I already did. I said it does everything I want it to do, with no wizard baggage. Therefore, sorcerers do not suck.
You don't support a claim with an opinion, you do it with evidence.
I will repeat the question. Can you support your claim that sorcerers don't need to be changed with numbers or any evidence?
No one can. It's an opinion. This entire thread is an opinion. Every response is an opinion. The irony of this, is your signature shouts out the fact that opinions are going to be prevalent.
As I said before, the exact exchange rate can be debated and adjusted for balance. Also, whether this hit point damage is immediately recoverable via a healing spell or can't be recovered until after a short or long rest can also be debated and adjusted for balance.
So what exchange rate do you suggest? What mechanic do you suggest?
I already did. I said it does everything I want it to do, with no wizard baggage. Therefore, sorcerers do not suck.
You don't support a claim with an opinion, you do it with evidence.
I will repeat the question. Can you support your claim that sorcerers don't need to be changed with numbers or any evidence?
No one can. It's an opinion. This entire thread is an opinion. Every response is an opinion. The irony of this, is your signature shouts out the fact that opinions are going to be prevalent.
everyone can have an opinion but they should also be able to articulate why they hold that opinion. Its really not that unreasonable to ask people to substantiate their views with reason. How else are we supposed to understand another person's view point?
Magic is supposed to be in the blood of the sorcerer. Hit points for sorcery points reflects that.
I'd rather not forward in opinion on what the exchange rate should be because I've never played a sorcerer. My suggestion is based on flavor only. I do know, though, that Treantmonk's sorcerer variant can trade hit points for sorcery points. That might be a good place to look.
So to be clear, you are insistent that the Sorcerer class should have the alterations you suggest when you have never played the class, and based solely on someone else’s homebrewed variant?
Magic is supposed to be in the blood of the sorcerer. Hit points for sorcery points reflects that.
I've seen this point come up before as an explanation for why trading hit points for magic or using Constitution instead of Charisma makes sense for the sorcerer. I think this is a common misunderstanding about the origin of the sorcerer's magic. Magic isn't just in the blood of the sorcerer. It's in their "bloodline". Their magic is more than just physical, it is metaphysical and extends to their very soul.
Charisma isn't just the personality stat. It is also the soul stat. That is why Sorcerer spellcasting is based on Charisma, rather than something physical. Things in D&D that require a Charisma saving throw include: banishment, magic jar, plane shift, mirror of life trapping, and ghostly possession.
From a response on RPG Stack Exchange: "In religious studies, 'charisma' sometimes refers to the inner personal power in an individual, divinely conferred." Max Weber described Charisma as:
...a certain quality of a individual by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These ... are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.
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I already did. I said it does everything I want it to do, with no wizard baggage. Therefore, sorcerers do not suck.
You don't support a claim with an opinion, you do it with evidence.
I will repeat the question. Can you support your claim that sorcerers don't need to be changed with numbers or any evidence?
No one can. It's an opinion. This entire thread is an opinion. Every response is an opinion. The irony of this, is your signature shouts out the fact that opinions are going to be prevalent.
You can support opinions with evidence. That is the point of this thread. The thread is to convince people that sorcerers suck as they are and need fixing, or for people to argue against that opinion. This thread is also to develop some ideas how to fix that problem. Every response tends to be an opinion supported by evidence, along with mine. My signature says, and I quote, "I have a lot of opinions on what 5e products should come out in the future, and ways previous adventures should be fixed." No where in there do I scream, I am all opinions, ignore me! I have opinions on Adventures and Needed Future Products, but my analysis of current classes are based on facts, not only opinions.
crzyhawk made a claim, and only offered an opinion to support it, I asked for evidence, and so far have received nothing.
Are opinions found in this thread? Yes.
Are they backed up with evidence? I better hope so, or I will shut up.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Magic is supposed to be in the blood of the sorcerer. Hit points for sorcery points reflects that.
I've seen this point come up before as an explanation for why trading hit points for magic or using Constitution instead of Charisma makes sense for the sorcerer. I think this is a common misunderstanding about the origin of the sorcerer's magic. Magic isn't just in the blood of the sorcerer. It's in their "bloodline". Their magic is more than just physical, it is metaphysical and extends to their very soul.
