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How do we fix the Sorcerer?
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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7370169" data-attributes="member: 20564"><p>There's been a lot of history here on fixing the sorcerer. Just to repeat what I've said before:</p><p></p><p>I don't think the sorcerer belongs in the generic spellcasting class format. The warlock, with a limited amount of invocations but able to do them at will is a bit closer. I'd really like to see sorcerers with a tight magical theme where they have a lot of flexibility but little or nothing outside of it.</p><p></p><p>Simple example would be a sorcerer of an element - water can hit with blasts or pseudopods, provide difficult terrain, wrap like an armor, drown someone, make people float or not, help/hinder swimmers and boats. Fire could burn those close or who attack you, but isn't really an armor. It could burn, doing more damage then water. Neither could make you fly or teleport, while Air might be able to. Air could probably wrap you in a protective wind against ranged attacks, push people around (and do some damage), pull the air from creatures and fires, send spoken messages, drop flyers, provide silence, etc. A sorcerer with control over cloth (hey, when was that an element?!) could make it into an armor, gliding wings, have a scarf that attacks with reach, make someone's clothes contract or fight them. A sorcerer specializing in transmutation could modify themselves, allies, and foes.</p><p></p><p>So I'd like to see them being many tricks around a single theme.</p><p></p><p>How to mechanically represent this in 5e? The most traditional 5e route would be to scrap the sorcerer spell list, and instead give out a list depending on the theme. I could see having access to all of the spells on the list, having spells known off the list, or a hybrid where there are key spells every sorcerer knows but each also gets a few specialties. For example maybe every air sorcerer can fly, but few can provide bubbles of silence.</p><p></p><p>Another way that still stays with the concept of the pre-built spells would be to trade out "spells known" for a lesser number of "spell chains known". A spell chain would be a collection of related spells that you pretend are upcasts/"side-casts" of the same spell.</p><p></p><p>For example disguise self, alter self, enhance ability, polymorph, true polymorph, and the like would be one spell chain. Sure Alter Self can duplicate Disguise Self - but it requires concentration as well as the higher level slot.</p><p></p><p>As for what resource to use to cast ... I'm torn. I want sorcerers to be able to be really flexible within their limits. But playtests we did at various levels with the DMG spell point solution had that casters were using a lot more high level slots then the normal spell slot solution allowed because they were more effective, and then running dry quickly leading to 5 minute adventuring days.</p><p></p><p>If the sorcerer is pulling the power out of them self, maybe a short-rest-recharge spell points solution addresses the thematically while also avoiding too heavy of a focus on the highest level slots, and the repercussions of that in terms of 5 minute adventuring days.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7370169, member: 20564"] There's been a lot of history here on fixing the sorcerer. Just to repeat what I've said before: I don't think the sorcerer belongs in the generic spellcasting class format. The warlock, with a limited amount of invocations but able to do them at will is a bit closer. I'd really like to see sorcerers with a tight magical theme where they have a lot of flexibility but little or nothing outside of it. Simple example would be a sorcerer of an element - water can hit with blasts or pseudopods, provide difficult terrain, wrap like an armor, drown someone, make people float or not, help/hinder swimmers and boats. Fire could burn those close or who attack you, but isn't really an armor. It could burn, doing more damage then water. Neither could make you fly or teleport, while Air might be able to. Air could probably wrap you in a protective wind against ranged attacks, push people around (and do some damage), pull the air from creatures and fires, send spoken messages, drop flyers, provide silence, etc. A sorcerer with control over cloth (hey, when was that an element?!) could make it into an armor, gliding wings, have a scarf that attacks with reach, make someone's clothes contract or fight them. A sorcerer specializing in transmutation could modify themselves, allies, and foes. So I'd like to see them being many tricks around a single theme. How to mechanically represent this in 5e? The most traditional 5e route would be to scrap the sorcerer spell list, and instead give out a list depending on the theme. I could see having access to all of the spells on the list, having spells known off the list, or a hybrid where there are key spells every sorcerer knows but each also gets a few specialties. For example maybe every air sorcerer can fly, but few can provide bubbles of silence. Another way that still stays with the concept of the pre-built spells would be to trade out "spells known" for a lesser number of "spell chains known". A spell chain would be a collection of related spells that you pretend are upcasts/"side-casts" of the same spell. For example disguise self, alter self, enhance ability, polymorph, true polymorph, and the like would be one spell chain. Sure Alter Self can duplicate Disguise Self - but it requires concentration as well as the higher level slot. As for what resource to use to cast ... I'm torn. I want sorcerers to be able to be really flexible within their limits. But playtests we did at various levels with the DMG spell point solution had that casters were using a lot more high level slots then the normal spell slot solution allowed because they were more effective, and then running dry quickly leading to 5 minute adventuring days. If the sorcerer is pulling the power out of them self, maybe a short-rest-recharge spell points solution addresses the thematically while also avoiding too heavy of a focus on the highest level slots, and the repercussions of that in terms of 5 minute adventuring days. [/QUOTE]
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