Hello everyone, I have created a homebrew Sorcerous Origin I wan't to share with you. I just wan't it to be fun to play, and of course, to share it with you. Please feel free to use this subclass, and any tips are welcome. There is only one thing I am not sure about, and that is the 6th level feature Sacrifice of Destruction. I don't know how many HP should be paid for a spell slot to make it balanced (which this subclass isn't, but I wan't it to be as much balanced as possible without losing too many funny features). Thank you all for tips and help, and I hope some of you will enjoy playing this subclass!
Origin of Evocation
Sorcerers with the Evocation Origin are masters of red-hot fire, freezing cold, scorching rays, crackling force, booming thunder and striking lightning. Perhaps you were born in stormy conditions, you have elemental roots, or you are favored by the Gods of the Elements. You might be related to a wizard from the School of Evocation, whose strong magic settled deep in his soul. Whatever your origin: you want destruction. You are the elements, and the elements are in you. Magic flows through your veins while you are willing to sacrifice yourself to blast your enemies to death. Your heart is ice cold, fiery hot and thundering as the souls of your opponents are destroyed by all the elements at once into a pitiful pile of ash, ice and smoke.
1: Innate Evocation
Starting at 1, and again at 3, 5, 7 and 9 level, you can learn 2 Evocation spells from any spell list for which you have spell slots. These spells must be spells that deal damage and that can’t heal. In addition, whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these spells with another spell from the School of Evocation.
1: Embodiment of the Elements
When you choose this subclass at 1 level, ancient elemental magic flows through you veins, enhancing your endurance. If you choose so, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of your Constitution modifier, to determine your Hit Points per level, but only for sorcerer levels, and for your Constitution Saving Throws.
In addition, your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 whenever you gain a level in this subclass.
1: Accurate Blaster
At 1 level, you can expend 1 sorcery point to ignore resistance to one of your Evocation spells, and 2 sorcery points to ignore immunity. You can spend these sorcery points whilst applying other metamagic options.
6: Sacrifice of Destruction
Starting at 6 level, whenever you run out of spell slots of a specific level, you can push yourself beyond your limits to cast a spell at that level (upcast or from the specific level). you can only cast spells from the school of evocation, which aren’t healing spells, and you can only cast the spells at a level for which you have (expended) spell slots. Whenever you do so, you must roll a d20. On a 1, your spell fails, you take double damage and suffer one level of exhaustion. On a 20, you can cast 2 spells of the level you should have paid for in the same action/bonus action/reaction and you don’t need to sacrifice any hit points for both spells.
Spell level
Hit Point cost
1
5
2
10
3
17
4
25
5
30
6: Empowered Evocation
Also starting at 6 level, you can add your charisma modifier to any Evocation spell you cast.
14th: Overchannel
Starting at 14th level, you can increase the power of your simpler spells. When you cast a sorcerer spell from the School of Evocation of 1st through 5th level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.
The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 force damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the force damage per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage ignores resistance and immunity. In addition, whenever you use this feature, you must roll a d20. On a 1, the spell fails, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest and you suffer one level of exhaustion. On a 20, you can cast the spell a second time in the same action/reaction/bonus action, and you maximize both spells.
18: Destroying Blasts
Beginning at 18th level, the harmful energy of your spells intensifies. When you roll a 1 or a 2 on one or more of the damage dice from an Evocation Spell you cast, you can reroll the dice and must use the new roll. Whenever you do so, you take 1d4 force damage per dice rerolled. This damage ignores resistance and immunity. In addition, whenever you roll the highest number on a damage die from an Evocation spell you cast, you can roll the die a second time and add the damage to the total spell’s damage. When you choose to do so, you take force damage equal to the second number rolled. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.
Eh... this has a little too much that's just the Evocation Wizard with the lower-level class features swapped out. I think it needs some work, but it's not a bad base to build off of.
Instead of "Innate Envocation", you should create a spell table like we see with newer Sorcerers. Similar to say... the Clockwork Sorcerer, which automatically learns a set list of thematically appropriate spells, but can replace those spells with any abjuration or transmutation spell from the Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell lists. I think you could do the same thing and just change the limit to Evocation and Abjuration spells (since those are the most directly combat-focused schools)
The wording of Embodiment of Elements is a bit clunky, but I think I understand it and I think that seems balanced enough. It's definitely unusual, but I think it could work.
Accurate Blaster, I think, should cost sorcery points equal to the level of the spell, and I wouldn't allow it to overcome immunities. Not at this level, at least... I think that would work as a better 14th level feature, since that's just a straight copy of the Evocation Wizard's overchannel.
Sacrifice of Destruction makes some amount of sense, but hit point loss as a resource is really hard to balance. I think something to take inspiration from would be Bloodhunters, which don't simply deal damage to themselves, but temporarily lower their max HP, that way they can't just, say... stand next to a Healing Spirit conjured by their ally and get free spells all day long.
