Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)

Sorcerers are a core playable class in Dungeons & Dragons since Third Edition. Prior to Fourth, they are really just simpler versions of their Wizard brothers, able to cast spells on the fly without morning preparation or a spellbook. The drawback is that they can only know a few distinct spells per spell level. In essence, they are "easier to play" wizards for people with short attention spans who don't want to muck around with strategy.

Dragon Disciple. A sub-class of sorcerers that avoid being squishy... or very good. Nah, they are now legit.

Critics claim there are several additional problems with the class:

• Fewer Feats than the wizard.
• No class skills except Bluff use Charisma, the sorcerer's casting stat.
• Inferior Prestige Classes compared to the wizard (think Tome and Blood).
• Cannot obtain as much benefit from spell scrolls and spellbooks as a wizard can.

Advocates argue that:

• Some of the prestige classes are pretty good (exalted arcanist, archmage) if you have the right splatbook (Book of Exalted Deeds, Heroes of Horror, Draconomicon).
• Sorcerers got a mild buff in 3.5, allowing them to vary some spells between levels to make up for their limited spell selection.
• Not having to prepare their spells does offer some advantages (casting flight or invisibility on the whole party off-the-cuff without prior preparation).

In addition, the self-contained nature of the sorcerer is useful to counteract a difficult DM:

• A sorcerer doesn't depend on an external, potentially destructible object to prepare his spells (i.e. the wizard's spellbook).
  • Building on that, a wizard may not have access to the spells he wants to add to his book at a reasonable cost, while a sorcerer can simply come into his new spells at each level-up.
  • If the DM disallows lots of those spells up front, the sorcerer can leave the session before it starts and avoid the idiocy to come; the wizard is clueless about the plight of his arsenal until it is too late.
• The sorcerer's arguments against the nullification of a spell by DM fiat are stronger when considering the smaller arsenal of the sorcerer.
• If a sorcerer uses spells like charm person that are enhanced by his Charisma, he has a strong argument against DM fiat nullification in that his skills are feeble, so Charisma and spells are all he has to work with.
• Should a DM nullify a certain spell by fiat, the sorcerer can swap it out once he gains the next even-numbered level, thus tailoring his active spell list to the spells most favorably handled by his DM. The wizard gets what he gets.
• DMs who opt for a severe method of character creation often prevent casters from getting the bonus spells afforded by a high caster stat; in this situation, the sorcerer's extra spells cast per day becomes highly valuable.

Schools of Thought

Sorcerers are really just singleminded versions of their Wizard brothers, able to cast spells spontaneously (e.g. without preparation in the morning).

Players of sorcerers (not to be mistaken with Saucerers) often enjoy the dragon blood fluff, and use it in some vague attempt of roleplaying, but we all know that deep down inside they're just playing a sorcerer because they want to throw more fireballs per day than the wizard. But then again, with the right specialization and PrCs, a wizard can have more spells per day than the sorcerer, rendering him useless. This is especially true when you realize that the wizard gets things like bonus feats, further pushing his power well past anything the sorcerer can accomplish without a prestige class.

It's a well-known fact that Skip Williams, one of the developers of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, absolutely despised the sorcerer class and is famous for saying in a now-notorious thread on the Wizards of the Coast forums as saying that sorcerers weren't worthy of being called spellcasting classes. The findings of most of the balance team for 3.5 regarding the sorcerer were steadfastly ignored by WotC, which is why the sorcerer doesn't get bonus feats, skills that actually use his main stat (except for Bluff), or the full benefits of metamagic; you know, all the things wizards get and take for granted. About the only buff they got in 3.5 is that they can now vary some spells up between levels to make up for how limited their spell selection is. All of this is painfully obvious if one cracks open a copy of the Tome and Blood, which is widely-regarded as being for wizards what the current-edition Space Marine Codex was for Ultramarines. All of the sorcerer-specific classes in the book were horrifically underpowered, whereas a number of wizard builds offered via T&B were incredibly, gob-smackingly powerful.

