Your discussion of rope trick is incorrect, in general, because the spell is the same duration as a short rest, and you can't short rest while climbing up or down the rope, and most any DM will have the drop when the spell ends also interrupt a short rest. There are shenanigans you can pull - using a very short rope goes a long way, and Extended Spell solves the entire problem in one go - but you don't discuss those shenanigans.
Your discussion of rope trick is incorrect, in general, because the spell is the same duration as a short rest, and you can't short rest while climbing up or down the rope, and most any DM will have the drop when the spell ends also interrupt a short rest. There are shenanigans you can pull - using a very short rope goes a long way, and Extended Spell solves the entire problem in one go - but you don't discuss those shenanigans.
While some DMs may play it that way, it's not the intention of the designers (Jeremy Crawford has confirmed this) that these one hour duration spells don't need to be tracked with ludicrous precision, and one hour minus thirty seconds or however is enough to complete a short rest for all intents and purposes. So while it may not work this way at your table, it is intended to do so.
“Heightened spell: As good as it would be for any sorcerer, though to be honest, playing a Shadow Sorcerer and relying on the Hound of Ill Omen kinda soured me on this one. Keep in mind that a number of your spells—telekinesis, animate objects—don’t benefit from this. This actually works quite well in combination with Restore Balance if you’re facing a monster with magic resistance; they go from having advantage on their save to having disadvantage. No other sorcerer can do that. No other character can do that, because of how advantage and disadvantage normally cancel each other out. Do check with your DM to make sure that Restore Balance wouldn’t cancel out the creature’s disadvantage, though; the wording leaves room for interpretation.”
The wording of Restore Balance is not “cancel”, it’s “prevent” - so I wouldn’t really use this in my games. Once a roll is prevented from having advantage or disadvantage, no other effect can change that.
Your discussion of rope trick is incorrect, in general, because the spell is the same duration as a short rest, and you can't short rest while climbing up or down the rope, and most any DM will have the drop when the spell ends also interrupt a short rest. There are shenanigans you can pull - using a very short rope goes a long way, and Extended Spell solves the entire problem in one go - but you don't discuss those shenanigans.
While some DMs may play it that way, it's not the intention of the designers (Jeremy Crawford has confirmed this) that these one hour duration spells don't need to be tracked with ludicrous precision, and one hour minus thirty seconds or however is enough to complete a short rest for all intents and purposes. So while it may not work this way at your table, it is intended to do so.
Do you have a source for that? It was the intention to modify short rest periods to coincide with spellcasting?
Distant Spell - not bad, though circumstantial. I've made use of the 120' Counterspell with distant spell on many occasions.
Subtle Spell - a subtly cast spell can't in turn be counterspelled, so if you're going against npc/enemy/monster casters on the regular there is something to be said for casting a spell they can't really counter at all.
Distant Spell - not bad, though circumstantial. I've made use of the 120' Counterspell with distant spell on many occasions.
Subtle Spell - a subtly cast spell can't in turn be counterspelled, so if you're going against npc/enemy/monster casters on the regular there is something to be said for casting a spell they can't really counter at all.
Just highlighting that RAW you can't distant spell counterspell so some DM's might not allow it, but cool if yours does as DM decides all in the end.
Sort of makes sense as technically its a reaction (a split second, not 6 seconds) of a trigger occurring within 60ft radius of you, the trigger being you spotting a caster casting a spell that you recognize and want to block. But again, DM's call as always.
Having Extended Spell combined with Aid is actually kind of incredible for the Clockwork Souls.
Aid is already an 8 hour spell, so when you cast Aid with extended spell double it to a 16 hour duration. This means you can cast it on your party before taking a long rest and still get the benefits of it for the next adventuring day. So basically every night before you take your rest use a sorcerer point to extend Aid at the highest level you can then take your rest to get all your points and spell slots back.
Plus since Aid increases Hit point maximum instead of just adding temp HP you can then combine that HP boost with a temp HP skill to really push your HP up to extreme limits.
Just highlighting that RAW you can't distant spell counterspell so some DM's might not allow it, but cool if yours does as DM decides all in the end.
Sort of makes sense as technically its a reaction (a split second, not 6 seconds) of a trigger occurring within 60ft radius of you, the trigger being you spotting a caster casting a spell that you recognize and want to block. But again, DM's call as always.
'scuse me? Distant spell lets you spend a sorcery point when you cast a spell that has a range of 5 ft or greater. Counterspell has a range of 60 ft. How is it not RAW to use Distant spell on Counterspell?
