D&D 5E Are Sorcerers' and Warlocks' Spell Slots Backwards???

[DND_Reborn]

Had a discussion with a player today which got me thinking about the narrative behind certain mechanics considering sorcerers and warlocks and their spell slots.

Sorcerers are supposed to be innate casters, with their magic coming from within, and get slots on a long rest.
Warlocks get fewer spell slots but they are more powerful, and get them when the finish a short or long rest.

So, here's the issue: shouldn't sorcerers get spells slot like warlocks, recovering them on a short or long rest, when their bodies can "recharge"?
And if not, what is the reason why Warlocks get their slots on a short rest?

If you think Warlocks get their slots on a short rest because they in touch with the patron, then why can't Clerics get slots during a short rest by praying to their god?

We discussed all this at length, but I am curious if anyone has other thoughts to add.

 

[commandercrud]

5e game design has nothing to do with making sense.

 

[DND_Reborn]

5e game design has nothing to do with making sense.

Smacks head with forehand! What WAS I thinking....

 

[billd91]

It makes for a more interesting contrast with the other casters? Specifically for a warlock, they don't play all that strongly like typical D&D casters with a bunch of slots to expend to get their work done. Their main combat abilities, for example, are rooted in cantrips and weapons and other things that don't require the same kind of rest mechanism. So I think, in part, the designers may have thought it would be interesting to significantly curtail what a warlock can cast at any one time but put him on the same rest schedule as a more martial character - the short rest.
And I think in a group with regular casters (sorcerers, clerics, wizards, druids), the warlock will come away with a significantly different feel to him. And I think that's a good thing.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Yes, you're correct. And it goes further than that. Warlocks also have always-on magical powers in form of invocations. Certainly this also is a feature more befitting an innately magical being? The truth is that sorcerer rules are lacklustre and warlocks have the mechanics sorcerers should have.

 

[DND_Reborn]

In quick reply to the responses, I think Warlocks would be more interesting with just Eldritch Invocations and no spells.

And move the short rest recovery with few slots to Sorcerers.

 

[jgsugden]

I think this depends upon your ide of the mechanics of how these abilities work. In the 5E era,

Clerics, Wizards, Druids, Rangers, Paladins, Sorcerers, Bards, Artificers, etc... all get their power delivered to them through the Magic Weave. Arcanists gather the background magic and twist it, Divine Casters have it delivered, and Nature spellcasters follow the weave back through the planes to the sources of the weave - the positive and negative energy plane and then tap the source.

Warlocks get their magic handed to them as part of an agreement. It comes outside the weave and arrives in small bundles (not literal) of magic (generally).

In my game, the fiction lines up well with the mechanics.

 

[IndigoTraveler]

Because a Warlock's power is "on loan" from the Patron. They only get the little bit they are allowed by their Patron as a reminder of who holds the leash most of the time. Also the Warlock's major big deal is their SLAs via Eldritch Invocations. Since a Sorcerer has no such constraints, fluff wise, they just sheer willpower their spell slots into existence because that is how Sorcerers do it.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Clerics, Wizards, Druids, Rangers, Paladins, Sorcerers, Bards, Artificers, etc... all get their power delivered to them through the Magic Weave. Arcanists gather the background magic and twist it, Divine Casters have it delivered, and Nature spellcasters follow the weave back through the planes to the sources of the weave - the positive and negative energy plane and then tap the source.

So, your narrative is Sorcerers channel the Magic Weave through themselves to cast spells?

Warlocks get their magic handed to them as part of an agreement. It comes outside the weave and arrives in small bundles (not literal) of magic (generally).

Because a Warlock's power is "on loan" from the Patron. They only get the little bit they are allowed by their Patron as a reminder of who holds the leash most of the time

Them WHY (other than because it is a different mechanic, because this is about narrative justification) do warlocks get spells on a short rest?

I just think it makes more sense (narratively) to give that concept to sorcerers who "rest" to allow them to channel more magic through themselves...

But, please, continue! I like hearing others' views on the topic.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

In quick reply to the responses, I think Warlocks would be more interesting with just Eldritch Invocations and no spells.

And move the short rest recovery with few slots to Sorcerers.

I think they shouldn't be two separate classes. Make one combined class mostly using warlock mechanics, but with more build flexibility to spec away from spamming eldritch blast. This class can represent any character imbued with innate magical power, regardless of whether this power was received from a patron, via birth right or by other means.