Sorcerers are, to put it simply, underpowered compared to wizards: they make sacrifices in the number of spells they can know at any one time in order to be able to cast two more spells of every level per day than wizards, who can still very easily surpass a sorcerer's spells per day with the right builds. If your group is a hack-and-slash, combat-centric group, you're probably going to want to roll a sorcerer. If your group actually does anything besides kick in doors and behead goblinoids/innocent dwarves/the Tarrasque (haha, beheading the Tarrasque, it'd just grow a new head before you could blink), then consider the wizard's immense versatility an advantage.

On the other hand, a sorcerer represents the chaotic side of magic, free to face the encounter with all that he knows, ever ready to adapt and prevail. Wizards represent the methodical, logical, and lawful mechanics of magic. So long as they have planned accordingly the night before and morning of, they can face any situation as it comes. But any one unpredictable thing comes along and the sorcerer gets to loot the wizard's corpse. Of course, the sorcerer also has to plan ahead because he prepares his spells once and doesn't get to change them until he gets to the next level, so you can't afford to have shitty spells.

...Which isn't to say it's all bad news. The sorcerer qualifies for a number of prestige classes that dramatically improve the power of the class. Exalted arcanist (from Book of Exalted Deeds) gives the class access to a few clerical spells and gives the class a surprising bit of versatility; fiend-blooded (from Heroes of Horror) seems outwardly similar to the dragon disciple class from Tome and Blood in that you trade levels for what's functionally a template, but unlike the dragon disciple, offers full spell progression, access to spells you can't normally get, familiar boosts, and the ability to load up a spell to be even more destructive a few times a day - just for example; the Draconomicon also has a bunch of useful sorcerer buffs, including sorcerer-specific feats and PrCs. Additionally, the sorcerer can also easily latch onto (and take advantage of) a number of wizard-exclusive prestige classes; seeing what this class can do with archmage is nothing short of hilarious.

But as far as a base class goes? No reason to bother. Prestige out of this class ASAP; all you have to lose is familiar progression. You'll likely find the result far more effective than a sorcerer on its lonesome.

Pathfinder

Pathfinder gave every class a unified system of feat progression, removing one problem with the wizard comparison right there, offers traits to let them make the charisma-based skills they should always have fucking had in-class into class skills, and indirectly helps them out by making prestige classes much rarer and more corner-case. It also added a series of "bloodline powers" to let the player customize them a little and to make them a little less like weaker versions of wizards. It does a good job of that, though they still lack some of the wizard's raw versatility. Those bloodlines show what monster in your ancestry is the source of your powers, making it the class equivalent of half-elf or half-orc or whatever. It's possible to be descended from an undead or an aberration; best not to think about how, though at least some undead are generally considered quite attractive and a number of them derive from exposure to mutating magical forces rather than good ol' fashioned breeding. Either way, said bloodlines dramatically increase the power of the sorcerers: each bloodline gives you a list of bonus feats, bonus spells, and "bloodline powers" which range from mediocre (1d6 blast) to getting even moar bonus spells, +6 str, having all of your internal organs shifted so that you are immune to critical hits and cannot be backstabbed, and casting metamagic without increased casting time.

Core bloodlines are pretty standard, being classic themes as Abyssal/Infernal/Celestial/Dragonkin/Fey/etc, with the aberration and undead being kind of oddballs, the destined being hilarious, and the arcane pretty boring but obviously the most powerful, as it is clearly the most viable option in the entire game for metamagic users. Yes, now munchkins can be sorcerers too. Then Paizo started printing all of its "Ultimate X" stuff and things kept going weird(er), with sorcerers descending from nearly everything that can sport a reproductive system, including (but not limited to) Cthulhu-like abominations and plant monsters. Still, sorcerers are really an interesting, entertaining choice and can be tailored and customized to be whatever the fuck you may desire, with great opportunities for roleplaying. Even the lack of spells is less severe- you get one free spell among your bloodline ones every odd level beyond the first, and a good chunk of races has a favored class bonus that nets you 1 bonus spell each level, even if it has to be one level lower than your highest spell's level.

