Is it just me or are Sorcerers underpowered?

[VenomTongue]

So I am DMing my second campaign.
We are doing the Barrow of the Forgotten King.
The players are very new to D&D.
The party consists of a rogue, who is basically using the CHA based skills to incredible effect, a Cleric of Boccob, a Gnome Fighter, and a Sorcerer who asked to convert from Wizard.

Basically the problem that's been slowing down the group is running out of spells. The Cleric is tapped for healing very quickly and the (metamagic specialist) Sorcerer runs out of spells pretty fast. I solved the Cleric's problems by dropping a Wand of Cure light wounds. But the Sorcerer is a bit of a sticking point for me.
I have always thought Sorcerers were under powered especially compared to Wizards and Clerics. But I like spontaneous casters, there is less paperwork, less prep time. They make the game faster than other classes. But the lack of versatility makes them much less effective, especially at lower levels.
So I had an idea, I am thinking of granting him bonus spells known based off his INT score. The number of spells per day, and their DCs would remain the same and still be based off CHA.
I can't decide if this is smart, or if I run the risk of over powering the Sorcerer. On the one hand he gets a few more spells known, on the other hand he may get too many. Also it makes his class dependent on another stat. I figure it will balance out. The entire campaign will (best case scenario) probably end around level 8 so I don't think him pumping his INT to astronomical levels is a real concern.
But I wanted some more experienced advice.
Is this this a good idea, why or why not?
And is this a good idea for just my campaign or for spontaneous casters writ large?

[eggynack]

Sorcerers can be very strong. Way stronger than a rogue or fighter, though weaker than prepared casters. They can also be weak if you select spells poorly, and if it's low level, that doesn't help either. What's your level, and what's his list look like?

[AnachroNinja]

Wait what? How could this possibly benefit that player in any way? Does he for some reason have a 30 intelligence or something?

[Willie the Duck]

If the game is going to end around level 8, then you have very little risk of ruining things horribly, permanently forever bla-diddy-blah.

I am not, however, clear on how this helps the problem. If the issue is the sorcerer running out of spells, giving them more spells to choose from will not slow down their use of said spells. Having the sorcerer stumble upon a pearl of power (level 1) which for some reason only works for arcane casters would be the simplest way to help your problem, as would them finding a cache of arcane scrolls.

You are right, most metrics find the sorcerer to be a fair bit behind wizards and clerics (especially wizards, some people put clerics and sorcerers at parity on even levels). It's been said that Monte Cook hated the idea of sorcerers and deliberately nerfed them. I think it more likely that they just were overly cautious with the sorcerer's main benefit (additional spells/day).

[Draconium]

Generally speaking, the less stats a relies upon, the better. I would keep it so his bonus spells are just based off his Charisma, as per normal, and then help him determine what's going wrong with his Sorcerer. That class is actually just as powerful as their Wizard counterpart, as they draw from the same spell list. Sorcerers are just not as versatile, as their spells known are more limited - it's a good idea to plan ahead when selecting them. Help him improve his spells list, I would say, rather than changing the class itself.

[Hunter Noventa]

Yes all full-casters are pretty weak at low levels.

What you might want to consider is taking a page out of Pathfinder and given them unlimited 0th-Level spells. Being able to make a touch attack with Acid Splash or Ray of Frost at will is more reliable than a crossbow, and certainly feels more magical.

But part of learning to play a class like a Sorcerer or Wizard is learning how to balance your resources,which are limited. This does unfortunately contribute to the whole 15-minute adventuring day issue though.

If you want to give them access to more spells per day, I say use what's already in the game. Have them find some Pearls of Power as treasure, for example.

[Deadline]

I am not, however, clear on how this helps the problem. If the issue is the sorcerer running out of spells, giving them more spells to choose from will not slow down their use of said spells. Having the sorcerer stumble upon a pearl of power (level 1) which for some reason only works for arcane casters would be the simplest way to help your problem, as would them finding a cache of arcane scrolls.

This, if your sorcerer is running out of spells, then giving more spells known won't help. You don't need the Pearl of Power thing though, as there is already an item for this for spontaneous arcane casters in the Magic Item Compendium. It's called a Memento Magica, and functions pretty much just like a pearl of power, but for a spontaneous caster.

