healing in non-combat scenarios.

However, in case you are running on limited healing resources, a re-roll might be the best course of action to save a few healing cantrips in between fights. You would want to save sorcery points for metamagic. Rolling 1 on several dice could prove to be a tremendous waste of a Divine Soul Sorcerer’s resources. It could potentially add considerable healing to a bad roll. Note that you must be by the side of the caster. 

4. Favored By The Gods

This is the first standard class feature for Divine Soul Sorcerers. Here’s what Xanathar’s Guide to Everything states about the Favored by the Gods quirk:

“Starting at 1st level, divine power guards your destiny. If you fail a saving throw or miss with an attack roll, you can roll 2d4 and add it to the total, possibly changing the outcome.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.”

Unlike similar effects such as Bardic Inspiration, this quirk has a range of 2 to 8, instead of 1 to 8, along with a pretty great average of 5! Why is this good? First of all, you would not want any of these quirks to roll a 1, and hence, getting a 2 offers much more legroom. With this, your minimum roll has a 10% chance to win. 

If not that, you usually land on a 5, and not to mention, a 25% success rate is worth considering. Essentially, you have a highly competent Hail Mary at your disposal. It is advisable to save it for times when the 2 will be a sure-shot success. If an 8 or a 5 saves your life though, you have 2d4 to burn. The Favored by the Gods quirk refreshes with short rests and is one of the handfuls of quirks that allows you to roll after your GM announces its failure.

5. Unearthly Recovery

If you are playing as a Divine Soul Sorcerer, chances are, you will find the Unearthly Recovery to be quite a potent heal. First, let’s go through the comments on Xanathar’s Guide to Everything:

“At 18th level, you gain the ability to overcome grievous injuries. As a bonus action when you have fewer than half of your hit points remaining, you can regain a number of hit points equal to half your hit point maximum.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.”

Imagine casting a huge healing cantrip once a day without it costing a turn or a casting slot at all! That’s what this quirk offers. So, now you can heal most of your hit points and then go on to sling a terrific fireball, or better heal an ally.

Being a d6 class, it will probably be a 50 to 60 health heal, unless, of course, you invested heavily on Constitution. Beginning at 70, the heal cantrip is way more effective. But, here’s where the redundancy of spell slots for Unearthly Recovery makes it a clear winner. Just be careful while flying around casters.

If your Divine Soul Sorcerer is unconscious, say adios to bonus actions. So, essentially you need to heal yourself when your turn arrives. Just stay conscious, and the 50% health boost to your survivability will not go to waste!

Limitations of Divine Soul Sorcerer Build

Now that we know all the quirks available with your Divine Soul Sorcerer build, it is time to face the flip side of this subclass. Like any other class, this one too comes with its own set of let-downs, and for a good reason- it only adds to the essence of the game! You do not want an omnipotent subclass. 

There is only one great downside of the Divine Soul Sorcerer: you have access to only a handful of spells and cantrips out of an unending list. To put this into perspective, there are no less than 301 spells at your disposal once you max out on all levels, but a Divine Soul Sorcerer can only access a mere 6 cantrips and 15 spells. So, every choice you make is fraught with much doubt, ambiguity, and paranoia, lest it proves to be redundant or unhelpful.

The choices you make at even lower levels in early-game have such long-lasting impacts that the option to pick spells will often turn out more like a traumatic episode than a moment of excitement. Unlike Wizards, you cannot swap spells as per your need, every day. Divine Soul Sorcerers have a much more limited toolkit to fall back on.

Having the smallest hit die in D&D, both Sorcerers and Wizards can land on as little as 5 hit points at level 1. Unlike Paladins or Fighters, you cannot just charge straight into danger at 1st level. You must focus on positioning to gain an edge in the early game. So, it is recommended to be extremely careful, especially in the lower levels!

