Hey folks! Have tried my hand revising the Stone Sorcerer that died in UA (UA-Sorcerer (wizards.com)). I will be posting my version and then will go into detail into what was changed and what my reasoning was. I would appreciate any feedback, be it on balance, grammar or anything else.
Note: This subclass has one glaring balance issue, a single level of hexblade makes it too easy to build and probably a tad overpowered but honestly that’s a hexblade issue so I’m ignoring it. If you use this in a game just disallow hexblade multiclass (or heck any multiclassing).
Your magic springs from a mystical link between your soul and the magic of elemental earth. You might trace a distant ancestor to the Plane of Earth, or your family might have earned a mighty boon in return for a service to the dao lords. Whatever your past, the magic of elemental earth is yours to command.
Your link to earth magic grants you extraordinary resilience, and stone sorcerers have a natural affinity for combat. A steel blade feels like a natural extension of your body, and sorcerers with this origin have a knack for wielding both shields and weapons. In combat your place is amid the fray. You rely on your elemental nature to shield you from harm and your magic and metal weapons to overwhelm your foes.
Bonus Proficiencies 1st-level Earth Sorcery feature At 1st level, you gain proficiency with shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons.
Earthen Magic 1st-level Earth Sorcery feature Starting at 1st level, you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Earth 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, druid, or wizard spell list.
Stone Spells
SORCERER LEVEL
SPELLS
1st
Thunderous Smite, Earth Tremor,Mold Earth, Magic Stone
3rd
Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp, Spike Growth
5th
Wall of Sand, Blinding Smite
7th
Stoneskin, Stone Shape
9th
Transmute Rock, Wall of Stone
Stone's Durability 1st-level Earth Sorcery feature At 1st level, your connection to stone gives you extra fortitude. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. Additionally, your skin assumes a stony appearance. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Stone Aegis 6th-level Earth Sorcery feature Starting at 6th level, your command of earth magic grows stronger, allowing you to harness it for your allies’ protection. As a bonus action, you can grant an aegis to one other creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The aegis is a dim, gray aura of earth magic that protects the target. Any bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage the target takes is reduced by your proficiency bonus. This effect lasts for 1 minute, until you use it again, or until you are incapacitated. At 18th level you may choose up to three creatures to gain the benefits of your Stone’s Aegis.
In addition, when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you hits the protected target with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of the attacker. You can teleport only if you and the attacker are on the same surface. You can then make one melee weapon attack against the attacker. If that attack hits, it deals an extra 1d10 force damage. This extra damage increases to 2d10 at 11th level and 3d10 at 17th level. At 18th level you can choose to make the attack not cost your reaction. This can only be done once until the beginning of your next turn.
One with Earth 14th-level Earth Sorcery feature Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to become one with the earth. As a bonus action, you can enter this state for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical attacks and you gain Tremorsense with a range of 30ft. Additionally you can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without spending extra movement.
Once you use this bonus action, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you spend 5 sorcery points to use it again.
Earth Master’s Aegis Beginning at 18th level, when you use your Stone’s Aegis to protect an ally, you can choose up to three creatures to gain its benefits. Additionally, instead of using a reaction to strike an enemy that has hit a target with Stone Aegis you may do as a free action. This can only be done once until the start of your next turn.
So that’s it! Let’s go go point by point and see what has been changed.
Earthen Magic
Additional Spells This is a huge change. The original metal magic simply allowed you to choose various smites when you chose your sorcerer levels. The smites themselves had not much to do with earth, metal or stone and we’re just an odd inclusion. Combined with the limited selection a sorcerer gets this forced someone with this subclass to either use these or actually be a sorcerer now and again. Have updated it to match the new sorcerer design and while it is a power boost it brings it to line with the newer subclasses (arguably all the old subclasses should be updated like this). The spells are all on stone/earth theme with two of the more suitable smites left in.
Cantrips It additionally grants use of two cantrips (Mold Earth & Magic Stone) as both suit the theme. However I can drop Mold Earth (a player would pick this up anyway) to match the design of the other two subclasses. Or perhaps make them count as cantrips selected? Let me know.
