Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana Sorcerers: Favored Souls, Phoenix Sorcery, Sea Sorcery, & Stone Sorcery

Favored Soul (again), Phoenix Sorcery, Sea Sorcery, Earth Sorcery.

Could this be the start of Elementalists?

 

[Sir Brennen]

I'm currently playing a sorcerer, and I do think the spell selection (and spells known) could be a bit better.

I'm also planning on running a campaign, and contemplating doing some house ruling based on the original Storm Sorcerer: Add a new feature called "Bloodline Spells". This feature would include a list of spells for each bloodline, identical in structure to Cleric Domain spells. The spells are known by all sorcerers of that bloodline, and do not count against their normal Spells Known limit. (Dragon bloodlines might even have separate lists for each dragon type).

Favored Souls would then select an actual Clerical Domain for their Bloodline spells, instead of granting access to all clerical spells. Though I might still allow up to half their regular Spells Known (rounded down) to come from the Cleric's list. It might also be interesting to only allow cleric spells for the FS, and disallow the normal sorcerer spell list.

I wonder if they removed the FS's wings because there's already a couple of sorcerer sub-classes with "And now you can fly!" as a feature (Dragon and now Phoenix).

Otherwise, I really like the other sub-classes in this article. They'll work well into an elemental themed game I'm planning.

Does anyone have a link or quote to why/when the Storm Sorcerer had its bonus spells removed?

 

[Sir Brennen]

My thoughts
To make it more in line with the last version this is what I would do:

Remove Favored by the gods, add simple (maybe martial) weapons and light and medium armor (no shields). Blessed Countenance could turn back to Extra Attack or something that supports the use of GFB or BB, and Divine purity back to wings. I would not mind having two versions of a Divine Sorcerer. The Favored Soul from this UA with another name and an actual Favored Soul with melee capabilities.

The melee version you describe sounds more like an "angelic" bloodline, which could exist alongside the "divine spark" Favored Soul.

 

[Leatherhead]

Firstly, I want to state I am nonplussed by the effective skipping of the Rogue. I haven't really heard many complaints about them, and they seem to be the most popular class over all, and have a few splat subclasses, so I guess they are in a good enough spot to begin with. But really, the only thing they thought up for them in this cycle was a different flavor of an idea they came up with for Fighters first?


Favored Soul
Return of the godchild.

Divine Magic
Well, it's not adding more spells to the Sorcerer like Chosen of the Gods did. But it draws from a much larger pool than a single domain does, so that's a trade-off. I've never been a fan of how the Sorcerer has an arbitrarily smaller spell list than the Wizard to pick from to begin with, so anything that alleviates that problem while keeping them different is OK. I do wish they kept the Domain spell aspect in some fashion though, there were a few fun spells you could have could have poached from the Druid spell list that way (like Faerie Fire). Another potential benefit to this method is you can select Cleric Cantrips, Sacred Flame, in particular, is a very nice addition to the Sorcerers damage array.
Considering the other options at this level, it's much more interesting than talking to things, gaining proficiency in armor/weapons, and more controlled than Wild Magic. (Though I am a fan of the Wild Mage)

Supernatural Resilience
Half as powerful as the Draconic Variant. HOWEVER, the Favored Soul gets another level 1 ability to make up for that.

Favored by the Gods
Once per rest you can add 2d4 to an attack roll or saving throw. This strikes me as far more reliable than Tides of Chaos, unless your DM is particularly generous with allowing Wild Magic. The two features combined place you halfway in-between the two PHB Origins. However the two combined still aren't as fun as being able to fly in short bursts.

Blessed Countenance
Expertise in Charisma checks. Also you gain an otherworldly appearance of angelic youth, beauty, kindness, or wrath. Which is sure to draw in the people who don't like the idea of growing scales on their character. Relatively weak compared to other options at this level, perhaps to make up for the extra power at level 1.

Divine Purity
What, no wings? I guess immunity to poison and disease is useful, but it's passive and boring compared to other origins.

Unearthly Recovery
Once per long rest you can heal up 101 hps, but only if you are below half health (and also have 20 con, which you may not have) This is a large number to be sure, you are more likely to get 81 hp out of it if you don't pump con at every opportunity. The large number is supposed to make you think the capstone is impressively dramatic, but I think I would rather have Second Wind in any game where short rests are normally paced out. Also, not quite as fun as exploding dice or the ability to fly.

Thoughts:
Heavily front loaded, I suppose the expended spell options are intended to make up for the boring abilities that it gets later on. Silence + Subtle Spell is an awesome combo to be sure. And it starts off as halfway in between the other PHB options, making it fill the role of the "Normal Sorcerer" that people have been clamoring for.

Really though, this should get flying, somewhere.

