One D&D Playtest 7: Sorcerer
Here follow my notes on the Playtest 7 Sorcerer class.
For more context and my Standard Disclaimer, check out the introduction to this series.
I was feeling optimistic about the Sorcerer in Playtest 5, so I wonder if that will change this time around.
Base Class
- The UA5 notion of Class Group has been removed. RIP.
- All of the basic character creation and starting equipment is unchanged from UA5.
- Multiclassing rules are unchanged from UA5.
- Innate Sorcery (level 1) has been redesigned as a sort of “Arcane Rage” that’s activated by a Bonus Action (like Rage), which buffs your spell save DC, and which grants Advantage on Sorcerer spell attack rolls. This state lasts for one minute and can be used twice per Long Rest.
- Spellcasting (level 1) goes back to a Sorcerer-specific spell list (pour one out for the Arcane spell list) from the 2014 PHB, plus whatever was in Xanathar and Tasha, and now also adds Sorcerous Burst (cantrip) and Arcane Eruption (level 4 spell). It’s unclear what the final core PHB spell list will be for 2024. It’s otherwise unchanged from UA5, which means it thankfully keeps the big increase in known spells from UA5 (now topping out at 22 instead of 15).
- Font of Magic (level 2) now lets you convert Spell Slots to Sorcery Points without any action economy cost. (In UA5, it was a Bonus Action.) Creating Spell Slots still requires a Bonus Action, though.
- Metamagic (level 2, level 2 in UA5, level 3 in PHB) now only starts with two metamagics (was three in UA5) and you can only change metamagics at level ups (was Long Rests in UA5, not at all in the PHB, and only on ASI level in Tasha). You’ll eventually max out at six metamagics (the same as UA5, and two more than in the PHB).
- Subclass (level 3, level 3 in UA5, level 1 in PHB) is unchanged from UA5 (except obviously there are more choices now).
- Ability Score Improvement (level 4) or, y’know, a feat. I hear those are cool.
- Sorcerous Restoration (level 5, level 15 in UA5, level 20 in PHB) evicts UA5’s Sorcerous Vitality, and updates the mechanic from restoring a fixed number of Sorcery Points whether you’ve got any left or not to only restoring Sorcery Points if you’re all out. The number of points restored is equal to your Sorcerer level divided by five, rounded down, which means you have to reach level 20 to restore the same number of points that UA5 did at level 15. But you get to do this whenever you roll Initiative or finish a Short Rest (hey, look, reasons to take a Short Rest!) So. Dang. What a mixed bag this is… On one hand, it’s good to get some refresh earlier, but this is another feature that’s been moved to only being helpful if your tank is empty, which I dislike the more I see it, and the amount it helps is worse in levels 15 through 19 (then again, why do I care when I’m likely to never play in this tier?). As a Sorcerer player, I want what it does, but I want it to do it better.
- Subclass Feature (level 6) is right where it was in both UA5 and the PHB. I do wish these things were getting called out in the main text, though, like they were in prior UAs, so that I wouldn’t have to keep scrolling back up to the big chart. (Ugh!)
- Sorcery Incarnate (level 7, level 9 in UA5) has moved to a lower level and been totally rewritten. It now lets you use up to two metamagics on a single spell while in the Innate Sorcery “Rage”, and lets you activate Innate Sorcery if you’re all out of its uses at the cost of two Sorcery Points. This plus Innate Sorcery mostly replace the spell version of Sorcery Incarnate from UA5 – though the spell also restored Sorcery Points, which this feature doesn’t. Despite this, it is nice that it arrives two levels sooner, and that it doesn’t require a 5th level spell slot.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 8) is what you’d expect by this point. Or a feat of your choice.
- A Dead Level (level 9) brings just the first level 5 spell slot, just as it did in the PHB.
- More Metamagic (level 10) adds your choice of two more metamagic options; in the PHB it was just one here, and it was a subclass feature in UA5.
- Another Dead Level (level 11) introduces your first level 6 spell slot, as it did in the PHB and UA5.
- Another Ability Score Improvement (level 12) comes next, or the feat of your choice, as it did in both the PHB and UA5.
- Another Dead Level (level 13) adds a 7th level spell slot, just as it did in the PHB. In UA5 it added 3 more metamagic options as well.
- Subclass Feature (level 14) just like before.
- Another Dead Level (level 15) adds just an 8th level spell slot, as it did in the PHB. In UA5, this also added Sorcerous Restoration.
- Then it’s time for another Ability Score Improvement (level 16) or a feat, just as it was in past versions.
- Metamagic (level 17) adds your last two metamagic options, bringing you to a total of six. This was a dead level in UA5, and only added one metamagic option in the PHB.
- Subclass Feature (level 18) returns from the PHB. In UA5, this was the suuuuuper broken Arcane Apotheosis (pour one out for consequence-free casting of Wish).
- Ability Score Improvement (level 19), or a feat, is the same as it’s been.