Replace a spell Finally I added the ability to swap a spell to a Transmutation spell from the sorcerer, druid, or wizard spell list. Being able to choose spells from the druid list as a arcane caster gives quite a lot of unique flavour I found. Barring it to Transmutation seemed prudent. While the other two subclasses had two schools of magic it seems the one works here. Perhaps abjuration could be added?
Stone Durability I think this change may see the most pushback. In the original the AC + CON calculation needed a bonus action to activate and would drop if you got incapacitated. In my version it’s permanent, no questions asked. As fun as the first version sounds it’s poor design which will make a player averse to using the subclass as it was intended or would lead to this character dying very very quickly. While the ac increase sounds great on paper it is still quite low. In comparison with the draconic sorcerer ofcourse con is a nicer attribute to increase (although poor initiative rolls have something to say here) and you can of course use a shield (Good luck actually casting anything however, no free hand) so I’d say this is more of a quality of life update rather than anything earth shattering (Heh).
Stone Aegis We will address the additional scaling in the 18 level feature. The only true change here has been altering the calculation from 2 + Sorc Level / 4 to your proficiency level which is almost identical (slightly slower) scaling. Was also considering to 1/3 of your sorc level to disallow multiclass shenanigans. What do you think?
Level
2 + Sorc Level / 4
1/3 of your sorc level
Prof
6
3
2
3
7
3
2
3
8
4
2
3
9
4
3
4
10
4
3
4
11
4
3
4
12
5
4
4
13
5
4
5
14
5
4
5
15
5
5
5
16
6
5
5
17
6
5
6
18
6
6
6
19
6
6
6
20
7
6
6
One with the Earth Now we are cooking with fire! The original feature allowed to add half your sorc level as force damage to your spell once per turn which is…fine for a feature with two points against it. It’s boring as hell and does it really fit the theme of this class?
The new feature allows the user to basically do a poor mans RAGE but with spells tm. For a minute you have resistance to physical damage (from non magical attacks!), gain tremorsense (admitably there are likely shenanigans here I haven’t foreseen and not be affected by diffult terrain that spells like erupting earth make. The intention here is to bolster the survivability of the stoney boi, allow them to better use the difficult terrain many of their spells make and mainly feel cool.
Part of me feels that perhaps their weapon damage should also be buffed here to reinforce the weapon user fantasy (perhaps half your sorc level bluedgeoning on melee stuff?) but I thin that may be too much. Thoughts?
Earth Master’s Aegis Let’s go out with a bang. Rather than add a new feature we instead super charge the aegis. The normal feature allowed three creatures to be targeted. In addition I’ve made it so the first retribution attack made against an enemy foolish enough to attack your ward does not cost your reaction, allowing you to do it again (poor mans extra attack!) or cast shield, counterspell or something. It’s an always on improvement to the class intended to really feel as a reward fro sticking to it for so long. Perhaps the targets should be reduced to two as balance? I tend to think not.
Summary In summary this is a hard class to build needing constitution, charisma and strength (I mean yeah you can go dex but I feel it fits the fantasy less) to be effective. As most gishes it suffers from needing warcaster if you want to use a shield and while more durable than most sorcorers it ain’t durable enough to stand in the frontlines without some really good thinking. What’s more, it’s unique focus on being a protector (and needing to be one to do weapon damage) means that any competent DM will make smart monsters target you and as the original you cannot put your ward on yourself making this an incredibly high risk subclass to play. (a tad less so than the original however).
However the end result is a class fantasy that can’t be found easily in D&D 5e, that of the strength based gish. In the hands of an experienced player who utilizes spells in smart ways this could be a blast to play. Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know!
Some notes on playstyle Lacking extra attack I could see many players combining the SCAG cantrips (especially booming blade) with something like crusher to push enemies away. Their spells focus on positioning and control which could allow them to approach an enemy almost one to one, using your powers of positioning (the stone aegis teleport is one way) to keep from being overwhelmed. You will be extremely weak against ranged enemies but with magic stone you have some ability to answer back and stay in theme.
