Unearthed Arcana 7: The Sorcerer
Wizards of the Coast is nearing the end of play testing player options for the upcoming update to D&D 5E, One Dungeons and Dragons. The current play test document comes with revisions to a lot of the previously viewed classes. I have reviewed the Barbarian [HERE] and Fighter [HERE] classes already, and you can find my thoughts on them at the links provided. Now I move onto the first of the Mage Group, the Sorcerer. (I know they have dropped the Class Groups idea altogether, but I still like using them).
(Art: Magic the Gathering by Eelis Kyttanen)
In today's post, we're diving into the new Unearthed Arcana playtest for the Sorcerer class. We'll stack it up against both the previous playtest and the current core class, dissecting what works, what doesn't, and where I stand on these changes.
Core Class
Class Progression table (Source: Play test 7)
Starting off at first level, the developers have changed Innate Sorcery. This ability now, as a Bonus Action, grants a Sorcerer an increase to spell save DC of all their Sorcerer spells and advantage on the attack rolls of Sorcerer spells they cast. Innate Sorcery can be used twice, with uses coming back on a Long Rest. This replaces the previous version, which gave the Sorcerer Chaos Bolt and Sorcerous Burst. (The spells still exist, and they reference the latter of the two in the spell section of the document.)
I am not sure about my opinion on this option. The new version provides more active options than the always-prepared cantrips we had previously, but I don’t know if we need to offer buffs that early on for a class, even if they are limited. The flavor feels just about there, as this represents the overflowing well of magic left on you from where you got your power.
At the second level, both Font of Magic and Metamagic have had some changes. For the former, it now does not take a Bonus action for a Sorcerer to turn a spell slot into Sorcery Points, just when going the other direction. For the latter, the total number of Metamagic Options has spread out differently. Sorcerers now gain two Metamagic Options at 2nd, 10th, and 17th level. Previously, they received three at 2nd level and an additional three at 13th level. Finally, Sorcerers can now change one of their Metamagic options when they gain a level of Sorcerer instead of after a Long Rest.
These are very minor changes but I think they will do a good job at balancing out the power and flexibility of the Sorcerer with other classes. Making more Sorcery points feels innate to the core of the class, and fuels the interesting metamagic that sets them apart from other casters. Having to spend a Bonus action to create a spell, however, keeps the action economy in check. Metamagic increasing more gradually feels like it will overwhelm newer players less. Reducing changing options to gaining a Sorcerer level also makes more sense than over a Long Rest. I would love something between a level up and a Long Rest, but 5th Edition does not do well at tracking time between those two.
Sorcerer Subclass, now at third level, has mostly returned to the method of progression used in 2014, like the other classes. The difference here, as with some of the other 2014 class changes, is that the 1st level feature now happens at 3rd level.
I have no problem with this change in level progression for Sorcerers, just as I felt that way with Clerics. I think it can make sense narratively, in this case a full awakening of power. Mechanically, I think this provides onboarding for newer players without having to cripple a class for the sake of simplicity. A lot of tables often skip the first three levels anyway because of the general weakness of characters, so I do not know if it will come up a lot. I do think,however, there will be a general dislike of this change.
Sorcerous Vitality is no longer available at fifth level, but Sorcerous Restoration is available, moved from 15th level. When a Sorcerer rolls Initiative or finishes a Short Rest and has no Sorcery Points, they gain a number equal to their Sorcerer level, rounded down. So starting off this gives one point, at 10th two, etc. Previously, the level 15 ability gave 4, and did not scale.
I thought Sorcerous Vitality was an interesting idea. Early in the play test, Wizards of the Coast seemed focused on making sure that most classes had a way to heal either themselves or their allies that used a core resource. Bards had the Reaction heal that used Bardic Inspiration, and Sorcerers had Sorcerous Vitality. The developers have backed off this idea, and with it this ability got removed. I wonder if Sorcerous Restoration does enough in the early stages. A single sorcery point will not do much, and it only hits 4 at level 20.
Sorcery Incarnate has moved from ninth to seventh level. Previously this prepared the spell Sorcery Incarnate (whether it still exists, I am unsure), and now this allows for two Metamagic Options to be used on each spell, as well as the ability to spend Sorcery Points to use the Innate Sorcery feature.
