This is the Flesh Infusion sorcerous origin, a subclass based around body horror and hoping to invoke imagery of limbs twisting and reshaping coupled with the imagined sounds of bones cracking and breaking to mold themselves into the forms needed to produce the magical effects of your spells.
Any help with language checking and power balancing is absolutely appreciated.
Were you experimented on? Did a curse or blessing take root not in your soul but infused itself into your very flesh? Perhaps you are simply an evolved creature with magic in your very being. However you ended up this way most people with this type of magic are reviled and feared. Those with magic in their flesh are shunned and exiled due to the horrid molding and shifting their body does while performing magic.
Arcane Adaptation
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it at will as a 1st level spell. You can instead cast it at higher levels if you spend the spell slot as normal to cast it.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. You are permanently under the effects of the Detect Magic, Detect Evil and Good, and Detect Poison and Disease spells. This is not a magical effect that you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
Arcane Adaptation: Having a first level spell that you can cast at will is an 18th level wizard ability, not something a sorcerer should get at first level. That's way too overpowered. It would be much better to add to the sorcerer's available spells known the way the clockwork soul or aberrant mind does (gaining two set additional spells known of each spell level from 1 to 5, that don't count against the limit of how many spells you can know).
Magical Physiology: Not needing a physical arcane focus is good flavor. Most tables don't bother with those materials anyways, and foci are easy enough to get that this isn't going to unfairly increase the character's power.
Corporeal Consumption: If you're wanting to turn hit points into sorcery points, I'd go one step further and have doing so damage your maximum hit points until the next time you complete a long rest. This definitely gives the flavor but offsets the increase in power over the other subclasses by giving it a substantial drawback.
Mystical Evolution: All of that's way too much. Maybe instead have your cantrips that cause saving throws deal half damage on a passed save, or your elemental cantrips that target a single creature always benefit from the Twinned metamagic without you having to expend the sorcery points.
Elemental Recycling: That is a really interesting concept, and as the last feature of the subclass, it's not going to break the game, because that's at the level when every class has some crazy abilities.
Remarkably underpowered (except for the overpowered L14 benefit) and not in line with how sorcerer subclasses are done now (including some sus wording). Here's my attempt, based on modifying Clockwork Soul/Aberrant Mind.
Arcane Adaptation
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Arcane Adaptation Spells table. Each of these spells counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of sorcerer spells you know.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be able to deal or apply vulnerability, resistance, immunity, reduction, or a threshold to acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage, or summon or create a creature or object that does.
Sorcerer Level 1: Absorb Elements, Chaos Bolt
Sorcerer Level 3: Dragon's Breath, Protection from Poison
Sorcerer Level 5: Elemental Weapon, Protection from Energy
Adaptive Physiology. You have reduction to acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, and thunder damage equal to half your proficiency bonus. This does not stack with any other source of reduction.
Corporeal Consumption (Level 6): When you cast a spell that deals a type of damage from the following list, you can take 3 points of damage which can't be reduced or negated to change that damage type to one of the other listed types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder.
Mystical Evolution (Level 14): As a bonus action, you can spend up to 6 sorcery points. You grain Truesight out to a range of 20 times the number of points you spend in feet for 10 times the number of points you spend in minutes. In addition, you automatically know the type (and subtype) of any creature you look at for the duration, as well as its damage vulnerabilities, resistances, immunities, reductions, and thresholds.
Elemental Recycling (Level 18): Adaptive Physiology improves from providing reduction to providing absorption. After reducing damage using it, you regain hit points equal to the amount of damage reduced.
Couple tweaks that still fit with my vision for the subclass
Arcane Adaptation
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it without expending a spell slot up to a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. When you cast it in this way, the spell immediately ends after the triggering damage is taken.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage and your maximum hit points are reduced until you finish a long rest as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points, for the next minute you are under the effect of your choice of the detect magic, detect evil and good, or detect poison and disease spell. This is not a magical effect you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
This is the Flesh Infusion sorcerous origin, a subclass based around body horror and hoping to invoke imagery of limbs twisting and reshaping coupled with the imagined sounds of bones cracking and breaking to mold themselves into the forms needed to produce the magical effects of your spells.
I think adding a spell list could really assist with the imagery you're going for here. Think of these spells in the context of this subclass:
Alter Self
Enhance Ability
Enlarge/Reduce
Spider Climb
Polymorph
And others focused on giving you an unnatural ability akin to your level 14 feature. Just in general, the practice of adding to the sorcerer's tiny list of spells through subclass is a very popular change.
The description makes me want to be grossly transmuting myself all day long. I'd like to feel more of that in this concept, if that makes sense.
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Infused Spells table. Each of these spells counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of sorcerer spells you know.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be a transmutation spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list.
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it without expending a spell slot up to a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. When you cast it in this way, the spell immediately ends after the triggering damage is taken.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage and your maximum hit points are reduced until you finish a long rest as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points, for the next minute you are under the effect of your choice of the detect magic, detect evil and good, or detect poison and disease spell. This is not a magical effect you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
- toss in primal savagery as a known extra cantrip at 1st level
- rather than trying to shoehorn a nerfed version of absorb elements into that 1st-level feature, just make it a resistance-based feature separate from the spell -- i.e. as a reaction, you can give yourself resistance to damage type from list (which you could tweak or expand if you want -- poison is conspicuously absent from AE) when you take damage of that type until the start of your next turn, PB times per long rest
- that would require a bit of tweaking to the 18th-level capstone as well, but that should probably not be based on the casting of one specific spell anyway
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
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This is the Flesh Infusion sorcerous origin, a subclass based around body horror and hoping to invoke imagery of limbs twisting and reshaping coupled with the imagined sounds of bones cracking and breaking to mold themselves into the forms needed to produce the magical effects of your spells.
