Clockwork Soul Sorcerer Guide: Features, How to Build, and Sample Character

Your magic is a monument to order amidst chaos, a testament to the power of planning over the randomness of chance. Your magic is predictable and reliable, a stabilizing and balancing force in the universe. As a Clockwork Soul sorcerer, you protect the world from being pulled apart by fortune’s whims.

Below, we’ll take a look at the Clockwork Soul’s subclass features, compare them to other sorcerer subclasses, then review some character creation suggestions.

Clockwork Soul Origin Features

A clockwork soul sorcerer reads magical formulas

A Clockwork Soul sorcerer’s magic helps them restore order to the battlefield. They are experts at protecting their allies, tearing down enemy spells, and removing negative effects from the party.

  • Clockwork Magic (1st level): The Clockwork Soul sorcerer adds ten extra spells to their repertoire as they level up. These spells lean into the Clockwork Soul sorcerer’s affinity for defensive magic, helping you protect your allies from harmful effects. But, they can also be replaced with any abjuration or transmutation spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list. I recommend perusing the wizard’s spell list for gems like glyph of warding and remove curse.
  • Restore Balance (1st level): Your connection to order allows you to correct cosmic imbalances as you see them. When a nearby creature is about to roll a d20 with advantage or disadvantage, you can use your reaction to prevent the roll from being affected by either, causing it to be rolled normally instead. This powerful ability isn’t a one off, either! You can use it a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier per long rest, so save it for when an enemy is attacking your downed ally or when your prone ally is attacking the beast pinning them to the ground.
  • Bastion of Law (6th level): You can spend up to 5 sorcery points to imbue a creature with a magical ward that allows them to reduce damage by rolling a number of d8s equal to the sorcery points spent. This ability does not use concentration, so if keeping someone safe is of the utmost importance then you can combine this ability with an abjuration spell like protection from evil and good or protection from energy. Furthermore, this ward could reduce incoming damage to zero, sparing you a Constitution saving throw if you are concentrating on a spell.
  • Trance of Order (14th level): When you’ve reached 14th level, you no longer need to fear fate. As a bonus action, you can enter a state of heightened consciousness for 1 minute. During this time, attack rolls against you can’t benefit from advantage, and whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can treat a roll of 9 or lower on the d20 as a 10. This is one of the strongest abilities out there; even cantrips become potent once they’re guaranteed to hit. Unfortunately, this can only be used once per long rest, unless you spend 5 sorcery points to reactivate it.
  • Clockwork Cavalcade (18th level): As an action, you summon spirits of order to fix the world around you in a 30-foot cube. In a flash, you can restore up to 100 hit points distributed among any number of creatures of your choice within the area and every spell of 6th level or lower ends on creatures and objects of your choice within the area. Use this to casually dismantle most magic, from the bane affecting your party to an eyebite wielded by your opponent.

Clockwork Soul Sorcerer Compared to Other Subclasses

Sorcerers have garnered a reputation for evocative bursts of power. They can Quicken two damage-dealing spells in one turn, Twin spells like immolation or disintegrate, and Empower spells like chain lightning. Draconic Bloodline, Storm Sorcery, and even Wild Magic sorcerers would all use their powers to crank that dial even higher for truly catastrophic demonstrations of arcane might. In a sharp but refreshing contrast, the Clockwork Soul weaves protective wards to defend their allies from harm.

As a Clockwork Soul, you’re much better suited to defending the party than other sorcerer subclasses. Bastion of Law protects from damage, Restore Balance negates disadvantage, and Clockwork Magic offers plenty of abjuration spells. (Clockwork Magic would also allow you to snag some rare protective spells such as arcane lock and nondetection.)

Though the Clockwork Soul sorcerer doesn’t cast healing spells, arcane shields that protect against incoming damage is the next best thing. Bastion of Law is only limited by your sorcery points, and thankfully the rest of your features aren’t competing much for that resource. You could feasibly use all of your sorcery points defending and protecting your party: Twinned protection from evil and good for the fighter and paladin, a Distant freedom of movement for the grappled barbarian 30 feet away, and wards from Bastion of Law for the ranger trying to stay hidden in the trees. Only Divine Soul sorcerers demonstrate a comparable aptitude for defense.

Things to Keep in Mind

Though the Clockwork Soul’s magic grants you the rare ability to cancel out advantage or disadvantage, you may find yourself outgrowing this feature rather quickly. Once you have a repertoire of reaction spells such as absorb elements, shield, and counterspell, you’ll be less likely to use your reaction on Restore Balance. Similarly, while I think Bastion of Law is a strong and thematic feature, higher-level parties are on the receiving end of so much damage that I suspect the mileage on "1d8 per sorcery point" starts to lose its luster somewhere in Tier 3 gameplay.

Specialization comes at a cost, too. Few of this subclass’ features are designed for offensive use. The Clockwork Soul excels at protecting their allies, removing status conditions, and maintaining concentration on area of effect spells such as hypnotic pattern. But being that good at defense does mean that if you’re looking to deal massive damage, this probably won’t be the ideal subclass for you.

Building a Clockwork Soul Sorcerer

A clockwork soul sorcerer channeling the magic of order

Ability Scores

A Clockwork Soul can focus on the same ability scores as any other sorcerer: Charisma first to fuel your magic, then Constitution to maintain concentration and stay alive. I recommend making Dexterity your tertiary priority, as it will boost your AC and you’ll appreciate its bonus to initiative and Stealth. A higher initiative score could allow you to deploy spells like slow or freedom of movement before enemies have a chance to act.

