Sorcerer

Clanda cursed aloud as the hobgoblin deflected her witch bolt. She felt a chill sweep through her body— the last of her spellpower was now gone. The hobgoblin sneered in victory, pointing his hooked blade at her. "Out of spells already? Pathetic elf. What are you going to do now, witch?" Clanda stopped with a grin on her face, raising a hand to the sky. "Oh I'm no witch, you poor fool, I'm a sorceress." She felt alive again as raw, sorcerous power suddenly blazed through her body, restoring her precious spells. The hobgoblin ran. He did not get far.

Sorcerer: Class PDF Unlike other casters, the sorcerer did not seek out their power, but rather are victims to circumstances beyond their own control. Their power comes not from training, studying, or a pact with a higher being, but from the blood within their veins. To this fact, many are suspicious, even fearful of the abilities of a sorcerer. Some may be jealous of the fact that a sorcerer gained their abilities so easily, but many are simply afraid of HOW they got it, and who gave it to them. The fear, anxiety and contempt that a known magic user can cause is enough to send entire townships into panic. If they were to find out that your power doesn't come from tomes and pacts but your very blood, their response is likely to be even more extreme. These powers are a rarity within Litosvide, and many sorcerers become powerful figures, adventurers, or protectors of the people. Still many others are hanged for witchcraft, possession, or other activities by a village that could not understand them. Still, sorcerers are becoming more and more common in modern Litosvide. Some scholars have theorized that the weave may have begun to repair itself or that some other source of magic is trickling back into the land. This, of course, is having many rare but wild and unpredictable effects; one of which is the birth of those infused by this new magic. These sorcerers that are coming into existence may represent the last, best hope that the people of Litosvide have for a future that doesn't end in the death of all.

Subclasses

Official

Divine Soul Origin

Sometimes the spark of magic that fuels a sorcerer comes from a divine source that glimmers within the soul. Having such a blessed soul is a sign that your innate magic might come from a distant but powerful familial connection to a divine being. Perhaps your ancestor was an angel, trans-formed into a mortal and sent to fight in a god’s name. Or your birth might align with an ancient prophecy, marking you as a servant of the gods or a chosen vessel of divine magic. A Divine Soul, with natural magnetism, is seen as a threat by some religious hierarchies. As an outsider who commands celestial power, these sorcerers can undermine the existing order by claiming a direct tie to the divine. In some cultures, only those who can claim the power of a Divine Soul may command religious power. In these lands, ecclesiastical positions are dominated by a few bloodlines and preserved over generations.

Draconic Bloodline Origin

A dragonic sorcerer's innate magic comes from draconic magic that was mingled with their blood or that of their ancestors. Most often, sorcerers with this origin trace their descent back to a mighty sorcerer of ancient times who made a bargain with a dragon or who might even have claimed a dragon parent. Some of these bloodlines are well established in the world, but most are obscure. Any given sorcerer could be the first of a new bloodline, as a result of a pact or some other exceptional circumstance.

Shadow Soul Origin

Those who claim an origin of the shadow soul are creatures of shadow, for their innate magic comes from the Shadowfell itself. Shadow sorcerers might trace their lineage to an entity from that place, or perhaps were exposed to its fell energy and transformed by it. The power of shadow magic casts a strange pall over your physical presence. The spark of life that sustains you is muffled, as if it struggles to remain viable against the dark energy that imbues your soul.

Storm Soul Origin

Your innate magic comes from the power of elemental air. Many with this power can trace their magic back to a near-death experience caused by the Great Rain, but perhaps you were born during a howling gale so powerful that folk still tell stories of it, or your lineage might include the influence of potent air creatures such as vaati or djinn. Whatever the case, the magic of the storm permeates your being. Storm sorcerers are invaluable members of a ship's crew. Their magic allows them to exert control over wind and weather in their immediate area. Their abilities also prove useful in repelling attacks by sahuagin, pirates, and other waterborne threats.

