D&D 5E (2024) Wizard RPs As Sorcerer. Advice?

[Zardnaar]

So yesterday I was running the 2024 Starter.

Level 2 vs Gnolls. Two Gnolls get taken out by sleep then fall unconscious. Theyre adjacent to each other.

Wizard player discussed things with me. Basic incapacitated and unconscious conditions.

Unconscious almost as good as paralyzed. Auto crits. Prone you get advantage within 5'.

Said player was in previous campaign. Saw the sorcerer doing sorcerer things. Crit hit 6d8 damage 92% chance of bouncing

Functionally the same as Sorcerer using innate sorcery. Situational sure.

One hit bounces outright kills two gnolls.

Anyway how any way can you think of to render foes unconscious?

Spells

Sleep
Eyebite

Other
Long rest sleeping.
Reduced to 0 hp.

 

[bedir than]

Said player was in previous campaign. Saw the sorcerer doing sorcerer things. Crit hit 6d8 damage 92% chance of bouncing

Functionally she thimg as Sorcerer using innate sorcery. Situational sure.

Can you rephrase this? What's the issue that came up

 

[Zardnaar]

Can you rephrase this? What's the issue that came up

Nothing I'm asking how many ways can we come up with to KO foes.

 

[Worrgrendel]

Nothing I'm asking how many ways can we come up with to KO foes.

So, two things here.
One, I’m still trying to understand what the thread title has to do with any of the content of your post.
Two, I’m also still not entirely sure what your actual question is.
Are you asking for how many different ways to put 2 or more creatures asleep next to each other so you can auto crit bounce a Chromatic Orb between them?
That has to be the single most uselessly specific white room thought exercise I have ever heard of. To quote Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz, “If I had a nickel for every time that happened to me I’d have 2 nickels. That may not seem like a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice right?”

 

[Zardnaar]

So, two things here.
One, I’m still trying to understand what the thread title has to do with any of the content of your post.
Two, I’m also still not entirely sure what your actual question is.
Are you asking for how many different ways to put 2 or more creatures asleep next to each other so you can auto crit bounce a Chromatic Orb between them?
That has to be the single most uselessly specific white room thought exercise I have ever heard of. To quote Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz, “If I had a nickel for every time that happened to me I’d have 2 nickels. That may not seem like a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice right?”

How many ways can one inflict the unconscious condition apologies.

 

[aco175]

You could just hit them with a sword, maybe with cleave to get both.

It seems that the player was excited to do wizard things but I might tell them that they only get so much spell power before they need to rest and a sword would be just as good.

 

[500 Toads]

When you would reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points with a melee attack, you can instead reduce the creature to 1 Hit Point and give it the Unconscious condition. It then starts a Short Rest, at the end of which that condition ends on it. The condition ends early if the creature regains any Hit Points or if someone takes an action to administer first aid to it, making a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

That's from the current SRD. Note that it specifies melee attack, not melee weapon attack nor melee weapon. As with the 2014 rules, in 2024 it's legal to use certain attack spells non-lethally -- shocking grasp, thorn whip, Bigby's Hand (clenched fist) for instance. These all require doing enough damage to reduce their hit points to 0.

I wouldn't let other spells be upgraded (where it's not explicitly specified) to knock an enemy unconscious just because somebody wants them to or "it'd be cool". Full casters are already incredibly powerful as-is in D&D 5E.

 

[MarkB]

Very odd thread title for the subject matter. People interested in a mechanics discussion on knocking enemies unconscious are unlikely to open it, and people interested in roleplay discussions on how to play one class as another are likely to be disappointed.

 

[BookTenTiger]

To correctly roleplay as Sorcerer, the wizard should offer to drive a rickety truck full of dynamite over an ancient bridge in a storm.

Though this is unlikely to knock anyone unconscious.