If your sorcerer’s Clockwork Magic has increased their understanding of mechanics and engineering and you want to reflect that in their ability scores, invest in Intelligence.

Character Creation

Though anybody can be a sorcerer, some species in fifth edition have a knack for tinkering or a cultural connection to mechanics, architecture, or engineering.

A clockwork soul sorcerer preparing a spell

  • Autognome: Put a Clockwork Soul into a clockwork body. Playing as an autognome comes with a litany of benefits. Notably, you are immune to disease and resistant to poison damage, have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned and paralyzed, gain two tool proficiencies, and have a base Armor Class equal to 13 + your Dexterity modifier. After you’ve used the Clockwork Soul sorcerer’s Restore Balance feature to ignore disadvantage on a roll, use your autognome’s Built for Success feature to add a d4 to it.
  • Mountain Dwarf: The mountain dwarf can wear light or medium armor, giving your sorcerer better defenses than most arcane casters. Unless you’re planning to be stealthy, you’ll definitely prefer half plate over mage armor. In addition, mountain dwarves boast a total of +4 innate ability score bonuses, giving them a measurable leg up on most other species.
  • Owlin: If you want to focus on control spells, especially area of effect spells, it might help to stay out of range of enemies while you’re concentrating. The owlin can fly as long as they aren’t wearing medium or heavy armor, so fire off your favorite spell and fly somewhere your enemy can’t get into melee range. (You may also check out the aarakocra and the fairy.)
  • Reborn (Lineage): Perhaps your reborn character was brought back to life by a machine. The reborn’s Deathless Nature could be depicted as a type of mechanically-reinforced homeostasis. If you are asked to make an ability check with disadvantage, you can combine your Restore Balance class feature with the reborn's Knowledge from a Past Life to remove disadvantage and add a d6 to the roll. Frankenstein's monster, but make him magic.
  • Rock GnomeRock gnomes are proficient tinkerers, experts in History checks related to magic items, alchemical objects, and technological devices. Perhaps your rock gnome’s experiences with engineering caused them to develop an innate arcane connection to machinery, manifesting as a Clockwork Soul sorcerer. I like this pick for the flavor alone, but if you’re looking for mechanical bonuses during combat, Gnome Cunning grants advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

Feats

The Clockwork Soul’s uniquely industrial flavor doesn’t necessarily invite many feat choices (not every subclass will match to a feat as neatly as Draconic Bloodline does to Elemental Adept, for example), so I encourage you to creatively match feats to your character’s goals or personality.

  • Eldritch AdeptEldritch Adept allows you to select from a limited number of Eldritch Invocations, something normally only available to the warlock. If your Clockwork Soul sorcerer frequently investigates machinery, devices, or structures, you may want to select Eyes of the Rune Keeper, which allows you to read all writing, or Eldritch Sight, which allows you to cast detect magic at will.
  • Inspiring LeaderIf your sorcerer uses their magic supportively, such as by casting haste or greater invisibility on allies, they might be in a good position to offer the party some encouragement in trying times. With the Inspiring Leader feat, you can deliver a 10 minute speech to motivate your allies, granting them temporary hit points equal to your level + your Charisma modifier.
  • SkilledA Clockwork Soul sorcerer’s connection to mechanical workings and engineering can manifest as proficiency in various tools. If your sorcerer was an architect, mason, or tinkerer before their magic manifested, perhaps they continue to rapidly learn new tools as their magic develops. Pick up the Skilled feat to become proficient in three skills or tools of your choice as your clockwork magic strengthens.
  • Spell SniperIf you prefer to deal damage rather than control the battlefield, Spell Sniper is a powerful boon. This feat allows you to ignore half- and three-quarters cover, double the range of your attack rolls, and learn an extra cantrip. But it will truly shine for the Clockwork Soul sorcerer at higher levels, when Trance of Order can guarantee a minimum 10 on the die for any attack roll. Fly above the battlefield and use Spell Sniper to rain cantrips upon your enemies from far out of their range.
  • War CasterMany of your favorite spells—including several from the Clockwork Magic feature—require concentration. With War Caster, you’ll roll most of your Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration with advantage, helping ensure that your slow or wall of force isn’t knocked down at an inopportune moment. (The ability to cast a spell like mind sliver or frostbite as an opportunity attack is pretty cool, too.)

Clockwork Soul Sorcerer Sample Build

I’ve built and shared a 14th-level Clockwork Soul sorcerer, linked below. I leaned into the concept of an engineer who develops an arcane connection to their work. I started with proficiency in mason’s tools. As the character’s clockwork magic developed, so did their understanding of different types of machinery, engineering, and construction. I added the Skilled feat to further stack tool proficiencies.

In combat, the character takes a classic control caster tactic: Pick the best concentration spell to affect the battlefield—such as slow, hold person, or wall of force—then try to stay out of direct danger. While concentrating, they try to stay available to "restore order" by way of lesser restoration, greater restoration, dispel magic, or even scatter. Though the character doesn’t focus on dealing damage, the Clockwork Soul’s Trance of Order feature allows them to treat a 9 or lower on the d20 as a 10 on an attack roll, so they’ve learned the crown of stars spell for those moments of intense need.

Making Your Own Clockwork Soul Sorcerer

Now that you’ve got a sense of the Clockwork Soul’s features and how to build your character, consider how they received their magic. Do they descend from a creature of Mechanus? Did they invent a new type of automaton and become infused with a unique arcane energy as a result? Perhaps they’ve discovered new mathematical equations, and the profound knowledge infused them with arithmancy. 

Whatever you decide, once you’ve got your character concept ready, jump into D&D Beyond’s character builder to get started!

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Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerun, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.

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