[AnimeTheCat]

What race is the Sorcerer? If he's some variant of elf, he should have a longbow and use it for damage and use his spells primarily for utility. I've found that to be the best use of spells in early game. If he's not some race that grants bow proficiencies, I would highly recommend a light Crossbow and a Longspear. Ideally, he won't be using the spear, but he has it just in case he needs to keep bad guys at bay. Best part about both of those is that he keeps a free hand for casting with either of them. With the Metamagic variant sorcerer, until he's getting metamagic feats that he can use regularly, like heighten spell, extend spell, those kinds of things, he won't really be a massive game changer, simpy because at most, he'll be getting 6+attribute bonus spells per day for any given level. That's a lot more than wizard, but still limited if you're trying to cast a spell every round of combat and out of combat as well. Other options include dropping a want of magic missile, scrolls of various useful spells, and things of that nature. That way you're not changing the game or anything, but you're keeping him in the game.

[sleepyphoenixx]

You could just have him find some Memento Magica as loot (sorcerer Pearls of Power, basically). They're from Magic Item Compendium.
Or if he likes to blast a (possibly eternal) wand of a good 1st-2nd level spell so he has something to do when his slots run dry.
Low level wands are cheap, and a wand of lesser Fire/Cold/Electric/Acid/Sound Orb should last him until he gets more slots.
Alternatively (since he's new) you could drop scrolls of good and useful spells so can experience some variety instead of just blasting and learn what style of spell he likes.

In any case, the problem should self-correct as he rises in level unless he is very inefficient with his spell selection.

General low-level tactic for casters is dropping a BFC spell like Grease or Color Spray and then plinking away with a crossbow while the melee mops up.
Throwing a damage spell every round will have you running out of spells a lot faster.


he'll be getting 6+attribute bonus spells per day for any given level. That's a lot more than wizard, ...
That's actually not quite true while leveling.
A sorcerer generally has 4-5 spells more than a wizard per the table, but that's not counting that half the time the wizard has an additional spell level that he also gets bonus spells from high Int for, so the true value is more likely to be 2-3 spells more on uneven levels. The wizard will have 2 or more spells of a higher spell level though, which is a lot more power. On even levels the sorcerer will also only know a single spell of his highest level, while the wizard knows at least 4.

And that's not counting stuff like (Focused) Specialist, Elven Generalist and Domain wizards. A Focused specialist is actually even with a sorcerer on spells/day, but he gets more spells known, gets new spell levels a level earlier and his spells/day tend towards more high level spells per day than the sorcerer gets at even levels.

[BowStreetRunner]

It's difficult for casters to learn to hold back their spells until they are needed, but that is a very common problem with new players. I think a reserve feat would be useful here. It gives the sorcerer something to do that doesn't use up spells.

[AslanCross]

It's difficult for casters to learn to hold back their spells until they are needed, but that is a very common problem with new players. I think a reserve feat would be useful here. It gives the sorcerer something to do that doesn't use up spells.

Agree with this solution. The Reserve feats from Complete Mage will give him unlimited "cantrips."

[AnimeTheCat]

That's actually not quite true while leveling.
A sorcerer generally has 4-5 spells more than a wizard per the table, but that's not counting that half the time the wizard has an additional spell level that he also gets bonus spells from high Int for, so the true value is more likely to be 2-3 spells more on uneven levels. The wizard will have 2 or more spells of a higher spell level though, which is a lot more power. On even levels the sorcerer will also only know a single spell of his highest level, while the wizard knows at least 4.

And that's not counting stuff like (Focused) Specialist, Elven Generalist and Domain wizards. A Focused specialist is actually even with a sorcerer on spells/day, but he gets more spells known, gets new spell levels a level earlier and his spells/day tend towards more high level spells per day than the sorcerer gets at even levels.

to be fair, I did a bad thing. I assumed they were only using SRD stuff which would only grant a wizard 5+int bonus spells per day for a given level, but with two restricted schools. That's a decent blow to the wizard considering you can't even use magic items from that school so it puts a little restriction to the limitless versatility of the wizard. I do, however, understand that there are ways to get more spells per day as a wizard and that wizards progress faster.

[Sagetim]

I'll third the reserve feat solution. Storm Bolt or Firey Burst should handle most of his needs for regularly contributing damage to a fight, and unlike a prepared caster he won't lose access to, for example, storm bolt because he cast his one preparation of lightning bolt to handle a nasty lineup in a hallway.