Stone Aegis: This feature provides damage reduction, which is quite powerful. The teleportation and attack reaction could potentially be very strong, especially at higher levels when it no longer costs a reaction.
Hey folks! Have tried my hand revising the Stone Sorcerer that died in UA (UA-Sorcerer (wizards.com)). I will be posting my version and then will go into detail into what was changed and what my reasoning was. I would appreciate any feedback, be it on balance, grammar or anything else.
Note: This subclass has one glaring balance issue, a single level of hexblade makes it too easy to build and probably a tad overpowered but honestly that’s a hexblade issue so I’m ignoring it. If you use this in a game just disallow hexblade multiclass (or heck any multiclassing).
<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
Earth Sorcery
Bonus Proficiencies
1st-level Earth Sorcery feature
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons.
Earthen Magic
1st-level Earth Sorcery feature
Starting at 1st level, you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Earth 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, druid, or wizard spell list.
Stone Spells
SORCERER LEVEL
SPELLS
1st
Thunderous Smite, Earth Tremor,Mold Earth, Magic Stone
3rd
Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp, Spike Growth
5th
Wall of Sand, Blinding Smite
7th
Stoneskin, Stone Shape
9th
Transmute Rock, Wall of Stone
Stone's Durability
1st-level Earth Sorcery feature
At 1st level, your connection to stone gives you extra fortitude. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class. Additionally, your skin assumes a stony appearance. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Stone Aegis
6th-level Earth Sorcery feature
Starting at 6th level, your command of earth magic grows stronger, allowing you to harness it for your allies’ protection. As a bonus action, you can grant an aegis to one other creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The aegis is a dim, gray aura of earth magic that protects the target. Any bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage the target takes is reduced by your proficiency bonus. This effect lasts for 1 minute, until you use it again, or until you are incapacitated. At 18th level you may choose up to three creatures to gain the benefits of your Stone’s Aegis.
In addition, when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you hits the protected target with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of the attacker. You can teleport only if you and the attacker are on the same surface. You can then make one melee weapon attack against the attacker. If that attack hits, it deals an extra 1d10 force damage. This extra damage increases to 2d10 at 11th level and 3d10 at 17th level. At 18th level you can choose to make the attack not cost your reaction. This can only be done once until the beginning of your next turn.
One with Earth
14th-level Earth Sorcery feature
Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to become one with the earth. As a bonus action, you can enter this state for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical attacks and you gain Tremorsense with a range of 30ft. Additionally you can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without spending extra movement.
Once you use this bonus action, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you spend 5 sorcery points to use it again.
Earth Master’s Aegis
Beginning at 18th level, when you use your Stone’s Aegis to protect an ally, you can choose up to three creatures to gain its benefits. Additionally, instead of using a reaction to strike an enemy that has hit a target with Stone Aegis you may do as a free action. This can only be done once until the start of your next turn.
<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
So that’s it! Let’s go go point by point and see what has been changed.
Earthen Magic
This is a huge change. The original metal magic simply allowed you to choose various smites when you chose your sorcerer levels. The smites themselves had not much to do with earth, metal or stone and we’re just an odd inclusion. Combined with the limited selection a sorcerer gets this forced someone with this subclass to either use these or actually be a sorcerer now and again. Have updated it to match the new sorcerer design and while it is a power boost it brings it to line with the newer subclasses (arguably all the old subclasses should be updated like this). The spells are all on stone/earth theme with two of the more suitable smites left in.
It additionally grants use of two cantrips (Mold Earth & Magic Stone) as both suit the theme. However I can drop Mold Earth (a player would pick this up anyway) to match the design of the other two subclasses. Or perhaps make them count as cantrips selected? Let me know.
Finally I added the ability to swap a spell to a Transmutation spell from the sorcerer, druid, or wizard spell list. Being able to choose spells from the druid list as a arcane caster gives quite a lot of unique flavour I found. Barring it to Transmutation seemed prudent. While the other two subclasses had two schools of magic it seems the one works here. Perhaps abjuration could be added?
