The sorcerer is the generic term used to describe those individuals that were born with a unique connection to magic. This link to magic can be caused by a variety of reasons. For some, there is the taint of some powerful magical being in their ancestry. Perhaps they were exposed to strong magic either as an unborn child, or as a young infant. For others, the Living Weave itself may choose to grant them with these powers. Whatever the cause, this inborn link attunes itself along one of several different paths. Sorcerers use their powers in different ways dependent upon which path their heritage lies. Warmages, for example, have a strong connection with evocation magic and will often find their spellcasting being used as a sort of arcane ranged attack. Beguilers manipulate others, either indirectly through the use of illusions or directly through their powerful enchantments.
Characteristics: Because of their weak hit die, sorcerers often avoid combat altogether, though some, such as the summoner, transmutist, and warmage, can be found bucking that line of thinking quite often.
Role: The strengths of the sorcerer class are so varied depending upon which heritage they were born with that their role cannot easily be defined. As arcane casters, they are often relied upon to provide a similar kind of arcane might that Wizards bring, but on a more specialized scale.
Game Rule Information
Sorcerers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: As an arcane caster, Intelligence and Charisma are very important to sorcerers. Dexterity is important to sorcerers, who wear little or no armor.
Hit Die: d3+2
Starting Gold: 5d4x10
lvl BAB F R W Class Abilities
1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Heritage, Heritage Spells, +1 arcane spellcasting level
2 +1 +0 +0 +3 +1 arcane spellcasting level
3 +1 +1 +1 +3 +1 arcane spellcasting level
4 +2 +1 +1 +4 Advanced Learning, +1 arcane spellcasting level
5 +2 +1 +1 +4 +1 arcane spellcasting level
6 +3 +2 +2 +5 +1 arcane spellcasting level
7 +3 +2 +2 +5 +1 arcane spellcasting level
8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Advanced Learning, +1 arcane spellcasting level
9 +4 +3 +3 +6 +1 arcane spellcasting level
10 +5 +3 +3 +7 +1 arcane spellcasting level
11 +5 +3 +3 +7 +1 arcane spellcasting level
12 +6 +4 +4 +8 Advanced Learning, +1 arcane spellcasting level
13 +6 +4 +4 +8 +1 arcane spellcasting level
14 +7 +4 +4 +9 +1 arcane spellcasting level
15 +7 +5 +5 +9 +1 arcane spellcasting level
16 +8 +5 +5 +10 Advanced Learning, +1 arcane spellcasting level
17 +8 +5 +5 +10 +1 arcane spellcasting level
18 +9 +6 +6 +11 +1 arcane spellcasting level
19 +9 +6 +6 +11 +1 arcane spellcasting level
20 +10 +6 +6 +12 Advanced Learning, +1 arcane spellcasting level
Class Skills: The sorcerer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are concentration (con), craft (int), knowledge (any one)(int), profession (wis), and spellcraft (int). See the Player’s Handbook Chapter 4: Skills for skill descriptions.
In addition, each heritage opens several more class skills to the sorcerer, depending upon which heritage the player chooses to follow.
Skill Points per Level: Skill points at each additional level are defined in each individual heritage.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the sorcerer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sorcerers have proficiency with Basic Weapons Group and one other weapon group of their choice. They are not proficient with any armor or shields.
Spells: A sorcerer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from individual spell lists detailed under each heritage section.
Heritage: Each sorcerer has a mystical link to the Living Weave that is ingrained into their very being. The division of magic along different schools causes sorcerers to gain access to their class powers in accordance with that link. There are six different heritages, which has lead some scholars to ponder the meaning behind having eight schools of magic while there only six heritages. The six heritages a player may choose when creating a sorcerer are Beguiler, Dread Necromancer, Oracle, Summoner, Transmutist, and Warmage. Beguilers are linked to the schools of Enchantment and Illusion. Dread Necromancers are linked to the school of Necromancy. Oracles are linked to the schools of Abjuration and Divination. Summoners are linked to the school of Conjuration. Transmutists are linked to the school of Transmutation. Warmages are linked to the school of Evocation.
Heritage Spells: Spells not normally found on any arcane spell list appear on the spell list of each sorcerer heritage. These are referred to as Heritage Spells. A character must take levels in that specific heritage to gain access to spells found on that spell list. Other arcane casters only gain access to heritage spells if they take a minimum number of levels in the heritage that shows the spell on its spell list. Use the following chart to determine the minimums necessary:
1st level heritage spells: 1 level of sorcerer.
2nd level heritage spells: 3 levels of sorcerer.
3rd level heritage spells: 5 levels of sorcerer.
4th level heritage spells: 7 levels of sorcerer.
5th level heritage spells: 9 levels of sorcerer.
6th level heritage spells: 11 levels of sorcerer.
7th level heritage spells: 13 levels of sorcerer.
8th level heritage spells: 15 levels of sorcerer.
9th level heritage spells: 17 levels of sorcerer.
Some spells may appear on a sorcerer heritage spell list at different levels than they would normally appear on other spell lists. Use the heritage spell level when determining how many levels of sorcerer a character must take in order to gain access to that spell.
Advanced Learning (ex): In addition to the spells on his spell list, a sorcerer may choose additional spells that are not shown on their spell lists. At level 4, and every 4 levels thereafter (8th level, 12th level, and so on), a sorcerer may choose to gain any one spell of a level he can already cast. The spell must come from the cleric, druid, or sorcerer/wizard spell list, and it does not count toward his spells known limit. These spells do not have to follow any sort of heritage restrictions. In essence, the sorcerer may use this feature to pick a spell he normally would not be able to access.
There are 6 heritages a character may choose from:
Beguiler: focusing on Illusion and Enchantment spells
Dread Necromancer: focusing on Necromancy spells
Oracle: focusing on Abjuration and Divination spells
Summoner: focusing on Conjuration spells
Transmutist: focusing on Transmutation spells
Warmage: focusing on Evocation spells