If you wanted to go the unlimited cantrips approach, you might also want to consider letting casters add their casting stat to damage for cantrips that deal damage. Because a 1d3 ray of frost is basically a love tap at best, but a 1d3 +4 or 5 is fairly deadly without being a one shot against anything with a cr of 1 or better.

You mentioned that your player is new to the game, so the solution you posed is not going to blow up in your face. The player in question is not going to have the system mastery to break such a bonus, and since their int score is already determined, they're not going to really be able to min max it for extra mileage either.

As stated the only thing that giving a sorcerer more spells known is going to do is to give him more opportunities to waste or expend spell slots. You could give him an entire domain or two known in addition to his normal sorcerer allotment and he would still not be particularly more Powerful, just a bit more Versatile. A sorcerer with cure light wounds does not the party healer make.

When it comes to items like a pearl of power it seems like the kind of thing that you might want to make the player aware of, rather than handing it out as loot. Then they can choose how to spend their money...on that shiny cape of charisma +2, or on like, 4 level 1 pearls of power that they can add to a necklace or have fit into a glove or something....heheh. "I Love, The Power Glove. It's so Bad."

[VenomTongue]

So as I read your posts I am reading a lot of truth.
Adding a extra spells known would help very little.
Because basically he is casting Magic Missile until he runs out of spells.
The sorcerer is an Elf that knows, 0- Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Daze, Mending, and Read Magic.
1- Mage Armor, and Magic Missile.
INT- 16
CHA- 18

You see I was hoping if I let him choose more spells known he may choose some spells that let him be more effective like bull's strength or Shield.

I should also mention that I only own the core books, so that is basically all my players have access to. I mean pretty much every book is available as pdfs, but I find that people enjoy reading them less than physical books.

But dropping scrolls seems like a good idea. It will encourage him to see their are more roles than blaster for a caster. Also I just dropped a wand from literally no where. (They were getting their asses kicked by undead and the cleric prayed as his action and I told him to roll percentile dice, he rolled a 100, so I made him roll again (in my head he had rolled a critical in praying) and he rolled like 93 so Boccob saw fit to bless him with a wand of cure light wounds (caster level max) because it is able to be used to heal and attack,)

The momento Magica are neat, but really his problem is style of play, not lack of spells. So I think I will try the scrolls first. If the problem persists I will reassess, but I don't want to give him something then have to take it away, or bend the plot around it.

[eggynack]

Yeah, missiling everything is a good way to run out of spells fast. It just doesn't alter a combat that much. Imagine instead something like grease or silent image. Spells that singlehandedly shape the encounter. That said, maybe warlock? They're all about repeated damage.

[Troacctid]

Yeah, missiling everything is a good way to run out of spells fast. It just doesn't alter a combat that much. Imagine instead something like grease or silent image. Spells that singlehandedly shape the encounter. That said, maybe warlock? They're all about repeated damage.

A grease or silent image that lasts for a maximum of 1 or 2 rounds is probably not going to impact the fight very much either. You'd probably be better off casting daze.

[eggynack]

A grease or silent image that lasts for a maximum of 1 or 2 rounds is probably not going to impact the fight very much either. You'd probably be better off casting daze.
Silent image has a concentration duration, so it works just fine early, and grease's initial debuff followed by two rounds of BFC at least has some tactical impact. Color spray works as a replacement, though I'm hesitant to advise a spell that drops in value like that for a sorcerer.

[Sagetim]

Warlock is unfortunately in Complete Arcane, not the player's handbook, so while it sounds like it might fit better with what this caster wants to use magic to do, it might not be on the negotiating table here. That said, the reserve feats are in that same land of 'in a complete book, not the phb'. They're also more like a level 6 thing for sorcerers, since you can't qualify for 2nd level spells at level 3 as a sorcerer.

try a wand of sleep (with 20 charges, if learns to use it right, it will be enough, and if he abuses it, it will run out pretty fast), a scroll of summon monster 1 at caster level 5 (so that it has a duration of 5 rounds), a scroll of hold person (sorcerer level 3, caster level 5), and maybe a life ring (which casts feather fall on the wearer if they fall more than 5 feet. Since feather fall hits a burst in 3.5, it can also be used to target 3 nearby people). Exactly one scroll of charm person could be very effective to combo with the rogue, same for a scroll with 1 use of bull's strength and one use of cat's grace. And later on a scroll for the fly spell.

At least these are my suggestions for things that might help point out what else is on the sorcerer/wizard list than just blasting.

[Faily]

A wizard would have less spells per day than the sorc at this level, iirc.

