Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
The sorcerer shouldn't exist
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 9015901" data-attributes="member: 5435"><p>What is the sorcerer's reason for existence? Does it have enough traction to continue as a class?</p><p></p><p>When introduced in 3rd edition, its only distinction from the wizard was limited spells known and more spell slots. The class was a reaction to Vancian spell preparation, but didn't introduce any new story elements to support the mechanical change. Over time, and through into 5th edition, designers leaned into the "ancestry" theme, proposing sorcerer variants and subclasses that granted new spells or magical powers so the PC could be more like a dragon/demon/angel/aberration/etc. So the PC got some story hooks, but they always came from the customization and not the base class. In 5th edition the design also introduced sorcery points and metamagic for sorcerers--but as with the 3rd edition innovation, this feature is a meta-gaming rule innovation intended to create contrast with wizards, with minimal story or flavor to back it up.</p><p></p><p>On the other side of the fence, the wizard also got new magical powers through "specialization". Initially this provided more spell slots and a boost to learning spells in one of the "academic" schools, but wizard specializations now have much wider variety than the 8 schools, and also grant innate magical powers to the PC. </p><p></p><p>Consider a wizard and a feyblooded sorcerer, both specialized in illusions. The two PCs have different innate powers via their subclasses, but in 5th edition they both prepare spells, cast with spell slots, can modify their spells (the wizard needs more time and does it later), get some extra spell slots (arcane recovery vs sorcery points)... in short they are functionally very similar. </p><p></p><p>Frankly, my own feeling is that the sorcerer has outlived its usefulness as a base class. The wizard class could easily take on all the story-driven innate powers of sorcerers by adopting the subclasses. There could be a subclass that grants sorcery points and sorcery-style metamagic options : the "Intuitive". There could be a subclass that focuses on transforming into a dragon, and a wild magic subclass that has access to chaos bolt, arcane eruption and the other new, unique spells from the playtest.</p><p></p><p>In short, the only unique distinction remaining between the wizard and the sorcerer is the spellbook--an evolutionary oddity that now serves little purpose and has almost zero impact on the game. If you want your wizard to feel more like a sorcerer, just keep your spells somewhere else: in your familiar, in your arcane focus, as runes that appear on your skin. I don't have a problem with "sorcerers" learning new magic they encounter.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fuindordm, post: 9015901, member: 5435"] What is the sorcerer's reason for existence? Does it have enough traction to continue as a class? When introduced in 3rd edition, its only distinction from the wizard was limited spells known and more spell slots. The class was a reaction to Vancian spell preparation, but didn't introduce any new story elements to support the mechanical change. Over time, and through into 5th edition, designers leaned into the "ancestry" theme, proposing sorcerer variants and subclasses that granted new spells or magical powers so the PC could be more like a dragon/demon/angel/aberration/etc. So the PC got some story hooks, but they always came from the customization and not the base class. In 5th edition the design also introduced sorcery points and metamagic for sorcerers--but as with the 3rd edition innovation, this feature is a meta-gaming rule innovation intended to create contrast with wizards, with minimal story or flavor to back it up. On the other side of the fence, the wizard also got new magical powers through "specialization". Initially this provided more spell slots and a boost to learning spells in one of the "academic" schools, but wizard specializations now have much wider variety than the 8 schools, and also grant innate magical powers to the PC. Consider a wizard and a feyblooded sorcerer, both specialized in illusions. The two PCs have different innate powers via their subclasses, but in 5th edition they both prepare spells, cast with spell slots, can modify their spells (the wizard needs more time and does it later), get some extra spell slots (arcane recovery vs sorcery points)... in short they are functionally very similar. Frankly, my own feeling is that the sorcerer has outlived its usefulness as a base class. The wizard class could easily take on all the story-driven innate powers of sorcerers by adopting the subclasses. There could be a subclass that grants sorcery points and sorcery-style metamagic options : the "Intuitive". There could be a subclass that focuses on transforming into a dragon, and a wild magic subclass that has access to chaos bolt, arcane eruption and the other new, unique spells from the playtest. In short, the only unique distinction remaining between the wizard and the sorcerer is the spellbook--an evolutionary oddity that now serves little purpose and has almost zero impact on the game. If you want your wizard to feel more like a sorcerer, just keep your spells somewhere else: in your familiar, in your arcane focus, as runes that appear on your skin. I don't have a problem with "sorcerers" learning new magic they encounter. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
The sorcerer shouldn't exist
Top