Golden eyes flashing, a human stretches out her hand and unleashes the dragonfire that burns in her veins. As an inferno rages around her foes, leathery wings spread from her back and she takes to the air. Long hair whipped by a conjured wind, a half-elf spreads his arms wide and throws his head back. Lifting him momentarily off the ground, a wave of magic surges up in him, through him, and out from him in a mighty blast of lightning. Crouching behind a stalagmite, a halfling points a finger at a charging troglodyte. A blast of fire springs from her finger to strike the creature. She ducks back behind the rock formation with a grin, unaware that her wild magic has turned her skin bright blue. Sorcerers carry a magical birthright conferred upon them by an exotic bloodline, some otherworldly influence, or exposure to unknown cosmic forces. One can’t study sorcery as one learns a language, any more than one can learn to live a legendary life. No one chooses sorcery; the power chooses the sorcerer.
Magic is a part of every sorcerer, suffusing body, mind, and spirit with a latent power that waits to be tapped. Some sorcerers wield magic that springs from an ancient bloodline infused with the magic of dragons. Others carry a raw, uncontrolled magic within them, a chaotic storm that manifests in unexpected ways. The appearance of sorcerous powers is wildly unpredictable. Some draconic bloodlines produce exactly one sorcerer in every generation, but in other lines of descent every individual is a sorcerer. Most of the time, the talents of sorcery appear as apparent flukes. Some sorcerers can’t name the origin of their power, while others trace it to strange events in their own lives. The touch of a demon, the blessing of a dryad at a baby’s birth, or a taste of the water from a mysterious spring might spark the gift of sorcery. So too might the gift of a deity of magic, exposure to the elemental forces of the Inner Planes or the maddening chaos of Limbo, or a glimpse into the inner workings of reality. Sorcerers have no use for the spellbooks and ancient tomes of magic lore that wizards rely on, nor do they rely on a patron to grant their spells as warlocks do. By learning to harness and channel their own inborn magic, they can discover new and staggering ways to unleash that power.
Sorcerers are rare in the world, and it’s unusual to find a sorcerer who is not involved in the adventuring life in some way. People with magical power seething in their veins soon discover that the power doesn’t like to stay quiet. A sorcerer’s magic wants to be wielded, and it has a tendency to spill out in unpredictable ways if it isn’t called on. Sorcerers often have obscure or quixotic motivations driving them to adventure. Some seek a greater understanding of the magical force that infuses them, or the answer to the mystery of its origin. Others hope to find a way to get rid of it, or to unleash its full potential. Whatever their goals, sorcerers are every bit as useful to an adventuring party as wizards, making up for a comparative lack of breadth in their magical knowledge with enormous flexibility in using the spells they know.
The most important question to consider when creating your sorcerer is the origin of your power. As a starting character, you’ll choose an origin that ties to a draconic bloodline or the influence of wild magic, but the exact source of your power is up to you to decide. Is it a family curse, passed down to you from distant ancestors? Or did some extraordinary event leave you blessed with inherent magic but perhaps scarred as well? How do you feel about the magical power coursing through you? Do you embrace it, try to master it, or revel in its unpredictable nature? Is it a blessing or a curse? Did you seek it out, or did it find you? Did you have the option to refuse it, and do you wish you had? What do you intend to do with it? Perhaps you feel like you’ve been given this power for some lofty purpose. Or you might decide that the power gives you the right to do what you want, to take what you want from those who lack such power. Perhaps your power links you to a powerful individual in the world—the fey creature that blessed you at birth, the dragon who put a drop of its blood into your veins, the lich who created you as an experiment, or the deity who chose you to carry this power. QUICK BUILD You can make a sorcerer quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the hermit background. Third, choose the light, prestidigitation, ray of frost, and shocking grasp cantrips, along with the 1st-level spells shield and magic missile.
Level Proficiency Bonus Sorcery Points Features Cantrips Known Spells Known —Spell Slots per Spell Level— 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +2 — Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin 4 2 2 — — — — — — — —
2nd +2 2 Font of Magic 4 3 3 — — — — — — — —
3rd +2 3 Metamagic 4 4 4 2 — — — — — — —
4th +2 4 Ability Score Improvement 5 5 4 3 — — — — — — —
5th +3 5 — 5 6 4 3 2 — — — — — —
6th +3 6 Sorcerous Origin Feature 5 7 4 3 3 — — — — — —
7th +3 7 — 5 8 4 3 3 1 — — — — —
8th +3 8 Ability Score Improvement 5 9 4 3 3 2 — — — — —
9th +4 9 — 5 10 4 3 3 3 1 — — — —
10th +4 10 Metamagic 6 11 4 3 3 3 2 — — — —
11th +4 11 — 6 12 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
12th +4 12 Ability Score Improvement 6 12 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
13th +5 13 — 6 13 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
14th +5 14 Sorcerous Origin Feature 6 13 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
15th +5 15 — 6 14 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
16th +5 16 Ability Score Improvement 6 14 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
17th +6 17 Metamagic 6 15 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1
18th +6 18 Sorcerous Origin Feature 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1
19th +6 19 Ability Score Improvement 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
20th +6 20 Sorcerous Restoration 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1
As a sorcerer, you gain the following class features.
