Sorcerer

Golden eyes flashing, a human stretches out her hand and unleashes the dragonfire that burns in her veins. As an inferno rages around her foes, leathery wings spread from her back and she takes to the air.

Long hair whipped by a conjured wind, a half-elf spreads his arms wide and throws his head back. Lifting him momentarily off the ground, a wave of magic surges up in him, through him, and out from him in a mighty blast of lightning.

Crouching behind a stalagmite, a halfling points a finger at a charging troglodyte. A blast of fire springs from her finger to strike the creature. She ducks back behind the rock formation with a grin, unaware that her wild magic has turned her skin bright blue.

Sorcerers carry a magical birthright conferred upon them by an exotic bloodline, some otherworldly influence, or exposure to unknown cosmic forces. One can't study sorcery as one learns a language, any more than one can learn to live a legendary life. No one chooses sorcery; the power chooses the sorcerer.

Unexplained Powers

Sorcerers are rare in the world, and it's unusual to find a sorcerer who is not involved in the adventuring life in some way. People with magical power seething in their veins soon discover that the power doesn't like to stay quiet. A sorcerer's magic wants to be wielded, and it has a tendency to spill out in unpredictable ways if it isn't called on.

Sorcerers often have obscure or quixotic motivations driving them to adventure. Some seek a greater understanding of the magical force that infuses them, or the answer to the mystery of its origin. Others hope to find a way to get rid of it, or to unleash its full potential. Whatever their goals, sorcerers are every bit as useful to an adventuring party as wizards, making up for a comparative lack of breadth in their magical knowledge with enormous flexibility in using the spells they know.

Creating a Sorcerer

The most important question to consider when creating your sorcerer is the origin of your power. As a starting character, you’ll choose an origin that ties to a draconic bloodline or the influence of wild magic, but the exact source of your power is up to you to decide. Is it a family curse, passed down to you from distant ancestors? Or did some extraordinary event leave you blessed with inherent magic but perhaps scarred as well?

How do you feel about the magical power coursing through you? Do you embrace it, try to master it, or revel in its unpredictable nature? Is it a blessing or a curse? Did you seek it out, or did it find you? Did you have the option to refuse it, and do you wish you had? What do you intend to do with it? Perhaps you feel like you’ve been given this power for some lofty purpose. Or you might decide that the power gives you the right to do what you want, to take what you want from those who lack such power. Perhaps your power links you to a powerful individual in the world—the fey creature that blessed you at birth, the dragon who put a drop of its blood into your veins, the lich who created you as an experiment, or the deity who chose you to carry this power.

Spellcasting

An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic. This font of magic, whatever its origin, fuels your spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the sorcerer spell list.

Origin Spells

Each origin has a list of spells-its origin spells-that you gain at the sorcerer levels noted in the origin description. Once you gain an origin spell, you always know it, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you know.

If you have an origin spell that doesn't appear on the sorcerer spell list, the spell is nonetheless a sorcerer spell for you.

If an origin doesn't have a list, or you disagree with it, work with your DM to come up with a list that is thematically appropriate. There should be ten spells in total, with you gaining two at a time at levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.

Font of Magic

At 2nd level, you tap into a deep wellspring of magic within yourself. This wellspring is represented by sorcery points, which allow you to create a variety of magical effects.

Imbuing Touch

As an action, you can touch one nonmagical weapon and spend 2 sorcery points to imbue it with magic for 1 minute. For the duration, the considered magical for the purpose of immunity and resistance to nonmagical attacks.

Sorcerous Fortitude

As an action, you can spend any number of sorcery points and roll a d6 for each point expended. You gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the total rolled.

Sorcerous Recovery

Starting at 2nd level, you may recover all your spent sorcery points at the end of a short rest. You can do so only once per long rest.

Metamagic

At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagic options of your choice. You gain two more at 6th (4), 10th (6), and 14th level (8).

You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted.

Delayed Spell

When you cast a spell, you can delay it occurring until the start of your next turn by spending 1 sorcery point (expending the spell slot as normal). When the start of your next turn begins, you can choose to delay it once more, for 1 more sorcery point.

