Technically, the wild sorcerer does not choose to use Wild Surge. It happens when the DM says it happens and in this case, you roll a d20. On a 1 the wild surge happens, on a 2-20 nothing happens.
Every DM I've played with would have it rolled every time a spell was cast. I didn't even realize it was his option by the book. Interesting. IMO, that randomness every time is what makes a wild magic sorcerer fun to play.
Every DM I've played with would have it rolled every time a spell was cast. I didn't even realize it was his option by the book. Interesting. IMO, that randomness every time is what makes a wild magic sorcerer fun to play.
I, and my wild-magic-liking players, agree that it is the randomness that makes the wild magic sorcerer fun to play.
However, it is also that randomness that has the potential of making the inclusion of a wild mage not fun. Which is why I, as a DM, take it easy on the number of rolls for wild surges for the beginning portion of a game so that the players can get a feel for how they can behave in order to minimize the impact of wild magic upon their fun (which is usually as simple as "I'm gonna stand over here... yeah, that's probably far enough.").
I just started playing with this in a current campaign after being a DM for someone using it a couple of years ago in another campaign. When I was a DM, we agreed to have more fun with it, so every time the sorcerer rolled a 1 on an attack or damage, he rolled for surge. The idea was that anytime he channeled his magic, it could surge. It resulted in lots of fun play and a couple of harrowing moments for the other PCs as well. Like was stated earlier, when the sorcerer went into battle, everyone gave him lots of room. It really made the campaign interesting, BUT we had a group that was up for the entertainment factor.
Our DM is playing the same rules now and I'm having a lot of fun with the character. I recently turned into a sheep, was given the stats of a goat with the agreement that I could attack with the party with my horns. However, when I dropped to 0 hp, then I returned to my former form and was unconscious (which happened after 1 round - I only attacked a goblin with limited damage dealing capabilities so I didn't die outright).
I would tell anyone wishing to play this, talk to the DM and the rest of the party first. It can add a lot of storytelling to the campaign but could backfire if the rest of the group wants to play a more serious game or doesn't have at least some sense of humor.
Rolling 1d20 is only 5% chance of occurring. As DM, I was often forgetting about it, too. I also felt like a 5% chance of occurring (at all levels) seemed like it left little room for the player develop around it. My solution (with the help of a friend) involved 4 mechanics:
I had the player (level 1) roll 4d20 and record their rolls as their "Surge Numbers." This increases the chances to 20%, but the numbers vary. If this frequency seems too high for your game, you can adjust all the way back to a 1d20, but the player gets involved in her "Surge Number." Cast a spell? Roll to hit, then roll for Surge!
The other mechanic involves leveling-up. At levels 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 the player may choose (not roll) their Surge Numbers. This gives them a feeling that they are exerting some control over their powers. The percentage remains the same, but players sometimes tend to (feel they) roll the same numbers. This also invests them into these a bit and being able to self-select numbers at different levels reinforces this notion of exerting will over Wild Magic.
At levels 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 the player may select their lucky "Containment" number. This creates an opportunity to role play during a disaster and introduces some additional excitement. Assuming a Surge is triggered (refer to 1 and 2) and it produces a dreadful effect, the player may roll 1d20 and if they succeed (5%) in hitting this number, then Wild Magic is contained, sending the effect "into the void" and the spell casts successfully. (Depending on role play, I may award additional damage in this case.)
Finally, as I am running a campaign in a homebrew world, I there are two lands that exert special power over wild magic (giving the player something else to think about… and roll.) One land is Dark (disadvantage) and the other is Light (advantage.) In these lands, the player rolls 2d20, increasing the chance of up to two Surges. If they get two, they must roll percentage twice. In the Dark land, they would take only the least favorable outcome(s.) In the Light land, they would take only the most favorable outcome(s.) This could result in two horrific effects or two very beneficial effects, depending on what land the players are in. (Regardless of the number of surges, the player only needs to make one Containment roll.)
This might seem overly complicated, but each of these is progressive and has different conditions that give the player to express their evolution (and luck) as a sorcerer.
Rolling 1d20 is only 5% chance of occurring. As DM, I was often forgetting about it, too. I also felt like a 5% chance of occurring (at all levels) seemed like it left little room for the player develop around it.
