#this doesn't even get fully into party comp bc that's where it goes FULL subjective

[utilitycaster]

i think you've talked about this before, so i apologize if you're repeating yourself, but i've only ever played dnd once, so while i've picked up a lot of knowledge from just watching CR, i'm having a bit of trouble fully wrapping my head around why laudna's multiclass is mechanically bad. (storywise i get; combat not so much.) i know it takes longer for her to get access to higher-level spells, and i know that part of the problem is that a lot of the spells she is taking are more based on self-defense than either support casting or direct offense, but i feel like there's something more strategic i'm missing about sorlock being a weak build.

Sure! As with all mechanical posts there is a degree of personal opinions in here which I'll try to call out when I'm getting really into my own preferences, but sorlock really is generally not that great and I think it's mostly popular because of coffeelock posts.

The biggest one is that warlock, specifically, in 5e has a different spellcasting system than all the other casters. You only get a couple spell slots, all of the same level, and they recharge on a short rest. If you're a warlock multiclass, you add these on to your other spells. This is different from how a full caster multiclass works - if Laudna had been a sorcerer/bard, to give an example, she'd actually have the exact same spell slot configuration as Imogen or FCG - she just wouldn't have access to 5th level spells. She could still upcast lower level spells to 5th level, however. But she's not, so instead she has one lone 4th level spell and a glut of low-level spells. It's not even that she's not picking great spells; I'd have to do a deep dive into her spell list but it's decent (just as fighters only need one sword you really do only need like 2-3 good damage spells; it's just cooler if you have more) and warlocks are built to be fighting with cantrips anyway. It's that she's got a jack of all trades/master of none situation going on in a caster-heavy party with another sorcerer no less, so she's not adding a ton.

Sorcerer is one of the most specialized classes, and, in my opinion, by far the weakest of the casters. You get very few spells compared to other classes (tied with warlock; less than bard, of the known-spell casters, and less than what your average druid, cleric, or wizard can typically prep). Your spells include some arcane utility but you don't have the freedom of choice or versatility of a bard (more spells known and imo a better-curated list for a more defined support role) or a wizard (as many spells as you can find and transcribe). Meanwhile, warlocks also don't get a ton of known spells. However, what warlocks do get is invocations which often grant you cool abilities or even at-will low-level spells. Laudna only has 2. A 10th level warlock would have 5. Basically what I'm getting at here is that all multiclassing is a trade-off, but warlock is a class that's really built to be a warlock and with a handful of exceptions (hexadin) doesn't multiclass super well, imo. A dip into warlock of one level for eldritch blast is pretty good; more than that and you start to not really get a full return on your investment unless you're a really strong subclass.

Which is the other thing: her subclasses are vital to her aesthetic but neither of them is particularly strong as a general multiclass. Either would be fine on its own, but Strength of the Grave is a niche case, Eyes of the Dark is fine but with this party casting Darkness is rarely useful (honestly Darkness is a spell that seems cooler than it is), and hound of ill omen looks cool but is mechanically not terribly impressive. Form of Dread is legitimately good, to be fair. Honestly, I think she should have had a single-level dip in one or the other.