Best Races For Divine Soul Sorcerer Build

Just like any other class or subclass, not every race vibes with the Divine Soul Sorcerer. Some will gel exceptionally well with your character, while others just won’t offer any benefit. For your convenience, we have listed down the best 5 races for your Divine Soul Sorcerer build. Take a look:

1. Eladrin

The Eladrin offers a +2 Dexterity and +1 Constitution, making it a great option. Use this one to teleport and produce diverse magical effects based on the selected seasonal aspect- there; you have an exquisite foundation for a Sorcerer.

2. Half Elf

As a utility caster, you must ensure that your utility draws you to good spots outside combat. As a Half-Elf, you stand to get a +2 Charisma and +1 on 2 other stats (do consider Dexterity and Constitution). With this race, say hello to Fey Ancestry and Darkvision. Moreover, welcome great skill versatility. Having a handful of skills inherently, Sorcerers can benefit from some extra ones that could aid them in non-combat skill-check scenarios. 

3. Scourge Aasimar

With the Scourge Aasimar, your Divine Soul Sorcerer gets a +1 Constitution and a +2 Charisma. This can be a great option! Moreover, with Light Cantrip and Darkvision, you gain terrific utilities. With Celestial Resistance, you are guarded against damage sources you usually cannot access. Healing Hands offer…well, healing.

With Scourge Aasimar, you can deal damage to nearby foes with some added damage boost once every turn. While it damages you a little, you have healing hands to help yourself out.

4. Tiefling

With a +1 Intelligence and +2 Charisma, Tieflings also get fire damage resistance, which is great if you spend a considerable amount of time playing with fireballs. With this race, Divine Soul Sorcerers also get a few innate spells, which can never harm!

5. Variant Human

Humans in DnD are lauded for their versatility, and it is no different for the Variant Human. With this one, Divine Soul Sorcerers are offered +1 to any 2 ability scores you want (we suggest Charisma and Strength), as well as a Feat smack at level 1. This is a great start for any and every build, and Divine Soul Sorcerers are not different.

An Example of Divine Soul Sorcerer Background

Below is an example of background for a Divine Soul Sorcerer build

Name: Anya

Race: Half-elf

Class: Divine Soul Sorcerer

Background: Acolyte

Alignment: Good

Personality Traits:

• Anya is always willing to help those in need, even if it means putting herself in danger.
• She is a devout follower of her deity, and she believes that her powers are a gift from them.
• She is kind and compassionate, and she always tries to see the best in people.

Character Ideals:

• Goodness: Anya believes that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.
• Kindness: Anya always tries to help those in need, even if it means putting herself in danger.
• Hope: Anya believes that there is always hope, even in the darkest of times.

Character Bonds:

• Anya is devoted to her deity, and she believes that their powers are a gift from them.
• She is protective of her friends and family, and she would do anything to keep them safe.
• She is committed to making the world a better place, and she believes that her powers can help her to do that.

Character Flaws:

• Anya is sometimes too trusting, and she can be easily taken advantage of.
• She is a bit of a dreamer, and she sometimes gets lost in her own thoughts.
• She can be a bit impulsive, and she sometimes acts without thinking.

Character History:

Anya was born in a small village to a human father and an elven mother. Her parents were both devout followers of a good-aligned deity, and they raised Anya to be kind and compassionate. Anya always felt a connection to the divine, and she began to manifest her powers at a young age. When she was 16 years old, Anya was accepted into a prestigious academy for sorcerers.

She excelled in her studies, and she quickly became one of the most powerful students in her class. After graduating from the academy, Anya set out on a journey to use her powers to help others. She has traveled all over the world, helping those in need and fighting for justice. Anya is a powerful and compassionate sorcerer, and she is dedicated to making the world a better place.

Conclusion 

With that, we wrap up our Divine Soul Sorcerer 5E guide! Here’s the final takeaway: the Divine Soul Sorcerer is undoubtedly one of the most versatile builds available in Dungeons and Dragons. From access to not one but two spell lists and yet another known spell to terrific defensive options and considerable healing power, you are in great hands!

While Divine Soul Sorcerers won’t replace full-blown Clerics anytime soon, you can be a great off-healer with a Druid or a Paladin in your party. So, simply put, if you are trying to find support that can deal some damage when required, the Divine Soul Sorcerer could be a great pick!