Charisma isn't just the personality stat. It is also the soul stat. That is why Sorcerer spellcasting is based on Charisma, rather than something physical. Things in D&D that require a Charisma saving throw include: banishment, magic jar, plane shift, mirror of life trapping, and ghostly possession.
From a response on RPG Stack Exchange: "In religious studies, 'charisma' sometimes refers to the inner personal power in an individual, divinely conferred." Max Weber described Charisma as:
...a certain quality of a individual by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These ... are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.
I agree, sorcerous power comes from the heart (metaphorically, not physically), same with bards, paladins, and warlocks.
I'll just shortly interject with this analysis of the 3 mental ability scores.
Intelligence comes from mind power, wizards, eldritch knights, arcane tricksters, and artificers all gain their spellcasting power from their brain.
Wisdom comes from the spirit. Spiritual power is what drives clerics, druids, and rangers.
Charisma comes from the soul/heart. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and paladins all gain their power from their soul.
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In terms of Saves, Intelligence is the “Wait a minute, that can’t be right” save, Wisdom is the “You will not outwit me” save, and Charisma is the “You shall not pass!” save. Charisma is willpower in D&D. Sorcerers get their powers from sheer force of will. (Probably inspired in some small part by the Eddings’ Belgariad/Malloreon setting.)
I'd argue willpower comes from Wisdom. It is the ability score used to overcome things like charm, fear, suggestion, and domination. Charisma is more of a force of presence, than will.
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I agree that taking HP damage seem strange from a magical bloodline. But pushing yourself might not, so a level of exhaustion for half your spell points rounded down makes some sense.
Wisdom is the "Willpower" save not for any actual logical reason, but because it inherited the "Will" save that resisted all mental effects back when the game only HAD three saves - Reflex, Fortitude, and Will. There's no deeply thought out, good and proper reason for Wisdom to be the "Resists ALL forms of coercion, domination, paralysis, entrapment, and everything else" save, and for Intelligence and Charisma saves to be more-or-less nonexistent. This is an artefact of the bloated history of D&D bogging down game design, not of any sort of deeply subtle statement of the various roles of the various attributes.
Any roles assigned to attributes in this game are assigned after the attributes were fixed in place. The fact that Wisdom as a core ability score makes no god damned sense doesn't matter - D&D has always had a Wisdom score and thus it must always have a Wisdom score, long past the point where keeping it does the game more harm than good.
ANYWAYS
* * *
The overall consensus here (such as it is and what there is of it) seems to be that the sorcerer should have greater access to its Metamagic feature. The level 20 capstone of recovering four sorcery points on a short rest is wildly insufficient considering the innumerable other drawbacks of the class, and the sorcerer in turn does not get enough choices of Metamagic and does not get them early enough. The sorcerer's drastically limited known spells count also forces sorcerer players to pick between spells that are thematic and cool for their Origin/character background and spells which are useful to the party.
Is this about right? If so, what do we do about it? Are we looking at a 'Sorcerer Revised', or would variant class features a'la the November UA be sufficient to fix it? Keeping in mind the sharp limitations on variant class features.
Int is the left-brain, rational "you will not out wit me" save.
Wis is the right-brain, analytical "this doesn't feel right" save. It involves non-linear thinking, no one answer, and dozens of variables and rules of thumb.
Cha is the force of personality save. It is the ability to recover from a faux pas.
First off, that whole Left-Brain/Right-Brain thing doesn't exist, there is no correlation between what side of your brain you use more, and if you're antisocial, or anything else. You use both sides of the brain for nearly the same things. The whole idea of it is incorrect.
You will not outwit me, definitely is an intelligence ability.
This doesn't feel right, is also very wisdom-y, but I feel like the spells that require Wisdom saves are all more of a "I cannot be mentally-changed" ability, Hold Person, Viscous Mockery, all of those spells require Wisdom saves.
Charisma isn't the force of personality, Wizards with low Charisma have just as much of a personality as Warlocks or Paladins, but I think it is more of a "I cannot be convinced" save.
