dreast
2017-09-02, 03:36 PM
Class Feature: Wild Magic Legacy
At 3rd level, Sorcerers who take the Wild Magic sorcerous origin gain the following two spells. These spells do not count against the max number of cantrips or spells they may know, and may not be traded out for other spells. These spells count as sorcerer spells for the sorcerer.
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer*
Evocation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You tap into the forces of raw chaos and deliberately trigger a Wild Surge. Since this effort is deliberate, you have some slight measure of influence over the outcome. Roll 1d8 and add the result to your Wild Surge roll. (Any roll over 100 counts as a roll of 100.) If you have the Controlled Chaos class feature, add the same bonus to both rolls. Any additional Wild Surge rolls that result from this surge are rolled normally.
Your ability to influence the outcome increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Note: This roll uses the default wild surge table even if other wild surge tables are being used for randomly generated wild surges (with appropriate substitutions if, for example, your campaign doesn't have modrons).
Chaos Shield*
2nd level Abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
This powerful spell increases a Wild Mage's chance to gain a favorable result when a wild surge occurs. The first time a roll is made on the Wild Surge chart during this spell's duration, you add 25 to the die roll. (Any roll over 100 counts as a 100.) If the wild surge is the result of Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, the bonus stacks with the bonus rolled by the cantrip.
*These spells are not technically part of any class's spell list, so only a class feature that grants them will allow a character access to them.
Balance discussion (contributions welcome!)
The intent of the old Nahal's (a 1st level spell in AD&D 2e) was to give casters a slim chance to cast any spell from their spellbook in return for the massive risk of a wild surge (of course, that risk carried its own chance of reward). Since 5e Wild Surges don't interfere with the spells being cast (usually), the old "spell cast normally" result on the old tables doesn't apply, so any attempt at conversion needs to look to intent rather than wording.
The modern equivalent to the old 100 roll is the "sorcerer regains all spell points" roll, which has its own intriguing possibilities. For sorcerers, this is arguably more powerful than getting an Xth level slot for a 1st level slot was for old wild mages, since a Sorcerer can always recover at least their highest level spell slot (up to 5th, which is where the "normal" spell levels end, and is a reasonable cap for the effectiveness of NRD in this much more balanced setting) from their current sorcery points, and as they gain levels they get more and more of them. In addition, Wild Sorcerers can start using Bend Luck at 6th level to get even more utility out of their SPs. Sorcerers don't need the flexibility of the old NRD because they can already cast any spell they know if they've got the slot, and this new NRD will give them the slot(s)... if they're lucky.
The die progression works pretty well as well. It's on average more powerful (but more swingy... yay wild magic!) than the old "+1 per caster level", although it tapers off at very high levels (which are unbalanced anyway, so no apologies).
Of course, the downside is that even if you get your 100, you've just spent your action; however, since it's a cantrip, a quickened spell is allowed as a bonus action, so the end result is probably exactly what it looked like in AD&D 2nd: nahal's worked, yay, fireball. (Or, more commonly, the group party cry of "Oh no! Not Nahal's!") In the case that the player is completely out of spell slots, the bonus action can instead be used to recover some: still a very useful turn, and still very much in keeping with the spirit of the action economy.
DMs who house rule that Tides of Chaos comes back on the next randomly rolled wild surge (to prevent any DM discretion in what should be purely random) should specifically not let their players use Nahal's to get it back. (It wouldn't from the RAW anyway.)
Being a cantrip has its own concerns, so let's split those up:
1. In combat: In combat, the expected return on Nahal's is generally less than a firebolt spell. How many turns did you spend on Nahal's? And what did it do for you? It summoned an unhappy Modron and turned you into a potted plant. Yay? Meanwhile, Mr. Firebolt just did 4d10 damage. (+a lot if he's a firey dragonblood!) Even beneficial outcomes (besides the Big One, which is generally what the player is aiming for) are typically situationally beneficial, with the occasional rare universally nice outcome (resistance to all damage for a minute, regain lowest expended spell slot, etc.). The upside, of course, is that it CAN be very powerful, and especially once the wild sorcerer hits level 14 they should probably be casting it frequently. That said, that's beyond the "balanced" part of the game and perfectly in flavor, so it works.
2. Out of Combat: More of a concern, since a wild sorcerer could delay the game while they carefully recover all spell slots this way. In all practicality, though, the party will probably get sick of randomly being fireballed and confused long before they get sick of the table time wasted, and a "no Nahal's outside of combat" rule would probably be passed in-game before it became necessary to mandate one out-of-game. At the end of the day, retreating and resting is just plum more effective, even with any penalties for doing so (random encounters, dungeon denizens reacting, etc.).
Chaos Shield only applies to one wild surge instead of all of them (and takes concentration) to avoid abuses of quickened spells with Nahal's. It's still a viable pre-combat buff, but it's not nearly as broken as it was back in 2e. That said, it gets better the more sorcerer points the wild sorcerer has (i.e., the higher their level), so it's probably not worth it the level the sorcerer gets it.
The old Improved Chaos Shield is supplanted by the Controlled Chaos class feature, which is a) much more powerful statistically b) always on, permanently and c) appears at the same time that Improved Chaos Shield used to (14th level, since it was a 7th level spell). As such, I feel no need to reproduce it here.
So, lastly, the question: Is this necessary? Given that the wild sorcerer is generally considered a second-class citizen to the dragonblood or the storm sorcerer in terms of raw power (although still perfectly playable), I think the answer is a solid maybe. It all depends on the group, but especially old-timer players should really enjoy the return of the classic flavor of the great Hail Mary of wild magic options. And who knows? It may just save the day!