- Arcane Apotheosis (level 20) has been completely redesigned. Instead of the Wish shenanigans from UA5, you can now use one metamagic per turn, while in the Innate Sorcery “Rage”, without spending Sorcery Points. This is definitely better for game balance than being able to cast Wish without consequences, but it was cool to use it to cast most spells without a spell slot. Then again, the UA5 version could only be used once per Long Rest, and this new one can be used once per turn, so we’ll definitely get more mileage out of it. Plus, if metamagic is what makes the Sorcerer special, it makes sense for a “peak Sorcerer” to do its special thing all the time. I think I just talked myself into this.
Metamagic Options
- Careful Spell is unchanged from UA5. Good, keep it this way.
- Distant Spell has been reverted to the PHB version.
- Empowered Spell is unchanged from UA5 and the PHB. It was always fine.
- Extended Spell is unchanged from UA5. Good, keep it this way.
- Heightened Spell is unchanged from UA5. Good, this is subtly better than the PHB version – it costs less and it applies to all saves against the spell, not just the first one. It should be kept this way, but perhaps the name should be changed (spoiler alert: it’s because of Twinned Spell, because of course it is).
- Quickened Spell is unchanged from UA5, which is slightly more restrictive than the PHB version. The clarified language from UA5 is important, but the wording would benefit from an example.
- Seeking Spell now costs less to use – just one Sorcery Point now instead of two.
- Subtle Spell no longer exempts you from needing material components that have a cost specified in the spell description. So much for that nice little loophole from UA5! It’s still better than the PHB version though, which always required material components.
- Transmuted Spell is unchanged from the UA5 and Tasha versions.
- Twinned Spell, everybody’s favorite problem child, is redesigned again! Now it costs just one Sorcery Point (good) to make a spell that can be upcast to target a second creature (okay…) be effectively upcast by one level so that it can have a second target. Hmm. This is a compromise to get the “affect two targets” behavior from the PHB’s Twinned Spell, without running into the problems of it being cheaper to Twin than to exchange Sorcery Points for an equivalent second spell slot and of appearing to let you have two concentration spells going at the same time. I have Hot Takes™ on this – see below.
Aberrant Sorcery
- This is just a pointer to the Aberrant Mind subclass in Tasha… which, while an iconic choice that I’m satisfied to have in the core rules, has two things that bug me about it.
- Number one: it would have been nice to see even a couple of token tweaks just to have something to discuss in the survey.
- Number two: it has several features at level 1, but under the playtest rules, subclasses don’t come online until level 3.
Clockwork Sorcery
- This is just a pointer to the Clockwork Soul subclass in Tasha.
- Only the name has been changed (and then only slightly).
Draconic Sorcery
- Draconic Resilience (level 3, level 3 in UA5, level 1 in PHB) is unchanged from UA5, which means levels 1 and 2 are still squishier than they used to be, but it’s still better at higher levels than the PHB version. Seems like this version is here to stay.
- Dragon Speech (level 3, level 3 in UA5, level 1 in PHB) is back to speaking, reading, and writing Draconic – good! In addition, your speech is understood by all things Dragon, which is helpful for the handful of Dragon-type monsters that don’t speak or understand Draconic. Good. Let’s keep it like this, please.
- Elemental Affinity (level 6) is unchanged from UA5. I was happy with the UA5 version, so I hope this is a sign that it’ll stay this way.
- Alas, Draconic Exhalation (level 10 in UA5) has been removed now that the level progression has returned to the PHB schedule. I thought this feature was kind of cool, but might bog down combat, so I’m not too surprised by its departure.
- Dragon Wings (level 14) is back to being a Bonus Action to activate instead of requiring you to have a class-exclusive spell going. The new version also lets you hover, which the previous versions didn’t, and it gives you the choice of whether the wings are physical (which can be obstructed by your clothing) or spectral (which wouldn’t). One loss here is the removal of flapping the wings to do Elemental Affinity-based damage to nearby creatures. Overall this is a modest enhancement to the PHB version, and while I prefer not having this tied to a spell, it’s a little disappointing to lose the magic attack component.
- Draconic Presence (level 18, level 18 in PHB) returns from the PHB version and is partially responsible for the removal of Draconic Exhalation. It now uses a Bonus Action instead of an Action (nice), doesn’t require concentration (good), and creatures that succeed on the save don’t get 24-hour immunity to your aura (nice). This isn’t as flashy as Draconic Exhalation was, but these modest adjustments are definitely an improvement over the PHB version.
Wild Magic Sorcery
- Wild Magic Surge (level 3, level 1 in PHB) takes the DM out of the loop – now you choose when it happens (immediately after casting a leveled spell using a spell slot). It’s otherwise unchanged, and it uses the Wild Magic Surge table in the PHB. This is a mechanically subtle but much-needed change. I only with we had an updated Surge table that was less deadly, as you can still hit yourself with a point-blank Fireball on a roll of seven or eight – yikes! You can’t use the Careful metamagic to fix this either, since spells cast from a surge are “too wild to be affected” by metamagic.
- Tides of Chaos (level 3, level 1 in PHB) now guarantees a roll on the Wild Magic Surge table, again removing the DM’s permission from the equation. It’s otherwise unchanged.
