Dagredhel
Explorer
I posted the ideas below in response to Bob Aberton's "New take on sorcerers" thread, and it got me thinking...
"I agree that sorcery is uncomfortably close to wizardry. However, I think most of the rules mechanics work just fine....
...If you want to reinforce the idea that sorcerous talent is inborn, you simply don't allow characters to gain levels in the sorcerer class unless they began play as sorcerers . Alternately, one could offer a selection of feats (perhaps [though not necessarily]available only to beginning characters) that reflect unusual ancestry. These feats might offer some small bonus in their own right, but also allow a character to take sorcerer levels. Examples would include draconic ancestry, elemental ancestry, divine ancestry, fey ancestry, or whatever else seemed appropriate.
Another idea that I think has some merit is that of sorcerous 'knacks'. Acording to this concept, a sorcerer character would have to choose his spells known from a group of spells with a common theme or effect, rather than have the entire wizard's list from which to select. Combining this with the notion of sorcerous ability as the manifestation of a unique heritage, you could have fire sorcerers who are distant (or not so distant) kin to beings from the Elemental Plane of Fire, or dragon sorcerers whose spell selection would reflect the powers of their draconic forebearers, perhaps even specific to dragon type."
I had some subsequent thoughts on the subject:
To balance out the limitation this would impose in terms of spell selection, the sorcerer could gain compensatory abilities in line with their specific lineage. For example, a sorcerer's familiar might reflect the source of their abilities (an elemental familiar for a fire sorcerer, for example.) Additional feats could be made available to a sorcerer that would reflect their 'knack', either as bonus feats, part of a feat chain requiring whatever basic feat gave them access to sorcerer levels initially, or both. Resistance to heat and flame would be suitable to the fire sorcerer, for instance. But I think the most suitable alteration conceptually would be to allow the sorcerer to forgo material foci for her spells.
The Energy Substitution feat could serve as a model for a feat that would allow an elemental sorcerer a wider spell selection by tailoring additional spells (a number equal to their CHA modifier?)to their elemental effect. I can't remember the name offhand, but there is a metamagic feat that unifies all of a caster's spells under a common "special effect"; a feat along similar lines could serve as a way for a sorcerer to incorporate additional spells (again equal to her CHA modifier?) into her selection. Divine or fiendish ancestry would be best modeled by access to divine spells from the clerical list, while fey ancestry might incorporate some spell choices from the druid's list. For each type of sorcerous background, a character might choose two 'knacks' allowing knowledge of a spell at each spell level, the equivalent of a clerical Domain. Each lineage might offer several from which to choose, just as a cleric has the option of choosing Domains according to her patron. A sorcerer would select her spells known from these spells and from those from the Universal School. Learning to cast other spells apart from these would require a feat of the sort previously mentioned, and the sorcerer would still be limited to a certain number of spells known per spell level.
As an afterthought, a witch or warlock-type character might gain their sorcerous powers from a Pact with extraplanar powers, rather than from their bloodline.
So, what do you think?
"I agree that sorcery is uncomfortably close to wizardry. However, I think most of the rules mechanics work just fine....
...If you want to reinforce the idea that sorcerous talent is inborn, you simply don't allow characters to gain levels in the sorcerer class unless they began play as sorcerers . Alternately, one could offer a selection of feats (perhaps [though not necessarily]available only to beginning characters) that reflect unusual ancestry. These feats might offer some small bonus in their own right, but also allow a character to take sorcerer levels. Examples would include draconic ancestry, elemental ancestry, divine ancestry, fey ancestry, or whatever else seemed appropriate.
Another idea that I think has some merit is that of sorcerous 'knacks'. Acording to this concept, a sorcerer character would have to choose his spells known from a group of spells with a common theme or effect, rather than have the entire wizard's list from which to select. Combining this with the notion of sorcerous ability as the manifestation of a unique heritage, you could have fire sorcerers who are distant (or not so distant) kin to beings from the Elemental Plane of Fire, or dragon sorcerers whose spell selection would reflect the powers of their draconic forebearers, perhaps even specific to dragon type."
I had some subsequent thoughts on the subject:
To balance out the limitation this would impose in terms of spell selection, the sorcerer could gain compensatory abilities in line with their specific lineage. For example, a sorcerer's familiar might reflect the source of their abilities (an elemental familiar for a fire sorcerer, for example.) Additional feats could be made available to a sorcerer that would reflect their 'knack', either as bonus feats, part of a feat chain requiring whatever basic feat gave them access to sorcerer levels initially, or both. Resistance to heat and flame would be suitable to the fire sorcerer, for instance. But I think the most suitable alteration conceptually would be to allow the sorcerer to forgo material foci for her spells.
The Energy Substitution feat could serve as a model for a feat that would allow an elemental sorcerer a wider spell selection by tailoring additional spells (a number equal to their CHA modifier?)to their elemental effect. I can't remember the name offhand, but there is a metamagic feat that unifies all of a caster's spells under a common "special effect"; a feat along similar lines could serve as a way for a sorcerer to incorporate additional spells (again equal to her CHA modifier?) into her selection. Divine or fiendish ancestry would be best modeled by access to divine spells from the clerical list, while fey ancestry might incorporate some spell choices from the druid's list. For each type of sorcerous background, a character might choose two 'knacks' allowing knowledge of a spell at each spell level, the equivalent of a clerical Domain. Each lineage might offer several from which to choose, just as a cleric has the option of choosing Domains according to her patron. A sorcerer would select her spells known from these spells and from those from the Universal School. Learning to cast other spells apart from these would require a feat of the sort previously mentioned, and the sorcerer would still be limited to a certain number of spells known per spell level.
As an afterthought, a witch or warlock-type character might gain their sorcerous powers from a Pact with extraplanar powers, rather than from their bloodline.
So, what do you think?
