hi, i've been playing D&D for a while now and i have a question.
is wizard magic heritable? what i mean is that if my wizard character has a child, will the child be a sorcerer?
thanks in advance for reading my question, hope i'll hear from you guys!
I doubt there's any official word on this, but I find it doubtful all children of wizards come out as sorcerers. Maybe if two wizards had a child? But I'd lean more towards 7th sons of 7th sons, children born (or conceived) on active leylines, or born under strange and powerful stars, or during mysterious storms, or in the 'year of the unexplained fire in the sky' event, or some such.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Another option if you want this as your backstory - your mother was a Wizard experimenting with [magic related to your subclass] while pregnant. Much as a mother’s diet can influence the development of fetal growth, you could say the experimentation with a specific area of magic produced an in utero effect on your character.
Overall, if you want this to be your character’s backstory, you could certainly come up with something which would work.
Generally speaking sorcerers are the result of a bloodline with some extraordinary heritage (dragon sorcerers being one of the most prominent examples) or exposure to some kind of potent and generally esoteric magic of a particular flavor out in the world, with a few “just born different” types to round things out.
what i mean is that if my wizard character has a child, will the child be a sorcerer?
Only if they're the 8th son of an 8th son of an 8th son. ;-) (gotta get that Discworld in there)
Personally I'd just go with the child being a wizard following their parent's footsteps. (Could tie in backstory of how you gained proficiency in Arcana because your dad/mom read spellbooks to you before bedtime.) But it's your world. You can do what you want.
And if you're looking into the magic shenanigans, could borrow from Discworld where wizard magic over a long time could warp an area's reality, resulting in the sorcerous origin.
Basically, not necessarily, but I see no reason it's not possible. The sorcerer in Honor Among Thieves whose name escapes me at the moment was stated to have magic due to descent from Elminster, who's a wizard, so there's at least that much precedent.
RAW No, none of the sorcerous origins dictate a Sorcerer of that origin is "the child of a wizard." Could you use wizard parentage as the backstory to a Sorcerer's sorcerous origin? Sure, why not; but it's more a world building/setting/backstory question for a player and campaign's DM than it is something in the rules.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Basically, not necessarily, but I see no reason it's not possible. The sorcerer in Honor Among Thieves whose name escapes me at the moment was stated to have magic due to descent from Elminster, who's a wizard, so there's at least that much precedent.
Of course, as much as Elminster has gotten around over the centuries, one in ten people with human ancestry are probably descended from him by the time 5E started.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I didn't realize that, but I think you're right. The party has a sorceror, and we know there are red wizards of Thay, but they don't make a distinction of what makes what, I don't think there's a spell book to be seen if I recall. I guess "confidence" is sort of a key to sorcery if we pay attention to that subplot.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
hi, i've been playing D&D for a while now and i have a question.
is wizard magic heritable? what i mean is that if my wizard character has a child, will the child be a sorcerer?
thanks in advance for reading my question, hope i'll hear from you guys!
You can't inherit being a Wizard, unless it is an natural ability of your race. You have to be both very smart and learn how to cast spells. Then again, this is 5e and it's possible some supplemental book declared it is possible.
The exact mechanics of how one becomes a Wizard, or most other form of caster, haven’t been defined in 5e. Being a Cleric could be a direct blessing from the deity or a matter of training innate magical talent in a particular direction. That could be the same innate talent that a Wizard would use, or they could be as different as proficiency with music and sculpture. The trope of magical talent running in bloodlines is a common one, and has been used in various pieces of D&D material, but it’s not a codified aspect of the Wizard class.
I feel that since Wizard's are so involved and dominant in the magic category, I feel its possible some of that arcane power was passed on to their offspring after being so involved with it.
The exact mechanics ... haven’t been defined in 5e. ...
This is the most wonderful and contentious things about D&D. The gaps are there to be filled in however the players want, but sometimes, players want the gaps filled in a specific way that doesn't align with someone else's filling.
Me? I'm all good with different versions of the same setting. (4 decades of gaming with each entry in the various series deviating from the prior. Makes one less nitpicky.)
If you can argue it in your setting (or often even if you can't), I'm good with it.
Is the child of a Wizard a Sorcerer? Maybe. Do you want that to be true?
There is a catch with social storytelling, though. I'm not the one who needs convincing as I'll go with what's fun over what makes sense. Other people at the table might need some of those gaps filled your way if they have preconceptions about how it all works.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
The exact mechanics ... haven’t been defined in 5e. ...
This is the most wonderful and contentious things about D&D. The gaps are there to be filled in however the players want, but sometimes, players want the gaps filled in a specific way that doesn't align with someone else's filling.
Me? I'm all good with different versions of the same setting. (4 decades of gaming with each entry in the various series deviating from the prior. Makes one less nitpicky.)
If you can argue it in your setting (or often even if you can't), I'm good with it.
Is the child of a Wizard a Sorcerer? Maybe. Do you want that to be true?