Phoenix Sorcery
The Pyromancer Pyromaniac who isn't also a Dragon. Not to be confused with the order from Harry Potter.

Ignite
This is basically a Bar Trick. But you could combine it with the Control Flames cantrip for RP I guess.

Mantle of Flame
Once per long rest you get a bunch of benefits that other Origins get passively at later levels. This should really happen more often, especially at later levels. Upgrading to once a short rest would be a good place to start with, with an at-will somewhere around t3.

Phoenix Spark
Saves you from going down once per long rest, also dealing damage to targets around you. This is way more flashy and impressive Unearthly Recovery. Stacks with Mantle of Flame, but also eats it, which just reinforces what I said earlier about making that ability happen more often.

Nourishing Fire
You heal yourself passively whenever you cast a spell that can deal fire damage. Not just spells that deal fire damage like Fire Ball, but also spells like Investiture of Flame, and potentially Absorb Elements. This can get really ridiculous once you remember that Sorcerers can get extra spells via their spell points.

Form of the Phoenix
A much needed upgrade to Mantle of Flame, which includes flight (kind of the sorcerers thing~)but Mantle of Flame still has the problem of being tied to a long rest.

Thoughts:
Mantle of Flame needs to happen more often. Nourishing Fire has the potential to be a problem. Other than those two problems, and the potential for a Player to be a repeat Arsonist (which they would have done without this Origin, to be fair), it's solid and safe.

Sea Sorcery
I wish this had come out before I started my Pirate themed adventure. As such, we have a Kenku who looks like a Parrot Storm Sorcerer who would have loved to have this option.

Soul of the Sea
Swim speed and breathing underwater. These abilities are notably common racial adaptations in 5e, but it's always good to have a class based source for people who want to play other races.

Curse of the Sea
Makes your cantrips more powerful at level 1. This, is unique, warlocks have to wait till level 2, and other classes have to wait until level 6ish until their cantrips get beefier. Technically it makes your cantrips provide a rider that ends when you hit the target with a non-cantrip, but you can just spam cantrips over and over to make the curse stick. However! this will necessitate either reprinting some cantrips or printing new cantrips in whatever book this Origin ends up in. In the PHB, only Ray of Frost and Shocking Grasp exploit the curse, while Gust, Frostbite, and Lighting Lure are the splat spells that would benefit from this.

Watery Defense
Resistance to fire damage (nice). And once per rest as a reaction you can negate some damage from weapons and run away from whatever hit you. This is really nice, it's like having shield on tap, without expending a spell slot.

Shifting Form
An interesting mobility option that allows you to pass through small gaps, and grants resistance to damage from OAs. It stacks completely with Watery Defense, allowing for the tactic of drawing a single OA from a weak enemy, resting it, taking less damage on top of that, getting some bonus movement, then worming your way past the more dangerous enemies without drawing another OA, and and finally dashing away if need be. This sorcerer is definitely one slippery fellow.

Water Soul
You gain immunity to extra crit damage, resistance to p/s/b damage (even magical weapons), and no longer have to eat drink or sleep. It's both fun and useful.

Thoughts
This Sorcerer doesn't fly, but it has suitably interesting alternatives to flight. This is my favorite out of the new options that this UA provides.

Stone Sorcery
The Dwarf Sorcerer.

Bonus Proficiencies
All weapons and shields, but no armor. Fortunately, you have other abilities to make up for the armor.

Metal Magic
A bunch of Paladin Buffs and Smites, letting you stack as much damage as possible on your melee attacks. An interesting approach, but this class is definitely going to want access to the Various Blade spells from the SCAG. And perhaps Shillelagh if they can get it from a feat or multiclassing.

Stone’s Durability
It's Draconic Resilience, combined with Unarmored Defense from the Barbarian. Also you can turn it off with an action if you don't want to look like a rock, which should appease player vanity.

Stone Aegis
Swordmage. Strait up Swordmage. Relatively strange option for the compatibly fragile Sorcerer chassis, even if it is beefed up to the durability of a Cleric. Also has a relatively complicated calculation for damage reduction that results in a piddling amount of hp saved for some reason, just going with CHA Mod+1 would have resulted in less of a headache and similar math. The Real draw here is extra damage on a reaction attack. Of note: It doesn't stack with the War Caster feat, something the Stone Sorcerer is going to want to pick up regardless. Also serves as an interesting, if dangerous, mobility option on a class that is known for them.

Stone’s Edge
Even more Extra Damage on your Spell attacks. Granted, it's only 10 damage, but it stacks with the Blade Spells, buff spells, and Smites (which scale with spell slot level) making this subclass deal ludicrous amounts of damage in one strike. Also works on other damage spells should you want to use them.