Distant Spell
When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double the range of the spell
Just highlighting that RAW you can't distant spell counterspell so some DM's might not allow it, but cool if yours does as DM decides all in the end.
Sort of makes sense as technically its a reaction (a split second, not 6 seconds) of a trigger occurring within 60ft radius of you, the trigger being you spotting a caster casting a spell that you recognize and want to block. But again, DM's call as always.
'scuse me? Distant spell lets you spend a sorcery point when you cast a spell that has a range of 5 ft or greater. Counterspell has a range of 60 ft. How is it not RAW to use Distant spell on Counterspell?
The trigger occurs before you start casting the spell, the trigger has to be within 60ft for you to see it. You can't apply distant spell until you start casting the spell.
To fully quote the PHB: "Casting Time: 1 Reaction, which you take when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell"
If you're looking on DnDB then its a '*' sub-note at the bottom of the spell.
RAW you can't distant counterspell, but the DM can overrule to say otherwise, their call as always.
Nice guide. I think Tasha’s did a good job with sorcerers, the added spells really helps, and being able to swap them out, even with school restrictions, can make a big difference in the character.
Hope you make one for Aberrant Mind in the future. If I get a chance to play a sorcerer, Aberrant Mind would be the one.
Crawford's tweets aren't supposed to support rules questions anymore is my understanding, though I see where you're at on the RAW as far as the reaction trigger. To me that is a dumb addition of minutia that makes these kinds of interactions more difficult than they need to be. A reaction trigger of "which you take when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell" wouldn't have changed the function of the spell for any caster besides those edge cases of Sorcerer's with Distant spell.
It works at my tables and every table I've ever played at to date. The addition of 60 ft in the reaction trigger is just another way to hamper Sorcerer unnecessarily IMO as they are the only ones for whom the range/reaction trigger distance even comes up.
Anyway, happy gaming to you and to all a good night.
Asking since this was super informative. I am going a 6 clockwork and 14 eloquence bard. Im thinking of just going twinned and subtle with possibly another meta magic feat on the way. Any suggestions? Just wanted another perspective
Dndbeyond, we're a year out from release at this point. Can we get a fix to swapping spells with Clockwork and Aberrant Mind at this point? Character sheets functioning properly is one of the PRIMARY reasons I've invested heavily in this site. That functionality has dropped off significantly in the last year.
Love this guide! Another fun multiclass option that I'm currently playing is a 1 level Order Cleric dip. you'll need the 13 wisdom but its worth it with how well voice of authority synergizes with this subclass. At least if you're focusing on more of a support build. You also get great spells like Guidance, Bless, and Healing Word! Not to mention the heavy armor and shield proficiencies! If you go Hill Dwarf you don't need to worry about your strength score. I also feel the thematics of clockwork soul fits Dwarves really well!
Dndbeyond, we're a year out from release at this point. Can we get a fix to swapping spells with Clockwork and Aberrant Mind at this point? Character sheets functioning properly is one of the PRIMARY reasons I've invested heavily in this site. That functionality has dropped off significantly in the last year.
Protection from Evil would, IMO, rank either circumstantial OR insanely useful. If you anticipate fighting lots of unnatural enemies (and since my first two published campaigns were Out of the Abyss and Curse of Strahd, I am a person who ALWAYS anticipates those sorts of enemies), twinning Protection from Evil is a great way to make the party front liners love you.
Your discussion of rope trick is incorrect, in general, because the spell is the same duration as a short rest, and you can't short rest while climbing up or down the rope, and most any DM will have the drop when the spell ends also interrupt a short rest. There are shenanigans you can pull - using a very short rope goes a long way, and Extended Spell solves the entire problem in one go - but you don't discuss those shenanigans.
While some DMs may play it that way, it's not the intention of the designers (Jeremy Crawford has confirmed this) that these one hour duration spells don't need to be tracked with ludicrous precision, and one hour minus thirty seconds or however is enough to complete a short rest for all intents and purposes. So while it may not work this way at your table, it is intended to do so.
“Heightened spell: As good as it would be for any sorcerer, though to be honest, playing a Shadow Sorcerer and relying on the Hound of Ill Omen kinda soured me on this one. Keep in mind that a number of your spells—telekinesis, animate objects—don’t benefit from this. This actually works quite well in combination with Restore Balance if you’re facing a monster with magic resistance; they go from having advantage on their save to having disadvantage. No other sorcerer can do that. No other character can do that, because of how advantage and disadvantage normally cancel each other out. Do check with your DM to make sure that Restore Balance wouldn’t cancel out the creature’s disadvantage, though; the wording leaves room for interpretation.”