If you want surges to occur more often, you can have those happen after they've used Tides of Chaos. That also gives the player some control: if they don't want surges right now, they can hold off on using Tides of Chaos and be relatively safe.
I played 2nd edition back in the day, so wild surge definitely feels like it should happen on the number 9. I also like the idea of anytime a spell is cast having a wild surge check. That's just me though :)
In my opinion, I think the number rolled for Wild Magic Surge should correlate with the level the spell is cast at. So lvl 1 is 1, lvl 2 is 1 and 2, and so forth up to 9th lvl is 1 to 9 rolled is a wild surge.
Personally when I DM with someone playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer rule that all spells (not counting cantrips) will result in a Wild Magic surge, but if the spell requires a roll for hit then a 1 automatically makes a Wild Surge without even needing to roll a separate Surge roll. If they miss they have disadvantage, and if they crit they have advantage in wild Surge rolls. But that's personal house rules.
I might consider a slightly different house rule for this. My reasoning is that as the sorcerer levels up, you gain better control of your magic.
Also, I read a statistical breakdown that the wild surge effects are on average slightly beneficial, and the damaging effects tend to be centered on the caster, so if the wild magic sorcerer tends to position himself / herself closer to the enemies than to allies, a surge is almost always a good thing (with the notable exception of the fireball).
So, I'd say roll on pretty much every spell cast that isn't a cantrip. But the highest level of spells the sorc has available has, say, a 50% chance of triggering a surge, and each level below that the chance steps down by 5%.
For a 17th level sorc, that means on a 9th level spell, trigger a surge for a roll of 10 or below. For 8th level, roll 9 or below,... down to 1st level, roll a 1 or a 2 to trigger a surge.
(This also gives you a better chance to reset Tides of Chaos, too.)
I think it does seem like it would be best for the DM to decide on specific triggers for making a Surge Roll... honestly I'd probably set it as something the player has to do any time they roll a Nat 1 or a Nat 20, and any time they augment a spell with Sorcery Points.
Every DM I've played with would have it rolled every time a spell was cast. I didn't even realize it was his option by the book. Interesting. IMO, that randomness every time is what makes a wild magic sorcerer fun to play.
I think back in 2e it was automatic, I didn’t realize it had changed either. I had a friend who would ONLY play a Gnome Wild Mage. Most DMs I knew back then eventually banned Wild Mages, Gnomes, or both.
Working together with the player in my group we both agreed that if the player failed to hit the creature with a spell then it turns into a wild magic roll. Otherwise the players magic goes on as planned. Player is quite happy with that decision.
I play a Wild Magic Sorcerer in my campaign. The DM and I agree that rolling for WIld Magic is one of the best parts of my character, so she has me roll every time I cast a leveled spell or use a Sorcery Point on a cantrip. Another point is that if I don't roll a one, the roll stacks.
(In case that's confusing):
Let's say I just cast a level-one spell, like Chaos Bolt. I just rolled a 7, so my Wild Magic doesn't Surge. On my next turn, I use Fire Bolt, and use a Sorcery Point to cast it distantly. So she has me roll again, and this time, if I get a 1 or a 2, my Wild Magic will Surge.
First time playing a sorcerer in 5e,
I can use the wild magic surge once per turn when I cast a spell.
And the Dm can ask me to roll a d20, if I roll a 1 I cast a random magical effect
So what if the Dm don't ask me to roll the d20? What if I rolled other number? Nothing happens?
I hope is not that, would be really weak, sorry about the dumb question :)
Technically, the wild sorcerer does not choose to use Wild Surge. It happens when the DM says it happens and in this case, you roll a d20. On a 1 the wild surge happens, on a 2-20 nothing happens.
Wild Surge is more of a drawback than an advantage. You don't want the GM to have you roll it.
What you want is for the GM to let you roll for Tides of Chaos. Replenish that as often as you can.
Every DM I've played with would have it rolled every time a spell was cast. I didn't even realize it was his option by the book. Interesting. IMO, that randomness every time is what makes a wild magic sorcerer fun to play.
I just started playing with this in a current campaign after being a DM for someone using it a couple of years ago in another campaign. When I was a DM, we agreed to have more fun with it, so every time the sorcerer rolled a 1 on an attack or damage, he rolled for surge. The idea was that anytime he channeled his magic, it could surge. It resulted in lots of fun play and a couple of harrowing moments for the other PCs as well. Like was stated earlier, when the sorcerer went into battle, everyone gave him lots of room. It really made the campaign interesting, BUT we had a group that was up for the entertainment factor.