I don't like Empowered Evocation or Overchannel for this. Empowered Evocation is just a slightly less balanced version of the Wizard feature, and Overchannel is basically the same as the Wizard feature with a randomized element tacked on at the end. Interestingly, I think it'd be better if Empowered Evocation was closer to the original feature, and for Overchannel I think you should try and create a wholly original feature. I mentioned that I think the ability to ignore immunity should be saved until this level, so I think you could lean into that a bit more.
Finally, I like Destroying Blasts conceptually. I'd drop taking damage for re-rolling 1's and 2's, but I like the idea of taking damage in order to add more dice. In this case I think the fact that it's such a high level feature makes it less imperative to keep the feature perfectly balanced, and it does a decent job of balancing out the feature by the fact, the higher the damage dice of hte spell you're using, the lower the odds of hitting highest number, and also the more of a risk it is to yourself.
1: Innate Evocation -> as above this should just be a table of spells you learn not a free choice, for one having it be a free choice wastes the player's time looking through tons of spells, and for a second it opens the door to weird niche cases such as :
Spiritual Weapon
Crusader's Mantle
Arcane Hand
Holy Weapon
Wrath of Nature
Contingency
1: Embodiment of the Elements -> this one is completely unbalanced, giving sorcerers +4 hp per level is nuts, and I fail to see how just having a bucket full of hit points enhances fun. Falling unconscious, or having to think about what you will do to avoid falling unconscious is much more interesting.
1: Accurate Blaster -> this is again OP in an uninteresting way, Sorcerers get Transmuted Spell as a metamagic option which is a much more interesting way of overcoming resistance / immunity than this and Transmuted Spell makes knowledge skills much more valuable as players can research monsters or recall lore about monsters to figure out their likely weaknesses / vulnerabilities, rather than just "yeah it works b/c I say so." I'd suggest giving this subclass Transmute Spell as a free additional metamagic instead.
6: Sacrifice of Destruction -> Consider that the 6th level spell "Heal" restores 75 hit points, this means you can trade one 6th level spell (6 sorcerery points) for 2x 5th level spells + a 2nd level spell.
6: Empowered Evocation -> this becomes insanely OP when combined with Magic Missile, or Crusader's Mantle.
14 & 18 look fine though, just adding in a little Wild Magic Sorcerer.
Hello everyone, I have created a homebrew Sorcerous Origin I wan't to share with you. I just wan't it to be fun to play, and of course, to share it with you. Please feel free to use this subclass, and any tips are welcome. There is only one thing I am not sure about, and that is the 6th level feature Sacrifice of Destruction. I don't know how many HP should be paid for a spell slot to make it balanced (which this subclass isn't, but I wan't it to be as much balanced as possible without losing too many funny features). Thank you all for tips and help, and I hope some of you will enjoy playing this subclass!
Origin of Evocation
Sorcerers with the Evocation Origin are masters of red-hot fire, freezing cold, scorching rays, crackling force, booming thunder and striking lightning. Perhaps you were born in stormy conditions, you have elemental roots, or you are favored by the Gods of the Elements. You might be related to a wizard from the School of Evocation, whose strong magic settled deep in his soul. Whatever your origin: you want destruction. You are the elements, and the elements are in you. Magic flows through your veins while you are willing to sacrifice yourself to blast your enemies to death. Your heart is ice cold, fiery hot and thundering as the souls of your opponents are destroyed by all the elements at once into a pitiful pile of ash, ice and smoke.
1: Innate Evocation
Starting at 1, and again at 3, 5, 7 and 9 level, you can learn 2 Evocation spells from any spell list for which you have spell slots. These spells must be spells that deal damage and that can’t heal. In addition, whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these spells with another spell from the School of Evocation.
1: Embodiment of the Elements
When you choose this subclass at 1 level, ancient elemental magic flows through you veins, enhancing your endurance. If you choose so, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of your Constitution modifier, to determine your Hit Points per level, but only for sorcerer levels, and for your Constitution Saving Throws.
In addition, your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 whenever you gain a level in this subclass.
1: Accurate Blaster
At 1 level, you can expend 1 sorcery point to ignore resistance to one of your Evocation spells, and 2 sorcery points to ignore immunity. You can spend these sorcery points whilst applying other metamagic options.
6: Sacrifice of Destruction
Starting at 6 level, whenever you run out of spell slots of a specific level, you can push yourself beyond your limits to cast a spell at that level (upcast or from the specific level). you can only cast spells from the school of evocation, which aren’t healing spells, and you can only cast the spells at a level for which you have (expended) spell slots. Whenever you do so, you must roll a d20. On a 1, your spell fails, you take double damage and suffer one level of exhaustion. On a 20, you can cast 2 spells of the level you should have paid for in the same action/bonus action/reaction and you don’t need to sacrifice any hit points for both spells.