1d6 per sorcerer level
6 + your Constitution modifier
1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per sorcerer level after 1st
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
• (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• Two daggers
An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic. This font of magic, whatever its origin, fuels your spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the sorcerer spell list.
At 1st level, you know four cantrips of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. You learn additional sorcerer cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Sorcerer table.
The Sorcerer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your sorcerer spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these sorcerer spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the sorcerer spell list.
The Spells Known column of the Sorcerer table shows when you learn more sorcerer spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the sorcerer spells you know and replace it with another spell from the sorcerer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
You can use an arcane focus (see the Adventuring Gear section) as a spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells.
Choose a sorcerous origin, which describes the source of your innate magical power: Draconic Bloodline, detailed at the end of the class description, or one from another source.
Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 1st level and again at 6th, 14th, and 18th level.
At 2nd level, you tap into a deep wellspring of magic within yourself. This wellspring is represented by sorcery points, which allow you to create a variety of magical effects.
You have 2 sorcery points, and you gain more as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Sorcery Points column of the Sorcerer table. You can never have more sorcery points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent sorcery points when you finish a long rest.
You can use your sorcery points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points. You learn other ways to use your sorcery points as you reach higher levels.
Any spell slot you create with this feature vanishes when you finish a long rest.
1st 2
2nd 3
3rd 5
4th 6
5th 7
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagic options of your choice. You gain another one at 10th and 17th level.
You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted.
When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell’s full force. To do so, you spend 1 sorcery point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw against the spell.
When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double the range of the spell.
When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range of the spell 30 feet.
When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls.
You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.
When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours.
When you cast a spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell.
When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.
When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.
When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip).
To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level. For example, magic missile and scorching ray aren’t eligible, but ray of frost and chromatic orb are.
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
At 20th level, you regain 4 expended sorcery points whenever you finish a short rest.
Different sorcerers claim different origins for their innate magic. Although many variations exist, most of these origins fall into two categories: a draconic bloodline and wild magic. Choose the draconic bloodline below or one from another source.
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.
1 Large, spectral cogwheels appear hovering behind you.
2 The hands of a clock appear in your eyes.
3 Your skin glows with a golden, metallic sheen.
4 Your features become unnaturally angular, like geometric objects.
5 Your spellcasting focus takes the form of a miniature Spawning Stone or other creation of Primus.
6 The ringing of a clock can be heard by you and those affected by your magic.
1st-level Clockwork Soul feature
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Clockwork Spells table. Each spell counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of sorcerer spells you know. These spells can’t be replaced when you gain a level in this class.
1st alarm, protection from evil and good
3rd find traps, heat metal
5th counterspell, glyph of warding
7th arcane eye, Otiluke's resilient sphere
9th animate objects, wall of force
1st-level Clockwork Soul feature
Your connection to the plane of absolute order allows you to equalize chaotic moments. When a creature you can see within 60 feet of you is about to roll a d20 with advantage or disadvantage, you can use your reaction to prevent the roll from being affected by advantage and disadvantage.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
6th-level Clockwork Soul feature
You can imbue a creature with a shimmering shield of order. As an action, you can expend 1 to 5 sorcery points to create a magical ward around yourself or another creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The ward lasts until you finish a long rest or until you use this feature again.
The ward is represented by a number of d8s equal to the number of sorcery points spent to create it. When the warded creature takes damage, it can use its reaction to spend a number of those dice, roll them, and reduce the damage taken by the total of the spent dice.
14th-level Clockwork Soul feature
You gain the ability to enter a state of clockwork consciousness as a bonus action. For the next minute, attack rolls against you can’t benefit from advantage, and whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. Once you use this action, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest or until you expend 5 sorcery points to use it again.
18th-level Clockwork Soul feature
You summon spirits of order to restore balance around you. As an action, you summon the spirits in a 30-foot cube originating from you. The spirits look like modrons or other constructs of your choice. The spirits are intangible and invulnerable, work fast and efficiently, and create the following effects within the cube before vanishing:
• The spirits restore up to 100 hit points, divided as you choose among any number of creatures of your choice in the cube.
• Any damaged objects entirely in the cube are repaired.
• Every spell of 6th level or lower ends on creatures and objects of your choice in the cube.
Once you use this action, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest or until you expend 7 sorcery points to use it again.