There is a catch with social storytelling, though. I'm not the one who needs convincing as I'll go with what's fun over what makes sense. Other people at the table might need some of those gaps filled your way if they have preconceptions about how it all works.
Yes! what ever works at your table, and I love the latitude built into the rules.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
hi, i've been playing D&D for a while now and i have a question.
is wizard magic heritable? what i mean is that if my wizard character has a child, will the child be a sorcerer?
thanks in advance for reading my question, hope i'll hear from you guys!
I doubt there's any official word on this, but I find it doubtful all children of wizards come out as sorcerers. Maybe if two wizards had a child? But I'd lean more towards 7th sons of 7th sons, children born (or conceived) on active leylines, or born under strange and powerful stars, or during mysterious storms, or in the 'year of the unexplained fire in the sky' event, or some such.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Another option if you want this as your backstory - your mother was a Wizard experimenting with [magic related to your subclass] while pregnant. Much as a mother’s diet can influence the development of fetal growth, you could say the experimentation with a specific area of magic produced an in utero effect on your character.
Overall, if you want this to be your character’s backstory, you could certainly come up with something which would work.
Generally speaking sorcerers are the result of a bloodline with some extraordinary heritage (dragon sorcerers being one of the most prominent examples) or exposure to some kind of potent and generally esoteric magic of a particular flavor out in the world, with a few “just born different” types to round things out.
thank you all for the replies! i will definitely put them to good use!
Only if they're the 8th son of an 8th son of an 8th son. ;-)
(gotta get that Discworld in there)
Personally I'd just go with the child being a wizard following their parent's footsteps. (Could tie in backstory of how you gained proficiency in Arcana because your dad/mom read spellbooks to you before bedtime.) But it's your world. You can do what you want.
And if you're looking into the magic shenanigans, could borrow from Discworld where wizard magic over a long time could warp an area's reality, resulting in the sorcerous origin.
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Terry Pratchett has a book called Sorcery which in his world a young boy is born who is the 7th son of the 7th son of a wizard ,,
To quote a line ,, "A Sorcerer is a Wizard Squared :D."
RIP Terry Pratchett , gone way too soon.
Basically, not necessarily, but I see no reason it's not possible. The sorcerer in Honor Among Thieves whose name escapes me at the moment was stated to have magic due to descent from Elminster, who's a wizard, so there's at least that much precedent.
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
RAW No, none of the sorcerous origins dictate a Sorcerer of that origin is "the child of a wizard." Could you use wizard parentage as the backstory to a Sorcerer's sorcerous origin? Sure, why not; but it's more a world building/setting/backstory question for a player and campaign's DM than it is something in the rules.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Of course, as much as Elminster has gotten around over the centuries, one in ten people with human ancestry are probably descended from him by the time 5E started.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Plus the movie didn't really get into any distinctions between "sorcerer" and "wizard" that I can recall.
I didn't realize that, but I think you're right. The party has a sorceror, and we know there are red wizards of Thay, but they don't make a distinction of what makes what, I don't think there's a spell book to be seen if I recall. I guess "confidence" is sort of a key to sorcery if we pay attention to that subplot.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I guess by RAW, noone is born to anything except their Race.
Anyone can read to become a wizard, anyone can train to be a fighter. There is no telling if and when a Sorcerers powers manifest.
In the end, it is always a player choice, and ability score dependent.
I think i'd find it more likely that the child of a warlock would be a sorcerer.
Thank you for your time and please have a very pleasant day.
You can't inherit being a Wizard, unless it is an natural ability of your race. You have to be both very smart and learn how to cast spells. Then again, this is 5e and it's possible some supplemental book declared it is possible.
The exact mechanics of how one becomes a Wizard, or most other form of caster, haven’t been defined in 5e. Being a Cleric could be a direct blessing from the deity or a matter of training innate magical talent in a particular direction. That could be the same innate talent that a Wizard would use, or they could be as different as proficiency with music and sculpture. The trope of magical talent running in bloodlines is a common one, and has been used in various pieces of D&D material, but it’s not a codified aspect of the Wizard class.
I feel that since Wizard's are so involved and dominant in the magic category, I feel its possible some of that arcane power was passed on to their offspring after being so involved with it.
This is the most wonderful and contentious things about D&D. The gaps are there to be filled in however the players want, but sometimes, players want the gaps filled in a specific way that doesn't align with someone else's filling.
Me? I'm all good with different versions of the same setting. (4 decades of gaming with each entry in the various series deviating from the prior. Makes one less nitpicky.)
If you can argue it in your setting (or often even if you can't), I'm good with it.
Is the child of a Wizard a Sorcerer? Maybe. Do you want that to be true?
There is a catch with social storytelling, though. I'm not the one who needs convincing as I'll go with what's fun over what makes sense. Other people at the table might need some of those gaps filled your way if they have preconceptions about how it all works.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Yes! what ever works at your table, and I love the latitude built into the rules.
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
Seeing as how there’s no “wizard bloodline,” I don’t think so. But I guess that’s ultimately up to the DM.