Earth Master’s Aegis
Extend's Stone Aegis (also a typo was here) to 3 targets, significantly ramping up the chance for you to use a Reaction Attack per turn.

Thoughts:
This is the Swordmage, well as much of a Swordmage you can have without marking. It makes the Rogues, Bladesingers, Blade Pact Warlocks, and Paladins Envious with the weapon prowess. But Barbarians and Fighters will probably just be amused by the mage who thinks they can survive in melee combat. Also it could stand to be renamed into the Steel or Iron Sorcerer.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

Just noticed a problem. If Stone sorcery ever gets released it won't be able to get SCAG cantrips if you're playing by AL as the book where stone sorcery gets released would already be your 2nd book.

This is true. Lacking the extra attack feature the only ways to deal competitive weapon damage are through the SCAG cantrips or through the included smite spells (which will still be inferior to how a paladin can use them since bonus action cast time allows attack action which gives both attacks).

As much as I love the simplicity and elegance of that rule I think it may have to be revised as more and more content becomes available. I don't think it's a huge deal as of right now since these subclasses haven't made it to a hardcover book yet, but it is something worth considering. Perhaps increasing the choices to two books or opening certain books to be used by everyone so that they don't count toward the limit (essentially acting as an extension to the PHB).

 

[Patrick McGill]

Phoenix and Sea both fit in well with my Al-Qadim campaign, he said selfishly. With Storm from earlier being able to fulfill Wind, now we just need Sand!

Sadly the Earth one here doesn't fulfill that well at all. What's this subclass supposed to even be? A stone paladin? Not a fan.

Favored Soul is just a meh concept to me. Clerics and Paladins are already 'favored', what makes these jabronis special? Feels like a concept in search of a need, not the other way around. Overall lukewarm to it, though it's got no major crunch problems.

 

[Vymair]

I really like the Sea Sorcerer, packed with good flavor and interesting but thematic special abilities.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Just noticed a problem. If Stone sorcery ever gets released it won't be able to get SCAG cantrips if you're playing by AL as the book where stone sorcery gets released would already be your 2nd book.

I think this is another proof that the final product wont be Earth-themed, unless they reprint all the elemental spells from EE when they release the book with the elementalists sorcerer. It would be strange to have a Earth elementalist unable to use stone spell until his 4th level spells (stoneskin). The sorcerer's spell list in the PHB only offers limited option for elemental spells unless you focus on fire and maybe lightning. Druids and, to a lesser extent, mages make better elemental master. In the end its strange to have a elementalist unable to conjure elementals from his favorite element or defend himself against it.

I see one elemental niche a sorcerer origin could fill: not the master, but the generalist. After all the sorcerer is supposed to use his metamagic to break the rules of the game at a cost. I think we could use a Spellstorm Sorcerer, an origin that can change the elemental energy of a spell by spending sorcery point. An origin that can use Conjure Elemental in exchange of Sorcery point and gain Metamagic cost reduction with a favored element.

 

[Leatherhead]

Just noticed a problem. If Stone sorcery ever gets released it won't be able to get SCAG cantrips if you're playing by AL as the book where stone sorcery gets released would already be your 2nd book.

They reprinted the Goliath in multiple books. I see no reason why they wouldn't reprint the SCAG cantrips or EEPG spells in a different book containing these.

 

[Valetudo]

How many classes or subclasses are they gonna give poison and desease immuity? Add in the races that resist poison in the first place.

 

[Blue]

Last time the Ranger options really felt like it was distinctly different, worthy of making a subclass. They played different than the other subclasses, especially the Primeval Guardian.

These don't do well in comparison. They seem like they have some moderate abilities that just rearrange how the bonuses are added, but they don't disrupt the class and change it's playstyle. Favored Soul with Divine Magic is the only one that wows me along those lines. The others, regardless if I like the mechanics or not, leave me feeling "these are inoffensive and vanilla, are they worth the bloat of adding?".

I had hope for Stone Sorcery. All of the smite spells it's adding are concentration so they would change how you normally play a sorc, with some long lasting concentration buff (twinned?)/debuff or ongoing damage spell. But they didn't quite add enough to allow you to reasonable play them as a front-liner. You get a shield and if you aren't using dex you get a CON based mage armor replacement, but you are still quite squishy. Also lots of spell buffs to a melee character like haste are concentration, so you are missing buffing you melee focus with those if you use smites.

If your Stone's Aegis resistance applied to you while you used your Stone's Durability AC, that would go a long way to making it a viable concept. A bonus action smite spell followed by a SCAG cantrip attack, and at 6th you start getting the chance at a reaction attack as well. (Maybe delivering your smite if your main attack failed since they last until a hit.)