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Of course, if that were true, then everyone with an 18 Cha would be able to cast Sorcerer spells. Just like Wizards don't get their spells from their Int, Sorcerers don't get their spells from their Cha. They get it from somewhere else. Cha just helps them use it. But, even a character with a Cha of 9 could be s sorcerer - not a very good sorcerer, but they could still be a sorcerer.
The mental scores are not the originator of the Warlocks, Clerics, Wizards spells, I don't think anyone was saying that, these scores; Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, they are what magnify their spellcasting. The higher scores you have based on your class, the more effective your spells can be. It doesn't just help them use it, it makes them better, more effective. Sorcerers get their spells from how they are different from other people of their races, effected by extraplanar/arcane powers. Warlocks get their power from their spells. Yes, a wizard can have a high CHA, and not be able to cast warlock spells, because that isn't where they get their spells.
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Wisdom is the "Willpower" save not for any actual logical reason, but because it inherited the "Will" save that resisted all mental effects back when the game only HAD three saves - Reflex, Fortitude, and Will. There's no deeply thought out, good and proper reason for Wisdom to be the "Resists ALL forms of coercion, domination, paralysis, entrapment, and everything else" save, and for Intelligence and Charisma saves to be more-or-less nonexistent. This is an artefact of the bloated history of D&D bogging down game design, not of any sort of deeply subtle statement of the various roles of the various attributes.
Any roles assigned to attributes in this game are assigned after the attributes were fixed in place. The fact that Wisdom as a core ability score makes no god damned sense doesn't matter - D&D has always had a Wisdom score and thus it must always have a Wisdom score, long past the point where keeping it does the game more harm than good.
ANYWAYS
* * *
The overall consensus here (such as it is and what there is of it) seems to be that the sorcerer should have greater access to its Metamagic feature. The level 20 capstone of recovering four sorcery points on a short rest is wildly insufficient considering the innumerable other drawbacks of the class, and the sorcerer in turn does not get enough choices of Metamagic and does not get them early enough. The sorcerer's drastically limited known spells count also forces sorcerer players to pick between spells that are thematic and cool for their Origin/character background and spells which are useful to the party.
Is this about right? If so, what do we do about it? Are we looking at a 'Sorcerer Revised', or would variant class features a'la the November UA be sufficient to fix it? Keeping in mind the sharp limitations on variant class features.
I think we can all admit that the Class Feature Variants was a way for Wizards to fix the Ranger, and other classes, without having to rewrite all the classes, and I think that this is a good way to do it. If they focused a UA Feature Variants on the Sorcerer, they will be able to fix the sorcerer, if they do it right.
I think most of us agree, the Sorcerer should have more Sorcery points in some way, their capstone should be fixed, and they should have access to more spells, and more unique spells (though it isn''t required).
Is that about it?
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Is this about right? If so, what do we do about it? Are we looking at a 'Sorcerer Revised', or would variant class features a'la the November UA be sufficient to fix it? Keeping in mind the sharp limitations on variant class features.
How would Wizards go about implementing an official change like that? We don't have any precedent other than the multiple UA Ranger-focused tuneups.
My guess is, to avoid "invalidating" anything in the PHB, they'd prefer to present them as variant rules, which opens the door for DMs to allow or disallow the aforementioned much-needed adjustments. Which is undesirable at best - but it might be the most we can get.
I'd prefer (though this is probably unrealistic) a complete errata that is reflected in new print runs of the PHB and could also be published separately, physically, as its own product (for those who have physical copies that won't simply update on DDB and don't want to buy a new, "more correct" version).
Wizards will never print anything that invalidates/replaces PHB content until and unless we get the extremely unlikely event that they do a 5.5e and redo the PHB and the DMG entirely. Which is sorely needed but wildly unlikely to happen. They simply flat refuse to tell everybody that they should buy a new book, which is bass-ackwards reasonable because the books are so intensely expensive.
The issue, methinks is that the Alternate Class Features presented in the original November UA requires either a one-for-one, self-contained switch of ONE base (i.e. non-subclass) class feature for ONE new base class feature, or a simple bolt-on augmentation of an existing feature that is not level dependent.
