We now come to the last as-yet-unpreviewed class group, the Mages. Sorcerers and Wizards have always occupied similar spaces. In an effort to distinguish the three Mages, each has access to a number of free spells that are exclusive to their class and don't seem to be attainable outside of the class.
We'll look at each class' spells when we touch on them in the class features.
Additionally, Sorcerers and Warlocks no longer gain their sublcass at first level, so new features are introduced to fill in that early form of the class.
There's a lot to cover, so let's get into the Sorcerer class features. Once we finish that, we'll look at their default subclass, the Dragonic Bloodline.
Before we touch on the level-by-level features, one massive thing is that Sorcerers get access to far more spells - at level 20, they have 22 prepared spells, rather than the 15 known now. (While phrased as "prepared," it appears to be more like the current spells know. We'll touch on that below.)
At 1st level, Sorcerers get Innate Sorcery and Spellcasting.
Innate Sorcery gives all Sorcerers the spells Sorcerous Burst and Chaos Bolt, which are always prepared and do not count against the other spells they have.
Chaos Bolt appears to work the same as it did when introduced in Xanathar's Guide to Everything.
Sorcerous Burst is a new default damage cantrip, which uses an attack roll. It had a range of 120 feet and deals 1d6 damage, the type of which is your choice from Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, Psychic, or Thunder. When you roll a 6 on any d6 for this spell, you get to roll another d6 and add it to the damage. The maximum number of additional d6s you can roll for this spell is your spellcasting ability modifier.
At 5th level, the damage increases to 2d6, then at 11 it becomes 3d6, and at 17, 4d6.
This is a very cool cantrip. First of all, it finally gives solid access to a ranged lightning or thunder cantrip, which Storm Sorcerers have been desperate for. But the chaotic ability for it to explode in damage is really exciting - with a 16 Charisma, even at level 1, you could wind up rolling upwards of 20 damage with luck. I think some clarification is required as to how the extra dice interact both with critting and with the cantrip upgrades. Though 1d6 on its own is a little on the low side, I think this is a fantastic option and totally appropriate to the class. It also covers the Sorcerer on having a default damage cantrip, allowing them to learn more things like Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Message, and the like. Ironically, having a lower damage die actually makes it more likely to do its coolest thing, so perhaps the d6 is actually preferable to a d8 or d10.
Spellcasting functions more or less similarly, other than the greater number of spells known. I say "spells known" even though the rules refer to them as prepared spells, because the only time you get to swap these spells prepared is when you level up.
Unlike the changes we've seen to other spellcasters, there's no requirement that the number and levels of prepared spells match the spell slots of each level. We don't know if this is going to be a change to all classes or just to a class like this, that does not get to swap their spells as easily.
The higher number of spells a Sorcerer can have is certainly going to make their inflexibility in swapping them out less painful. I also think that it answers my question of how the Wizard's spellbook is going to work (though we'll cover that in two posts). More or less, Sorcerer spellcasting looks the same.
At 2nd level, you get Font of Magic and Metamagic.
Font of Magic seems to work more or less the same as it did, being really more of a framework on which to build other systems.
Metamagic has been bumped up to 2nd level. You can now swap out Metamagic options you know on a long rest. You also learn 3 immediately, and learn three more at level 13.
Being able to swap these on a long rest is welcome - letting a player who realizes only later how powerful Quickened Spell is to pick it up. More metamagic, and more easily swapped. Great.
Before we move on, let's compare the metamagic options - focusing only on the ones that have changed.
Careful Spell now fully protects chosen allies from the effects of a spell, rather than simply letting them succeed. It now works more like an Evoker's Sculpt Spell, which seems like what it always should have been. Drop Fireballs on your friends without regret!
Distant Spell now increases non-touch spells by 30 feet per Sorcerer level, rather than just doubling it. Early on, this might be a nerf, but by level 20, you can increase a spell's range by 600 feet!
Extended Spell now also grants you advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration on a spell affected by it.
Heightened Spell now only costs 2 sorcery points, down from 3.
Quickened Spell works the same, but now reminds players they cannot cast two leveled spells in a turn using this.
Seeking Spell has been added to the PHB list.
Subtle Spell now removes Material components if they are not consumed by the spell. Notably, this means that an expensive component that is not consumed can be bypassed with a single sorcery point.
Transmuted Spell has been added to the PHB list.
Twinned Spell is now limited to spells of 1st to 5th level - so no more dual-cast disintegrates! However, there's no requirement that it not be able to target multiple creatures, so you can dual-cast Fireball now.
These are more tweaks than redesigns, but I think most seem reasonable.
At 3rd level, you get your subclass.
At level 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19, you get a feat.
At level 5, you get Sorcerous Vitality.
This simply lets you always have the new Sorcerous Vitality spell prepared.
Sorcerous Vitality is a 3rd level spell exclusive to Sorcerers that takes an action. You regain HP equal to 2d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier, and you end the Blinded, Deafened, and Poisoned conditions on yourself. At higher levels, you increase this healing by 1d6 per spell level.
This isn't a great heal - a 3rd level cure wounds would be better unless you need to clear those conditions, but as a class that doesn't typically get healing, this is a nice little way to pour spell slots into health. Given how squishy Sorcerers are, it's probably nice to have some self-healing.
At level 7, you get Arcane Eruption, another free spell.
This spell has a range of 120 feet and takes an action. It's a 4th level spell.
You target a 20-foot radius sphere at a point you choose within range. You choose Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, Psychic, or Thunder. Each creature in the area makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 6d6 damage of that type on a failed save or half as much on a success. Then, you choose one of the d6s rolled, and choose the matching number from a list of conditions. Creatures that failed the save have that condition until the end of your next turn.
