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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Selvarin" data-source="post: 2010572" data-attributes="member: 6102">Ever since 3e D&D came out I've been puzzled by the sorcerer class--despite its firepower potentialI found it to be more limiting than being a wizard, for obvious reasons (the situation regarding use of metamagic feats, having to wait till 4th level--instead of 3rd--in order to gain access to second-level spells. and so on). In short, it was a class I wanted to utilize but didn't have any idea on how to take it beyond its secondary status. With the release of Forgotten Heroes: Sorcerer, I now see some ways in which to do just that.Forgotten Heroes: Sorcerer is a 60-page pdf by Ben Redmond and Nigel McClelland for Malladin's Gate Press, a company whose interest in the less fashionable classes of the game started with Forgotten Heores: paladin.The artwork is by Steven Cook, Tony Perna, and James Walton, all of which is B&W (aside from thefront cover) and evokes what I've always imagined the sorcerer should be. A few are almost too close tobeing superheroesque, but for the most part they're quite appropriate. The layout is well-done, withfew typographical errors, and it has been separated into three 'books' for better organization.Book One: Paths of the Gifted starts out with the Eldritch Warrior, a new core class that combines theBAB of a cleric (albeit with better choice of weapons) with the spells of a sorcerer. Initially I was against the idea but after further reading I find it's a decent class with its own virtues. Like the fighter class, it gainsbonus feats (which are taken from a list found in Chapter 2 of Book 2) but they're Eldritch Warrior feats andprovide for some interesting possibilities. The eldritch warrior has access to 6th level spells maximum, butthis is more than fair.   There's more to Book One than this, of course. Chapter 2 deals with building subclasses and provides a thorough system for doing so, although I haven't got the hang of it yet. One thing I like about it is the idea of thematic lists and 'spell paths'being used for sorcerer variants. If anything, I wish that the core sorcerer had this in place since it would further differentiate them from wizards. Regardless,it's but part of the means by which you can make the sorcerer your own, to give it flavor (and I mean 'flavor' in the good sense). Chapter 3: Races provides racial adjustments for sorcerer characters. The authors suggest you can apply only the bonus, both the bonus and the suggested penalty, or to apply the penalty to all members of that race and apply the bonus only to sorcerers. (In my opinion, I'd just apply the  bonus and let it go at that.) Then the chapter goes on to deal with Life Path Prestige Classes, and to be honest this was what I saw in the demo PDF that made me want to get the full PDF.  LPPC's are but three levels but this is a good thing because each level provides the character with something worth having (such as elven sorcerers gaining  Eldritch Understanding, which allows one who's taken all three levels to cast spells enhanced by metamagic feats without increasing their casting time to a full round). Overall they're well balanced. Humans are out of luck for they have no LPPC, but that can easily be remedied by creating variant sorcerer classes and linking them to specific regions or cultures. Chapter 4 deals with prestige  classes such as the Attuned Sorcerer (my favorite) , Eldritch Agent, Eldritch Trickster, and others. The Enhanced Sorcerer can take a beating better than some (d10) but their sorcerous talents improve at a slower pace (4 caster levels out of 10). My feeling is that it would've been better off having d8 and gaining +1 CL/every other level, but again that is easily handled. For thosewho use psionics in their campaign, the Mystic mixes sorcery and psionics into a useful combination.In the first chapter of Book 2: Methods of Magic we're introduced to new uses for old skills as well as the new Ritual Casting and Resolve skills. Ritual Casting, as noted in FH:S, was first introduced in Rituals and Relics by White Wolf Studios, and while some will like this there are others who will prefer to keep their 3.0/3.5 D&D skills list as tight as possible by using a similar skill for it instead. Chapter 2 deals with feats for the Eldritch Warrior, many of which allow one to expend a spell slot of level X in order to activate the benefit. This is different from the standard fare, although as yet I haven't had a peek at the Quintessential Sorcerer book by Mongoose Publishing so I cannot be certain that others haven't tried it. In  any case, feats like Eldritch Blade and Energy Bolt give me pause--and in some ways I think the feats provided edge away from the medieval fantasy flavor and almost towards a fantasy superhero image. Sorry, but a few feats give me that impression (and the illustration on page 36 in that same section doesn't help). Chapter 3 deals with 'origin feats', from Divine Origin to Trauma (Awakened), each providing a certain benefit. Although I'd rather not have it as a feat (instead including it as a bonus feat at first level as part of the sorcerer class), the idea  nonetheless has merit and takes things a step further. Chapter 4 and 5 deal with metamagic  feats as well as a new set of feats which relate to an alternative to verbal and somatic components known as Sensory Overflow (more onthat in the next book).Book 3: Powers of the Blood starts off with spell lists (thus tying in with the variant sorcerer rules provided in Book 1). It includes the Functional Sorcerer Spell List, reprinted from the Book of Eldritch Magic II (Malhavoc Press),which is better suited to sorcerers than the sor/wiz list found in the PHB (although by now some alterations will need to be made due to 3.5's release). It goes from there  to thematic lists (such as gypsy lore and warrior-mage) to spell paths (which are more limited) to the very focused Single paths lists.Chapter 2: Overcasting deals with what happens if you use a higher-level spell slot to cast a lower-level spell. The idea of magical  backlash is intriduced, with DCs and damage/effects resulting from a failed check. Chapter 3 deals with the aforementioned Sensory  Overflow, wherby 'a small amount of magical energy is spelled as the sorcerer casts a spell, producing a wide range of sensory effects' (as stated in the book). The effects range from subtle to obvious (such as a foul stench), Harmful effects can be utilized if one hasany of the Sensory Overflow feats provided in Book 2 (such as causing others around you to bleed under certain conditions, etc.). Chapter 4 of Book 2 deals with alternative spellcasting techniques like Artefact Casting (which temporarily drains some magic from a permanent magic item),  or by Ritual Casting, and Chapter 5: Imbued Artefacts discusses a different means for sorcerers (and other spontaneous spellcasters) tocreate magic items. It's a fairly short chapter, only 2 pages, but it ties down the basics well enough to where I may use it in my own campaign.Forgotten Heroes: Sorcerer is meant to be a toolkit but, in my opinion, it's better than that. For a PDF game product it has a lot of value packed inside and will add immeasurably to your campaign if you're in the mood to do something with what some see as a second-class wizard.  Although I dislike using the word 'flavor', it adds that as well as some color to an overlooked class. This is one of the few PDF's I've  purchased that was so useful I wound up printing every single page, just so I  could keep it handy as a  desk reference. Whether you stick  with 3.0 D&D, upgrade to 3.5, or home-brew your D&D, you will want this for your game. Despite some of the artwork looking more 'superhero' than sorcerer, it's only a minor complaint and I give Forgotten Heroes: Sorcerer a 5 out of 5. Can't wait to see how Malladin's Gate will handle the Bard when winter rolls around.</blockquote>

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