What is a Divine Soul sorcerer?
Divine Souls are sorcerers whose bloodline comes from the gods. In D&D 5e, all sorcerers are descended from an exotic or otherworldly bloodline—and that bloodline is the source of their innate magical powers. Divine Souls specifically draw power from the divine and are, however distantly, related to a divine being whose bloodline is passed down to them. For example, a Divine Soul might be the chosen vessel of a god’s power, or a prophecy might have foretold their birth. They might even be distantly related to an angelic being! Religious Hierarchies sometimes fear divine souls because they are outsiders with access to divine power. In some places, however, Divine Souls are religious leaders because of their close connection to the gods. Divine Souls are included in the 5e Xanathar’s Guide to Everything sourcebook.
Divine Soul Features
Divine Magic Because of their connection to gods and the divine, Divine Soul sorcerers can learn spells (and cantrips) from both the sorcerer and cleric spell list. You can choose any spell from either list for your PC (while still obeying all other restrictions for whatever spells you choose). Divine Souls also learn one spell based on the alignment of their divine affinity: Good: Cure Wounds Neutrality: Protection from Good and Evil Evil: Inflict Wounds Law: Bless Chaos: Bane Determine the primary affinity of your PC’s divine power from the options above; that spell won’t count against the number of sorcerer spells your PC knows, though they still require a spell slot to cast. You can also choose to replace this spell later on—and if you do, you must replace it with a spell from the cleric spell list specifically.
Favored by the Gods If your Divine Soul sorcerer misses an attack roll or fails a saving throw, you can choose to activate Favored by the Gods and potentially change the outcome by rolling 2d4 and adding the result to the roll. This feature can be used once per short or long rest and is available from level 1 onward. The fact that this ability can recharge by short rest (instead of only long rest) makes it super accessible and reliable for your Divine Soul PC’s daily use. The average roll for this ability is also slightly higher than similar abilities that let you add 1d6 to attacks and saves.
Empowered Healing Divine Soul sorcerers become particularly powerful healers at level 6. When you (or an ally within 5 feet of your PC) roll to determine how many hit points a healing spell restores, you can choose to spend 1 sorcery point to reroll any of the dice once. This feature can be used once per turn—and only works when your PC isn’t incapacitated. Injured characters can still fight and use abilities as well as uninjured ones, so it’s unusual to use healing spells to try and recover all of a creature’s hit points in the middle of battle. With the exception of spells like Heal, it’s easier to revive downed PCs with Healing Word here and there, and save the massive healing spells for outside of combat. Nonetheless, if you have a spare sorcery point and an ally is gravely injured, it can sometimes to useful to give them a few more hit points than they’d normally get!
Otherworldly Wings As a bonus action starting at the 14th level, your Divine Soul can cause a pair of spectral wings to materialize on their back, giving them a 30-foot flying speed. The wings look different based on the affinity you choose for your PC’s Divine Magic feature; they’ll get eagle wings for good or law, bat wings for evil or chaos, and dragonfly wings for neutrality. You can dismiss them as a bonus action at any time, and the wings will disappear if your PC dies or becomes incapacitated. Getting a fly speed is incredibly useful at any level—and the fact that there’s no set duration for these wings makes them super powerful and dependable.
Unearthly Recovery As a bonus action, you can choose to have your Divine Soul PC heal themselves without using a spell, regaining a number of hit points equal to half their hit point maximum. This ability can be triggered only when your PC has fewer than half of their hit points remaining—and once the feature is used, it can’t be used again until after a long rest. Although spells like Heal can probably restore even more hit points than this feature, it’s still very helpful to have a healing ability that isn’t reliant on spell slots. Hit points determine your PC's health and how many hits they can take before falling unconscious, so the ability to recover hit points can be super important!
How to Build a Divine Soul Sorcerer
Ability scores The Divine Soul’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (CHA)—so it should be their highest stat. Constitution should be the second-highest since it’s needed to maintain concentration on spells. In the middle, give your PC a fair Dexterity (DEX) score to bump up their armor class. Intelligence (INT) and Wisdom (WIS) aren’t necessary, but a little of either can be helpful—while Strength (STR), which isn’t needed at all, can be the lowest stat. Example (Standard Array): STR 8, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 15 Example (Manual Rolled): STR 10, DEX 14, CON 15, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA 16 Example (Point Buy): STR 8, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 15
Races There’s generally no “wrong” choice of racial bloodline for your Divine Soul PC or any character for that matter—it’s all about what kind of character you’re excited to play! Still, if you’re looking to maximize your PC’s effectiveness as a Divine Soul, there are a few racial bloodline choices that might fit this subclass best. These include: Elf. Elves get extra innate spells, advantage against charm spells, and immunity to magical sleep, making them naturally suited to the sorcerer class. Dragonborn. Dragonborns get a bonus to their Charisma ability score, which is helpful for sorcerers. Fairy. Fairies have innate fey magic, which can expand your overall spell list—also keep in mind they can’t fly while wearing heavy armor (which isn’t necessarily a problem for sorcerers). Half-elf. Half-elves get a bonus to their Charisma ability score in addition to advantage against charm spells and immunity to magical sleep. Human. Variant humans can pick up an extra feat at level one, making them a versatile choice for any class. Tiefling. Tieflings get a bonus to Charisma and have innate spells based on their fiendish heritage, as well as fire resistance. Yuan-ti. The yuan-ti’s poison and magic resistance can make sorcerer PCs a little more durable.