This seems like a nice powerful feature for the Sorcerer. I do not know if this happens too early for the class and makes their power spike, or if it sits in the right place. This is decidedly middle of Tier 2 Play, and I don’t know if something this potent should be closer to Tier 3.
Finally, we have the capstone Arcane Apotheosis at 20th level. This new version gives Sorcerers one free Metamagic option per turn while Innate Sorcery is active. This replaces the 18th level option that previously gave the Wish spell as well as improving its capabilities.
The previous version was what Jeremy Crawford has called a “mother-may-I” feature. Since it relied heavily on Wish, it leaned into how a lot of the power of that spell depends on how strict or relaxed the Dungeon Master running the game was. This means that the ability would have inconsistent power. The new version avoids that. That being said, I did like the previous one more. Perhaps they could make a level 9 spell just for sorcerers that only used the spell replication feature of the class.
Overall Thoughts
In a lot of ways this version of Sorcerer focused on the strong abilities from the previous play test, replacing or adjusting the weaker ones. Previously, we saw a subclass full of features that just referenced spells. Now that has been rolled back a bit. Powers like Metamagic and regaining Sorcery Points have now been spread across the class instead of having it all happen near the end, which should create a smoother increase in power for Sorcerers.
That all said, I think Sorcerer is a very front-loaded class. These characters gain most of the core features before eighth level, leaving the Subclass to provide the mechanics between than and level 20. The changed last feature also feels less exciting than a changed version of Wish. I had liked the idea that a level 20 Sorcerer had such a connection to magic that they could effectively use any spell.
Metamagic Options
Before I touch on the subclasses provided in the book, I wanted to look at the metamagic options quickly. There were adjustments in the previous play test [LINK] and this document contains some as well. Really quickly:
Distant Spell has returned to the 2014 version, and just doubles range.
Seeking Spell has had its cost reduced from 2 Sorcery Points to 1.
Subtle Spell now specifies that the material components that require a cost still must be used.
Twinned Spell has been adjusted to bring back some of the functionality of the 2014 version, but remains limited.
Out of all these changes, I really only want to look at Twinned Spell. The previous version focused on repeatedly casting the same spell for a reduced cost. The community disliked this since it encouraged boring game play. This new version now up casts a spell that gains an additional target when cast at a higher level. This costs a single Sorcery Point and increases the effective level by 1. By 'effective spell level,' I mean the level at which the spell behaves, which doesn't necessarily have to match the spell slot expended. This mainly pertains to spells that get a boost when cast at higher levels.
So we partially have it back. I do not think we will ever see the original Twinned Spell metamagic return. It was such a potent ability. This seems a bit more useful, but I don’t know how much. This alteration shifts the focus from an offense-centric ability, like increasing damage, to a more supportive role in controlling enemies or buffing allies. Now, speaking of roles and variety, let's dive into the subclasses.
Sorcerer Subclasses
In this list of subclasses, we only have two actual options to look at: Draconic and Wild Magic Sorcery. This section mentions the Aberrant and Clockwork Sorcery, but directs players to look at Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything for the subclasses. I think the intent here was to not reprint subclasses, but it unintentionally locks out anyone who does not already own this book (and if you own it, you now have another set of pages to flip through while reviewing).
Here be Dragons
Starting off, the Draconic Sorcery subclass feels almost synonymous with the class itself. This class provides improved defense, draconic flavor, and a variety of options based on the type of dragon chosen.
Starting at third level, Dragon Speech now allows the Sorcerer to speak, read, and write in Draconic as well as allowing them to be understood by Dragons, but not understand them.
This feature keeps popping up and I do not know why they keep making the feature almost equal to learning Draconic. It feels like a lot of texts to make sure that a Draconic Sorcerer cannot automatically talk to any dragon they run into, and I do not know why they are avoiding this.
At level 14, Dragon Wings no longer relies on activating a spell but just happens as a Bonus action. The wings then last until dismissed (with a Bonus action) or the user becomes Incapacitated.
Near the end of Tier 3, many casters have some way to get flight. Draconic Sorcerers should have it fairly easy to fit in with the flavor, so this works. While having always-on flight can sometimes create imbalance, this is fairly late in gameplay.
Finally, we have Draconic Presence at level 18, replacing Draconic Exhalation. This ability effectively gives the Sorcerer the ability to activate an Aura of Dread for 5 Sorcery points. The Aura lasts for a minute, and gives either the Charmed or Frightened option depending on what you choose, awe or fear.
