Legends & Lore: The Sorcerer class

MoonSong

Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
YES. Brilliant. That standardization indeed makes it a lot easier to strip out and switch up with something that does the same thing in a different way.

I am giddy about this possibility. :)

Yes, it makes me happy, knowing a small list can still be useful if you de facto bring more variety at a time

I can imagine the following

Sorcerer and wizard both have fireball, ten are faced with different situations

Narrow room

Wizard uses lightning , sorcerer sculpts the firebal

Fire resistant monster

Wizard uses a cold spell, sorcerer switches fireball to cold damage

Wizard and aorcerer run out of slots

Wizard uses ritual casting, sorcerer uses points to cast again/a skill
 

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Dausuul

Legend
In fact, one key point of this could be to design every spellcasting system with reference to the same daily slots table (what Mearls mentioned in today's article, i.e. the Sorcerer uses the same daily table as the Wizard). This is the best starting point, because it's a common ground to all spellcasters. Then Wizardry vs Sorcerer vs other subsystems can be balanced together around this table (eventually some subsystem may in fact even grant additional slots), and then be "swappable" between different classes, something that at least several people seemed to like when it was talked about in the second-last playtest package.
I agree, that is almost certainly the goal. Though I suspect "swappable subsystems" are a secondary motivation. The main value of a standardized caster table is that it makes caster multiclassing much, much easier.
 

Ichneumon

First Post
Interesting. I like that the sorcerer gets the same number of spells per day the wizard does. Since they are using the same spells per day table, I believe this also means sorcerers won't be a level behind wizards in learning new spells anymore, which is great. That was always the worst part of playing a sorcerer in 3rd edition.

I really, really hope sorcerers don't use the exact same spell list as wizards again. They say they want to bring the sorcerer out of the wizard's shadow. There's no better way to do that than to give them their own spell list. Obviously, it's fine for them to share some spells with wizards, just as clerics and druids do. But there should be some spells that only they have on their list. If even paladins and rangers can get some of their own unique spells, sorcerers should too!

I'm glad that the bloodline abilities are activated with a special pool of points, rather than being inflicted on a sorcerer automatically as they cast spells (as was the case when we saw them briefly in 2012). I hope that metamagics won't be sorcerer only, though. Wizards, and other casters, should be able to get metamagics by taking feats.

The talk about having to take cover if your party has a wild magic sorcerer troubles me. Wild magic can be fun and all, but the way they did it in 2e, you're just as likely to blow up yourself or your friends as your enemies. It made playing one an exercise in sado-masochism, and made everyone else at the table want to throw hard objects at you for playing such an obnoxious and disruptive character.

I think the sorcerer list will contain spells that are amenable to being repeatedly cast during the day. We're unlikely to see alarm on the sorcerer list, for instance. As for wild magic, I'm hoping they lean in the direction of the wild sorcerer's mishaps being more humorous than destructive.
 

tuxgeo

Adventurer
Reminder about prior: there were Chaos, Cosmic, Dragon, and Storm Sorcerers in 4E. While Mearls did mention the crazy, unpredictable ("percentile dice") variant, he did not also say that there wouldn't be Cosmic and Storm options available as well; nor did he say that there wouldn't be even further options that we haven't yet imagined (or at least mentioned).
 

I'm A Banana

Potassium-Rich
Reminder about prior: there were Chaos, Cosmic, Dragon, and Storm Sorcerers in 4E. While Mearls did mention the crazy, unpredictable ("percentile dice") variant, he did not also say that there wouldn't be Cosmic and Storm options available as well; nor did he say that there wouldn't be even further options that we haven't yet imagined (or at least mentioned).

...a Divine sorcerer who casts spells of healing and light, a scion of the celestial hosts.

...a Blood sorcerer who works in transmutation and viscera, fascinated with the origin of their own magical powers.

...a Nature sorcerer who uses druid-like magic, shape-changing via spells.

...a Mechanical sorcerer who replaces body parts with iron and wood and steam, laced with elaborate arcane runes...

....okay, now I'm just being wacky. :)
 

GX.Sigma

Adventurer
The article tells us nothing that we didn't already know from three months ago. My complaints are the same:
  1. This Sorcerer is much more complex than the Wizard (the Wizard has to manage spell slots; the Sorcerer has to manage the same amount of spell slots plus sorcery points)
  2. How will sorcery points work if you have an alternate casting mechanic that uses spell points instead of slots? Sorcerers just have two types of points?
 

MoonSong

Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
The article tells us nothing that we didn't already know from three months ago. My complaints are the same:
  1. This Sorcerer is much more complex than the Wizard (the Wizard has to manage spell slots; the Sorcerer has to manage the same amount of spell slots plus sorcery points)
  2. How will sorcery points work if you have an alternate casting mechanic that uses spell points instead of slots? Sorcerers just have two types of points?
1. Not really, sorcerers remain entirely tactical, they still lack the strategic dimension of the wizard. Metamagic and extra slots aren't so complex in comparison
2 maybe they become just extra points and options. The module has to take them into account (and this is a reazon they ought to be in core)
 

TarionzCousin

Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
Just having the sorcerer not be a level behind in spells known is good enough for me. I'll withhold judgment on the rest until I see it in print.

So: good news everyone!
 

TwoSix

Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
YES. Brilliant. That standardization indeed makes it a lot easier to strip out and switch up with something that does the same thing in a different way.

I am giddy about this possibility. :)

Wow. Just think, if you extend this table to every class, but let them prepare things other than spells in those slots, you're heading to a real humdinger of a system. :)
 

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