Your innate magic comes from draconic magic that was mingled with your blood or that of your 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.
At 1st level, you choose one type of dragon as your ancestor. The damage type associated with each dragon is used by features you gain later.
Black Acid
Blue Lightning
Brass Fire
Bronze Lightning
Copper Acid
Gold Fire
Green Poison
Red Fire
Silver Cold
White Cold
You can speak, read, and write Draconic. Additionally, whenever you make a Charisma check when interacting with dragons, your proficiency bonus is doubled if it applies to the check.
As magic flows through your body, it causes physical traits of your dragon ancestors to emerge. At 1st level, your hit point maximum increases by 1 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class.
Additionally, parts of your skin are covered by a thin sheen of dragon-like scales. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
Starting at 6th level, when you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, you can add your Charisma modifier to one damage roll of that spell. At the same time, you can spend 1 sorcery point to gain resistance to that damage type for 1 hour.
At 14th level, you gain the ability to sprout a pair of dragon wings from your back, gaining a flying speed equal to your current speed. You can create these wings as a bonus action on your turn. They last until you dismiss them as a bonus action on your turn.
You can’t manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.
Beginning at 18th level, you can channel the dread presence of your dragon ancestor, causing those around you to become awestruck or frightened. As an action, you can spend 5 sorcery points to draw on this power and exude an aura of awe or fear (your choice) to a distance of 60 feet. For 1 minute or until you lose your concentration (as if you were casting a concentration spell), each hostile creature that starts its turn in this aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed (if you chose awe) or frightened (if you chose fear) until the aura ends. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to your aura for 24 hours.
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.
1 You were exposed to the Far Realm’s warping influence. You can now use your mind in ways you never thought possible, and you’re also convinced that a tendril is growing upon you.
2 A psychic wind from the Astral Plane carried psionic energy into your being. When you use your powers now, faint motes of light sparkle around you.
3 You or your ancestor were trained by a githzerai monk to unlock the psionic potential within yourself.
4 A spirit haunts your mind, lending incredible power to your thoughts. When you sleep, the spirit’s memories invade your dreams.
5 Deep in a forest touched by the Feywild, you drank from a glimmering stream, and now your mind shines with power. Beasts and fey creatures are often now friendly to you, as if they can sense the light within you.
6 Upon recovering from a near-fatal injury, you found yourself with psionic powers. Whenever you use them, your old wound tingles.
7 You were implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, but the ceremorphosis never completed. And now the psionic power is yours. When you use it, your flesh shines with a strange mucus.
8 As a child, you had an imaginary friend that looked like a flumph or a strange platypuslike creature. One day, it gifted you with psionic powers, which have ended up being not so imaginary.
9 Your nightmares whisper the truth to you: your psionic powers are not your own. You draw them from your vestigial twin!
10 You grew up near the lair of a sapphire dragon, and now your eyes glow with sapphire light when you use your newfound powers.
1st-level Psionic Soul feature
You harbor a wellspring of psionic power within yourself, an energy that ebbs and flows as you channel it in various ways. This power is represented by your Psionic Talent die, the starting size of which is a d6.
Whenever you finish a long rest, your Psionic Talent die resets to its starting size. When you reach certain levels in this class, the starting size of your Psionic Talent die increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12).
6th-level Psionic Soul feature
You have learned to channel additional psychic energy into your spells. Immediately after you deal damage to a creature with a sorcerer spell for which you expend a spell slot, you can roll your Psionic Talent die and also deal psychic damage to that creature equal to the number rolled. You can deal this extra damage only once per turn.
14th-level Psionic Soul feature
You can now use the psi that flows through you to give your body extraordinary abilities. As a bonus action, you can roll your Psionic Talent die and spend 1 or more sorcery points to magically transform yourself for a number of hours equal to the number rolled. Until the transformation ends, you gain one of the following benefits of your choice for each sorcery point you spent, choosing a different benefit for each point:
• You can see any invisible creature within 60 feet of you, provided it isn’t behind total cover.
• You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and you can hover.
• You gain a swimming speed equal to twice your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater.
• Your body, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, becomes pliable. You can move through any space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing, and you can spend 5 feet of movement to escape from nonmagical restraints or being grappled.
18th-level Psionic Soul feature
If your Psionic Talent die is available, you can unleash your psionic power in a crackling aura of psychic energy; as a bonus action, you can magically radiate this transparent, 30-foot radius aura for 1 minute or until you’re incapacitated or lose the use of your Psionic Talent die.
Whenever a creature starts its turn in the aura or moves into it for the first time on a turn, you can roll your Psionic Talent die and deal psychic damage to the creature, equaling the number rolled plus your Charisma modifier. If the creature takes any of this damage, its speed is halved until the start of its next turn.