Sorcerer Or wizard? [3.5]

[Teapot Salty]

Hey guys. Spellcaster dellema! (I didn't spell that right did I) As the title implies, I'm wondering which to play, sorcerer or wizard. Which do you guys find is more fun? Both for roleplaying and mechanically. I know wizard is hailed as the superior class, but out of curiosity why is that? More spells but can't use them as much, shouldn't a sorcerer with good spells be better? Anyway... I can't really think of anything else other than, I also plan to play halfling or gnome (which one) so roleplaying element there. Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

[Amphetryon]

Hey guys. Spellcaster dellema! (I didn't spell that right did I) As the title implies, I'm wondering which to play, sorcerer or wizard. Which do you guys find is more fun? Both for roleplaying and mechanically. I know wizard is hailed as the superior class, but out of curiosity why is that? More spells but can't use them as much, shouldn't a sorcerer with good spells be better? Anyway... I can't really think of anything else other than, I also plan to play halfling or gnome (which one) so roleplaying element there. Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

A Wizard with a good spell selection can solve more problems in more ways than a Sorcerer can, because the Sorcerer's bag of tricks is filled with fewer options by default. If the Wizard doesn't have the proper spell prepared for a particular problem, the Wizard is more likely to be able to simply rest, change out one or more spells to something applicable to the problem from his spellbook, and carry on, while a Sorcerer in the same situation is more likely to need to rely on magic items or other party members.

[dextercorvia]

I like the limited options of Sorcerer more, but I prefer clever to charismatic, so I often end up playing Wizards instead.

[VoxRationis]

There's often an assumption that there's a goodly amount of downtime to prepare for things (see Amphetryon's post above), so the wizard, possessed of a well-filled-out spellbook, can simply go back to the inn and prepare a set of spells tailored to what their intelligence has determined will face them. Since a wizard's spellbooks can hold far more spells, and a far greater variety of spells, than a sorcerer can know, the wizard has an advantage in this regard. This approach also assumes that the wizard has some sort of good way of knowing ahead of time what they're going to face, probably through a mixture of rogue scouting and application of the divination school.
In my experience, this assumption is less true outside of Baldur's Gate, because most of the people I game with don't want to stop and rest all the time and we worry that the DM will enforce the dangers of sleeping in wilderness/dungeon environments. Furthermore, we often have time-sensitive goals, so that stopping to rest isn't a favorable option. When this is true, spontaneous casters have a bit of an edge, since they don't have to hedge their bets against which foes they might have to fight.

Therefore, which one is more strategically viable depends on your situation. A slow, methodical push with plenty of opportunity for scouting, scrying, and resting will favor wizards. A quick push through a dungeon with little intelligence will favor spontaneous casters.

[Ellowryn]

Basically, a wizard can do darn near everything and can do it as good if not better than anybody else while a sorcerer can do one thing very good while still getting by doing anything else. Hence, a wizard is considered superior. To better answer your question, other than the race, what do you want to do with your character? Are there any prestige classes you liked and are looking to get? Also what kind of campaign are you going to be in? I.E. dungeon crawling, social, city/country building, etc. These answers will help us point you in some direction.

[malonkey1]

12 of one, baker's dozen of the other, really. I like Sorcerers because it forces a limitation on me, and I feel the Wizard is just too much. For my games, Sorcerers are usually the top-top-rung.

[holywhippet]

A Wizard with a good spell selection can solve more problems in more ways than a Sorcerer can, because the Sorcerer's bag of tricks is filled with fewer options by default. If the Wizard doesn't have the proper spell prepared for a particular problem, the Wizard is more likely to be able to simply rest, change out one or more spells to something applicable to the problem from his spellbook, and carry on, while a Sorcerer in the same situation is more likely to need to rely on magic items or other party members.

