Playtest 7: Sorcerers

 Sorcerers in Playtest 5 got a whole bunch of odd class spells that varied from really cool to kind of awful. While there are two that are staying, and one that has become a class feature instead of a spell, the others are gone.

I think one of the most notable changes is the return of class spell lists. This was more or less primarily to give the Wizard back its most important distinctiveness, but the Sorcerer has long had a very similar spell list.

Let's go through the features and compare it with Playtest 5 and the 2014 version.

Level 1:

Spellcasting is similar to how it was in the last playtest, with Sorcerers getting 22 known spells (they're still calling it "Prepared" even though I think that's confusing given that some classes prepare each day but Sorcerers can only swap them on a level-up) up from 15 in the PHB.

They also get a new 1st level feature called Innate Sorcery.

As a bonus action, Sorcerers can gain a buff for 1 minute. This increases the spell save DC of your Sorcerer spells by 1, and gives you advantage on attack rolls of Sorcerer spells you cast.

You can use this twice, regaining expended uses on a long rest.

    So, this is actually pretty cool. Obviously, with subclasses coming at level 3, you need something to make you Sorcerous. Advantage on attacks is a pretty great bonus, and while the +1 bonus to spell save DC is only a little, that's one of those values that's always nice to have a bit higher. Obviously, we're going to pay attention to if there's a way to get more uses of this.

Level 2: Font of Magic is pretty similar, but with one tweak: if you want to convert spell slots into Sorcery Points, it takes no action (pretty great for the Aberrant Mind and their Psionic Spells - there's literally no reason to ever cast a Psionic Spell with a spell slot anymore).

Creating a spell slot out of Sorcery Points still requires a bonus action.

Level 3:

Apart from subclass (which is Draconic, Wild Magic, Clockwork, and Aberrant) here we see some changes to a few Metamagic options.

As in playtest 5, Careful Spell now works like Sculpt Spells, giving your chosen allies full immunity from the spell's damage even if it's a "save for half" spell like Fireball.

Distant Spell once again doubles the range of a spell or makes touch spells 30 feet.

    This could be a nerf at very high levels, as at level 20 you'd be increasing a spell's range by 600 feet - I don't think there are a lot of 300-foot range spells.

Seeking Spell now costs only 1 Sorcery Point, instead of 2.

Subtle Spell now clarifies that it doesn't remove material components that are consumed by the spell or have a cost, but it will remove Material components that don't have these properties.

    Notably, the new Counterspell design specifically points out that you can't tell someone's casting if they aren't using Somatic or Verbal components, so this will, as intended, prevent someone from countering, but now it's more explicit.

And now the big one: Twinned Spell last playtest was terrible. It's definitely not as powerful as the 2014 one in the new version, but it might see play: If you have a spell that can target more than one target if it's upcast, like Fly, Invisibility, Jump, etc., (and they've increased the number of spells that scale up this way,) Twinned Spell lets you spend a Sorcery Point to upcast such a spell. This does include offensive spells like Hold Person, but I don't think any damage spells work this way.

    So, this feels like a... probably a compromise. It gives them control over which spells this can work on, which I think is what they were looking to do, but still lets you get some more bang for your buck. It's certainly not "double disintegrate" powerful, and I think it will probably not be as popular as it was, but it might be used.

Level 5:

Sorcerous Restoration now shows up at level 5, instead of level 20 (or level 15 in playtest 5). If you have none, you now get Sorcery Points equal to one fifth of your level (rounded down) when you either roll Initiative or finish a Short Rest.

    Ok, here's my issue with this, and a lot of similar features: Why do I need to be out of Sorcery Points? The way this works, I'm better off if I've emptied the tank before we get into a fight than if I've got one point left over. Sure, at the level you get this, it doesn't make a difference. But at level 10, you're better off being fully out than holding on to 1. This should just say that "if you have fewer than a fifth of your Sorcerer level's worth of Sorcery Points, this puts you up to that minimum." And that's how I'd rule it at my table.

Level 7:

Sorcery Incarnate is no longer its own spell, as it was in playtest 5, but now buffs your Innate Sorcery feature, letting you use two of your Metamagic options on each spell you cast. On top of that, if you have no uses of Innate Sorcery left, you can spend 2 Sorcery points to get an additional use.

    Great, as hoped for, there's a way to get more than two uses of Innate Sorcery. Indeed, at level 10, you will always be able to do your "Sorcerer Rage" as long as you don't start combat with a single Sorcery Point (which, again, shows you why that restriction is dumb).

Level 20:

Skipping ahead past the spell levels and subclass features, we get to the last pan-Sorcerer feature: Arcane Apotheosis.