Spell level
Hit Point cost
1
5
2
10
3
17
4
25
5
30
6: Empowered Evocation
Also starting at 6 level, you can add your charisma modifier to any Evocation spell you cast.
14th: Overchannel
Starting at 14th level, you can increase the power of your simpler spells. When you cast a sorcerer spell from the School of Evocation of 1st through 5th level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.
The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 force damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the force damage per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage ignores resistance and immunity. In addition, whenever you use this feature, you must roll a d20. On a 1, the spell fails, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest and you suffer one level of exhaustion. On a 20, you can cast the spell a second time in the same action/reaction/bonus action, and you maximize both spells.
18: Destroying Blasts
Beginning at 18th level, the harmful energy of your spells intensifies. When you roll a 1 or a 2 on one or more of the damage dice from an Evocation Spell you cast, you can reroll the dice and must use the new roll. Whenever you do so, you take 1d4 force damage per dice rerolled. This damage ignores resistance and immunity. In addition, whenever you roll the highest number on a damage die from an Evocation spell you cast, you can roll the die a second time and add the damage to the total spell’s damage. When you choose to do so, you take force damage equal to the second number rolled. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.
With friendly greetings
Thrør Máthẳn Márbhådh
Eh... this has a little too much that's just the Evocation Wizard with the lower-level class features swapped out. I think it needs some work, but it's not a bad base to build off of.
Instead of "Innate Envocation", you should create a spell table like we see with newer Sorcerers. Similar to say... the Clockwork Sorcerer, which automatically learns a set list of thematically appropriate spells, but can replace those spells with any abjuration or transmutation spell from the Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell lists. I think you could do the same thing and just change the limit to Evocation and Abjuration spells (since those are the most directly combat-focused schools)
The wording of Embodiment of Elements is a bit clunky, but I think I understand it and I think that seems balanced enough. It's definitely unusual, but I think it could work.
Accurate Blaster, I think, should cost sorcery points equal to the level of the spell, and I wouldn't allow it to overcome immunities. Not at this level, at least... I think that would work as a better 14th level feature, since that's just a straight copy of the Evocation Wizard's overchannel.
Sacrifice of Destruction makes some amount of sense, but hit point loss as a resource is really hard to balance. I think something to take inspiration from would be Bloodhunters, which don't simply deal damage to themselves, but temporarily lower their max HP, that way they can't just, say... stand next to a Healing Spirit conjured by their ally and get free spells all day long.
I don't like Empowered Evocation or Overchannel for this. Empowered Evocation is just a slightly less balanced version of the Wizard feature, and Overchannel is basically the same as the Wizard feature with a randomized element tacked on at the end. Interestingly, I think it'd be better if Empowered Evocation was closer to the original feature, and for Overchannel I think you should try and create a wholly original feature. I mentioned that I think the ability to ignore immunity should be saved until this level, so I think you could lean into that a bit more.
Finally, I like Destroying Blasts conceptually. I'd drop taking damage for re-rolling 1's and 2's, but I like the idea of taking damage in order to add more dice. In this case I think the fact that it's such a high level feature makes it less imperative to keep the feature perfectly balanced, and it does a decent job of balancing out the feature by the fact, the higher the damage dice of hte spell you're using, the lower the odds of hitting highest number, and also the more of a risk it is to yourself.
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1: Innate Evocation -> as above this should just be a table of spells you learn not a free choice, for one having it be a free choice wastes the player's time looking through tons of spells, and for a second it opens the door to weird niche cases such as :
1: Embodiment of the Elements -> this one is completely unbalanced, giving sorcerers +4 hp per level is nuts, and I fail to see how just having a bucket full of hit points enhances fun. Falling unconscious, or having to think about what you will do to avoid falling unconscious is much more interesting.
1: Accurate Blaster -> this is again OP in an uninteresting way, Sorcerers get Transmuted Spell as a metamagic option which is a much more interesting way of overcoming resistance / immunity than this and Transmuted Spell makes knowledge skills much more valuable as players can research monsters or recall lore about monsters to figure out their likely weaknesses / vulnerabilities, rather than just "yeah it works b/c I say so." I'd suggest giving this subclass Transmute Spell as a free additional metamagic instead.
6: Sacrifice of Destruction -> Consider that the 6th level spell "Heal" restores 75 hit points, this means you can trade one 6th level spell (6 sorcerery points) for 2x 5th level spells + a 2nd level spell.
6: Empowered Evocation -> this becomes insanely OP when combined with Magic Missile, or Crusader's Mantle.
14 & 18 look fine though, just adding in a little Wild Magic Sorcerer.