From all that I heard about him so far, what we know for certain so far is that....
His power source is arcane (I'm the kind that argues for him to be primal but fine, whatever, i can live with it)
And he is a controller.
Something about he can barely contain the power within, and the snippet i always heard was that he could cast a fire spell and be covered in something like a fire shield until the next turn
My speculation:
All of this "barely contain the power" somewhat reminds me of a wild mage.
His main attribute will be charisma (duh)
His secondaries will include constitution and dexterity.
But Fox, why CON and DEX? Well constitution since as flavor goes the magic in him is innate, born with it. It's something he uses both his body and force of will to cast, goes along better that secondary effects fit a wild-mage better with constitution.
As for dexterity... strength is a no-no, intelligence... they aren't wizards ok? Wisdom.... it's possible, but I don't know if they'll double upon will like they doubled up on fortitude with the barbarian. Besides who wants to be a caster in light armor with crappy dex or int? If it was like that I guarantee you people would start investing feats for heavy armor. (battlemage anyone?)
it could just be charisma and constitution that decide your primary/secondary effects, dexterity and intelligence for your armor becomes flavor. Perhaps you are a libram/tome/book-toting and scholarly sorcerer, or maybe you are a bit more nimble and you know how to get out of harms way.
Mechanically, I see the wild magic aspect being represented through some sort of class feature. Some thoughts:
- Possibly have spells "granted" like crusader maneuvers from Bo9S? Would seem too unreliable for a precision oriented role like controller.
- An aura of power that increases as the sorcerer casts spells and can be unleashed to do damage or other miscellaneous effects. Similar to the Darkspiral Aura of dark pact warlocks, but more controllable and usable and a primary class feature rather than secondary.
- Random effects when spells are cast? Similar to the 2e wild mage, but... horribly weak and seemingly impossible to port to 4e.
- Spells (or class features?) that deals small damage to the caster. Again, seems too weak, and largely covered by Blood Mage already.
- A focus on blaster oriented spells seems certain. I expect to see alot of close blasts, area bursts and the like that deal high damage to large groups of enemies.
- Perhaps alot of swiss army knife spells that have multiple different effects? Seems overpowered, though.
I dunno. It's hard to say how mechanically they will differentiate Sorcerers from Wizards.
They have to differentiate from a Wizard somehow and that's the most basic way to do it.
which brings me to a perfect analogy
Sorcerers = x men. think about it
Born with their powers, usually shows up around puberty. Some x-men were smart, without a doubt, but do you think all of the mutants were geniuses? nope, some were pretty dumb but they could handle their powers just as well as anyone else.
I don't think power sources should be pidgeonholed into using a certain attribute and I don't think they will be, either.
I could see intelligence maybe used if sorcerers are given two distinct builds unlike the wizard which has two different named types of wizards but they don't have anything mechanically different. If there are mechanical differences in the sorcerer i see CHA, CON, and DEX as one (probably some pew pew battle caster) and the others as CHA, CON, and INT as the more scholarly type with his own bonuses or tertiary effects depending on if you are that build or not (like tactical, inspiring warlord, etc.)
Sorcerous Resistance
When you use a power with a damage type keyword (fire, cold, acid, poison etc.), you gain resistance to that damage type equal to half your level plus your Con modifier until the beginning of your next turn.
with perhaps an alternative build having instead:
Sorcerous Wrath
When you use a power with a damage type keyword (fire, cold, acid, poison etc.), you deal Dex (or whatever the other secondary ability is) modifier damage of that type to all creatures/enemies adjacent to you (increase to 2 x Dex mod damage at 21st level).
I thought they already said something about it being wildmage-esque though.
I suspect they will get more landscape type spells(walls, earthquake varients, etc)
The magic of Wizards is Int based because it is through intense study/research/schooling/instruction that they access their power.
The magic of the Bard (recently revealed in the "members only" D&DInsider Ampersand article) is Cha based because it is through artistry/song/drama/poetry that they access their power.
The magic of Sorcerers should be Con based.
Being that Sorcerers have been hinted at as users of magic "they can barely control" and that "consumes them in lingering flames", it seems most fitting that Con would be requisite to withstanding the physical backlash of wrestling with arcane energies. It would also help distance them from the Wizard in that they would be blowing stuff up from within the fray; having the HP to endure a solid beating while laying down the hurt. While the Wizard is focused on tossing area attacks, locking down enemies and throwing up walls from a distance, the Sorcerer should focus on heavy-hitting burst attacks and blasts that require him to be more up close and personal with the enemy.
Make Dex a secondary stat, which is viably supported as an "Arcane"-type spellcaster stat given that Wizards (Mr. Arcane himself) also have Dex as a secondary.[/indent]
Class concept sounds cool...the image of the sorcerer wading straight into battle, spells blazing. Neat ideas on this thread.
Basically, it would let the sorcerer attempt to use one of his encounter powers at-will, or one of his daily powers per encounter (even if he's already used them). The drawback would be a "luck" roll being made at the same time that gives the spell a chance of going awry.