Our DM is playing the same rules now and I'm having a lot of fun with the character. I recently turned into a sheep, was given the stats of a goat with the agreement that I could attack with the party with my horns. However, when I dropped to 0 hp, then I returned to my former form and was unconscious (which happened after 1 round - I only attacked a goblin with limited damage dealing capabilities so I didn't die outright).
I would tell anyone wishing to play this, talk to the DM and the rest of the party first. It can add a lot of storytelling to the campaign but could backfire if the rest of the group wants to play a more serious game or doesn't have at least some sense of humor.
Rolling 1d20 is only 5% chance of occurring. As DM, I was often forgetting about it, too. I also felt like a 5% chance of occurring (at all levels) seemed like it left little room for the player develop around it. My solution (with the help of a friend) involved 4 mechanics:
This might seem overly complicated, but each of these is progressive and has different conditions that give the player to express their evolution (and luck) as a sorcerer.
I played 2nd edition back in the day, so wild surge definitely feels like it should happen on the number 9. I also like the idea of anytime a spell is cast having a wild surge check. That's just me though :)
In my opinion, I think the number rolled for Wild Magic Surge should correlate with the level the spell is cast at. So lvl 1 is 1, lvl 2 is 1 and 2, and so forth up to 9th lvl is 1 to 9 rolled is a wild surge.
The surge is what makes wild magic fun. I would have a chance of surge every time a spell is cast, regardless of what the rules say.
Personally when I DM with someone playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer rule that all spells (not counting cantrips) will result in a Wild Magic surge, but if the spell requires a roll for hit then a 1 automatically makes a Wild Surge without even needing to roll a separate Surge roll. If they miss they have disadvantage, and if they crit they have advantage in wild Surge rolls. But that's personal house rules.
I might consider a slightly different house rule for this. My reasoning is that as the sorcerer levels up, you gain better control of your magic.
Also, I read a statistical breakdown that the wild surge effects are on average slightly beneficial, and the damaging effects tend to be centered on the caster, so if the wild magic sorcerer tends to position himself / herself closer to the enemies than to allies, a surge is almost always a good thing (with the notable exception of the fireball).
So, I'd say roll on pretty much every spell cast that isn't a cantrip. But the highest level of spells the sorc has available has, say, a 50% chance of triggering a surge, and each level below that the chance steps down by 5%.
For a 17th level sorc, that means on a 9th level spell, trigger a surge for a roll of 10 or below. For 8th level, roll 9 or below,... down to 1st level, roll a 1 or a 2 to trigger a surge.
(This also gives you a better chance to reset Tides of Chaos, too.)
I think it does seem like it would be best for the DM to decide on specific triggers for making a Surge Roll... honestly I'd probably set it as something the player has to do any time they roll a Nat 1 or a Nat 20, and any time they augment a spell with Sorcery Points.
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I think back in 2e it was automatic, I didn’t realize it had changed either. I had a friend who would ONLY play a Gnome Wild Mage. Most DMs I knew back then eventually banned Wild Mages, Gnomes, or both.
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Working together with the player in my group we both agreed that if the player failed to hit the creature with a spell then it turns into a wild magic roll. Otherwise the players magic goes on as planned. Player is quite happy with that decision.
When we played the DM didn't have a random roll, but if the sorcerer had to roll for the attack and rolled a 1, then the wild magic would take place.
Wild magic is something a dm will ask for you to roll on unless you want a wild mage or wild sorcerer both available in 5e.
I play a Wild Magic Sorcerer in my campaign. The DM and I agree that rolling for WIld Magic is one of the best parts of my character, so she has me roll every time I cast a leveled spell or use a Sorcery Point on a cantrip. Another point is that if I don't roll a one, the roll stacks.
(In case that's confusing):
Let's say I just cast a level-one spell, like Chaos Bolt. I just rolled a 7, so my Wild Magic doesn't Surge. On my next turn, I use Fire Bolt, and use a Sorcery Point to cast it distantly. So she has me roll again, and this time, if I get a 1 or a 2, my Wild Magic will Surge.
to be fair thats kinda dumb it should be atleast 1-3 you need to roll for wild magic surge the chances are 1/20 for it to go wild so only 5% chance.