It's possible for this to be the complete opposite though. Say the wizard has prepared spells for dealing with lots of undead and has plenty of fire based magic ready. But BBEG has summoned some fire elementals in or created some golems for the party to fight. A lot of the spells the wizard has readied just aren't going to be effective against such opponents. The wizard will have to rely on scrolls and wands if they are going to do direct damage. A sorcerer however may have a smaller number of known spells, but is likely to have a variety known for just such an occasion. Maybe they do have fire spells known, but they can just use a different attack spell instead or summon some monsters in to attack on their behalf.

Wizards have strategic superiority with their spell books while sorcerers have tactical superiority being able to choose their spells on the fly.

On that note, choice of each class sort of depends on how much work you want to put into the character. A sorcerer is an easier character to manage as you only need to worry about spell choice when levelling up.

[VoxRationis]

It's possible for this to be the complete opposite though. Say the wizard has prepared spells for dealing with lots of undead and has plenty of fire based magic ready. But BBEG has summoned some fire elementals in or created some golems for the party to fight. A lot of the spells the wizard has readied just aren't going to be effective against such opponents. The wizard will have to rely on scrolls and wands if they are going to do direct damage. A sorcerer however may have a smaller number of known spells, but is likely to have a variety known for just such an occasion. Maybe they do have fire spells known, but they can just use a different attack spell instead or summon some monsters in to attack on their behalf.

Wizards have strategic superiority with their spell books while sorcerers have tactical superiority being able to choose their spells on the fly.

On that note, choice of each class sort of depends on how much work you want to put into the character. A sorcerer is an easier character to manage as you only need to worry about spell choice when levelling up.

My point exactly. A wizard's key advantage relies on being able to foresee and prepare for a circumstance, and that's not always the case.

[Southern Cross]

Everybody is ignoring the fact that sorcerors get their highest-level spells a level later than wizards. It's got to suck when your 9th-level sorceress has dimension door as her highest-level spell, when her wizard buddy has access to overland flight and teleport.

[Amphetryon]

It's possible for this to be the complete opposite though. Say the wizard has prepared spells for dealing with lots of undead and has plenty of fire based magic ready. But BBEG has summoned some fire elementals in or created some golems for the party to fight. A lot of the spells the wizard has readied just aren't going to be effective against such opponents. The wizard will have to rely on scrolls and wands if they are going to do direct damage. A sorcerer however may have a smaller number of known spells, but is likely to have a variety known for just such an occasion. Maybe they do have fire spells known, but they can just use a different attack spell instead or summon some monsters in to attack on their behalf.

Wizards have strategic superiority with their spell books while sorcerers have tactical superiority being able to choose their spells on the fly.

On that note, choice of each class sort of depends on how much work you want to put into the character. A sorcerer is an easier character to manage as you only need to worry about spell choice when levelling up.

That's really not "the complete opposite," and it's an example of the Wizard choosing to press on, rather than resetting his spell load. If you have an example where the Sorcerer can swap out his spell load, while to deal with the same circumstances a Wizard is forced to rely on magic items, within the same period of time, that would be the complete opposite.

[Teapot Salty]

To better answer your question, other than the race, what do you want to do with your character? Are there any prestige classes you liked and are looking to get? Also what kind of campaign are you going to be in? I.E. dungeon crawling, social, city/country building, etc. These answers will help us point you in some direction.

Thing about the games I play in-you never know until you start playing. (I also just enjoy making characters, so there's that as well)

[Ellowryn]

So, its absolute blind pick? You dont know the setting, what anybody else is going to play, or anything else? Do you at least know what books you are allowed?

[Incanur]

Wizards have more options, but options can be overwhelming, especially when you have to select them head of time. (There are ways around this.) A sorcerer with solid spell selection is easier to play at the table.

Wizards benefit from lots of alternate class features (ACFs) and whatnot. A focused specialist conjurer, for example, can have about as many spells as sorcerer along with the abrupt jaunt ACF to teleport 10ft as an immediate action and Improved Initiative as bonus feat instead of Scribe Scroll. That's one the best builds for levels 1-5, and just an example.