Low-level casters is all about managing resources correctly. Magic that incapacitates or debuff the enemy is much more appealing when you have little to work with. I recommend spells like Color Spray or Sleep for starting levels, because it is *incredibly* powerful and mops up things a lot faster than dealing 1d4+1 damage. Or Grease if you don't want to deal with unconscious enemies (due to party not liking the idea of killing helpless opponents).

So in a fight against a group of say, 4 goblins, the sorcerer should cast maybe two spells (1. Mage Armor so he doesn't die, and 2. Color Spray, Sleep or Grease to make everything easier for the rest of the party to deal with things).

The lower levels is a place where non-casters get to shine more.

I second giving him a Reserve Feat too. Or Pathfinder's unlimited cantrips. Actually, I recommend also using the Pathfinder Sorcerer. He'll get a small ability that can be useful a number of times per day depending on his bloodline, the bloodline gives some interesting flavor to the character, and a few additional spells and feats.

[Andry]

I give a bonus feat every 5 levels like a wizard gets. I offer them either a metamagic feat or a bloodline feat their choice. I think I might include reserve feats as well when someone else rolls up a sorcerer.

[BowStreetRunner]

In one of the video games I used to play (I believe it was Neverwinter Nights) one of the items that wizards and sorcerers received early in the game was a Rod of Frost. It was basically a rod that allowed arcane casters to cast Ray of Frost (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/rayOfFrost.htm) an unlimited number of times per day. Since you were running solo the entire time, it was paramount that the casters had something to use without running through all of their spells every single encounter. It was by no means overpowered, doing only 1d3 cold damage. You might include a custom magic item like this in your game to give him something to do instead of use up his spell slots.

[digiman619]

You might want to back-port Spheres of Power; that system gives you at-will powers and a small pool to augment them. t was written for Pathfinder, but I really recommend it.

[Krobar]

We have a house rule for sorcerers and bards. They get to learn additional spells based on Charisma, in the same levels and numbers as their bonus spells per day. It gives them just a little more versatility, which helps a lot.

[Emperor Tippy]

No, Sorcerer's aren't really underpowered when looked at in terms of the game as a whole. But a new player in an inexperienced group could easily play one in a manner that is underpowered.

And switching him to a Wizard is unlikely to solve the problem. It is, in a lot of ways, easier to play a Wizard badly than it is a Sorcerer.

My recommendation is to have him switch to a Psion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psion.htm). Story wise you don't have to change anything as you can easily play one as, fluff wise, a Sorcerer (and frankly there powers fit better anyways) but rules wise it will give him more versatility while not overwhelming him with options and give a slight power boost as he gains higher level powers/spells a level earlier than a Sorcerer. Being Int based also means more skill points to help in a non casting manner.

Just remember that he can't spend more power points on a power that he manifests than his Manifester Level. So a vanilla level 5 Psion is limited to spending at most 5 power points on a single power.

[VenomTongue]

I am not going to do that. I don't know the Psion rules, and I don't know how magic and psionics interact. I am sure as DM that is all up to me but still... no. I don't have time to memorize new rules.
I think dropping a box of spells in a wizard's tomb is a good idea.
Thanks you guys have provided tons of useful input.

But is the bonus spells known based on INT for spontaneous casters an inherently bad idea?
If so why? I think it evens things out nicely.

[eggynack]

I am not going to do that. I don't know the Psion rules, and I don't know how magic and psionics interact. I am sure as DM that is all up to me but still... no. I don't have time to memorize new rules.
Fair, I suppose, though with regard to magic/psionics interaction, well... this thing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#psionicsMagicTransparenc y). The rules are most straightforward, for the most part, with the usual share of quirks and oddities. Definitely not the worst system, in terms of learning curve, and that it's all freely available is a bonus.


But is the bonus spells known based on INT for spontaneous casters an inherently bad idea?
If so why? I think it evens things out nicely.

Buffing sorcerers is in a complicated spot. The class is so bad compared to wizards, falling behind on just about every relevant metric (casting type, rate of spell level gain, daily spell variety, and even main stat), but the class is also so good compared to most other classes. How can you justify buffing the sorcerer when the fighter is right there being way worse? So you end up in this weird place where it makes intuitive sense to buff the class, cause you buff something when there's something else that's nearly strictly better than it, but it makes little logical sense to buff the class, cause you don't buff something when that thing is really good.