The wording of Restore Balance is not “cancel”, it’s “prevent” - so I wouldn’t really use this in my games. Once a roll is prevented from having advantage or disadvantage, no other effect can change that.
Do you have a source for that? It was the intention to modify short rest periods to coincide with spellcasting?
Distant Spell - not bad, though circumstantial. I've made use of the 120' Counterspell with distant spell on many occasions.
Subtle Spell - a subtly cast spell can't in turn be counterspelled, so if you're going against npc/enemy/monster casters on the regular there is something to be said for casting a spell they can't really counter at all.
Just highlighting that RAW you can't distant spell counterspell so some DM's might not allow it, but cool if yours does as DM decides all in the end.
Sort of makes sense as technically its a reaction (a split second, not 6 seconds) of a trigger occurring within 60ft radius of you, the trigger being you spotting a caster casting a spell that you recognize and want to block. But again, DM's call as always.
Having Extended Spell combined with Aid is actually kind of incredible for the Clockwork Souls.
Aid is already an 8 hour spell, so when you cast Aid with extended spell double it to a 16 hour duration. This means you can cast it on your party before taking a long rest and still get the benefits of it for the next adventuring day. So basically every night before you take your rest use a sorcerer point to extend Aid at the highest level you can then take your rest to get all your points and spell slots back.
Plus since Aid increases Hit point maximum instead of just adding temp HP you can then combine that HP boost with a temp HP skill to really push your HP up to extreme limits.
'scuse me? Distant spell lets you spend a sorcery point when you cast a spell that has a range of 5 ft or greater. Counterspell has a range of 60 ft. How is it not RAW to use Distant spell on Counterspell?
Link from Crawford:
https://twitter.com/DaveWil33/status/1270576410508156929
The trigger occurs before you start casting the spell, the trigger has to be within 60ft for you to see it. You can't apply distant spell until you start casting the spell.
To fully quote the PHB: "Casting Time: 1 Reaction, which you take when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell"
If you're looking on DnDB then its a '*' sub-note at the bottom of the spell.
RAW you can't distant counterspell, but the DM can overrule to say otherwise, their call as always.
Nice guide. I think Tasha’s did a good job with sorcerers, the added spells really helps, and being able to swap them out, even with school restrictions, can make a big difference in the character.
Hope you make one for Aberrant Mind in the future. If I get a chance to play a sorcerer, Aberrant Mind would be the one.
Good job.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Crawford's tweets aren't supposed to support rules questions anymore is my understanding, though I see where you're at on the RAW as far as the reaction trigger. To me that is a dumb addition of minutia that makes these kinds of interactions more difficult than they need to be. A reaction trigger of "which you take when you see a creature
within 60 feet of youcasting a spell" wouldn't have changed the function of the spell for any caster besides those edge cases of Sorcerer's with Distant spell.It works at my tables and every table I've ever played at to date. The addition of 60 ft in the reaction trigger is just another way to hamper Sorcerer unnecessarily IMO as they are the only ones for whom the range/reaction trigger distance even comes up.
Anyway, happy gaming to you and to all a good night.
Hello,
Asking since this was super informative. I am going a 6 clockwork and 14 eloquence bard. Im thinking of just going twinned and subtle with possibly another meta magic feat on the way. Any suggestions? Just wanted another perspective
Dndbeyond, we're a year out from release at this point. Can we get a fix to swapping spells with Clockwork and Aberrant Mind at this point? Character sheets functioning properly is one of the PRIMARY reasons I've invested heavily in this site. That functionality has dropped off significantly in the last year.
Love this guide! Another fun multiclass option that I'm currently playing is a 1 level Order Cleric dip. you'll need the 13 wisdom but its worth it with how well voice of authority synergizes with this subclass. At least if you're focusing on more of a support build. You also get great spells like Guidance, Bless, and Healing Word! Not to mention the heavy armor and shield proficiencies! If you go Hill Dwarf you don't need to worry about your strength score. I also feel the thematics of clockwork soul fits Dwarves really well!
This. So much This.
Protection from Evil would, IMO, rank either circumstantial OR insanely useful. If you anticipate fighting lots of unnatural enemies (and since my first two published campaigns were Out of the Abyss and Curse of Strahd, I am a person who ALWAYS anticipates those sorts of enemies), twinning Protection from Evil is a great way to make the party front liners love you.
If you make a copy of it as homebrew you can manually change it.