MoonSong
Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
I liked the UA uses for sorcery points. Too bad they didn't make it to Tasha's
D&D (2024) Can we have the sorcerer fixed now? (Plz, I beg you n_n°)
Gorck
Prince of Dorkness
DISCLAIMER: I have yet to actually play a Sorcerer in 5e and I've never given a single thought to rebalancing them until I read this thread.
With that being said, would it be a crazy idea to just give Sorcerers access to all Metamagic options rather than making them choose which ones they know? That way there would be no need to balance the different Metamagic options, and it might quell the complaints about Sorcerers having too few choices.
With that being said, would it be a crazy idea to just give Sorcerers access to all Metamagic options rather than making them choose which ones they know? That way there would be no need to balance the different Metamagic options, and it might quell the complaints about Sorcerers having too few choices.
Tales and Chronicles
Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
I think an easy way of doing things would be to remove metamagic and instead buff the upcasting of sorcerers in a more generic way:
Unleashed Magic
''When you cast a sorcerer spell using a spell slot of higher level than its usual one per the description of this spell, you can modify the spell in one way of your choice:
Gather Power
''As a bonus action, you can gather your inerrant magic to break from the restriction of conventional magic and become a raw conduit of power. For the remainder of the round, you ignore material components of the spells you cast unless they have a consumed component. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.''
Unleashed Magic
''When you cast a sorcerer spell using a spell slot of higher level than its usual one per the description of this spell, you can modify the spell in one way of your choice:
- If the higher level slot adds damage, you can add an extra damage die to each slot of higher level.
- If the spell target more target when casted with a slot of higher level, you can add one extra target per each slots of higher level.
- If the spell has a duration of a least 1 minute, it doubles its duration.
- If the spell as a radius of a least 10 ft, you can add 5 x your Charisma modifier feet to the radius of the spell."
Gather Power
''As a bonus action, you can gather your inerrant magic to break from the restriction of conventional magic and become a raw conduit of power. For the remainder of the round, you ignore material components of the spells you cast unless they have a consumed component. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.''
So. My 2$ worth on the sorcerer.
Tasha was indeed on the right track. However!!! Most people think about the themed spell lists, maybe the alt. features, and that's it. Oh no. There is more I want from Tasha's. There are two magic items - gemstones/crystals and the blood vial. The blood vial replenishes sorcery points, something we all (?) agree on is needed in the core class. The crystals? They create extra effects whever you spend sorcery points. And THAT is how I want to see the sorcerer go as part of the base class. Spend a point on metamagic, get your spell off and get a second benefit based on your subclass.
The last thing I want from Tasha's? Aberrant Mind as the default subclass. Psionics. People in this thread have talked about just giving up and letting the sorcerer get eaten by the wizard or warlock. Nay! Let the sorcerer pull it's inspiration from the psion! I mean, one third of dragons are psionic too. Both psions and sorcerers are all about the internal magic, be it blood, mind, soul. Go all in.
With Aberrant Mind as the default subclass, this also opens up Dragon Soul to become the gish subclass. Every other caster has one. Sorcerer should too. Turning into a dragon as your gish option sounds good to me.
Tasha was indeed on the right track. However!!! Most people think about the themed spell lists, maybe the alt. features, and that's it. Oh no. There is more I want from Tasha's. There are two magic items - gemstones/crystals and the blood vial. The blood vial replenishes sorcery points, something we all (?) agree on is needed in the core class. The crystals? They create extra effects whever you spend sorcery points. And THAT is how I want to see the sorcerer go as part of the base class. Spend a point on metamagic, get your spell off and get a second benefit based on your subclass.
The last thing I want from Tasha's? Aberrant Mind as the default subclass. Psionics. People in this thread have talked about just giving up and letting the sorcerer get eaten by the wizard or warlock. Nay! Let the sorcerer pull it's inspiration from the psion! I mean, one third of dragons are psionic too. Both psions and sorcerers are all about the internal magic, be it blood, mind, soul. Go all in.
With Aberrant Mind as the default subclass, this also opens up Dragon Soul to become the gish subclass. Every other caster has one. Sorcerer should too. Turning into a dragon as your gish option sounds good to me.
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MoonSong
Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
Is Carrie a witch(sorceress)? Or is she a psion? Is the distinction different enough? Is the distinction worth keeping? Considering we might not get thw psion at all?
MoonSong
Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
There are lots of ideas of what a Witch is. Anyway. Carrie is outright called a sorceress by her mother...
Chaosmancer
Legend
Sorry it took me so long to get here @MoonSong , been a heck of a week.
I agree with most of the stuff said in the thread so far. Tasha's gave us more spells, and the ability to swap out spells of specific schools, which is a great idea. I made it part of my sorcerer re-write (which I've actually put out in the wild a few times)
I agree that making them spell point based and mixing the sorcery points into that directly to give a more pool of magic feel is great. I did that too.