Beyond that, adding spells known is probably a good thing. You don't want too many added, but the number available now is a bit small. I wouldn't do it this way though. I'd be more likely to just, y'know, make the numbers bigger, but, even if I'm using a stat, I'd be unlikely to use intelligence. Intelligence just feels wrong for a sorcerer. It's not how they do spells. And, more critically, it's already how the wizard does spells, and differentiation is important. So, maybe wisdom. Cause, I dunno, the inner peace lets you keep in touch with a wider variety of arcane power or something.

[TheCrowing1432]

Careless use of spells doesnt make the sorcerer under powered.


Toss him a wand of "x blast spell here" and have him go nuts. Give him Acid Arrow, thats a good one.


Trying to buff a sorceror, is a slap in the face of the fighter and rogue, who may be doing "good" in the sense of your campaign, but will quickly fall behind.

IM assuming this is early levels.

If thats the case, then im not surprised this is how its going. Melee is king in low levels, when monsters dont have crazy powers and skills actually matter.

If your sorceror is using every spell in the first encounter, then thats on him. Sit down and talk to him and explain how to sorceror better, give him a chance to replace some of his spells.

You'd be surprised on how far Color Spray, Glitterdust and Grease can carry you.

[digiman619]

Buffing sorcerers is in a complicated spot. The class is so bad compared to wizards, falling behind on just about every relevant metric (casting type, rate of spell level gain, daily spell variety, and even main stat)
This is because Monte Cook was an incredible Wizard fanboy and hated sorcerers, as though the fact that they got their magic through a magical bloodline rather than reading a lot meant that they were somehow cheating (which is especially egregious when you think about it, as the number of fantasy characters that have their ancestry being what makes them special far outnumber the ones who use spellbooks), so when designing 3.0, he went out of his way to buff wizards (taking away a lot of the restrictions they had in previous editions, like being able to use all types of magic items, and buffing magic in general) while crippling sorcerers at every turn (in addition to what was previously mentioned also learning spells slower, and making all sorcerer metamagic full-round, thus making it impossible for a sorcerer to quicken).

[Xarteros]

If you don't mind the use of Unearthed Arcana, use the spell-recharge system.

Spontaneous casters recharge their spells much faster than prepared casters, and the system scales off your highest known spell level, making each level below sequentially faster to recharge.

It functions similar to a dragon's breath weapon, after each casting you roll a die to see how many rounds until that spell (or spell slot) is available for re-use.

I think the system is great, it means a masterful caster can use low level spells with no effort at all. It always annoyed me that the spells per day capped out at such low figures.

[Beheld]

This is because Monte Cook was an incredible Wizard fanboy and hated sorcerers, as though the fact that they got their magic through a magical bloodline rather than reading a lot meant that they were somehow cheating (which is especially egregious when you think about it, as the number of fantasy characters that have their ancestry being what makes them special far outnumber the ones who use spellbooks), so when designing 3.0, he went out of his way to buff wizards (taking away a lot of the restrictions they had in previous editions, like being able to use all types of magic items, and buffing magic in general) while crippling sorcerers at every turn (in addition to what was previously mentioned also learning spells slower, and making all sorcerer metamagic full-round, thus making it impossible for a sorcerer to quicken).

This story is such an odd combination of wrong and misguided but directed at real issues that it is really confusing.

1) There mostly weren't sorcerers in 2e, when designing 3e, they invented the entire spells known numbers and spell progression from scratch, it's not like they went out of their way to buff Wizards relative for anything, because they were inventing the distinctions in the first place.

2) The change from 3e to 3.5 involved several nerfs to Sorcerers because Skip Williams hates sorcerers, not Monte Cook (maybe cook did too, not really relevant to the point), including changing the rules that allowed 3e Sorcerers to metamagic without increased casting times, to needed the increase, and being unable to quicken.

[KillingAScarab]

In one of the video games I used to play (I believe it was Neverwinter Nights) one of the items that wizards and sorcerers received early in the game was a Rod of Frost. It was basically a rod that allowed arcane casters to cast Ray of Frost (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/rayOfFrost.htm) an unlimited number of times per day. Since you were running solo the entire time, it was paramount that the casters had something to use without running through all of their spells every single encounter. It was by no means overpowered, doing only 1d3 cold damage. You might include a custom magic item like this in your game to give him something to do instead of use up his spell slots.The rod of frost from the tutorial level was the only thing which made trying to play an arcane caster tolerable for me. Low skill points, low hit points and a heavy reliance on your one henchman... bleh. Once you leave the Neverwinter Academy, the rod still functions, but I don't think I have ever managed to finish even the prison (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Peninsula_district) as a sorcerer without cheating.