Stone Durability
I think this change may see the most pushback. In the original the AC + CON calculation needed a bonus action to activate and would drop if you got incapacitated. In my version it’s permanent, no questions asked. As fun as the first version sounds it’s poor design which will make a player averse to using the subclass as it was intended or would lead to this character dying very very quickly. While the ac increase sounds great on paper it is still quite low. In comparison with the draconic sorcerer ofcourse con is a nicer attribute to increase (although poor initiative rolls have something to say here) and you can of course use a shield (Good luck actually casting anything however, no free hand) so I’d say this is more of a quality of life update rather than anything earth shattering (Heh).
Stone Aegis
We will address the additional scaling in the 18 level feature. The only true change here has been altering the calculation from 2 + Sorc Level / 4 to your proficiency level which is almost identical (slightly slower) scaling. Was also considering to 1/3 of your sorc level to disallow multiclass shenanigans. What do you think?
Level
2 + Sorc Level / 4
1/3 of your sorc level
Prof
6
3
2
3
7
3
2
3
8
4
2
3
9
4
3
4
10
4
3
4
11
4
3
4
12
5
4
4
13
5
4
5
14
5
4
5
15
5
5
5
16
6
5
5
17
6
5
6
18
6
6
6
19
6
6
6
20
7
6
6
One with the Earth
Now we are cooking with fire! The original feature allowed to add half your sorc level as force damage to your spell once per turn which is…fine for a feature with two points against it. It’s boring as hell and does it really fit the theme of this class?
The new feature allows the user to basically do a poor mans RAGE but with spells tm. For a minute you have resistance to physical damage (from non magical attacks!), gain tremorsense (admitably there are likely shenanigans here I haven’t foreseen and not be affected by diffult terrain that spells like erupting earth make. The intention here is to bolster the survivability of the stoney boi, allow them to better use the difficult terrain many of their spells make and mainly feel cool.
Part of me feels that perhaps their weapon damage should also be buffed here to reinforce the weapon user fantasy (perhaps half your sorc level bluedgeoning on melee stuff?) but I thin that may be too much. Thoughts?
Earth Master’s Aegis
Let’s go out with a bang. Rather than add a new feature we instead super charge the aegis. The normal feature allowed three creatures to be targeted. In addition I’ve made it so the first retribution attack made against an enemy foolish enough to attack your ward does not cost your reaction, allowing you to do it again (poor mans extra attack!) or cast shield, counterspell or something. It’s an always on improvement to the class intended to really feel as a reward fro sticking to it for so long.
Perhaps the targets should be reduced to two as balance? I tend to think not.
Summary
In summary this is a hard class to build needing constitution, charisma and strength (I mean yeah you can go dex but I feel it fits the fantasy less) to be effective. As most gishes it suffers from needing warcaster if you want to use a shield and while more durable than most sorcorers it ain’t durable enough to stand in the frontlines without some really good thinking. What’s more, it’s unique focus on being a protector (and needing to be one to do weapon damage) means that any competent DM will make smart monsters target you and as the original you cannot put your ward on yourself making this an incredibly high risk subclass to play. (a tad less so than the original however).
However the end result is a class fantasy that can’t be found easily in D&D 5e, that of the strength based gish. In the hands of an experienced player who utilizes spells in smart ways this could be a blast to play. Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know!
Some notes on playstyle
Lacking extra attack I could see many players combining the SCAG cantrips (especially booming blade) with something like crusher to push enemies away. Their spells focus on positioning and control which could allow them to approach an enemy almost one to one, using your powers of positioning (the stone aegis teleport is one way) to keep from being overwhelmed. You will be extremely weak against ranged enemies but with magic stone you have some ability to answer back and stay in theme.
Love this
Really cool !
maybe a point that should be ajusted ?
Stone Aegis: This feature provides damage reduction, which is quite powerful. The teleportation and attack reaction could potentially be very strong, especially at higher levels when it no longer costs a reaction.
My Homebrew: Spells Subclasses