D&D 5E (2014) D&D Next Q&A 11/22/13

[ForeverSlayer]

Rodney talks about the sorcerer, armor, and how similar effects like Stealth and Invisibility compare.

Here.

 

[Kinak]

I'm sad that the concepts from the old playtest sorcerer don't seem to be coming back. It was the only class out of this whole process that really excited me.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[variant]

I really like the idea of wild magic sorcerer. I hope all the sorcerer options are as varied. I am hoping for an ancient hero or immortal ancestor one as well.

 

[TwoSix]

Bummed not to see explicit confirmation of the transforming sorcerer being retained. I'll hold out hope that the option will be available somewhere. The idea of a role-changing class, expending resources to change from being a blaster to a melee character, is too exciting to just leave in the trash bin.

On the other hand, I'm quite pleased at the explanation of complementary effects. If they can keep their design disciplined enough to ensure that model is propagated through all the spell effects, my opinion of Next will go up several notches.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I hope the number of Sorcerer power sources are closer to the number that Pathfinder has, rather than comparatively small amount that 4e had.

 

[Greg K]

For my own preferences, the news about the sorcerer is good. I don't know that my overall impression of Next will change when the final game is released, but this is the first thing that makes me want to give it a look.
My preferred version of the sorcerer was 3e with a variant that received Eschew Materials at first level and Metamagic feats at levels 5,10,15,20. I hope they cover Abyssal, Celestial, Dragon, Fey, Infernal and something equivalent to Pathfinder's Arcane and Destined.
What I don't want is for the designers to force claws, transformations, Breath Weapons, Rays etc. on to origins as they level as was done with the majority of Pathfinder's Bloodlines. It is the source of my strong dislike for the Pathfinder sorcerer. I would have preferred that they had been handled as in Pathfinder as 3e heritage feats.

As for the playtest version of the sorcerer, I would not mind if they brought it back under a different name. To me, it was interesting, but it was not a sorcerer.

 

[TwoSix]

As for the playtest version of the sorcerer, I would not mind if they brought it back under a different name. To me, it was interesting, but it was not a sorcerer.

That would be fine for me. I think that the concept of "Arcane Savant" and "Supernatural Origins" is a strong enough archetypal difference that it would be worthwhile to explore with different class builds or different classes entirely. I think the concepts embedded in the Arcane and Destined PF bloodlines (two of my favorite, BTW) would work well either as a Wizard subclass or its own Sorcerer class. The playtest sorcerer would be a better fit for concepts like the Draconic or Abyssal Sorcerer, I think, and could easily merit its own class. "As he channels more and more spell energy, his dark nature comes to the fore" is a great concept that doesn't quite mesh with any of the other existing classes.

 

[I'm A Banana]

"As he channels more and more spell energy, his dark nature comes to the fore" is a great concept that doesn't quite mesh with any of the other existing classes.

Honestly, reminds me of the 3e Binder.

Which means it might make a good Warlock pact. There's the book, the chain, the blade. There's also the...soul? The body? The forgotten Vestiges of powerful creatures want to experience the world for a moment longer, and you can use their powers, but as you do, they manifest through you.

 

[Greg K]

delete post

 

[Greg K]

The playtest sorcerer would be a better fit for concepts like the Draconic or Abyssal Sorcerer, I think, and could easily merit its own class. "As he channels more and more spell energy, his dark nature comes to the fore" is a great concept that doesn't quite mesh with any of the other existing classes.

Well for myself, in the books and movies that influenced me, origin (e.g. infernal, draconic) did not result in transformations. They were the reason for the innate spell casting and granted other abilities (e.g. flash glowing/draconic eyes or, when angry, the sound of thunder both of which intimidate, can change appearance), but transforming into the parent creature type was not one of them.