The other thing VenomTongue could take away from sorcerers in Neverwinter Nights? Don't give people clubs as treasure, or we'll cast continual flame on them to make them "magic items" and con shop keepers.

[AnimeTheCat]

I am not going to do that. I don't know the Psion rules, and I don't know how magic and psionics interact. I am sure as DM that is all up to me but still... no. I don't have time to memorize new rules.
I think dropping a box of spells in a wizard's tomb is a good idea.
Thanks you guys have provided tons of useful input.

But is the bonus spells known based on INT for spontaneous casters an inherently bad idea?
If so why? I think it evens things out nicely.

So, I feel that bonus spells doesn't solve your problem. Just like how the healer was pressed to keep the party healed up, you dropped him a wand that allowed him to better do his job. The sorcerer is having a hard time doing spells, drop him a wand of Magic Missile. The wand costs the same as the CLW wand, and it doesn't deal a lot of damage. Maximum of 5 in a single hit. Then, let him switch his spells out for more utility focused spells giving him a way to deal damage and practice some BFC.

Bonus Spells (On top of Cha Bonus spells):
Grants only 1 additional first level spell per day and no additional cantrips per day.

Dropping a Wand of Magic Missile/Spell retraining:
Grants the ability to use spell slots for something other than damage
Give the caster a chance to use spells that aren't damage oriented (BFC)

As a back up for all of this, he is an elf. He should be using a longbow probably 80% of the time in combat. 1d8 is, on average, better than 1d4+1. It isn't a guaranteed hit like Magic Missile, but it's not bad. I would recommend this as opposed to making changes to the game so that there is no misconception about the game mechanics, less to track (for bonus spells), keeps the character SAD, and it's all from the PHB.

EDIT: Since you were talking about giving him bonus spells known, I apologize for confusing that. I don't think that's a terrible idea, but I would think that the sorcerer would get them based on Charisma, not Intelligence. I think it works better with the flavor too. At the end of the day, while knowing a few extra spells is awesome, I don't think it will solve the problem. Allowing him a wand of X attack spell and letting him pick new spells known might be better and would help train him for critical situations and how to use good utility spells.

[digiman619]

This story is such an odd combination of wrong and misguided but directed at real issues that it is really confusing.

1) There mostly weren't sorcerers in 2e, when designing 3e, they invented the entire spells known numbers and spell progression from scratch, it's not like they went out of their way to buff Wizards relative for anything, because they were inventing the distinctions in the first place.

2) The change from 3e to 3.5 involved several nerfs to Sorcerers because Skip Williams hates sorcerers, not Monte Cook (maybe cook did too, not really relevant to the point), including changing the rules that allowed 3e Sorcerers to metamagic without increased casting times, to needed the increase, and being unable to quicken.

TV Tropes, you have failed me for the last time!

[denthor]

Where is sorcerer out shines a wizard is there ability to use more weapons in battle crossbow comes to mind

[eggynack]

Where is sorcerer out shines a wizard is there ability to use more weapons in battle crossbow comes to mind
Sorcerer does have a marginally superior proficiency list, with all simple rather than just a specific list, but the crossbow is not an element of that superiority, as it's equally available to both classes.

[TotallyNotEvil]

But is the bonus spells known based on INT for spontaneous casters an inherently bad idea?
If so why? I think it evens things out nicely.
I'm not the most experienced optimizer by a long shot, but I think the sorcerer getting a couple of extra spells known would make it vastly easier to play one from low levels onwards. They already have zero class features and a delayed progression, a short skill list and few skill points. Leting them know Fireball and Fly at level 6 doesn't hurt any, IMO. A high level or OP game will have wands and scrolls abound, but low level and/or low magic? Makes it very hard on the sorcerer.

Not to mention he has to put points in, at least, Charisma and Constitution, while Dexterity is also very nice. He can't cover all his bases with spells like a Wizard can, but must run on the same ****ty chassis. Adding Intelligence to that makes him fairly MAD.

[NomGarret]

My feeling is help this player do what he wants rather than help him do sorceror "the right way." This is why I also recommend the reserve feat option. Drop the level requirement, especially given the level range you're playing. If he wants to play a blasty magic character, let him. Dropping a wand of magic missile (or similar) also accomplishes this.