If you don't mind being a special snowflake, check out the "build your own spells" Words of Power system from "Ultimate Magic." The sky's falling in on our heads, 'cause someone in a 3.X game actually put in an alternate casting system that favors sorcerers over their spoiled rotten cousins. Think on how some of the elemental bloodlines boost power for any spell with the right elemental subtype. Think how easy it is to slip a level zero cold snap or spark keyword into a larger spell. Engage trollface, because you just made the best "blaster" mage in 3.X history.

Also in Pathfinder, sorcerers make arguably better mystic theurges than wizards because they can choose to multiclass in Oracle. The oracle is a divine equivalent of the sorcerer that uses charisma as his casting stat, thus avoiding being MAD, or can take the empyreal bloodline and swap their casting stat with Wisdom, making for a perfect multiclass option for druids or clerics that want to go theurge. Obviously this advantage becomes moot when you notice that Pathfinder theurges suck pretty bad and one of their (few) features only works for prepared spellcasters. Oops!

Meanwhile, in 5th Edition...

In 5th Edition, sorcerers finally become a useful and viable class, because someone finally realized that sorcerers should get something unique: metamagic, torn from the screaming hands of the most pampered brats of last edition. They now have exclusive access to metamagics, of which they can eventually get four, and alter any of their spells with on the fly using a resource pool called Sorcery Points. They get more as they level up, and can also use them to regain spells. These mechanics are important, because with the reworks to prepared spellcasting, the complaint that sorcerers prepare their spells once and can't easily swap them out is more true than ever.

Sorcerers get to choose their bloodline power at first level: Dragons or something vague and chaotic. The dragon bloodline gives them natural armor (which doesn't stack with actual armor, naturally) and one more hit point per level. Eventually they get dragon wings, resistance to, and affinity for, their chosen dragon's element, and the ability to use SP to activate an aura that either scares people or inspires them, depending on which the sorcerer wants it to do. The second bloodline option is that the sorcerer has "Wild Magic." This means that whenever they cast a spell, the DM can ask them to roll a D20, and on a 1, random magical effects happen. However, given their probable frequency, they are now less devastating (none that instantly kill you, the worst it gets is turning you into a plant for one round or casting grease on your location). In fact, many are helpful, and later the wild mage actually uses this to their advantage (whenever they have a surge, they can roll twice on the chart). Oh, and they have a D6 hit die now, like in Pathfinder. I guess WotC got sick of spellcasters whining about not having enough HP to do anything.

Finally, their class skills include lots of Charisma-based choices, like in 4e, which is just one more sweet, sweet improvement.

Via an Unearthed Arcana on designing new variant classes, the 5e sorcerer also ate the Favored Soul, making a class that actually works. Taking the Favored Soul option instead of Draconic Bloodline or Wild Origin means your sorcerer gets to pick options from one of the Cleric domains for themselves and adds those domain spells to their list as bonus spells. They get much better combat stuff (automatically proficient with light and medium armor, shields, simple weapons, and gain an Extra Attack at level 6), but they still have d6 hit dice, so it's not always the best idea to go wading into melee. They gain the ability to sprout wings for flying and healing whenever they cast a Domain spell. Take the Life Domain and your Sorcerer can toss around healing and buffing spells like nobody's business (and with metamagic, to boot. Twinned Cure Wounds? Don't mind if I do), or take the War domain to put your newfound ass-kicking skills to the best use.

A new aquatic Unearthed Arcana added a Storm bloodline, focusing on lightning, swooping around with wind powers, and controlling the weather to make navigating a ship a breeze (No pun intended). At high levels, they can fly and spend an action to let the party swoop around, too. In short, a pretty great "pure caster" bloodline that doesn't go for making you tough like a dragon or have a significant lol-random component like the wild one.

The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition
Core Classes:	Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard
Advanced Player's Guide:	Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch
Advanced Class Guide:	Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest
Occult Adventures:	Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist
Ultimate X:	Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante

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