[Teapot Salty]

So, its absolute blind pick? You dont know the setting, what anybody else is going to play, or anything else? Do you at least know what books you are allowed?

Pretty much, core mostly, things from other books are frowned upon, but allowed if there not op, but complete adventurer/warrior/scoundrel tend to be allowed.

[Lord Raziere]

go with Sorcerer.

sure technically the wizard is more powerful, but sorcerer and wizard are both broken really, its just that the wizard can be broken in any way it wants on any given day, and a sorcerer can only be broken in one way forever. you really don't need to be broken in more than one way. wizard is just excessive, go with Sorcerer, leave some problems to solve for other people, let some risk in.

[Darkweave31]

Why not both and be an Ultimate Magus!?! :smallbiggrin:

A bit more seriously, I'd go with whichever you feel will be more fun to roleplay if you're on the fence.

For me, I absolutely love the bookish nature, learning, and exploration of arcane knowledge that the wizard opens up for me. Years of study, hard work, and scribing arcane formulas manifesting in the beautiful art that is magic. Adventuring opens up your eyes to whole new arcane secrets to discover. You earn every ounce of your power through your dedication. I also like keeping my own little IRL spellbook when I play wizards, a more fun way to manage book-keeping to me.

That said, I'd probably roll a sorcerer if it's going to be a shorter game. It's easier to build, play, and doesn't require nearly as much work. In addition the more time the wizard has to amass new knowledge the stronger it becomes whereas the sorcerer can come out swinging regardless of the circumstances. In a long-term campaign though? Wizard is definitely worth the effort.


EDIT: You may want to also consider Beguiler from PHBII, especially if you want to be a gnome. The illusion, enchantment, and roguishness are right up their alley.

[zingbobco000]

Wizard is considered the superior class because for some reason WoTC decided that spontaneous casting is worth 1 level of casting…? Seriously? Spontaneous casting is much easier to deal with though as wizards must spend days pouring over which spells to prepare for the occasion. +1 for UM though. I like sorcerer better because it gives me a better feel as well as being much easier to organize, I deal with the -1 level in certain ways though.

[DMVerdandi]

Wizard.
The sorcerer's weakness is in spell selection and it's limitations. It has high difficulty overcoming those weaknesses.

The wizard's weaknesses come from
1. Money
2.Spellbook
3.Prepared spellcasting.

However, the first two are VERY easily remedied. The prepared spellcasting is also quite easily remedied, and surprisingly it's by alleviating the need for the first two things. Think about this. As a wizard, you should NOT be casting all of your spells from your slots. You should be using items, and to be very clear, you should be using reusable items. Eternal wants and Minor schema are the two that they should be casting from.

Have a bunch of minor schema somewhere that they can be pulled from, and you can always have 2 castings of a spell you get great use from.

[da_chicken]

I know wizard is hailed as the superior class, but out of curiosity why is that?

Several reasons:

1. Int is better than Cha. An average PC Wizard gets 6-8 skill points a level. An average Sorc probably gets 3-4.
2. Bonus feats. Scribe Scroll is nothing to shake a stick at, and if you haven't PrC by level 5 you get a second bonus feat.
3. More versatile spells. Some spells you need, but not every day. Having identify, water breathing, knock or similar spells without having to burn a known spell slot is very good.
4. Faster spell levels. Getting 2nd level spells at level 3 instead of level 4 is no joke. Every odd level except 1 and 19 as a Sorcerer is another level you're denied a spell level that a Wizard isn't.
5. Specialization. A normal Wizard has 2 fewer spells per level, but with Specialization you can cut that to 1 spell per level. If you consider the Focused Specialist ACF from Complete Mage, then you can get the same number of spells per day, albeit with school limitations.
6. Reserve Feats and Wands. If you're truly worried about not having enough legs, you can always take a Reserve Feat from Complete Mage or pick up a Wand.
7. Unprepared spell slots. if you're worried about not being able to adapt as the day progresses, remember you need no prepare all spells at once. You can leave slots open and prepare them later in about 15 minutes. Alternately, there are feats such as Alacritous Cogitation that allow you to be more flexible.

