Sure, if the Sorcerer had the Dark Sun-esque "Defiler" built into the class, it probably wouldn't rub me the wrong way as much. But it don't, so it does. Now granted... I also know full well that the supposed "cost" of being a Warlock (having made some deal with a powerful but potentially evil creature) usually gets handwaved away and is never actually a narrative issue for many a table and player. But at least the potential backfiring for the pact is written into the class itself, so it's meant to be seen as potential hardship. Without a similar hardship written into the Sorcerer, it just drops my interest completely.
I love the idea from Promethean: the Created were each ''magically infused creation'' (your PC) has a Disquiet.
From the Wiki:
''Disquiet is the name given by Prometheans to the invisible aura they emit which causes humans, animals and even the land itself to reject them. To a Promethean, it feels as if the whole world has renounced them. Disquiet has a deleterious effect on the natural world, and is the chief cause of a Promethean's estrangement from mortals.
Prometheans have various theories about where the Disquiet springs from, but no definite answers. The most promising and believed theory is that it stems from the use of Azoth as an animator; Prometheans, for all of their ability to walk and think, lack a soul, and the Divine Fire serves as a poor substitute at best. The Disquiet is the emanation from that Azoth to remind Prometheans they are not human, and to alert the mortals and nature around them that something is significantly wrong with the being nearby. This effect is magnified whenever the Promethean forms a Wasteland.''
So in a more D&D way, your sorcerer is an error of creation, an error it is trying to fix. Part of you mortal soul is replaced by the soul of a powerful creature/effect. You need to (passively) consume the raw matter of creation only to sustain your soul's existence. Consuming latent magic to substitute the spark of life create an effect that causes an unease in other living creatures.
In my game they have advantage on Intimidation check against living creatures and those creatures make Insight checks at disadvantage.
Wastelands are area of raw magic created by the presence or death of a powerful sorcerer (think localized spellplague)