The conditions are:
1. Incapacitated
2. Blinded
3. Frightened
4. Poisoned
5. Charmed
6. Deafened.
At higher levels, you roll an extra d6 for each spell level above 4th.
Hoo boy. This one's kind of crazy. So, damage-wise it's a bit lower than a Fireball, but you get to choose the damage type and you can inflict some nasty conditions. Oddly, you're actually going to want at least one of your dice to roll low on its damage, as the lower numbers have more devastating effects. Ideally, you'd want to roll five 6s and a single 1. It's super-chaotic, which is fitting for the class.
At level 9, you get Sorcery Incarnate, another free spell.
This is a 5th level, bonus action spell that you cast on yourself, lasting up to one minute, with concentration.
When cast, you regain 1d4 sorcery points. Until it ends, you can use two metamagic effects on a spell at a time, as long as you have the sorcery points. You also get advantage on attack rolls for ay spell you cast.
I think this is good. I can't really decide how good it is. I suspect it's good. One thing I'd be curious to see is how this interacts with metamagic that already allows you to use it with another option. Do we get three, or are we limited to two?
At level 13, you get Additional Metamagic, as we covered under the Metamagic section.
At level 15, you get Sorcerous Restoration.
This has been bumped up from 20 and gives you 4 sorcery points whenever you roll initiative or when you finish a short rest.
The initiative aspect of this is very nice - you'll never spend a whole fight without being able to do cool Sorcery stuff.
At level 18, you get Arcane Apotheosis.
You always have the Wish spell prepared (which, I mean, you were going to take anyway, right?) You also have no chance to lose the ability to cast the spell due to casting stress.
Additionally, you can cast Wish to replicate a 1st-through-8th-level spell without expending a 9th level spell slot, instead expending the spell's normal level. Once you do this, you cannot do so until you finish a Long Rest.
Holy moly, now this is a capstone. Wish is the most powerful spell in the game by far, and while its open-ended nature is a big part of its power, the ability to replicate any other spell that isn't itself a 9th level spell is also pretty damn powerful. Getting to use that functionality once for, well, not free, but for a severe discount, is great. Need a quick Resurrection? No worries, you still have your Meteor Swarm ready for later.
Furthermore, the fact that casting stress never threatens to lose you the ability to cast Wish introduces a phenomenal amount of chaos to this most chaotic of classes. A cautious player (hello) would likely stick to only using Wish for its spell-replicating functionality so as to not lose it. But Sorcerers are given license to go absolutely nuts with it, the only risk being, you know, unforeseen chaos that results from an imprecise wording.
Overall, the Sorcerer is looking pretty good to me. I think the bonus spells vary in how appealing they are, but the price is definitely right (I'm particularly fond of the Sorcerous Burst cantrip). Sorcerers are going to be able to breathe a bit easier with more spells known.
Now, let's take a look at the Draconic Sorcery subclass. Oddly, I actually tend to think of the Wild Magic sorcerer as the go-to subclass, but at the same time, it's a very strange subclass, so I think it makes sense to stick with this one.
First off, the name's different. Sorcerer subclasses are now going to be themed around the type of magic, so we might see Draconic Sorcery, Aberrant Sorcery, Clockwork Sorcery, etc. (Not sure if that means we should expect those specific ones in the PHB, but they're examples given).
At 3rd level, you get Draconic Resilience and Dragon Speech.
Draconic Resilience increases your HP by 3 and then an additional 1 for each sorcerer level (basically, add your sorcerer level to you HP as before). Your unarmored AC now gives you 10 + Dex + Cha, rather than 13 + Dex.
This is a subtle change, but should now give you a higher AC as you level up. Sounds good!
Dragon Speech is a new feature. Your speech can be understood by any creature with the Dragon type, and you can understand their communication. Interestingly, this should allow you to communicate even with unintelligent dragons, though I think it's up to the DM to determine how well they can carry on a conversation.
At 6th level, you get Elemental Affinity.
You choose between Acid, Cold, Fire, Poison, or Lightning. You gain resistance to that damage type and when you cast a spell that deals damage of that type, you add your Charisma modifier to one of its damage rolls.
This kind of rolls together some of the Draconic Ancestor stuff with the old Elemental Affinity. Given that Sorcerers have a lot of options to choose their damage types, you should be able to use that bonus often, such as with Sorcerous Burst.
At 10th level, you get Draconic Exhalation.
Once per turn when you cast Sorcerous Burst, you can exhale a 15-foot cone rather than selecting a target within range. To do so, you must choose the damage type associated with your Elemental Affinty. You then make separate attack and damage rolls against each target within that cone.
Ho-Ly Crap. This is an AoE cantrip. Yes, it's a short range, but not, like, super short. And it can crit! No limit on how many times you can use it. This is really crazy good.
At level 14, you get Dragon Wings.
When you have Sorcery Incarnate active, you sprout draconic wings and gain a fly speed equal to your speed, and you can hover. At the end of each of your turns, youc an flap the wings to unleash magical energy, dealing damage to each creature of your choice within 15 feet of you equal to your Charisma modifier, the damage being that of your Elemental Affinity.
While the no-action-required part of this is undercut by the fact that you need to cast a 5th level spell and maintain concentration, this is still a cool way to get some extra bang for your buck. And one should not ignore unavoidable damage that you can drop on groups of enemies while staying just out of range of their melee weapons. Couple this with Draconic Exhalation and you've got some draconic devastation to unleash.
So, I think we've got a solid sublcass here. It takes a while to really go off, but the survivability of the early features is pretty cool. I'm eager to see what other options are presented, but this one should make for a perfectly solid choice.
Now, I've been posting up a storm, and the next class is both one that I have very strong feelings about and also that has received one of the most radical redesigns of this playtest, so I'll be taking a break before I get back to the Warlock.
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