At 3rd level, Sorcerers who take the Wild Magic sorcerous origin gain the following two spells. These spells do not count against the max number of cantrips or spells they may know, and may not be traded out for other spells. These spells count as sorcerer spells for the sorcerer.
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer*
Evocation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You tap into the forces of raw chaos and deliberately trigger a Wild Surge. Since this effort is deliberate, you have some slight measure of influence over the outcome. Roll 1d8 and add the result to your Wild Surge roll. (Any roll over 100 counts as a roll of 100.) If you have the Controlled Chaos class feature, add the same bonus to both rolls. Any additional Wild Surge rolls that result from this surge are rolled normally.
Your ability to influence the outcome increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Note: This roll uses the default wild surge table even if other wild surge tables are being used for randomly generated wild surges (with appropriate substitutions if, for example, your campaign doesn't have modrons).
Chaos Shield*
2nd level Abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
This powerful spell increases a Wild Mage's chance to gain a favorable result when a wild surge occurs. The first time a roll is made on the Wild Surge chart during this spell's duration, you add 25 to the die roll. (Any roll over 100 counts as a 100.) If the wild surge is the result of Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, the bonus stacks with the bonus rolled by the cantrip.
*These spells are not technically part of any class's spell list, so only a class feature that grants them will allow a character access to them.
Balance discussion (contributions welcome!)
The intent of the old Nahal's (a 1st level spell in AD&D 2e) was to give casters a slim chance to cast any spell from their spellbook in return for the massive risk of a wild surge (of course, that risk carried its own chance of reward). Since 5e Wild Surges don't interfere with the spells being cast (usually), the old "spell cast normally" result on the old tables doesn't apply, so any attempt at conversion needs to look to intent rather than wording.
The modern equivalent to the old 100 roll is the "sorcerer regains all spell points" roll, which has its own intriguing possibilities. For sorcerers, this is arguably more powerful than getting an Xth level slot for a 1st level slot was for old wild mages, since a Sorcerer can always recover at least their highest level spell slot (up to 5th, which is where the "normal" spell levels end, and is a reasonable cap for the effectiveness of NRD in this much more balanced setting) from their current sorcery points, and as they gain levels they get more and more of them. In addition, Wild Sorcerers can start using Bend Luck at 6th level to get even more utility out of their SPs. Sorcerers don't need the flexibility of the old NRD because they can already cast any spell they know if they've got the slot, and this new NRD will give them the slot(s)... if they're lucky.
The die progression works pretty well as well. It's on average more powerful (but more swingy... yay wild magic!) than the old "+1 per caster level", although it tapers off at very high levels (which are unbalanced anyway, so no apologies).
Of course, the downside is that even if you get your 100, you've just spent your action; however, since it's a cantrip, a quickened spell is allowed as a bonus action, so the end result is probably exactly what it looked like in AD&D 2nd: nahal's worked, yay, fireball. (Or, more commonly, the group party cry of "Oh no! Not Nahal's!") In the case that the player is completely out of spell slots, the bonus action can instead be used to recover some: still a very useful turn, and still very much in keeping with the spirit of the action economy.
DMs who house rule that Tides of Chaos comes back on the next randomly rolled wild surge (to prevent any DM discretion in what should be purely random) should specifically not let their players use Nahal's to get it back. (It wouldn't from the RAW anyway.)
Being a cantrip has its own concerns, so let's split those up:
1. In combat: In combat, the expected return on Nahal's is generally less than a firebolt spell. How many turns did you spend on Nahal's? And what did it do for you? It summoned an unhappy Modron and turned you into a potted plant. Yay? Meanwhile, Mr. Firebolt just did 4d10 damage. (+a lot if he's a firey dragonblood!) Even beneficial outcomes (besides the Big One, which is generally what the player is aiming for) are typically situationally beneficial, with the occasional rare universally nice outcome (resistance to all damage for a minute, regain lowest expended spell slot, etc.). The upside, of course, is that it CAN be very powerful, and especially once the wild sorcerer hits level 14 they should probably be casting it frequently. That said, that's beyond the "balanced" part of the game and perfectly in flavor, so it works.
2. Out of Combat: More of a concern, since a wild sorcerer could delay the game while they carefully recover all spell slots this way. In all practicality, though, the party will probably get sick of randomly being fireballed and confused long before they get sick of the table time wasted, and a "no Nahal's outside of combat" rule would probably be passed in-game before it became necessary to mandate one out-of-game. At the end of the day, retreating and resting is just plum more effective, even with any penalties for doing so (random encounters, dungeon denizens reacting, etc.).
Chaos Shield only applies to one wild surge instead of all of them (and takes concentration) to avoid abuses of quickened spells with Nahal's. It's still a viable pre-combat buff, but it's not nearly as broken as it was back in 2e. That said, it gets better the more sorcerer points the wild sorcerer has (i.e., the higher their level), so it's probably not worth it the level the sorcerer gets it.
The old Improved Chaos Shield is supplanted by the Controlled Chaos class feature, which is a) much more powerful statistically b) always on, permanently and c) appears at the same time that Improved Chaos Shield used to (14th level, since it was a 7th level spell). As such, I feel no need to reproduce it here.
So, lastly, the question: Is this necessary? Given that the wild sorcerer is generally considered a second-class citizen to the dragonblood or the storm sorcerer in terms of raw power (although still perfectly playable), I think the answer is a solid maybe. It all depends on the group, but especially old-timer players should really enjoy the return of the classic flavor of the great Hail Mary of wild magic options. And who knows? It may just save the day!