A few effects would be positive, like the spell going off as normal or an instant critical hit (on a 20), but these would be rarer than the other effects. Sometimes the spells might have unintended effects (such as the damage type changing or a random effect occurring), or even negative effects (like the spell going off-target or even getting centered on the caster).
Another question for the sorcerer is that of implements. If the sorcerer's powers are still innate, would he still use the same implements as a wizard? One idea for a new implement unique to the sorcerer would be 'sigils', or magical tattoos that help the sorcerer focus his powers so they don't go out of control.
Warlocks can cast spells because of who they know.
Sorcerers can cast spells because of who they are.
Let's see a triumphant return of the "blood of the dragons theory" and its variations, with a sorcerer's powers tied to his bloodline and paragon paths that emphasise this: Dragon Disciple, Feyborn (as opposed to Feytouched), Child of the Titans, etc.
To that end, I'd like sorcerers to have a wide choice of primary abilities depending on what sort of spells they specialise in. So, a fire-wielding dragon disciple might have most of his spells use Con for attack rolls, while an illusion-weaving feyborn sorceress uses Cha and a descendant of a storm titan's mortal lineage uses Dex to lash his foes with whips of living lightning.
Wizards can cast spells because of what they know.
Warlocks can cast spells because of who they know.
Sorcerers can cast spells because of who they are.
Let's see a triumphant return of the "blood of the dragons theory" and its variations, with a sorcerer's powers tied to his bloodline and paragon paths that emphasise this: Dragon Disciple, Feyborn (as opposed to Feytouched), Child of the Titans, etc.
To that end, I'd like sorcerers to have a wide choice of primary abilities depending on what sort of spells they specialise in. So, a fire-wielding dragon disciple might have most of his spells use Con for attack rolls, while an illusion-weaving feyborn sorceress uses Cha and a descendant of a storm titan's mortal lineage uses Dex to lash his foes with whips of living lightning.
I think the "bloodline" direction hasn't really been considered because it starts to bump up against the Warlock's theme. There is a subtle distinction, though, since a warlock gains powers from making deals with supernatural creatures, while the (3E) sorcerer gains powers from being descended from a supernatural creature.
A 'bloodline' sorcerer might end up feeling like a mix between a Warlock and a Wizard if the developers aren't careful. If they do go in that direction, the starting bloodlines might be Draconic, Elemental, and Fey (Infernal probably would be more of a Warlock thing, so they probably won't go in that direction).
Anyway, I definitely appreciate the "wild magic" idea for the sorcerer. It might even allow for an Entropomancer Paragon Path, which was one of my favorite conceptions for a Prestige Class in 3.5.
While I have little idea how the sorcerer will work mechanically, it's highly possible that there'll be an element of risk taking.
Huh. I wonder if there will ever be an arcane defender? Probably not, but its an interesting thought.
I think arcane melee controller sounds great, and is probably the only way to not overlap with the wizard or warlock.
Huh. I wonder if there will ever be an arcane defender? Probably not, but its an interesting thought.
A thought so interesting, they called it the swordmage.
I love it :O since it does so much with the internal powers in your body it would make a lot of sense that it's sheer physical will that you release these monstrosities of powerful spells.
But ok say you do that and have con as THEE primary, what become secondaries? cha more than likely...and...what else? If its like wizards with really just one build then it would be like con/cha/dex. But if somehow there is alternate builds like the warlord has with tac/inspi presence then it could be something like...i dunno really :p Maybe one build is CON/CHA/DEX, the other is CON/WIS/DEX or maybe INT is thrown in somewhere. I could see something of a sage deal in the sorcerer maybe.
edit: CON primary will be good so kobolds can still somewhat have sorcerer as a class to gravitate too ;) ARCANE POWER DOES NOT KNOW A HEIGHT REQUIREMENT!
Let the Sorc use better weapons - maybe even imbuing melee weapons with arcane power (similar to the Swordmage). I think it is still fine to make the class initially proficient in cloth only (Arcane classes favor light armor), but one could imagine heavier armor options as a possibility. A selection of dailies with semi-random effects could also be interesting. And some powers should actually have a "back-lash" component, damaging or otherwise hindering the Sorc for greater impact on the enemy.
I like the idea of Con being important as well, though Charisma and Intelligence also seem appropriate. Furthermore, it covers all 3 defenses (a plus).
I like the idea of Con being important as well, though Charisma and Intelligence also seem appropriate. Furthermore, it covers all 3 defenses (a plus).
Agreed. I could see Sorcerers having three main builds. I am not exactly sure what they might do, but they all seem feasible to me by this logic:
- Constitution- Shows the ability to channel raw magic through one's own body. Bodily endurance is strong enough to resist the harmful effects of arcane forces on the body, deferring the unused energy to the enemy.
- Intelligence- Like your cousin, the Wizard, you have memorized some arcane formulae. Your knowledge is not as extensive as the Wizard, but you make up for that because your body is a natural conduit of magic, and what little arcane apprenticeship you have received allows you to manipulate those energies. (Perhaps this would be better as a sort of "secondary" ability, like it is for the Warlock.)
- Charisma- Through the force of your personality, you simply will magic effects to occur. For the same reason Charisma increases your mental defenses, so too would it increase your ability to exert your will in the flow of magic.