Wild Magic Origin

A storm sorcerer's innate magic comes from the wild forces of chaos that underlie the order of creation. A storm soul might have endured exposure to some form of raw magic, perhaps through a planar portal leading to Limbo, the Elemental Planes, or the mysterious Far Realm. Perhaps they were blessed by a powerful fey creature or marked by a demon. Or their magic could be a fluke of their birth, with no apparent cause or reason. However it came to be, this chaotic magic churns within all storm sorcerers, waiting for any outlet.

Unearthed Arcana

Clockwork Soul Origin (UA)

A plane of utmost order, Mechanus is a realm overseen by a godlike entity called Primus, whose actions are inscrutable and calculations, vast. You, or someone from your lineage, might have become entangled in one of the machinations of the leader of the modrons. Perhaps you were exposed to an artifact created by Primus, or your ancestor took part in the Great Modron March in some way. The power of Mechanus can seem strange and alien to others, but for you it is part of a vast and glorious system that others can't comprehend. At your option, you can pick from or roll on the Manifestations of Mechanus table to create a way your connection to the plane manifests while you are casting a spell.

Psionic Soul Origin (UA)

One day a light blazed forth within you—the illumination of psionic power. Your mind now simmers with this power, the full extent of which you won't fully grasp for years to come. You can touch other minds with it and alter the world around you by using it to control the magical energy of the multiverse. Will this power shine from you as a hopeful beacon to others? Or will you be a source of terror to those who feel the stab of your mind and witness the strange manifestations of your might? Among githyanki and githzerai, the powers of Psionic Soul sorcerers are revered and marshaled on both sides of the gith war. In Eberron, many kalashtar dream of discovering this origin's abilities within themselves, and in Athas, more sorcerers are born with a Psionic Soul than with any other source of power. In the glades of primeval woods touched by the Feywild, children sometimes awaken to the wonders of psionic power. And in communities that survive Far Realm incursions, some folk are mutated into horrific aberrations, while a lucky few not only remain themselves, but also discover that psionic energy now suffuses their minds. As a Psionic Soul sorcerer, you decide how you acquired your powers. Were you born with them, and did they manifest throughout childhood? Or did an extraordinary event later in life leave you shining with psionic awareness? Consult the Psionic Origins table for a possible origin of your power.

Homebrew

Eldritch Bloodline Origin

An alien presence behind a veil of void hides an energy foreign to the known planes, which you draw your innate power from; a wellspring of mysterious magic older than reality itself. Perhaps you've learned to channel this energy from forbidden texts, or maybe you've felt this connection from birth. Either way, you are changed and utterly unique, and this gives you certain powers over the simplistic minds that surround you.

Elemental Soul Origin

You have been marked by a specific element, be it fire, water, lightning, or something else entirely. Whether your birth occured at the exact moment the material plane and the plane of elemental earth were linked, a god gifted your family with mastery of an element, or another occurance, whatever your story may be, this element has become a part of your very nature.

Fey Bloodline Origin

The potent magic of the Feywild has been of interest to many throughout history, though many fail to harness it properly. Whether through wild experimentation or the rare copulation with fey, some mages have managed to alter their blood with magic of the fey. This power manifests into natural prowess with odd magic—but the results are often only seem tens of generations later.

Giant Bloodline Origin (Old)

The giants once dwelled in a fabled realm known as Ostoria, a paradise for their folk that reflected their mastery of the mortal realm. In time, Ostoria fell, and the giants were scattered and broken. During that mythic era, the giants granted a few chosen individuals among the small folk a shard of their great power. These favored people were caught in the same tragedy that sundered Ostoria. Since that time, they have spread across the many worlds of the multiverse. Now and again, one of their descendants manifests the gifts imparted by the giants, granting them sorcerous magic that allows them to command the elements and gain the might of a giant.