Any help with language checking and power balancing is absolutely appreciated.
Were you experimented on? Did a curse or blessing take root not in your soul but infused itself into your very flesh? Perhaps you are simply an evolved creature with magic in your very being. However you ended up this way most people with this type of magic are reviled and feared. Those with magic in their flesh are shunned and exiled due to the horrid molding and shifting their body does while performing magic.
Arcane Adaptation
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it at will as a 1st level spell. You can instead cast it at higher levels if you spend the spell slot as normal to cast it.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. You are permanently under the effects of the Detect Magic, Detect Evil and Good, and Detect Poison and Disease spells. This is not a magical effect that you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
Here's my two cents as a DM:
Arcane Adaptation: Having a first level spell that you can cast at will is an 18th level wizard ability, not something a sorcerer should get at first level. That's way too overpowered. It would be much better to add to the sorcerer's available spells known the way the clockwork soul or aberrant mind does (gaining two set additional spells known of each spell level from 1 to 5, that don't count against the limit of how many spells you can know).
Magical Physiology: Not needing a physical arcane focus is good flavor. Most tables don't bother with those materials anyways, and foci are easy enough to get that this isn't going to unfairly increase the character's power.
Corporeal Consumption: If you're wanting to turn hit points into sorcery points, I'd go one step further and have doing so damage your maximum hit points until the next time you complete a long rest. This definitely gives the flavor but offsets the increase in power over the other subclasses by giving it a substantial drawback.
Mystical Evolution: All of that's way too much. Maybe instead have your cantrips that cause saving throws deal half damage on a passed save, or your elemental cantrips that target a single creature always benefit from the Twinned metamagic without you having to expend the sorcery points.
Elemental Recycling: That is a really interesting concept, and as the last feature of the subclass, it's not going to break the game, because that's at the level when every class has some crazy abilities.
Remarkably underpowered (except for the overpowered L14 benefit) and not in line with how sorcerer subclasses are done now (including some sus wording). Here's my attempt, based on modifying Clockwork Soul/Aberrant Mind.
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Arcane Adaptation Spells table. Each of these spells counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of sorcerer spells you know.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be able to deal or apply vulnerability, resistance, immunity, reduction, or a threshold to acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage, or summon or create a creature or object that does.
Couple tweaks that still fit with my vision for the subclass
Arcane Adaptation
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it without expending a spell slot up to a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. When you cast it in this way, the spell immediately ends after the triggering damage is taken.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage and your maximum hit points are reduced until you finish a long rest as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points, for the next minute you are under the effect of your choice of the detect magic, detect evil and good, or detect poison and disease spell. This is not a magical effect you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
I think adding a spell list could really assist with the imagery you're going for here. Think of these spells in the context of this subclass:
And others focused on giving you an unnatural ability akin to your level 14 feature. Just in general, the practice of adding to the sorcerer's tiny list of spells through subclass is a very popular change.
The description makes me want to be grossly transmuting myself all day long. I'd like to feel more of that in this concept, if that makes sense.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
V3, Now with extra spell list.
Expanded Spell List
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Infused Spells table. Each of these spells counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of sorcerer spells you know.
Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be a transmutation spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list.
Infused Spells
1st
Jump, Longstrider
3rd
Alter Self, Dragon's Breath
5th
Water Breathing, Meld Into Stone
7th
Polymorph, Guardian of Nature
9th
Reincarnate, Skill Empowerment
Arcane Adaptation
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
The magic within the very cells of your body reacts violently to elemental magic and shifts grotesquely to protect you from it . You learn the spell Absorb Elements, it does not count against the number of spells you know and you can cast it without expending a spell slot up to a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. When you cast it in this way, the spell immediately ends after the triggering damage is taken.
Magical Physiology
1st-level Flesh Infusion feature
Your cells have become accustomed to the stress of containing magic within them, and you have become hardier than average folk. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. In addition, If you are not holding anything in your hands, you may use your hands as a spell casting focus.
Corporeal Consumption
6th-level Flesh Infusion feature
You acquire the transmuted spell metamagic option if you did not already select it. Your source of magic is your very self, and you can spend it as a resource. As a bonus action, you may recover a number of sorcery points up to your proficiency bonus, for each sorcery point recovered this way, you take 3 points of necrotic damage and your maximum hit points are reduced until you finish a long rest as you eat away at your own body for more power. This damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way.
Mystical Evolution
14th-level Flesh Infusion feature
At 14th level, your internal magic has grown strong enough to permanently manifest itself outwardly through some form of mutation, and actively seeks other sources of power to continue it's growth. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points, for the next minute you are under the effect of your choice of the detect magic, detect evil and good, or detect poison and disease spell. This is not a magical effect you are concentrating on or that can be dispelled.
Elemental Recycling
18th-level Flesh Infusion feature
As you've grown in power, you have gained the ability to redirect the elemental harm your body endures and channel the power back into your spells. At 18th level, after you have cast the Absorb Elements spell, instead of adding the extra damage to the first melee attack that you hit, the first time you hit with a spell attack the targets take an extra 4d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.
Three suggestions:
- toss in primal savagery as a known extra cantrip at 1st level
- rather than trying to shoehorn a nerfed version of absorb elements into that 1st-level feature, just make it a resistance-based feature separate from the spell -- i.e. as a reaction, you can give yourself resistance to damage type from list (which you could tweak or expand if you want -- poison is conspicuously absent from AE) when you take damage of that type until the start of your next turn, PB times per long rest
- that would require a bit of tweaking to the 18th-level capstone as well, but that should probably not be based on the casting of one specific spell anyway
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)