Those alternate uses that should have made it in Tasha's? Got 'em.
But, the one big thing I included (ie stole from other homebrews) that just feels so so needed, is I made better metamagics.
The thing is, metamagic is always touted as part of this, frankly, lie about the difference between sorcerers and wizards. "Wizards know more spells, but sorcerers use their spells in unique ways to solve problems"
This is just flatly false. Not a single metamagic in the official game takes fireball and lets you do anything with it other than fireball. Maybe you fireball faster, or you fireball farther away, or you do a worse version of the wizard's ability to fireball harder or fireball safer for your allies, but it is always nothing but fireball.
But, what about a metamagic that allowed you to flare the fires so that your fireball blinded people? NOW you have altered fireball, now you have made it something else. Metamagic to give poison damage spells the ability to poison people. Another one where you can cast a spell on a single target, and heal them (or yourself) so that you can make your buffs do more. Another one where you spend sorcery points when you cast the spell, and then if you would lose concentration on the spell it "lingers" and doesn't actually dissipate until the end of your next turn.
In other words, make the LIE a REALITY. Sorcerers can take a limited list of spells and do things with them that no one else can. They can cast haste and also increase your natural healing to heal 1d8+mod. They can cause the caustic poison they send against you to linger and attack your bloodstream. They can make magic stickier.
And the most beautiful thing about this, is that while it is harder to balance for a single person, it has a built in cost. Because you've mixed sorcerery points and spell points, you can look at every ability and just ask "is this about as powerful as a 1st level spell? A second level spell?" And adjust the point costs accordingly. I also did my best to give unique metamagics to each sorcerer bloodline.
Shadow Sorcerers can spend points to create zones of darkness wherever they used an AOE, is my favorite example. Though some of them were also just built into the class, like making the Dragon Sorcerer's aura of fear better and giving them the ability to spend points to empower the Dragon Breath spell. Dragon Fear was especially fun, because I made a second, stronger version of it that cost 13 points (the equivalent of a 9th level spell) and the sorcerer is able to ignore immunity to fear and charm. Sounds unbalanced? But it is, again, the same cost I give to casting Wish or Meteor Swarm but it also allows you to terrifying Orcus because you ARE A DRAGON!!! (Dramatic pyrotechnics)
I agree with most of the stuff said in the thread so far. Tasha's gave us more spells, and the ability to swap out spells of specific schools, which is a great idea. I made it part of my sorcerer re-write (which I've actually put out in the wild a few times)
I agree that making them spell point based and mixing the sorcery points into that directly to give a more pool of magic feel is great. I did that too.
Those alternate uses that should have made it in Tasha's? Got 'em.
But, the one big thing I included (ie stole from other homebrews) that just feels so so needed, is I made better metamagics.
The thing is, metamagic is always touted as part of this, frankly, lie about the difference between sorcerers and wizards. "Wizards know more spells, but sorcerers use their spells in unique ways to solve problems"
This is just flatly false. Not a single metamagic in the official game takes fireball and lets you do anything with it other than fireball. Maybe you fireball faster, or you fireball farther away, or you do a worse version of the wizard's ability to fireball harder or fireball safer for your allies, but it is always nothing but fireball.
But, what about a metamagic that allowed you to flare the fires so that your fireball blinded people? NOW you have altered fireball, now you have made it something else. Metamagic to give poison damage spells the ability to poison people. Another one where you can cast a spell on a single target, and heal them (or yourself) so that you can make your buffs do more. Another one where you spend sorcery points when you cast the spell, and then if you would lose concentration on the spell it "lingers" and doesn't actually dissipate until the end of your next turn.
In other words, make the LIE a REALITY. Sorcerers can take a limited list of spells and do things with them that no one else can. They can cast haste and also increase your natural healing to heal 1d8+mod. They can cause the caustic poison they send against you to linger and attack your bloodstream. They can make magic stickier.
And the most beautiful thing about this, is that while it is harder to balance for a single person, it has a built in cost. Because you've mixed sorcerery points and spell points, you can look at every ability and just ask "is this about as powerful as a 1st level spell? A second level spell?" And adjust the point costs accordingly. I also did my best to give unique metamagics to each sorcerer bloodline.
Shadow Sorcerers can spend points to create zones of darkness wherever they used an AOE, is my favorite example. Though some of them were also just built into the class, like making the Dragon Sorcerer's aura of fear better and giving them the ability to spend points to empower the Dragon Breath spell. Dragon Fear was especially fun, because I made a second, stronger version of it that cost 13 points (the equivalent of a 9th level spell) and the sorcerer is able to ignore immunity to fear and charm. Sounds unbalanced? But it is, again, the same cost I give to casting Wish or Meteor Swarm but it also allows you to terrifying Orcus because you ARE A DRAGON!!! (Dramatic pyrotechnics)
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