Glacial Soul Origin

The lineage of the inhabitants of Jotunheimr predates even Odinn himself. Such eternal power flows through gods, monsters and men alike. The glacial presence of Ymir grants you arcane abilities, reminding constantly that cold, in the end, awaits us all…

Phoenix Soul Origin (Old)

Your power draws from the immortal flame that fuels the legendary phoenix. You or your ancestors perhaps rendered a phoenix a great service, or you were born in its presence. Whatever the cause, a shard of the phoenix’s power dwells within you. That power is a mixed blessing. Like the mythical creature, you can invoke fiery energy and gain the ability to cheat death itself. This power comes at a cost. The fire within you seethes, demanding to be unleashed. You sometimes find yourself absentmindedly feeding fires. You can’t bear to allow a fire to sputter out. You feel most comfortable while holding a lit torch or sitting in front of a campfire. More importantly, this gift comes with no special protection from fire. You are as vulnerable as any other creature to fiery magic, including your own. Phoenix sorcerers can use their powers to pull themselves back from the brink of death, and all too often their own, rash nature or reliance on destructive magic is what puts them there in the first place. Such sorcerers are wanderers by necessity. The volatile nature of their magic makes other folk nervous. If a fire breaks out in town, a phoenix sorcerer had best flee, whether guilty or not. Fire is a dangerous force, and phoenix sorcerers have a reputation (deserved or not) for reckless behavior, confident that the essence of the phoenix can save them.

Possessed Soul Origin

Some children are tormented by dreadful supernatural spirits, creatures of the dark who harass them night after night. Some unfortunate souls are forever altered by their supernatural experiences, the spirits having bonded with them for life. Those who don't go insane from this bonding manage to turn it into their benefit. They can manifest the spirit's powers, manipulating it to cast spells and alter reality.

Runechild Origin

The weave and flow of magic is mysterious and feared by many. Many study the nature of the arcane in hopes of learning to harness it, while sorcerers carry innate talent to sculpt and wield the errant strands of power that shape the world. Some sorcerers occasionally find their body itself becomes a conduit for such energies, their flesh collecting and storing remnants of their magic in the form of natural runes. These anomalies are known in erudite circles as runechildren. The talents of a runechild are rare indeed, and many are sought after for study by mages and scholars alike, driven by a prevalent belief that the secrets within their body can help understand many mysteries of the arcane. Others seek to enslave them, using their bodies as tortured spell batteries for their own diabolic pursuits. Their subjugation throughout history has driven the few that exist this day into hiding their essence—a task that is not easy, given the revealing nature of their gifts.

Sea Soul Origin (Old)

The power of water is the strength of flexibility, resilience, and a relentless nature. Water parts to allow a ship to sail over it or a diver to plunge into it, but their passing leaves no mark. Water flowing down a mountain reaches the sea. It might bend and turn across valleys and down hillsides, but it slowly and steadily returns to the waves. Those whose souls are touched by the power of elemental water command a similar power. Your heritage ties to powerful creatures of the sea, such as nereids, the lords of the merfolk, and elemental powers. Like a river, you feel the call of the ocean. The call is ever present in your heart, and you are never completely at peace until you are near the sea.

Stone Soul Origin (Old)

Your magic springs from a mystical link between your soul and the magic of elemental earth. You might trace a distant ancestor to the Plane of Earth, or your family might have earned a mighty boon in return for a service to the dao lords. Whatever your past, the magic of elemental earth is yours to command. Your link to earth magic grants you extraordinary resilience, and stone sorcerers have a natural affinity for combat. A steel blade feels like a natural extension of your body, and sorcerers with this origin have a knack for wielding both shields and weapons. In combat your place is amid the fray. You rely on your elemental nature to shield you from harm and your magic and metal weapons to overwhelm your foes.

Vampiric Bloodline Origin

Your innate magic comes from the power of the blood of a vampire who infected your bloodline. Some sorcerers can trace the origins of this magic to an ancient bargain made with a powerful vampire. Others may once have partaken of the blood of such a creature and experienced a sudden flush of arcane power. Whatever the case, the magic of the blood of these undead creatures is what permeates your being and drives your powers. Vampiric sorcerers generally do not reveal the nature of their ancestry; since to do so is to invite the ire of a community and the possibility of destruction by hunters and others who despise their heritage. Some of these sorcerers however do choose to make known the source of their abilities, reveling in their terrible legacy in a quest to become true vampires as their powers grow in strength.

Subclasses:

Official:

Unearthed Arcana:

Homebrew:

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