The flavor in this ability feels great. You have become so in tune with your draconic side that you can harness the presence that comes with the iconic creatures. I see creatures designated at the beginning of each turn will continually have to make the check until they fail, not gaining immunity after a success. Immunity would greatly de-power the ability, but at this point it just means that as long as you stay within 60 feet of your target, they will have 10 chances to fail. I also like that this could be out of combat use, but it feels tight with only one minute use.
Draconic Thoughts
Not a large amount of changes, but I think giving flight freely with Dragon Wings makes sense mechanically. Having that option for flight makes sense for a character with the blood of a dragon. I think that Dragon Speech feels weird, and they should just give full Draconic language proficiency at third level just for the ease of use. Finally, I think Draconic Presence is interesting but needs some balancing done. As is, you could effectively negate an encounter by trapping someone in your aura and just waiting for them to fail the save. I think this might be a place where that needs to be adjusted.
Wild Magic
The other iconic subclass, Wild Magic, finishes up the provided subclass options. While I have seen the most Draconic Sorcerers, I think I have heard the most stories of Wild Magic. Embracing the chaos can be incredibly powerful or incredibly deadly, and that feels core to this game.
Starting off at third level, Wild Magic Surge no longer requires a DM to activate. Previously, this feature was activated by the DM. They removed that requirement and now a player can activate Wild Magic once per turn.
I am conflicted here. On the one hand, I understand why they took this direction. One struggle with Wild Magic is whether the DM is making it happen enough. Like the problem with Wish, we get an ability that heavily relies on a DM to make the most use of, and this new version avoids that. However, it makes the narrative element odder. Wild Magic was supposed to represent chaos inherent in how this type of Sorcerer tapped into magic. Letting the play choose this like any other class feature takes away from that a bit, even if it does offload some of the burden.
At level six, Bend Luck now costs one less Sorcery Point. This feature lets the Sorcerer effectively cast Guidance as a Reaction to a die roll.
Currently, this feature feels a little weak. I think if we wanted to increase its power, we could change a few things. First, I think the Reaction should trigger when you know if the individual rolling the die would pass or fail. A little more information, which will mean a lot less frustration. Second, like Tactical Mind on the Fighter, the Sorcery Point should only be expended if the roll then succeeds. If Fighter gets this way to avoid burning through a core resource, I think other classes should get it too. Finally, the Wild Magic table could balance it, activating regardless of whether the roll passes or fails. Wild Magic Sorcerer should roll the table a lot, and this would be a great place to do so.
Finally, at level 18, Wild Bombardment has changed. Now a Sorcerer can choose an effect from the Wild Magic Surge table as long as it casts a spell or restores Sorcery Points. This ability takes 1d4 Long Rests to recover. This replaces the version that re-rolls max damage dice, adding the new value on top of the previous value.
This ability is certainly more interesting, and it seems balanced out by the long recharge time. However, I know the game struggles with tracking past a Long Rest, so I worry it would be an ability that feels clumsy to follow.
Wild Magic Thoughts
The changes in Wild Magic Surge, ironically, seem to reduce the amount of chaos that comes from this class. We see Wild Magic surges now being played controlled instead of DM, and the last ability allowing for a limited choice of Wild Magic Surge effects. I think the options in the class can intimidate new players, and this will make it easier to get to the table.
I wonder if that 18th level ability will be hard to track, since it has a random amount of days to recharge. We did not get a new Wild Magic Surge table. I have heard complaints about the 2014 table being too mean, and a lot of community-made options improving that.
Conclusion
Sorcerer has had strong play test options, and this most recent document continues that. They have dialed the excessive amount of Spell Features that felt a little forced back in this version, creating a better balance of options. We also now see a more gradual increase of power instead of heavy front loading of everything. The subclasses also had some polishing, which was nice. We see much more approachable Wild Magic now.
There are some sticking points for me. We still see a class that mainly gets its flavor from its subclass, leaving it very dependent on that for its flavor. Some of those options to make the Wild Magic Sorcerer more friendly also take away from the narrative. Finally, I am disappointed to only have two subclasses to review. I understand this was probably an oversight, but printing them here would have felt more complete.
So, that wraps up my deep dive into the Sorcerer's latest rendition. While it's not without its quirks, it's shaping up to be an interesting evolution. Stay tuned, because we're about to dissect the last two remaining classes to complete this Unearthed Arcana series