Sorcerer variant- balanced?

[Sadrik]

This is something that I have done in my game to get people to play the sorcerer no one still has chosen one. Is this balanced?

The sorcerer can choose spells from any spell list but can not summon a familiar. They are not considered an arcane caster but an innate/psionic one. Btw they still would suffer arcane spell failure.

Sadrik

 

[Cheiromancer]

So they can cast cure spells and so forth?

I think that might be counterproductive. Players often dislike being the one that has to cure everybody else. Sorcerers won't like the obligation (or felt obligation) to learn a couple of cure spells. This was the reason for spontaneous cures, I think; so clerics could prepare other things.

Have you asked your players why they don't like playing a sorcerer?

 

[Kunimatyu]

One variant I've had more luck with is the following:

At first level, sorcerors gain the Draconic Heritage feat.(from complete arcane)
At 5th/10th/15th/20th, sorcerors can choose a bonus metamagic or Draconic feat.

This goes a long way to making sorcerors interesting/playable.

 

[Stormborn]

There are lots of alt.sorcerer threads on ENworld, and the debate can get very heated.
The sorcerer is often seen as a little weak compared to the wizard, but I think its more playable than any of the other primary spellcasters. One thing you might do is check out Monte Cook's Alt Sorcerer in Complete Book of Eldritch Might. It tweaks it just enough to make the class unique and amps it up just a tiny bit. Not to toot my own horn, but in Dragon 311 and 325 there are Sorcerer Bloodline Feats that you could give a sorcerer for free at appropriate levels.

But, as Cheiromancer said: why don't they want to play a sorcerer? Is it just bad PR or do they have specific complaints?

PS: If you want a really unique sorcerer, check out d20 Past's verison and spread it out to a full 20 level class. I predict if we see a sorcerer in 4th Ed it will look a lot like that.

 

[Sadrik]

I think you guys hit it on the head bad pr, a little under-powered but there is more...

I think conceptually is where the suffer the most though. Their concept and niche that they fill is too close to the wizards. Sure they are the raw power at their finger tips types but still their concept is a little weak. Making them more psionic in origin gives them more genre choices to play with. They always get pigeon holed into: a dude with dragon blood which gives him power. Which is neat but not very expansive and has no real-world comparson like the other classes: wizard=scholar, fighter=soldier, cleric=preist etc.

Playing a wizard is a better genre choice, so you might as well play that and also get the bonus of being on stronger ground mechanically too. So my idea was to boost them mechanically to make up for their limitations in the genre department.

Sadrik

 

[kanithardm]

One variant I've had more luck with is the following:

At first level, sorcerors gain the Draconic Heritage feat.(from complete arcane)
At 5th/10th/15th/20th, sorcerors can choose a bonus metamagic or Draconic feat.

This goes a long way to making sorcerors interesting/playable.

I would only have the bonus feats for Draconic. Be right back, i need to recreate all sorcerer NPCs

 

[Drowbane]

IMC my players rarely touch the arcane spellcasters, cause they die to easy at low lvl (FOOLS!).. but when they do, they tend to choose Sorc over Wiz. They tend to ignore divine casters too. Sigh.

 

[Thanee]

If you want to give them some little extra, I would grant them 4+Int skill points per level and add additional class skills (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes) and Use Magic Device), as well as Eschew Materials as a 1st level bonus feat and a bonus metamagic (or if you like that stuff, draconic) feat every 5th level.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Just let them use metamagic feats with out having extended casting time and they're equal to wizards.

 

[the Lorax]

If you want to give them some little extra, I would grant them 4+Int skill points per level and add additional class skills (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes) and Use Magic Device), as well as Eschew Materials as a 1st level bonus feat and a bonus metamagic (or if you like that stuff, draconic) feat every 5th level.

Bye
Thanee

Yup. I do much the same. 4 skill points. Extra charisma skills. Eschew Materials (enhanced - may not spend gold pieces as items, instead must spend 1/25 the gold value in XPs). No Familair. Bonus feat (any) every 6th (which opens up the feat choices to familiars, spell focus, spell penetration).