The thing is, at some point having 20+ spells to cast isn't good. I know it sounds wrong, but you'll find that you won't have enough combat rounds in a day to cast all your spells, and you'll find that you will still have spells remaining when the rest of the party is ready to be done for rest.

If you're just looking to play Lina Inverse, then Sorc is just fine, but... if you can plan ahead, if you can anticipate the likely events of the day, if you wish to provide support out of combat as well as in it, then Wizard is simply better.

[ahenobarbi]

Wizard is more powerful. It gets far more spells known, access to spells earlier, bonus feats (those things make accessing prestige classes much easier).

There are great wizard alternative class features.

It's very important for begginers that it's much easier to fix mistakes in choosing spells on wizard than it os on sorcerer.

Finally it's fairly easy to make wizard better spontaneous caster than most sorcerers (Uncanny Forethought, Mage of the Arcane Order, ...)

I recommend wizard because it's easier to play. Once you know which spells are Worth taking it's safe to gry playing a sorcer.

[ahenobarbi]

If you're just looking to play Lina Inverse, then Sorc is just fine, but... if you can plan ahead, if you can anticipate the likely events of the day, if you wish to provide support out of combat as well as in it, then Wizard is simply better.

I disagree. It's to easy to mess up a sorcerer so I wouldn't recommend the class to anyone who doesn't know Sorcerer/Wizard spell list really well.

[zingbobco000]

I disagree. It's to easy to mess up a sorcerer so I wouldn't recommend the class to anyone who doesn't know Sorcerer/Wizard spell list really well.

+1 and sorcerers can change their spell lists every two levels past 4th

[HighWater]

+1 and sorcerers can change their spell lists every two levels past 4th

Not quite true, you only get to change one spell and it has to be at least 2 levels lower than the highest known. Meaning that if you picked a crappy high-level spell, you're stuck with it for a bunch of levels unless the DM meets you halfway with the PHB2 retraining section.

[HighWater]

Hey guys. Spellcaster dellema! (I didn't spell that right did I) As the title implies, I'm wondering which to play, sorcerer or wizard. Which do you guys find is more fun? Both for roleplaying and mechanically. I know wizard is hailed as the superior class, but out of curiosity why is that? More spells but can't use them as much, shouldn't a sorcerer with good spells be better? Anyway... I can't really think of anything else other than, I also plan to play halfling or gnome (which one) so roleplaying element there. Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

Dilemma (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dilemma?s=t)! ;)

Roleplaying, the sorcerer is in my opinion quite great fun. Being charismatic, you can party-face as long as no superior party-face class is present. You also get to make the righteous claim that your magic is YOURS. You are inherently magical, wizards are not, they have to go bookdiving all the time, I'm enough of a bookish scholar in real life to not-wanna-roleplay that in DnD. :smallwink:

Mechanically I agree with the Tier Ranking comments on the sorcerer, the biggest disadvantage the sorcerer has is that it's printed right next to the wizard.

Sure, sorcerers won't run out of the most-appropriate spell for the situation they have, until they run out of applicable spellslots (remember you can cast from higher spellslots if necessary), but they are also far less likely to know the most-appropriate spell. This makes sorcerer spell-selection pretty painful and restricted: you have to select spells which pretty much always apply.

On to the pure mechanics. Sorcerers get "more spellslots", while Wizards get "more spells known". Let's see if the first claim is true:
Imagine a vanilla sorcerer and a vanilla wizard, that both have a 16 in their relevant casting stat (they rolled for it), we look at level 3 and level 4:

Spellslots
Sorcerer level 3
0 level slots: 6
1 level slots: 5+1
2 level slots: --

Wizard level 3
0 level slots: 4
1 level slots: 2+1
2 level slots: 1+1

So the sorcerer has three 1st slots more than the wizard, but the wizard has two 2nd level spellslots more. 2nd levels are considerably better than firsts, so I'd say the wizard is ahead and the sorcerer doesn't really have "more" spellslots, it is at best a draw.

