A few things about playing a Sorcerer


Playing the Game


Can a spell have two components of the same type (i.e. two somatic components)?

I ask because if they can't metamagic seems to have an obvious weakness – every spell that already has a somatic component can't be metamagiced. If they can it should be stated explicitly. That old saw about you, me, and a donkey.

I know it's been discussed elsewhere, but rules-as-written sorcerers and wizards should take the heaviest armor they can afford/carry as they are taking a -2 penalty to armor class no matter what. They are not trained in unarmored defense.

Dragon Form (page 217) has an issue if you don't prepare spells. "If you prepare this spell choose from the following options." Sorcerers don't prepare spells and thus don't get to select an actual dragon form with the current phrasing. Oversights aside does a sorcerer pick a form when he adds the spell to his list of known spells or when he casts it?


I assume the somatuc is just part of the first somatic.


You can have multiples of the same component.

Everyone is trained in unarmored per an errata announcement.

Sorcerers do have to prepare in order to refresh their spells (pg 317), I assume they have to pick their form at that time.


Page 317 is about downtime. I'm not following how that's preparing spells. "Downtime mode is played day-by-day[.]" It's about between adventure time, not what you do in the morning.

Sorcerer Spellcasting on page 128 makes no mention of preparing spells, unlike wizard's Arcane Spellcasting (pages. 135-136) which says you prepare spells. It's the old spontaneous vs. prepared caster (page 192).

I'm just asking for clarification and for the language to be fixed before the final version.

I would assume that a spontaneous caster picks when they cast the spell. Which honestly all casters of Dragon Form should get to do. Making players guess GM intentions isn't fun for the players. At least this way you can be the kind of dragon the adventure needs rather then an ice dragon in a lava cave.

Kodyboy's interpretation of somatic components morphing into a Voltron somatic component seems reasonable to me, but I don't know.

Again, I'm guessing that you can have two somatic components and the intention is for metamagic to just add an action to the casting of the spell. So most two action spells are now three. That seems the most logical to me. It's not written anywhere I could find, however.

Maybe that's not how it works. Maybe spells with a previous somatic component don't take longer to cast. The new merges into the old. I've read stranger rules. Maybe spells with somatic components can't gain a new one and thus can't have somatic metamagic added to them. If so I won't be touching metamagic feats with Gygax's ten-foot pole.


Aservan wrote:

Page 317 is about downtime. I'm not following how that's preparing spells. "Downtime mode is played day-by-day[.]" It's about between adventure time, not what you do in the morning.

Sorcerer Spellcasting on page 128 makes no mention of preparing spells, unlike wizard's Arcane Spellcasting (pages. 135-136) which says you prepare spells. It's the old spontaneous vs. prepared caster (page 192).

I'm just asking for clarification and for the language to be fixed before the final version.

I would assume that a spontaneous caster picks when they cast the spell. Which honestly all casters of Dragon Form should get to do. Making players guess GM intentions isn't fun for the players. At least this way you can be the kind of dragon the adventure needs rather then an ice dragon in a lava cave.

"Daily Preparations" on page 317 is the catch all term for time you spend studying, meditating, or whatever to recover spells and powers in the morning. Wizards "prepare" their spells at that time, sorcerers "regain" their spell slots at that same time. They aren't preparing their spells in the sense of choosing different ones, but they have to spend the time to get them back, and I believe the intent is that they make any required preparation decisions for their permanent known spells at that time.


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Yeah, I see your point. That is some poor communication on the designer's part. There has to be a better word for what-you-do-after-you-wakeup. Morning meditations? That has some humor possibilities.

"While you attend to the call of nature, you can read your spellbook, pray to your deity, or work on your biceps."

"Prepare" should only refer to spell preparation. Anyway call wakeup something else. Maybe Getting Ready?


Sorcerers pick their form at casting not befote

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