Feats Feats are optional abilities you can give your PC periodically when they level up. They can grant anything from additional spells and combat maneuvers to ability score increases—and several are especially helpful for Divine Soul sorcerers. Consider selecting the following feats for your Divine Soul: Spell Sniper doubles your attack range for spells, ignores up to three-quarters cover, and gives you a cantrip from another class’s spell list. Elemental Adept lets you ignore enemy resistances to a specific damage type (acid, lightning, fire, cold, or thunder) and deal extra damage. War Caster gives you advantage on Constitution checks to maintain concentration on spells and lets you cast spells when making opportunity attacks. Crossbow Expert cancels out disadvantage on ranged attack rolls against creatures less than 5 feet away (including spell attacks).
Weapons & armor Divine Soul sorcerers aren’t automatically proficient with any armor—so the best defense for them is a decent Dexterity score and a fair amount of distance between them and any enemies. Sorcerers tend to stay away from the front lines of a fight and cast spells from the back! Similarly, spells are their best weapons, although they’re proficient with a few physical weapons, too. Sorcerers are proficient with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows. Although you’ll probably use spells during most of your sorcerer’s turns in combat, it doesn’t hurt to keep a dagger and a ranged weapon like a sling or crossbow with them as well.
Spells Since Divine Souls have access to both the sorcerer and cleric spell lists, you’ll have a ton of options to sort through when it’s time to pick your PC’s spells! And, while ultimately, your choice comes down to which spells you like best and want your PC to have (either for utility or flavor), a few spells are considered especially effective for Divine Souls: Cantrips: Firebolt, Friends, Mage Hand, Message, Poison Spray (Sorcerer), and Spare the Dying (Cleric) 1st-level: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Witch Bolt, Disguise Self (Sorcerer), Bane, Bless, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, and Shield of Faith (Cleric) 2nd-level: Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Misty Step, Suggestion (Sorcerer), Hold Person, and Lesser Restoration (Cleric) 3rd-level: Blink, Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fireball (Sorcerer), Beacon of Hope, Revivify, Mass Healing Word, and Spirit Guardians (Cleric) 4th-level: Banishment, Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility, and Polymorph (Sorcerer) 5th-level: Cone of Cold, Dominate Person, Hold Monster (Sorcerer), Greater Restoration, and Mass Cure Wounds (Cleric) 6th-level: Chain Lightning, Circle of Death, Mass Suggestion (Sorcerer), Heal, and Harm (Cleric) 7th-level: Finger of Death (Sorcerer), Resurrection, and Fire Storm (Cleric) 8th-level: Dominate Monster, Power Word Stun (Sorcerer), and Antimagic Field (Cleric) 9th-level: Meteor Storm, Power Word Kill, Wish (Sorcerer), Mass Heal, and True Resurrection (Cleric)
Metamagic Metamagic is a sorcerer class feature allowing you to alter your sorcerer’s spells, making them more flexible and versatile in battle. There are several different Metamagic options to choose from, but the following might be particularly appealing for your Divine Soul: Quickened Spell. This option allows you to cast a spell as a bonus action, meaning you can cast more spells per turn overall. Careful Spell. A careful spell is ideal when using area-of-effect spells like Cone of Cold because it automatically enables allies to succeed in their saves against your spells. Heightened Spell. This option imposes disadvantage on creatures that have to save against your spells, making them more susceptible.
Multiclassing Multiclassing means taking levels in an additional class later on—but Divine Soul already combines the spell lists of two classes, making it a super versatile choice even if you never multiclass. Plus, multiclassing for several levels can restrict your access to high-level spells; taking 1 to 3 levels of a different class is a safe choice when you want to multiclass but also want a level 9 spell slot. Ideally, try multiclassing into a class that’ll give your sorcerer armor proficiency, making them a little more durable on the battlefield. For example, you could multiclass into cleric (since you already have cleric spells) or paladin (another type of holy warrior), both of which come with armor. You could also multiclass into warlock (specifically the Hexblade subclass) for proficiency in medium armor and extra damage on weapon attacks.
Is Divine Soul a good subclass?
Yes, Divine Soul is an extremely potent sorcerer subclass. As mentioned above, Divine Soul is an excellent choice when you want to “soft” multiclass, giving you cleric spells without having to lose out on high-level sorcerer features by multiclassing for real. If you’re considering sorcerer or cleric for your next PC’s class, Divine Soul might just be the best of both worlds! In addition, the spells you get with Divine Soul can make your PC a powerful healer, capable of buffing allies and dealing devastating attacks in combat.
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