Spells known:
Sorcerer lvl 3
0 level: 5
1 level: 3
2 level: 0

Wizard lvl 3
0 level: all of them
1 level: 3+3+2
2 level: 2
+ any spells he paid for to scribe into his spellbook

It's clear that the Wizard knows waaaaay more spells, so the Wizard wins thisone overwhelmingly. Surely this means that if the Wizard is winning at the odd levels, the sorcerer must win at the even levels, right?

Spellslots
Sorcerer level 4
0 level slots: 6
1 level slots: 6+1
2 level slots: 3+1

Wizard level 4
0 level slots: 4
1 level slots: 3+1
2 level slots: 2+1

A-HA, at level 4, the sorcerer really has more spellslots... of first level: 75% spells more than the wizard. Of second level, he only has a single slot more, which I guess means he's up 33%... Is he really winning now though?

Spells known:
Sorcerer lvl 4
0 level: 6
1 level: 3
2 level: 1

Wizard lvl 4
0 level: all of them
1 level: 3+3+2
2 level: 2+2
+ any spells he paid for to scribe into his spellbook

At 4th level, the wizard knows 4 times as many 2nd level spells (thats +300%) than the sorcerer, and has at least +167% more 1st levels known. Those percentages are much higher than the sorcerers "staying power" percentages. Furthermore, the sorcerer only has ONE second level spell known. What happens if that one doesn't apply? The sorcerer can only use those spellslots to cast a useful 1st level then, and there's a good chance only one of those is worth repeating... Really, at even levels, the wizard is still ahead.

This is why the aforementioned Mage of the Arcane Order isn't just good for wizards, it is ALSO good for Sorcerers, in spite of the massive feat-tax they have to pay: it gives them something to do with extra spellslots that do not apply to the current situation.
Spontaneous casting from a very narrow list of spells known was overvalued by the designers, especially when they forgot to calculate the pretty much guaranteed casting modifier bonus casters were getting to spellslots, this is why quite a few of the sorcerer optimization handbooks focus on getting sorcerers more spells known with neat prestige classes. Give the wizard a specialization and his spellslot deficit is completely negated, give him 15 minutes and he can prepare any spell he knows (and there are so many) in an empty spellslot and then there's the myriad of ways in which wizards can cast spontaneously, without all the downsides.

The only thing sorcerers tend to really be better at is applying metamagic when it's needed most. So the designers smacked them with another penalty: it increases casting time! You either have to trade your familiar away, or have to get another non-core feat to negate this problem for a couple of times a day... Did I mention that wizards get way more feats? More skillpoints due to Int synergy?

Argh, not done, but I'll stop ranting.

The main reason I rant about this, is because I just think sorcerers are way cooler. :smallbiggrin: You'll run into these annoyances of being "held back" when there is any Tier 1 in the Party. The above mentioned goes for Wizards, but also for Druids and Clerics. Clerics even get a spell per day more than Wizards at every level (although with a few restrictions), which pretty much negates the sorcerer advantage for free. Sure, Clerics and Druids have arguably a somewhat weaker spell-list (although you'll never notice at the low levels), but they can change it their spells to any other spell on their list every single day, and they also are quite capable of smacking things around in melee or ranged, not to mention some of their class features...

The real reason all this is even relevant though, is that a decently played sorcerer will automatically compare himself with the Tier 1's, not with the Tier 3's and below. Sorcerers are awesome compared to tiers3 and down, it's just that mechanically, wizards tend to be even better. I guess what I'm saying is:

Sorcerers are good, wizards are mechanically superior. If you think you'd be frustrated whenever you see a Tier1 in action and realise that he's mechanically stronger, take Wizard. If you are instead quite content with being "good" and like the sorcerer fluff better, be a sorcerer. Remember, although you have to pick spells way less often, spell-selection stress at those moments will be much higher because every spell you pick matters so much more.