- Bend Luck (level 6) now only costs one Sorcery Point instead of two. It is otherwise mechanically identical. Nice.
- Controlled Chaos (level 14) is unchanged from the PHB. It seems like a long time to wait for a safety valve to prevent self-Fireballing. And yes, I know self-Fireballing only has a 2% chance of happening, but I know how dice are, and I know not to trust them.
- Wild Bombardment (new, level 18) replaces Spell Bombardment. It allows you to do a Wild Magic Surge where you pick the effect from the table. Your selection must either be an effect that casts a spell or that restores all your Sorcery Points, and you can’t do this again until finishing 1d4 Long Rests. (Speaking of, I could use 1d4 Long Rests right about now myself…) This is maybe more fun – or at least more thematic to the subclass – than the PHB’s “possibly do some extra damage” mechanic, but the number of options is quite limited at only 10 effects in total (nine spells, one “regain all” effect), and it can’t be used nearly as often. So I’m a bit torn on this.
Hot Takes
- Wow, the base class has a long gap – twelve levels! – between creative/novel features. It’s still better than the 2014 PHB version, but it still seems sparsely designed, though there are far fewer dead levels than the 2014 PHB.
- I didn’t realize how big the difference is in the size of a Sorcerer’s spell list versus a Wizard’s. According to what I’ve got available on Beyond, Sorcerers have access to about 200 spells and cantrips, but Wizards have access to roughly 350!
- Twinned Spell is certainly more “Twinned” than the UA5 version was, but the way it uses upcasting to deliver the second target effect makes it more “Heightened” than Heightened Spell is. Naming aside, I could probably live with this, however this new version means a big change in the number of spells that can be Twinned at all. Of the spells that can be Twinned under the 2014 PHB rules, 27 out of 39 of them are no longer eligible to be Twinned – a whopping 69% (not nice)! WotC promises that many spells will be revised to permit upcasting to affect a second target and thus be usable with this new Twinned Spell, but they also promised us a Necromancer subclass for Wizards that they haven’t delivered, so… Yeah. I’ve given WotC the benefit of the doubt quite often in this process, but I’m in “I’ll believe it when I see it” territory here.
- Aberrant Sorcery is a great pick for inclusion in the core rules. I still would have liked to see a few tweaks just to freshen it up a little, it’s not like they’d have to stay in.
- Clockwork Sorcery struck me at first a strange pick for inclusion in the core rules. I think I’m getting hung up on the name and the flavor text, because it took me a couple of forced reads of the subclass to really get that it’s not about machines but about order, and is included here as a foil to the chaos of Wild Magic Sorcery. I can see value in its features, but the fantasy of it just isn’t clicking for me as-is.
- The Aberrant Sorcery and Clockwork Sorcery subclasses have level 1 features but aren’t acquired until level 3. It’s pretty sad that there weren’t even any notes about how to reconcile this – I assume they kick in at level 3 when the subclass is acquired, but, c’mon, this takes 30 seconds to type up
- Draconic Sorcery is a modest improvement over the PHB version that I wouldn’t mind playing or converting my existing Sorcerer into. I’m a little sad about the loss of Draconic Exhalation, which was definitely iconic for the subclass, but it doesn’t break my heart.
- The Wild Magic Sorcery changes all seem fine to me. Removing DM permission from the Wild Magic Surge was way overdue.
- I think I’d have fun playing most of these subclasses (I’m currently playing a Draconic Sorcerer and would gladly re-spec her to this version!), but I’m just not into Clockwork.
Lukewarm Takes
Twenty-four hours later, I’m back with some additional thoughts:
- Innate Sorcery is, I think, better than Reddit would have you believe, but not perfect. I think getting a full minute of Advantage on spell attack rolls will feel really cool. I’d like to maybe see some way of restoring these uses, or scaling the number of uses as you progress – after all, a Barbarian gets more uses of Rage as they level up! I might also like the spell save DC buff scale a bit as you level up so that it’s not +1 forever, but would I think prefer scaling the number of uses over scaling the DC buff. (I saw the +1 DC described online as “absolute dog shit” and just… my dude, calm down.)
- I keep thinking about Sorcerous Restoration as well. I don’t love the “it only works if you’re all out” mechanic. But with Seeking Spell and Twinned Spell being knocked down to only costing one Sorcery Point, this means that the only metamagics that are out of reach in a pinch are Heightened Spell and Quickened Spell. That’s not too bad, and in the PHB version you don’t get any method of restoring Sorcery Points without burning Spell Slots or taking a Long Rest, so even though it doesn’t do as much good in the level 16-19 range, it’s certainly helping more over the course of your adventuring career than the PHB version is!
If I think of anything else in the next day or so, it’ll end up here. If not, whatever, I’ve already invested a lot of words in this class.
Reheated Takes
- Sorcerers are supposed to be innately filled with magic; they should be able to replace a cantrip or spell after a Long Rest to better keep up with Wizards and Clerics, who can both change their entire loadouts daily.