D&D General One thing I hate about the Sorcerer

[cbwjm]

One thing I hate about the sorcerer is that they stole the inborn magical talent from the wizard. Now, everyone tends to treat arcane magic as:

1. Inborn, you're a sorcerer
2. Not inborn, don't worry, studdy hard and you can be a wizard.
3. I guess you can have granted power (be a warlock)

The way I see it is that, other than the warlock who is granted it, arcane magic is an inborn talent; sorcerer and wizard are just different ways of accessing that talent. This is why in a campaign setting you still have limited amounts of wizards, you don't have a large amount of people running around with an arcane magic initiate feat because they just don't have that spark for arcane magic.

The sorcerer might learn their magic somewhat randomly, focused around their bloodline. The wizard focuses their magic around their studies. They both have that inborn spark of arcane power, they just learn to harness it differently.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

The "Innate Gift" the Wizard has is having a good Int score and having the interest and patience to pursue magical study.

 

[Tonguez]

You also don't have thousands of people with medical degrees running around performing surgery, yet technically everyone is eligible to go to Medical School.

The problem with Wizards isnt Scorcerers

 

[cbwjm]

You also don't have thousands of people with medical degrees running around performing surgery, yet technically everyone is eligible to go to Medical School.

The problem with Wizards isnt Scorcerers

The problem isn't with wizards, it's with sorcerers.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sorcerers are magical nepo babies. We don't need any other reasons to hate them.

 

[cbwjm]

The "Innate Gift" the Wizard has is having a good Int score and having the interest and patience to pursue magical study.

And in that I disagree, the study allows them to tap that inborn potential, but without it, no amount of study will help.

 

[Mecheon]

The problem isn't with wizards, it's with sorcerers.

Eh, gonna disagree on that. D&D has never really had mechanical support for "You are born with the great and terrifying magic" in early editions, you were always required to be "I have a book of spells that I have obtained from learning" ever since the beginning. The sorcerer just gave the mechanic more legs, it was a completely unsupported mechanic in previous editions.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I prefer Wizards not having the innate spark of magic. I wish Sorcerers leaned into that aspect of their lore more mechanically (something like using Constitution for spellcasting and ignoring verbal/material components). To me, the main lore issue with Sorcerers is when magical ancestry stops being a race (Half-Dragon, Tiefling, Aasimar, etc) and starts becoming a Sorcerous Origin (Draconic Bloodline, Divine Soul, etc).

I prefer Wizardry to be learnable by anyone given enough time and dedication. Anyone can learn to be a brain surgeon or quantum physicist, but not everyone is. The same idea applies to Wizards. Not everyone can pay for the education or wants to dedicate decades to learn basic magic. Bards have more of a lore problem for where their magic comes from than Wizards do.

 

[Stormonu]

Sounds like your a proponent of the likes of Forgotten Realms “chosen”, where only a handful of individuals has that spark in the first place to be lucky enough to draw on magic. Some in FR might have extensive knowledge about magic and theories, but unless they have that spark, they’ll never be able to cast so much as a cantrips.

Somewhat also seen in Harry Potter; a “muggle” will never be able to use magic, even if they spent years studying (or like Filtch, having stunted magical ability that could never be improved - a great candidate for someone who might have the magic initiate feat, but never takes a level in Wizard.

Or, Jedi.

There was a time I agreed with this “specialness” for game reasons, but I’m not so inclined anymore. I’ll leave it at that.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

One thing I hate about the sorcerer is that they stole the inborn magical talent from the wizard. Now, everyone tends to treat arcane magic as:

Since when are Wizards "inborn" magic users who work with intuition and willpower?

The way I see it is that, other than the warlock who is granted it, arcane magic is an inborn talent; sorcerer and wizard are just different ways of accessing that talent.

I mean, that's just...not how D&D has ever worked. Being a Wizard has always been presented as a matter of education alone. Anyone can become one, though a lot of people don't have the faculties to do it well. Sorta like how anyone can become a lawyer...and a lot of folks who maybe shouldn't be lawyers do in fact practice law.

This is why in a campaign setting you still have limited amounts of wizards, you don't have a large amount of people running around with an arcane magic initiate feat because they just don't have that spark for arcane magic.

Is there some reason why that's necessary? It's not like the fact that being a medical doctor makes you an insane amount of money, or how being a lawyer is basically the first stop on becoming a powerful politician, lobbyist, or think-tank type, has made it so there's a sudden flood of absolutely everyone trying to be a medical doctor or a lawyer. No need to reach for a special explanation as to why most folks don't become lawyers. It's difficult, expensive, time-consuming, and you might fall short in the attempt.

(This is why, in my Jewel of the Desert game, I have emphasized that the Waziri order--which is effectively the regional certification organization for wizards, equivalent to the AMA or APA--doesn't just do wizardy stuff. They also curate libraries and museums, finance archaeological expeditions, run professional schools for professional careers like chirurgeon/lawyer/accountant/engineer/etc., and other related academic and professional stuff. Many, many people get a "Waziri education"--only a small portion of them become actual Waziri, because Waziri magic is legitimately difficult. It's equivalent to getting a double major in mathematics and experimental physics, more or less--something most people just don't have the interest or patience to do, particularly because being bad at Waziri magic has a tendency to produce explosions that might be lethal to others but definitely will be lethal to the caster.)