D&D 5E Suggest a House Rule for flexible Sorcerer spells known

[Irda Ranger]

I am tempted to say something that no one would dare...

...if you allowed a Sorcerer to completely change her list of known spells at the end of a long rest, you still end up with a Sorcerer that isn't more powerful than a Wizard.

That's already the case.

If all you do is allow Wizards to learn two spells per level from their spellbook and prepare level + INT spells, they will always (on any given day) have more spells prepared than the sorcerer can know AND have even more spells in their spellbook they can swap in. And they have the same number of spell slots (Arcane Recovery and Metamagic conversion aren't that different). And of course allowing Wizards to copy spells from scrolls and other spellbooks (and who doesn't?) only makes the problem worse.

The only advantage that Sorcerers have is Metamagic. And while Quicken Spell and Twin Spell are nice in combat, there isn't much call for them outside of combat. Subtle spell can be useful when stealth is needed, I guess.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I'd just go with adding a list of bonus spells for the sorcerer, with 1 or 2 (probably 2) spells at each of 1/3/5/7/9. They key though is that the spells chosen have to fit tightly with the sorcerer's main theme (almost certainly tied to the sorcerer's origin). This may involve digging through third party resources, or crafting your own spells, because god knows the default spell lists are horribly anemic for themes other than "fire".

The main thing, though, is that sorcerer doesn't need a lot of spells (in terms of percentage of all spells available), but that they should really be full masters of their intrinsic magic. A storm sorcerer shouldn't be just the 2 or 3 best/most useful lightning spells, and then everything else be the standard run of random magic that has nothing to do with storms or lightning/thunder whatsoever. He should know every possible way to twist a lightning bolt, or deafen you with a clap of thunder.

That's different than the types of focuses that wizards have, which are entire schools of magic.

Anyway, you'll probably struggle to find 10 spells that fit the sorcerer's theme, so the remaining spells known can be a secondary theme, or, if you're lazy, the standard list of "best" spells. (If there were a way to ban spells that don't fit the primary and secondary themes, I'd do it.) It won't let a given sorcerer cast every known sorcerer spell, but it will let him cast all the spells related to Theme X that are normally ignored and forgotten, which seems good enough to me.

If I were rebuilding Sorcerer from the ground up, this is how I'd do it. Each bloodline would get 2 bloodline spells per level that cover a wide range of combat, exploration, and utility. They'd scale well. Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, and Counterspell would all be class abilities. Any known spells you pick would be in addition to that.

That's more work than I'm willing to put in right now though.

 

[neogod22]

If I were rebuilding Sorcerer from the ground up, this is how I'd do it. Each bloodline would get 2 bloodline spells per level that cover a wide range of combat, exploration, and utility. They'd scale well. Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, and Counterspell would all be class abilities. Any known spells you pick would be in addition to that.

That's more work than I'm willing to put in right now though.

I don't think any class should get those spells automatically. While those are good spells, they should always be a choice. It may suck, but the only subclass that actually deserve them for free are abjuration wizards.

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[cbwjm]

One house rule I have for sorcerers is that they can choose any spell that fits their theme, a storm sorcerer can pick up call lightning from level 5 if they want to.

For flexibility on spells known, there was a prestige class in Dragonlance called the ambient tempest that allowed the sorcerer to swap out spells 1/day or 1/week or something. If you want to allow a sorcerer to do something similar then allowing them to swap out a spell after a long rest should work. How many spells would be up to you, perhaps just one, perhaps equal to their charisma modifier or even their entire list.

 

[Slit518]

I admit this is a matter of personal taste, but I HATE the very concept of limited spells known. Detest it, and detest classes that are built that way. Every class has a big, beautiful spell list (some more than others, but that's neither here nor there), and a player of a limited-spells-known class will never get to use most of them. It's a waste. It also limits my (as a DM) flexibility, because I can't count on the characters having access to any particular magic when I make my adventures.

So.

I have made house rules that allow for some flexibility in the classes that don't have it per the PHB. Bards have a "song book" that mostly works like a Wizard spellbook (except it's written in a idiosyncratic musical notation, get it?), and they prepare spells with daily music practice. Warlocks can "borrow" 2-3 spells (in addition to their regular Spells Known) from their patron at the end of a long rest, and can cast them using a regular spell slot or Mystic Arcanum slot.

But what about Sorcerers? I'm struggling to think of a house rule that would allow for some flexibility while being consistent with the classes' concept of a natural, intuitive spellcaster. Any ideas? Has anyone implemented a similar rule?

(Please no replies of "Don't do this" or "That isn't what the Sorcerer is". I don't care. I'd rather just nix the class entirely than have a class with limited spells known. Solutions only, please. Thanks.)

Perhaps the Sorcerer can select from the whole overhead of Sorcerer spells. Like the energy for each spell is contained withing the Sorcerer's body.

The only thing the Sorcerer would need is the appropriate components to cast the spell, such as the listed Somatic, Verbal, or Material.

So for example, if your Sorcerer is starting out, and you want to cast a spell for 1st level, you just choose anyone you want and use it.

Of course the Sorcerer is still limited by how many Spell Slots they have, but this opens them up to feel a bite more flexible and a stronger magic presence than a Wizard. The Wizard already has a vastly larger selection of spells, so they have more potential options. But I feel the Sorcerer should just be able to "on the fly" cast within their Spell Slot limitation.

 

[theg0dc0mp13x]

Use two sorcery points at the end of a rest to exchange a spell known for a different one on the list. You cannot regain those points until you complete a long rest.
That's how I would do it.