Sorcerers...do not have base class features. There is nothing to "alternate" with, sorcerers are nothing but a framework onto which spellcasting and Metamagic is bolted. What few funky class features they get are all subclass-based, which means no dice for the ACF UA. New features would need to be plugged into the sorcerer progression without replacing or augmenting different features, which is outside the scope of the UA document as given.
Which is why I'm torn. Alternate class features is a thing that might actually happen in a future book, something we could actually get, but the sorcerer can't really benefit from them as written. It's obnoxious, and I'll freely admit that I don't know the ideal solution.
Wisdom is the "Willpower" save not for any actual logical reason, but because it inherited the "Will" save that resisted all mental effects back when the game only HAD three saves - Reflex, Fortitude, and Will. There's no deeply thought out, good and proper reason for Wisdom to be the "Resists ALL forms of coercion, domination, paralysis, entrapment, and everything else" save, and for Intelligence and Charisma saves to be more-or-less nonexistent. This is an artefact of the bloated history of D&D bogging down game design, not of any sort of deeply subtle statement of the various roles of the various attributes.
Any roles assigned to attributes in this game are assigned after the attributes were fixed in place. The fact that Wisdom as a core ability score makes no god damned sense doesn't matter - D&D has always had a Wisdom score and thus it must always have a Wisdom score, long past the point where keeping it does the game more harm than good.
ANYWAYS
* * *
The overall consensus here (such as it is and what there is of it) seems to be that the sorcerer should have greater access to its Metamagic feature. The level 20 capstone of recovering four sorcery points on a short rest is wildly insufficient considering the innumerable other drawbacks of the class, and the sorcerer in turn does not get enough choices of Metamagic and does not get them early enough. The sorcerer's drastically limited known spells count also forces sorcerer players to pick between spells that are thematic and cool for their Origin/character background and spells which are useful to the party.
Is this about right? If so, what do we do about it? Are we looking at a 'Sorcerer Revised', or would variant class features a'la the November UA be sufficient to fix it? Keeping in mind the sharp limitations on variant class features.
I think we can all admit that the Class Feature Variants was a way for Wizards to fix the Ranger, and other classes, without having to rewrite all the classes, and I think that this is a good way to do it. If they focused a UA Feature Variants on the Sorcerer, they will be able to fix the sorcerer, if they do it right.
I think most of us agree, the Sorcerer should have more Sorcery points in some way, their capstone should be fixed, and they should have access to more spells, and more unique spells (though it isn''t required).
Is that about it?
I don’t even think they need more/new spells. If they just got more sorcery points and Metamagic I think they would be fine.
On the subject of rewriting class features, there's something that has always bothered me about the interaction between Font of Magic and Metamagic. You get Font of Magic first, giving you Sorcery Points. But..... you have nothing to spend them on, which means your only real use at level 2 is to convert both of them into a 1st level Spell Slot. It's not until level 3 you can actually use them, when you get your first Metamagic options. While you CAN use Font of Magic to consumes Sorcery Points for Spell Slots and vice versa, the 2 Class Features need each other to function as they should to make the class "go". Because of that, they should be given to the class together. The closest analog I can see at a cursory glance would be the Monk's Ki points. Imagine if you got Ki points at level 2, but you had to wait until level 3 to use Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind.
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You don't support a claim with an opinion, you do it with evidence.
I will repeat the question. Can you support your claim that sorcerers don't need to be changed with numbers or any evidence?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
No one can. It's an opinion. This entire thread is an opinion. Every response is an opinion. The irony of this, is your signature shouts out the fact that opinions are going to be prevalent.
So what exchange rate do you suggest? What mechanic do you suggest?
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everyone can have an opinion but they should also be able to articulate why they hold that opinion. Its really not that unreasonable to ask people to substantiate their views with reason. How else are we supposed to understand another person's view point?
So to be clear, you are insistent that the Sorcerer class should have the alterations you suggest when you have never played the class, and based solely on someone else’s homebrewed variant?
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I've seen this point come up before as an explanation for why trading hit points for magic or using Constitution instead of Charisma makes sense for the sorcerer. I think this is a common misunderstanding about the origin of the sorcerer's magic. Magic isn't just in the blood of the sorcerer. It's in their "bloodline". Their magic is more than just physical, it is metaphysical and extends to their very soul.
