D&D 5E Why is the Sorceror so limited in spell knowledge?

[Stalker0]

Having reread the sorceror several times, I think that metamagic is a much more powerful ability than people give it credit for.

That said, I still don't understand why sorceror's are so restricted in their spell knowledge.

1) They know a lot less spells at base than a wizard does.
2) They can not learn new spells except when they level, as opposed to a wizard who can add spells to his book.
3) Their spell list is much narrower than the Wizard.
4) They don't get ritual casting as a base.


Now, I can understand some of these, but all of them so overly harsh. Especially number 3, what is wrong with letting the sorc pick all the same spells as a wizard...is that so broken? He still gets to know a fraction of what the wizard does...why limit his choices right out of the box?

 

[Minigiant]

Because they get metamagic?

I guess the idea that they can metamagic spells into things that seem like other spells. So your spells known is multiplied by every metamagic that is affected by them.

 

[Juriel]

Metamagic is the only thing they have going for them, and it seems they overvalued that.

Most of the metamagics are useless, and you're basically left with just the ability to force save-or-suck spells to go through.

Which is a niche, but... I don't think that's too interesting.

 

[Wachunga]

The lack of ritual casting seems kind of silly. Bards even get it...

 

[RangerWickett]

Maybe I'm just completely misreading multiclassing rules, but it seems to me that if you take 1 level of wizard and the rest sorcerer, you can learn a ton of spells (though you can only prepare a few from your spellbook).

The rules on spellbooks say you can only scribe spells that you have spellslots for.

The rules for multiclassed spellcasters say you add all the class levels together and look at that chart.

So a wizard 1/sorcerer 6 gets 4th level spell slots, right? Would he be able to scribe 4th level spells into a spellbook? It seems like that is sorta mitigated by him only being able to prepare a number of wizard spells per day equal to 1 + his Int mod.

 

[tuxgeo]

Disclaimer: All I can do is guess about the reasons for limiting the number of spells known by a Sorcerer, because (although I am interested in the class) I have very little noticeable past experience in ever playing one.

Having said that, however, I want to add this: I think it's intended to be thematic.
I look at it this way: if spell-variety is supposed to make Wizards the most versatile casters, then the simplest way to create a profound and unmistakable difference between the Sorcerer and the Wizard is to make the Sorcerer be far less versatile by that same measure: spell-variety. Essentially, they're making the Sorcerer be the "Not-A-Wizard" class.

It's an interesting way to go. The situation may change with new releases of the class in later optional rulebooks.

 

[Juriel]

Forced specialization for Sorcs would be fine, but they have a more restricted spell list than Wizards (so you can actually only specialize in some things), and what do they get in return for having a much more limited scope (and no freebie rituals)? They cannot get more slots anymore (like 3e did it), because all casters have a unified progression - so they try to sidestep the issue with power points, but then Wizards get arcane recovery, while Sorc has to choose either slots OR metamagics...

Sorcs certainly look much weaker than Wizards. It's like the power points need to be doubled.

 

[MoonSong]

The lack of ritual casting seems kind of silly. Bards even get it...

Rituals imply tradition and teachings, they don't exactly fit the self made sorcerers whose powers are hardcoded in their blood. This is the same problem with named spells (Tasha's, Melf's...)

 

[77IM]

Sorcerers don't have a narrow spell list; it's bigger than the warlock list and is roughly on par with the size of the bard, cleric and druid lists. No, it's wizards who get an expanded spell list, because versatility is part of their schtick.

The thing that bugs me is that the sorcerer gets so few spells known overall, fewer even than the bard. That sucks.

 

[Falling Icicle]

I'm not really bothered by the lack of ritual casting for sorcerers. After all, they use magic purely through instinct and force of will. It makes sense to me that they don't know how to do fancy magical ceremonies that take 10 minutes. I'm also not bothered by the fact that sorcerers can't cast some of the more complicated wizard spells like Leomund's secret chest.

What bothers me is their tiny number of spells known. They only get 15 known spells, just 2 more than the eldritch knight and arcane trickster, which are magic-dabbling subclasses. I think that had they given sorcerers the same spells known progression as the bard, they'd be in much better shape.