[Endarire]

If you're OK with homebrew, try the Fun, Powerful Sorcerer (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qtn0MDtFABUY9upKwTZlzd9SOeNPF7DHfzv4DsAma NQ). It's intended to fix everything wrong with the Sorcerer and make it an easy way to play a Sor without lots of homework, multiclassing, and system mastery.

The FPS is notably more powerful than the standard Sor (with the FPS's metrics listed on its first page), but I also found it largely more fun than a standard Sor or Wiz and the fun factor is also more important and more subjective than strict balance!

[Zancloufer]

The rod of frost from the tutorial level was the only thing which made trying to play an arcane caster tolerable for me. Low skill points, low hit points and a heavy reliance on your one henchman... bleh. Once you leave the Neverwinter Academy, the rod still functions, but I don't think I have ever managed to finish even the prison (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Peninsula_district) as a sorcerer without cheating.

The other thing VenomTongue could take away from sorcerers in Neverwinter Nights? Don't give people clubs as treasure, or we'll cast continual flame on them to make them "magic items" and con shop keepers.

Your kidding right? NWN 1 Wizard/Sorcerer was crazy. IDK if it was a 3.0 thing or BioWare, but summon monster spells where hella OP with HOURS (or days) in duration even at level 1. Summon Dire Badger at level 1? It's betting than a freaking level 1 fighter! I mean it wasn't super exciting (I think I gave up on the original somewhere in the middle of part 2) but having 2-3 summons that where BETTER than a fighter your level? Also Pixie familiar was pretty much the skill monkey half of a Rouge. . .

Also on the topic of Sorcerers: I have a custom list lying around somewhere for them. Pretty much gave them the same spells know (3-6 per level) as the Favoured Soul and got rid of that annoying 1 level behind on SL thing they had (Learn level 2 spells at 3, level 3 at 5 etc).

[KillingAScarab]

Your kidding right? NWN 1 Wizard/Sorcerer was crazy. IDK if it was a 3.0 thing or BioWare, but summon monster spells where hella OP with HOURS (or days) in duration even at level 1. Summon Dire Badger at level 1? It's betting than a freaking level 1 fighter! I mean it wasn't super exciting (I think I gave up on the original somewhere in the middle of part 2) but having 2-3 summons that where BETTER than a fighter your level? Also Pixie familiar was pretty much the skill monkey half of a Rouge. . .BioWare made a number of customizations to the 3.0 rules for NWN. Some of these were much worse (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Discipline) than others. All spellcaster lists but paladin had access to at least Summon Creature I (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Summon_creature_I), with a 24 hour duration, but keep in mind that time was not equivalent to real time (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Time). You also could only summon one creature at a time; a second casting would dismiss the previous summoned creature (though I think you could use SC2 and SC1 simultaneously). Each spell only allowed for one specific creature: dire badger at SC1, dire boar at SC2, and so forth. As for why I didn't prefer it, it was yet another NPC to manage in combat through menus. It has been awhile but I believe if you only had one NPC, you could manage them through chat shortcuts, which was quicker than radial menus. A henchman would at least use potions, level up and have sidequests associated with them. If you had the pixie as your familiar, though, you could take direct control of it.

[Quertus]

Back in my day, your 1st level mage had 1 spell per day. Period. You learned to play smart, or you learned that you didn't like playing a mage, and played something else, instead.

Baby them, and they'll never learn anything. And us oldschoolers can feel smug in our superiority.

Meanwhile, these new school players can enjoy their "actually casting spells as a caster". Silly new school players.

[Telok]

Google "crystalkeep indexes", they have spell and feat lists from all your books broken out in a nice format. Much easier to use than swapping books all over the place. They also include the base classes and the expanded options for those classes.

I think Warlock or Warmage is really the solution here. Wizards (and by extension sorcerers because they aren't really much different) require good choices of spells and timing to succeed.

[Mato]

Drop some spell storing arrows and encourage some downtime or light encounters for an in game day or two for an instant solution.

If you need more than that, even a evocation focused sorcerer can dominate things after he can afford some spell storing weapons. Like if you allowed flaws then by level four he can use elder giant magic and reserves of strength cast fireburst into an arrow and deal 11d8 damage. He gets a bare minimum of six of those per day and it takes about three days of downtime to fully fill a fifty arrow stock pile too.