Devastating Spell

When you cast a damaging spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose to spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to make the creature vulnerable to the type of damage the spell deals until the end of the turn.

Distant Spell

When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend up to your Charisma modifier in sorcery points, doubling the range of the spell for each point spent this way.

When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range of the spell 30 feet.

Empowered Spell

When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll up to your Charisma modifier in damage dice (minimum 1). You must use the new rolls.

You can use Empowered Spell with other metamagic options on the same spell.

Enlightened Spell

When you cast a spell, you can spend up to your Charisma modifier in sorcery points. Any spell slot you expend to cast the spell counts as 1 level higher for each point spent this way, up to 9th level.

Extended Spell

When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend up to your Charisma modifier in sorcery points, doubling the duration of the spell for each point spent this way.

Heightened Spell

When making an attack roll or forcing a creature to make a saving throw as a part of a spell, you can spend up to your Charisma modifier in sorcery points, gaining a bonus to the relevant DCs or attack rolls equal to the number of sorcery points spent this way.

Lucky Spell

When you cast a spell, if you or an enemy roll an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can spend 3 sorcery points to force the die to be rerolled the die and must use the new roll.

You can use Lucky Spell with other metamagic options on the same spell.

Quickened Spell

When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting

Subtle Spell

When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.

Subverted Spell

When you cast a spell that deals a type of damage from the following list, you can spend 1 sorcery point to change that damage type to one of the other listed types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder. The same is true of radiant and necrotic; and psychic and force.

Twinned Spell

When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell's level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip).

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

Magical Guidance

Starting at 5th level, you can tap into your inner wellspring of magic to try and conjure success from failure. When you make an ability check that fails, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll the d20, and you must use the new roll, potentially turning the failure into a success.

Greater Magical Guidance

Starting at 13th level, you can tap into your inner wellspring of magic to try and conjure success from failure. When you make an saving throw that fails, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll the d20, and you must use the new roll, potentially turning the failure into a success.

Sorcerer Supreme

At 20th level, choose three more metamagic options to learn. At the end of a long rest, you may exchange one or more of these metamagics for different ones.

Additionally, whenever you cast a spell, you can use any number of metamagic options on that spell, instead of only one.

Finally, whenever you would use a sorcerer feature that requires the expenditure of sorcerery points, its sorcery point cost is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0. For all intents and purposes, it still counts as if you had spent the sorcery point.

Sorcerous Origins

Different sorcerers claim different origins for their innate magic. Although many variations exist, most of these origins fall into two categories: a draconic bloodline and wild magic. Choose the draconic bloodline, below or one from another source.

Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 1st level and again at 6th, 14th, and 18th level.

Origin Spells

You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Draconic 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 from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be an enchantment or evocation spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list.

Draconic Spells

Elemental Affinity

Starting at 6th level, when you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, you can add your Charisma modifier to one damage roll of that spell. At the same time, you can spend 1 sorcery point to gain resistance to that damage type for 1 hour.

In addition, you gain the Subverted Spell metagmaic, and it doesn't count against your number of metamagics known. You can apply Subverted Spell to a sorcerer spell at no additional cost, as long as you change the damage type of the spell to the type associated with your draconic ancestry.

Dragon Wings

At 14th level, you gain the ability to sprout a pair of dragon wings from your back, gaining a flying speed equal to your current speed. You can create these wings as a bonus action on your turn. They last until you dismiss them as a bonus action on your turn.

You can’t manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.

Draconic Presence

Beginning at 18th level, you can exude the fearsome power of a true dragon. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points to emanate an aura of awe or fear (your choice) in a 60-foot radius. For 1 minute, hostile creatures that start their turn within the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed (awe) or frightened (fear) until the aura ends. On a success, creatures are immune to this aura for 24 hours.

Any creature in awe or fear of you has disadvantage on saving throws against the first spell you cast on each of your turns.

Raw Magic

You are capable of tapping directly into the source of arcane magic. Your magic is unfiltered, powerful, and hard to control, capable of both increased power and unpredictable side effects. You might have been born with this innate capability, or perhaps an encounter with powerful magic has imbued you with these chaotic abilities.