[Yogibear41]

It really depends on what you exactly want to do. To me personally wizards are higher risk higher reward, while sorcerers have slightly less risk, but also less potential. Eidetic Wizards aside the spellbook is both a wizards greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Some people say well, as a high level wizard your spell book should never be in danger because of all the plans and contingencies you have in place, granted 99% of the time that is probably true. Only a foolish wizard believes himself to be untouchable.

In addition IMO Sorcerers requires more out of game work and planning ahead of time to be at their best, while wizards require more choice and preparation from a situation to situation instance to be at their maximum.

So to me from a general perspective I would rather spend hours out of game working on a spontaneous casters spell selection to give him the range of options for lots of situations I plan to put myself in, as opposed to have every possible option all the time and sitting their wasting game time to "prepare my list" for exactly what I need. (sometimes things change to adhere to character concepts)


Ironically atm the only true casting character I am playing is a dragon with wizard based castingcurrently have spell slots as a 6th level wizard transmutation specialist, ench and necro banned Caster level 8 ECL 8 :smallsmile:, and most of the time I just use the same list of spells over and over without changing them, although he is a solo character, so blasting things with magic missile and things from long range while flying is a pretty good strategy alot of the time, I avoid dungeons like they are death traps, because they are ha ha.


Alot of things depend on your campaign setting and how readily available magic items like scrolls are to you, in the game I play in magic items are generally pretty rare and aren't guaranteed to be "in stock" we also use a supply and demand type effect, so while selling magic items you can actually get more money than they are worth, things can also cost alot more. For exampled I paid 3000 gold for a scroll of Greater mage armor, so I could add it to my spell book.

And to use another guys previous argument, but for the other side, a sorcerer can easily pick up eternal wands or minor schemas of spells he may want to use from time to time but not spam all the time, and with the fact that he isn't paying money to add them to a spellbook he might even break even in the money department.

[shadowseve]

I prefer sorc due to the whole charisma based it's part of who you are and not something you learn. It's also easier to manage and quite powerful on it's own.

[NoACWarrior]

Everybody is ignoring the fact that sorcerors get their highest-level spells a level later than wizards. It's got to suck when your 9th-level sorceress has dimension door as her highest-level spell, when her wizard buddy has access to overland flight and teleport.

Theres ways around this, namely playing a kobold. But I digress. Who wants to actually play a kobold for their power.


I disagree. It's to easy to mess up a sorcerer so I wouldn't recommend the class to anyone who doesn't know Sorcerer/Wizard spell list really well.

This I definitely agree with. A lot of players go for more situationaly good spells which aren't useful most of the time, this gimps the sorcerer. You take spells which gives you plenty of options, and at the same time be able to cast them multiple times.


Not quite true, you only get to change one spell and it has to be at least 2 levels lower than the highest known. Meaning that if you picked a crappy high-level spell, you're stuck with it for a bunch of levels unless the DM meets you halfway with the PHB2 retraining section.

This is why you be careful with your spells and try to limit how many overlaps you have unless you want more flexibility with the same type of spell.


I prefer sorc due to the whole charisma based it's part of who you are and not something you learn. It's also easier to manage and quite powerful on it's own.

What you say here is why I prefer sorcerer over wizard. Where as wizard is good when you got plenty of time in a long campaign and generally know what to pack and what the DM is comfortable sending after you, the overhead is just too much.

The reason why I pick sorcerer over wizard much of the time is that a) it makes the DM have an easier job seeing what encounters that I get stressed on, b) spells are often easier to manage, c) theres not too much time used to determine which spell to cast when. Although mechanically a wizard with high divination will pretty much ALWAYS win, things don't always pan out that way.

[SinsI]

Wizards have strategic superiority with their spell books while sorcerers have tactical superiority being able to choose their spells on the fly.
Throw in some Pearls of Power (which are 1.5 times cheaper than their equivalent for the spontaneous casters) and wizards get tactical superiority as well - after 2nd level they can memorize more spells than the sorcerer even knows, and refresh them with PoP. Only the requirement to spend a standard action on PoP use saves sorcerer from being overwhelmed on all sides - though even then Wizards can compensate for it with Quicken spell, so they don't necessarily lose in action economy either.