Charisma isn't just the personality stat. It is also the soul stat. That is why Sorcerer spellcasting is based on Charisma, rather than something physical. Things in D&D that require a Charisma saving throw include: banishment, magic jar, plane shift, mirror of life trapping, and ghostly possession.
From a response on RPG Stack Exchange: "In religious studies, 'charisma' sometimes refers to the inner personal power in an individual, divinely conferred." Max Weber described Charisma as:
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You can support opinions with evidence. That is the point of this thread. The thread is to convince people that sorcerers suck as they are and need fixing, or for people to argue against that opinion. This thread is also to develop some ideas how to fix that problem. Every response tends to be an opinion supported by evidence, along with mine. My signature says, and I quote, "I have a lot of opinions on what 5e products should come out in the future, and ways previous adventures should be fixed." No where in there do I scream, I am all opinions, ignore me! I have opinions on Adventures and Needed Future Products, but my analysis of current classes are based on facts, not only opinions.
crzyhawk made a claim, and only offered an opinion to support it, I asked for evidence, and so far have received nothing.
Are opinions found in this thread? Yes.
Are they backed up with evidence? I better hope so, or I will shut up.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I agree, sorcerous power comes from the heart (metaphorically, not physically), same with bards, paladins, and warlocks.
I'll just shortly interject with this analysis of the 3 mental ability scores.
Intelligence comes from mind power, wizards, eldritch knights, arcane tricksters, and artificers all gain their spellcasting power from their brain.
Wisdom comes from the spirit. Spiritual power is what drives clerics, druids, and rangers.
Charisma comes from the soul/heart. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and paladins all gain their power from their soul.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
In terms of Saves, Intelligence is the “Wait a minute, that can’t be right” save, Wisdom is the “You will not outwit me” save, and Charisma is the “You shall not pass!” save. Charisma is willpower in D&D. Sorcerers get their powers from sheer force of will. (Probably inspired in some small part by the Eddings’ Belgariad/Malloreon setting.)
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I'd argue willpower comes from Wisdom. It is the ability score used to overcome things like charm, fear, suggestion, and domination. Charisma is more of a force of presence, than will.
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I agree that taking HP damage seem strange from a magical bloodline. But pushing yourself might not, so a level of exhaustion for half your spell points rounded down makes some sense.
Let's be realistic here, in this random tangent.
Wisdom is the "Willpower" save not for any actual logical reason, but because it inherited the "Will" save that resisted all mental effects back when the game only HAD three saves - Reflex, Fortitude, and Will. There's no deeply thought out, good and proper reason for Wisdom to be the "Resists ALL forms of coercion, domination, paralysis, entrapment, and everything else" save, and for Intelligence and Charisma saves to be more-or-less nonexistent. This is an artefact of the bloated history of D&D bogging down game design, not of any sort of deeply subtle statement of the various roles of the various attributes.
Any roles assigned to attributes in this game are assigned after the attributes were fixed in place. The fact that Wisdom as a core ability score makes no god damned sense doesn't matter - D&D has always had a Wisdom score and thus it must always have a Wisdom score, long past the point where keeping it does the game more harm than good.
ANYWAYS
* * *
The overall consensus here (such as it is and what there is of it) seems to be that the sorcerer should have greater access to its Metamagic feature. The level 20 capstone of recovering four sorcery points on a short rest is wildly insufficient considering the innumerable other drawbacks of the class, and the sorcerer in turn does not get enough choices of Metamagic and does not get them early enough. The sorcerer's drastically limited known spells count also forces sorcerer players to pick between spells that are thematic and cool for their Origin/character background and spells which are useful to the party.
Is this about right? If so, what do we do about it? Are we looking at a 'Sorcerer Revised', or would variant class features a'la the November UA be sufficient to fix it? Keeping in mind the sharp limitations on variant class features.
Please do not contact or message me.
First off, that whole Left-Brain/Right-Brain thing doesn't exist, there is no correlation between what side of your brain you use more, and if you're antisocial, or anything else. You use both sides of the brain for nearly the same things. The whole idea of it is incorrect.
