D&D (2024) Sorcerers getting Chaos Bolt automatically

[Neonchameleon]

3.5e had a set of flavorful ultra-specialists that were basically sorcerers with a fixed but rather large (but strongly focused) spell list, and with a set of thematic class abilities. They were the Warmage (all the booms), Beguiler (illusions and enchantments, had some thieving stuff going on) and the Dread Necromancer (gradually gaining most of a lich's abilities over the course of 20 levels). I miss those.

This sort of thing is what the Sorcerer could be - and what things like the Aberrant Mind were working towards. (The Beguiler always confused me as to why it was needed when the 3.5 Bard existed). The Dread Necromancer appears to have its successor as the Undead Warlock.

 

[Charlaquin]

I kinda loathe this. It's a real step backwards in terms of thematics. We've had the same problem all edition with warlocks - every warlock uses Eldritch Blast (except those hexblade weirdoes) which does Force damage even if they're, for instance , an undead pact warlock for who necrotic damage would make more sense, or an efreet pact genie sorcerer who should be doing fire damage.

And now they're planning to introduce the same problem, but worse, into sorcerers? Ick ick ick.

You’re assuming chaos bolt (and eldritch blast, for that matter) won’t be modified by subclass, which is not only unfounded, but actually contrary to what has been suggested.

Why would a lawful, orderly Clockwork Soul sorcerer want with Chaos Bolt?

If they don’t want to use it, they don’t have to. But also, it seems that once the sorcerer picks up clockwork soul at 3rd level, they’d have some feature that changes their chaos bolt to be more clockwork-y. Not sure how they’re going to do that, I’ll have to wait and see it in the packet. But conceptually, I like the idea.

 

[Azzy]

They tried to give them unique mechanics. The 5e playtest sorcerer was exactly this.

But all the people who wanted sorcerer to just be 'wizard, but hot' complained. So instead we got poor wizard with metamagic glued on.

Or maybe people just didn't want a caster that turned into a melee class as the day went on. ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[Charlaquin]

Or maybe people just didn't want a caster that turned into a melee class as the day went on. ¯\(ツ)/¯

That was specifically the draconic bloodline. Theoretically other subclasses would have transformed in other ways, if they had stuck with this design direction.

 

[Azzy]

That was specifically the draconic bloodline. Theoretically other subclasses would have transformed in other ways, if they had stuck with this design direction.

Theoretically, but since they led with that it's no surprise the class was panned.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Or maybe people just didn't want a caster that turned into a melee class as the day went on. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Except we already have 'generic arcane caster' class.

We don't have a shapeshifting 'become the monster' class like the playtest sorcerer was. And almost 10 years on, we still don't have anything which can replicate the playtest sorcerer, while we have four arcane casters with 9th level spells.

 

[Argyle King]

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I feel as though chaotic magic was part of the sorcerer during early 5E playtests.

I thought it was a cool idea, but it was cut from later playtests without much explanation about why.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I feel as though chaotic magic was part of the sorcerer during early 5E playtests.

I thought it was a cool idea, but it was cut from later playtests without much explanation about why.

We only got the draconic subclass, and only to lvl 5. Its subclass also gave the class its weapon/armour profs and its hit die. The draconic subclass having all weapons+armour and a d8 hit die.

Will point caster, wasn't a full caster (but wasn't a half caster either). As you spent your will points to cast spells, more and more draconic features and abilities would manifest.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

This thread continues to baffle me. Supposedly (I thought there was a source in the OP, but I no longer see it), all Sorcerers are getting Chaos Bolt. I'm just failing to see how people are leaping from "all Sorcerers are getting Chaos Bolt" to "all Sorcerers will be rolling on the Wild Magic table." I'm just not seeing the connection from Point A to Point B. It seems to me like a lot of people are jumping to conclusions.

I've also seen people equating this to all Warlocks getting Eldritch Blast, but it's a slightly different situation. Eldritch Blast is a Cantrip, while Chaos Bolt is a 1st Level spell. So, either CB will be changed from a spell to a class feature, CB will be dumbed down to cantrip-level potency, or Sorcerers will be limited in casting CB by how spell slot usage. If CB does become a class feature, we don't know whether or not it will resemble the spell that's currently in Xanathar's. They might change it so that the damage will start out as Psychic and then change to reflect the caster's eventual Subclass. Or it might stay as Psychic damage, with the caster rolling only to see if it jumps to another target.

Its just taking what WotC is doing to it logical conclusion. They want randomness to be a key part of the Sorcerers mechanically identity, so this they keep along that goal, then Wild Surge makes sense too because both are manifestations of the chaos of a wild sorcerer's magic.

Its entirely possibly they cap the default wild magic at chaos bolt, but I'm at least trying to be prepared for the possiblity that they don't and wild surge is a core mechanic of the class. If its not well then we just focus on the Chaos bolt issue.

 

[Horwath]

but I'm at least trying to be prepared for the possiblity that they don't and wild surge is a core mechanic of the class. If its not well then we just focus on the Chaos bolt issue.

If that happens, I will just say that sorcerer player always picks from the table result at own discretion.