While using Innate Sorcery, you can use one Metamagic option on each of your tuns without spending Sorcery Points on it.

    So... ok that's actually an awesome capstone. In a lot of cases, you're basically only ever going to need to spend Sorcery Points on getting more uses of Innate Sorcery (surely 2 Sorcery Point is fewer than what you'd spend on your spells). All the Metamagics! I guess in theory you might not be able to totally get every spell Meta'd for free if you're using it on cantrips and bonus action spells and reaction spells, but this nearly removes the cost. Very cool, and definitely makes it feel like you're a master sorcerer.

And that's our Sorcerer base class.

I think it's good. Notably, Sorcerous Burst and Arcane Eruption made it into the Sorcerer class spell list. I believe Arcane Eruption is unchanged (which is great because it was good) and Sorcerous Burst has been upgraded to d8s instead of d6s. This does mean that you're less likely to get the "explode" effect. I'll probably do some napkin math at some point to figure out the difference in damage here. I think it's probably higher overall.

Now, let's look at subclasses:

Draconic Sorcery:

We got this in Playtest 5, so we're looking at just some tweaks - largely welcome ones.

Level 3:

Dragon Speech allows you to be understood by any dragons along with teaching you Draconic, but it doesn't let you understand their communications (granted, they're probably speaking Draconic, so you probably will, but you won't necessarily have "speak with animals" with non-sapient dragons).

Draconic Resilience is, I think, unchanged from playtest 5 (which was also only slightly changed from the 2014 PHB to account for getting the subclass at level 3).

Level 6:

Elemental Affinity is the same as its playtest 5 version - unlike the PHB 2014 version, you no longer need to spend any Sorcery Points to get the associated damage resistance.

Level 14:

Dragon Wings are permanent once again! They end if you're incapacitated, but you can get them back with a bonus action (and dismiss them with one) for no cost. You can also choose if the wings are spectral or physical, so if you don't want to have to cut wing-holes out of your Robe of the Archmagi, you're all good.

Level 18:

Draconic Presence has been buffed in a couple ways. First, it no longer requires concentration, only breaking if you become incapacitated. Second, it only requires a bonus action to activate. Finally, creatures that succeed against the aura do not get 24-hour immunity to it.

    So, this feels much more usable and actually worth it. (You could consider it a 5th level spell in terms of the cost - you can always burn a 5th level slot to recoup the Sorcery Points).

I think this revision does a lot to make the Draconic Sorcerer work the way we all kind of want it to - very much like the 2014 version, but with a couple buffs.

Wild Magic:

Oh, the most chaotic subclass in D&D.

Level 3:

Wild Magic Surge no longer requires the DM's permission to roll for a Wild Magic Surge - if you spend the spell slot, you can roll the d20. Also, you now get the surge on a 20, instead of a 1 (reflecting that, yes, you want this to happen!)

The playtest does not have a new Wild Magic Surge table - we're just using the 2014 one.

Tides of Chaos no longer requires DM's permission to do a Wild Magic Surge to regain this feature - in fact, it just happens if you've expended its use and cast a Sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher.

    So, this is good. You shouldn't be at the mercy of the DM's whims to use your subclass features.

Level 6:

Bend Luck has had its cost reduced to 1 Sorcery Point (from 2).

    Great.

Level 14:

Controlled Chaos is unchanged.

Level 18:

Spell Bombardment is now called Wild Bombardment. Actually, it's a totally different feature.

After you cast a Sorcerer spell with a spell slot, you can create an effect of your choice from the Wild Magic Surge table, as long as that option casts a spell or restores all your expended Sorcery Points (99-00).

Once used, you can't use this again for 1d4 long rests.

    That is a real capstone. I think that you'll almost always choose the "all your Sorcery Points" option, which feels like a potentially really important thing to use in some climactic boss fight (or a grueling battle with a major boss at the end).

    Looking at the Wild Magic Sorcerer as a whole, I think things have been tuned up in a nice way. I think the initial design was afraid of the power of the randomness of the Wild Magic Surge table, which is why they put all those "at DM's discretion" things. But while I recommend only playing with DMs who like fun, it does potentially set you up to have very limited use of the subclass' core feature. So, removing that is a huge thumbs up from me. And Wild Bombardment, while it probably should have a different name, is a very cool capstone.

The other subclasses for the Sorcerer in playtest 7 are simply the Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul from Tasha's - which have not received any edits. I will say, though, that given that, it would be nice if Draconic and Wild Magic got subclass spells. Given how crucial Psionic Spells are to the Aberrant Mind, I don't see them getting rid of those in some future revision, but it does mean that these two are more limited in spell options.