I'm very intrigued by the Wild Magic Sorcerous Origin. It has some very interesting features, but it also poses some problems that I can see and I was wondering how some of you have handled or would handle them.
The main problems I can see center around Wild Magic Surge. This is a class feature that is entirely up to the DM's discretion. For those of you who don't have your books in front of you, after the Wild Magic Sorcerer casts a spell of at least 1st level, the DM can call for them to roll on the Wild Magic Surge table to create a random magical effect. What I'm wondering is, how would you decide how often and in what circumstances to give the player a Wild Magic Surge? Doing it too much could be problematic. This is partly because Wild Magic Surges recharge the Sorcerer's Tides of Chaos feature, so giving constant Wild Magic Surges could provide a significant power boost to the sorcerer. It is also because the effects of Wild Magic Surges can be pretty disruptive, so having them happen constantly could play havoc with the game. On the other hand, the unpredictability of Wild Magic Surges is part of the fun of playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer, so you don't want to use them too sparingly. How do you/would you strike the balance?
The other problem I see is that some of the results on the Wild Magic Surge table are quite destructive. for example, if the sorcerer rolls a 7 or an 8 on their d%, they cast Fireball on centered on their location. At early levels, this will almost certainly be fatal to the sorcerer and potentially the entire party if they're grouped up closely. I doubt anyone would appreciate having to reroll after a TPK caused because the sorcerer botched her roll on the first spell cast at level 1. Have any of you come up with house rules for preventing disastrous results from Wild Magic Surges? If so, I'd be really interested to see them.
Here's how I determine when checking for a wild surge is appropriate: Would a fireball centered on the sorcerer (one of the most disruptive surge possibilities) be an interesting addition to the campaign right now, or would it just be obnoxious? If that outcome would just be obnoxious, then there is too much risk that a surge would be obnoxious, so I don't check to see if one occurs.
Once the party has a few levels under them, it starts feeling more and more commonly interesting to have a surge happen, so I start checking for a surge on every opportunity that presents itself while the party is out adventuring.
As for taking the teeth out of the wild magic surge table... that's counter-productive. All the really cool results are on the table because there are really bad results to balance them, and that is what creates the sense of wonderment and unpredictable appeal that wild magic is known for. If you tame the bad results without toning down the good results, you have changed the dynamic in a significant way.
Anything that changes the player's hope from "I hope if I get a surge on this spell that it is something at least kind of useful" to "I hope I get a surge" all the time is, in my opinion, missing the entire point of wild magic. Everybody in my group would rather not roll for a surge at all than roll on a chart that had the negatives mitigated.
As for how often, I would say once every short or long rest is probably enough. Metamagic seems like a good trigger, adjusted for how busy I think the group will be (if it looks like it will be one fight and a lot of exploration, I better get it while the going is good, but if it looks like a long slog, the sorcerer might be able to use metamagic a couple of times before a wild surge hits). Of course, if the player asks for a wild magic surge, and there hasn't been one for a while, who am i to turn him/her down?
Like Aaron, I suggest waiting for a couple of levels before starting wild surges or at least (at low levels) giving warning to the sorcerer's player: after the sorcerer casts a spell, he feels funny, like a wild magic surge is coming on.....and of course, it is up to that player to make sure the PC gives warning to the others.
I roll the wild surge myself so I can tweak it if necessary. Typically, the players help mitigate it by playing their characters appropriately. They don't huddle around a sorcerer casting spells exactly because of the chaotic nature of their friend. They know that their friend is a ticking time bomb and act accordingly.
You could also allow the sorcerer to use sorcery points to weaken the effect of the fireball. Instead of maximizing it, have a minimizing effect maybe so each dice only does a maximum of 1. Something along those lines. The fireball example is obviously one of the extremes so it really shouldn't even be an issue very often at low levels, if ever.
I really don't see an issue with using wild magic surge as much as possible.
Tides of Chaos is only once per long rest, and without it there is only a 1 in 20 chance of rolling on the table. Once you roll its 1 in 50 for the fireball and that is really the only thing on the chart that has seriously destructive potential.
If the fireball does happen at a really bad time at low level, I would just make it more cinematic. No need to stick to the letter and wipe the party for that imo. Turn it into something fun, or just have the player reroll...wild magic is wild, sometimes it takes two rolls to figure out what it wants 
.
Houserule (just thought up on the fly, may be a lousy idea):
Effects rolled on the Chaos Magic table may not invoke a spell whose level the character does not have a slot for. (So no Fireball or Summon Modron at L1.) Re-roll (repeatedly, if necessary).
At first, because you are a beginner at this "magic" thing, you can only get the funny cosmetic stuff. But as you acquire more potent things you can do on purpose - your spells - you also get more potent side-effects.
BRJN wrote:
It's Chaos magic, after all. If you want to be completely in control of the magical effects you create, go Wizard.
I suppose I could work up a Far-Realm-empowered Chaos Sorcerer. Since that place is just crazy insane by definition.
My purpose in previous post was to create a feature that the rest of the party (read: ME) is safe from.
My group loves Wild Magic Surges. As a GM, I love them too - so much so, my first house rule of 5e was to change how rolls for Wild Magic Surges work. (We decided they were too rare.)
In my game, each time we roll for a Wild Magic Surge (i.e., when a Sorcerer spell greater than level 0 is cast), if it fails to happen, we increment the counter. So that the next time the chance is 2 out of 20, 3 out of 20, etc. Once a surge happens, the counter drops back to 1.
I like it not just because it creates a fun "press your luck" mechanic, but also because it ensures that one way or another, a Wild Magic Surge is gonna happen!
I'm toying with a change that puts the player in the drivers seat somehow - that is, they get some temporary advantage by *pushing* wild magic (a +1 to their spell attack, for instance) - and it's that DECISION that increments the counter instead. If I were to go in that direction I would change the table results to be even more "wild" and slightly less beneficial on the whole (since the benefit would come from the +1).
As for how to handle possible TPKs from Wild Magic Surge results, I roll for the result behind a screen, and if I judge a given result to be horrible, I skip to the next result. My goal is for Wild Magic to be crazy, cool, and dangerous - but not deadly on the level of a TPK.
Illk
I really like the idea of the incremented 1d20 roll and will run that by the sorcerors in my game to see if they do, too.
There is nothing that I can see in the descriptions of Wild Magic Surge or the table of events that says the surges must happen immediately after the spell has been cast. If the really unlikely event of the fireball spell occurred, perhaps
- delay its explosion,
- as above, and let the player know so that its effect on the rest of the party can be mitigated,
- allow the player to use it when his character is surrounded by enemies (control like this might be antithetical to the chaotic nature of the surge, though)
- you determine when it goes off because of some trigger (like the character is surrounded and in imminent danger)
Basically, if a fireball is going to wreck the fun at that point, blow it up some other time. If someone is on hand to heal him, and the fireball is not going to kill him outright, a singed beard is not too high a price to pay by the sorceror and could be fun. In short, time the fireball, or any other surge effect, for maximum dramatic effect and fun.
Just a quick thought on the fireball situation.
Since this is wild magic after all, I'd just think wildly out of the box. If the party were to be TPK'ed by a fireball I'd have the entire part as they got hit they'd suddenly find themselves in a strange land of fire and lava where they'd have to defeat some magical fire creature(s) in order to nullify the effects of the fireball. Certainly way off the books/charts, but it could be good fun if done right.
TheLarch wrote:
Before the game (as DM) I roll a d12 and note the number.
Througout the game, anytime the Wild Mage casts a spell, I look at the clock on my smart phone. If any of the numbers match the one I rolled before the game, WILD SURGE!
What, you expected a rational way to be chaotic?
AttilatheNun wrote:
CapZapp wrote:
I just asked a player, how much he prefer. He said: "As much as possible", so I just said, we do it like in good old times. Every spell-slot he uses he rolls, since in 2e you had a 5% chance with every spell you cast... Ups, just opened a gate to the lower planes...