[Shining Wrath]

In terms of crunch, Tier 1 better than Tier 2.

But Tier 2 can still rock the game if they have the right spell ready, and most of the time they will have the right spell ready. Especially at higher levels where a well-planned sorcerer will have a couple of dozen spells, chosen carefully to allow them to address a variety of situations. While the wizard may be able to nuke the problem with *exactly* the right spell, you'll be able to drop a fuel air bomb on the problem with the *almost* right spell. Most of the time, the difference wizard vs. sorcerer is going to be "exactly how badly does it suck to miss your save on that save or suck spell?", and different levels of suck aren't critically important.

Having said that, here goes some other differences.

As a wizard, you'll have access to tons of spells, and you'll spend a lot of time each "morning" choosing which ones to prepare.

As a sorcerer, you'll have a few spells, and you'll spend a lot of time between sessions trying to figure out what you'll take the next time you level up.

Do you want to spend time in-game choosing spells (it's the price of flexibility), or have the spells you know be a crucial decision, but out-of-game?

Wizard: smart guy with all the knowledges.
Sorcerer: personality guy with Bluff.

Do you want to play the know-it-all, or the person who can charm their way out of trouble with no Charm spell?

Metamagic: Wizards can do metamagic, but have to prepare it in advance. Sorcerers pay a price in the action economy, but can apply it freely to any spell. Sorcerers, then, are more flexible in their use of metamagic, but at a cost. The Accelerate Metamagic feat lets you avoid paying this price for one Metamagic effect, but you have to be dragonblood subtype (or beg your DM to waive that).

[Graypairofsocks]

If you do go Sorcerer:

Knowstones(found in Dragon Magazine 333) add a spell to your spell known list as long as the knowstone is in your possession(and the spell is on your spell list).
They don't use item slots, however they do take 24 hours to attune to you.
This post here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1583.0;msg=80749) is informative about them.


Go to a prestige class ASAP, as Sorcerer Levels only advance Familiar abilities.
If you take the Forlorn Flaw(also found in Dragon 333) which removes your familiar and grants a bonus feat instead, you can take the Obtain Familiar feat(from Complete Arcane) which arguably allows prestige class which grant increase in caster level to also increase your familiar's abilities.

[zingbobco000]

Not quite true, you only get to change one spell and it has to be at least 2 levels lower than the highest known. Meaning that if you picked a crappy high-level spell, you're stuck with it for a bunch of levels unless the DM meets you halfway with the PHB2 retraining section.

Ah, I see sorry about that. Mis-read the line.

[Gemini476]

The thing that really drives home how versatile Wizards are is that they can prepare up to a fourth of their spell slots in 15 minutes.

They never need to prepare Knock in advance, for instance: they just take fifteen minutes to memorize it and then a standard action to cast it. Getting a quarter-hour breather in the middle of a dungeon isn't exactly that unlikely, either.

For spells that you prepare at the beginning of the day, that would be the all-day buffs and versatile ones like Summon Monster. Oh, and some useful encounter-enders like Grease or Color Spray. If you come upon some kind of problem, like an unpassable canyon, then that's when you sit down and memorize Wall of Iron or Shape Stone or whatever.

Oh, and getting Spontaneous Divination gives you a good use for all those unspent slots at the end of the day - prepare for the next day by swapping them out for Divinations!

[Sith_Happens]

One thing that hasn't been said yet is if you want to make Stuff Blow Up more than occasionally, a Sorcerer is moderately easier to make actually good at that.

[gorfnab]

The Easy Bake Wizard (see my signature) blurs the line between wizard and sorcerer. It does not have a spellbook but can still get a ridiculous number of spells known. With the right setup it can cast a decent number of spells spontaneously.