You will not outwit me, definitely is an intelligence ability.
This doesn't feel right, is also very wisdom-y, but I feel like the spells that require Wisdom saves are all more of a "I cannot be mentally-changed" ability, Hold Person, Viscous Mockery, all of those spells require Wisdom saves.
Charisma isn't the force of personality, Wizards with low Charisma have just as much of a personality as Warlocks or Paladins, but I think it is more of a "I cannot be convinced" save.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
The mental scores are not the originator of the Warlocks, Clerics, Wizards spells, I don't think anyone was saying that, these scores; Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, they are what magnify their spellcasting. The higher scores you have based on your class, the more effective your spells can be. It doesn't just help them use it, it makes them better, more effective. Sorcerers get their spells from how they are different from other people of their races, effected by extraplanar/arcane powers. Warlocks get their power from their spells. Yes, a wizard can have a high CHA, and not be able to cast warlock spells, because that isn't where they get their spells.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I think we can all admit that the Class Feature Variants was a way for Wizards to fix the Ranger, and other classes, without having to rewrite all the classes, and I think that this is a good way to do it. If they focused a UA Feature Variants on the Sorcerer, they will be able to fix the sorcerer, if they do it right.
I think most of us agree, the Sorcerer should have more Sorcery points in some way, their capstone should be fixed, and they should have access to more spells, and more unique spells (though it isn''t required).
Is that about it?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
How would Wizards go about implementing an official change like that? We don't have any precedent other than the multiple UA Ranger-focused tuneups.
My guess is, to avoid "invalidating" anything in the PHB, they'd prefer to present them as variant rules, which opens the door for DMs to allow or disallow the aforementioned much-needed adjustments. Which is undesirable at best - but it might be the most we can get.
I'd prefer (though this is probably unrealistic) a complete errata that is reflected in new print runs of the PHB and could also be published separately, physically, as its own product (for those who have physical copies that won't simply update on DDB and don't want to buy a new, "more correct" version).
Partway through the quest for absolute truth.
Wizards will never print anything that invalidates/replaces PHB content until and unless we get the extremely unlikely event that they do a 5.5e and redo the PHB and the DMG entirely. Which is sorely needed but wildly unlikely to happen. They simply flat refuse to tell everybody that they should buy a new book, which is bass-ackwards reasonable because the books are so intensely expensive.
The issue, methinks is that the Alternate Class Features presented in the original November UA requires either a one-for-one, self-contained switch of ONE base (i.e. non-subclass) class feature for ONE new base class feature, or a simple bolt-on augmentation of an existing feature that is not level dependent.
Sorcerers...do not have base class features. There is nothing to "alternate" with, sorcerers are nothing but a framework onto which spellcasting and Metamagic is bolted. What few funky class features they get are all subclass-based, which means no dice for the ACF UA. New features would need to be plugged into the sorcerer progression without replacing or augmenting different features, which is outside the scope of the UA document as given.
Which is why I'm torn. Alternate class features is a thing that might actually happen in a future book, something we could actually get, but the sorcerer can't really benefit from them as written. It's obnoxious, and I'll freely admit that I don't know the ideal solution.
Please do not contact or message me.
Well said, Yurei. I don't know how exactly it could be done - but I look forward to them maybe, hopefully, trying.
Partway through the quest for absolute truth.
I don’t even think they need more/new spells. If they just got more sorcery points and Metamagic I think they would be fine.
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On the subject of rewriting class features, there's something that has always bothered me about the interaction between Font of Magic and Metamagic. You get Font of Magic first, giving you Sorcery Points. But..... you have nothing to spend them on, which means your only real use at level 2 is to convert both of them into a 1st level Spell Slot. It's not until level 3 you can actually use them, when you get your first Metamagic options. While you CAN use Font of Magic to consumes Sorcery Points for Spell Slots and vice versa, the 2 Class Features need each other to function as they should to make the class "go". Because of that, they should be given to the class together. The closest analog I can see at a cursory glance would be the Monk's Ki points. Imagine if you got Ki points at level 2, but you had to wait until level 3 to use Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind.