Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 FunkySpunk Aug 05, 2015 0:06:42	and was the class fun to play?   For a long time, I've had a "we must beat the challenges put forth by the DM" attitude. I'm now beginning to realize DMs alter challenges for the party, and that the real goal in an RPG is to have fun with your character.    I had been outside the RPG world for so many years I had forgotten. I still knew the D&D game, but really only through video games that use the same rule sets (which are not really *role* playing games, because no matter how much they dress it up as one, you're on a rail road track, just like everybody else who plays the games).   Anyway, I had become concerned with "beating" the DM, with having the best character I could create (just like you want to beat a video game). And I still see a lot of players like that in many of the groups I participate in.    So, this leads me to the Wild Magic Sorcerer.    I almost always play warrior types, so I want to try something different. I really like the idea of a spellcaster who relies on charisma (which I can roleplay) rather than a character with extremely high INT or WIS, which I do not personally possess, making it annoying for me.    I read the Sorcerer guide on here. It says the draconic bloodline Sorcerer is more powerful. I'm throwing that to the wind now. I want to play a character coming into his wild powers. I envision him not completely knowing what he's doing, and these wild surges representing that.    Do wild surges happen often enough for you?    BTW, I get the impression most wild magic Sorcerers tend to be chaotic. I plan on making this character a lawful good guy who is extremely apologetic when the spell casting goes awry. Think Presto if you watched the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon on Saturday mornings.
#2 BestNorthernDope Aug 05, 2015 2:32:47	It depends entirely on your DM, so I'd have a word with him or her about it before settling on the Wild Mage if I were in your shoes. I like the character concept you present, I'm sure you'll have a blast playing it.
#3 transcendantviewer Aug 05, 2015 2:36:51	A friend of mine is playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer and explicitly asked his DM to make them happen more often. He's playing the class for funny stuff to happen, he damn well wants funny stuff happen. So, the DM expanded the Wild Surge chance from a roll of a 1 to a roll of 1-5 on the d20.
#4 Yunru Aug 05, 2015 4:22:48	Ignoring Tides of Chaos (we'll get back to that later), the standard day as six, three round encounters. For maximising numbers, you also MC Warlock so as not to run out of spell slots. That's 18 spells in a day. If your DM has you roll for all of them, that's an average 0.9 Wild Surges a day. Quite unimpressive, for an entire subclass's main schtick. Going back to Tides of Chaos is where this gets interesting. It completely bypasses the d20 roll and has you roll directly on the table. If you can get your DM onboard it's the most reliable way of getting a Wild Surge. Of course a garunteed surge after each use might be too powerful/interruptive for your DM. If you're DM triggers it 25% of the time, however, you're only getting 5.4 surges a day. Which is somewhat more reasonable. Hopefully from just those numbers you can see how swingy it is. If you cast nothing but 1st level spells and above all day you might get 1 surge an encounter, if your DM rolls a d4 for Tides of Chaos. If you cast less than that (a level 3 Sorcerer can only cast around 6 for example), you need Tides of Chaos to trigger practically 100% of the time for the same result.
#5 Ath-kethin Aug 05, 2015 9:08:06	You might also take a look at the Wild Surge mechanics from 2nd Edition (in the 2e Time of Magic, where the wild mage class originated). It had you roll on a table every time you cast a wild magic spell, and depending on your role the spell's effects would vary slightly (be a little more powerful, a little less powerful, etc) and always has a chance for a wild surge in addition to those effects. The wild surge effects table was also far more extensive. If your DM allows it, this should give you more of the feel you're looking for in your character, and it should transplant to 5e with no difficulty.
(Reply to #4) Coredump00	Yunru wrote:
(Reply to #6) Yunru	Coredump00 wrote:
#8 Yunru Aug 05, 2015 12:30:09	After 6 spells that's an 88.76% chance of at least one surge. Which seems about right, if a little on the low side still.
#9 Awakened_Gazebo Aug 05, 2015 13:09:39	Huh? I think Im gonna present that houserule for my group also. You could always spice it up by critical hits adding more or the use of metamagics add and extra etc.
#10 Godwyn Aug 06, 2015 16:21:43	I think I will present this as a houserule as well.  Even as the DM I was disappointed by the lack of wild magic surges.