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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Sorcerer: Cryomancer (Review?)



Ganryu
2019-03-19, 03:26 PM
Mostly I'd like some feedback on if this is too strong, too weak. I'd really like to try something homebrew in a campaign, and the Gm's encouraging me to do so because normally I'm the person helping him balance things. Figure good place to start is a nice simple archetype. My current thought is this is a wee bit too strong, but figure I'd get some general input.

It's a sorcerer archetype, and focuses on control with ice based spells, mostly taking away movement speed.

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Sorcerer Origin: Cryomancer

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1st level:
(No additional spells, already feels strong)

Thermal Protection
At 1st level, you coat yourself in a thin veil of frost magic, granting you resistance to fire damage and cold damage. In addition, extreme weather conditions due to temperature do not affect you, count as harsh terrain, or cause exhaustion to travel through.

Additionally, you can freeze up to 5 cubic feet of water as an action, or put out small fires of less than 5 cubic feet.

White-out
At 6th level, your ability to create ice is quickened. As a reaction, you can spend a number of sorcery points to create a veil of ice around yourself against incoming damage, reducing the damage by 3 times the sorcery points spent. You may only spend up to half your sorcery points this way. At 14th level, you can protect up to three allies within 10 feet of you at once with this sheild.

Cold-stop
At 6th level, you learn a new metamagic option, snap. When you cast a spell that deals ice damage, you may spend X sorcery points to reduce that creature's movement speed by X times 10, plus 5 until the end of their next turn. You may spend 0 sorcery points this way.

Wandering Blizzard
At 14th level, you are so cold you permanently gain the effects of water walking by freezing the water under you as you walk. On lava, you take half damage.

(Cold-stop improves at 14th level)

Still world
At 18th level, whenever you cast a sorcery spell at 5th level or above, the air around you warps to your cold magic, dealing cold damage to all chosen creatures in 30 ft equal to the spell's level. Any creature within 10 feet of you, ally or enemy, makes a consitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a fail, its movement speed becomes 0 until the end of your next turn.

JNAProductions
2019-03-19, 03:42 PM
So, we have a Homebrew Design subforum. Find it here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-Homebrew-Design). And that's really where stuff like this should be posted.

As for the brew itself...

Thermal Protection looks fine.

White-Out looks fine.

Cold-Stop is probably too good as a free metamagic. If it was minimum 1 SP spent, I'd have no issues.

Wandering Blizzard looks fine. Except the lava bit. That's a bit silly.

Still World needs to be cleaned up-as written right now, it doesn't actually specify everything that it needs to.

Ganryu
2019-03-19, 03:43 PM
So, we have a Homebrew Design subforum. Find it here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-Homebrew-Design). And that's really where stuff like this should be posted.

As for the brew itself...

Thermal Protection looks fine.

White-Out looks fine.

Cold-Stop is probably too good as a free metamagic. If it was minimum 1 SP spent, I'd have no issues.

Wandering Blizzard looks fine. Except the lava bit. That's a bit silly.

Still World needs to be cleaned up-as written right now, it doesn't actually specify everything that it needs to.

Oops, apologies on the wrong thread, thank you for the responses though.

JNAProductions
2019-03-19, 03:44 PM
Oops, apologies on the wrong thread, thank you for the responses though.

No problem. You can report your own post and ask to have it moved-you won't get an infraction or anything for that, so don't worry.

Ganryu
2019-03-20, 12:32 PM
Alright, now this is in the right forums, further feedback would be nice, changed the wording on Still World a bit to make it sound better.

Vogie
2019-03-21, 11:16 AM
Thermal Protection
At 1st level, you coat yourself in a thin veil of frost magic, granting you resistance to fire damage and cold damage. In addition, extreme weather conditions due to temperature do not affect you, count as harsh terrain, or cause exhaustion to travel through.

Additionally, you can freeze up to 5 cubic feet of water as an action, or put out small fires of less than 5 cubic feet.

White-out
At 6th level, your ability to create ice is quickened. As a reaction, you can spend a number of sorcery points to create a veil of ice around yourself against incoming damage, reducing the damage by 3 times the sorcery points spent. You may only spend up to half your sorcery points this way. At 14th level, you can protect up to three allies within 10 feet of you at once with this sheild.

Cold-stop
At 6th level, you learn a new metamagic option, snap. When you cast a spell that deals ice damage, you may spend X sorcery points to reduce that creature's movement speed by X times 10, plus 5 until the end of their next turn. You may spend 0 sorcery points this way.

Wandering Blizzard
At 14th level, you are so cold you permanently gain the effects of water walking by freezing the water under you as you walk. On lava, you take half damage.

(Cold-stop improves at 14th level)

Still world
At 18th level, whenever you cast a sorcery spell at 5th level or above, the air around you warps to your cold magic, dealing cold damage to all chosen creatures in 30 ft equal to the spell's level. Any creature within 10 feet of you, ally or enemy, makes a consitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a fail, its movement speed becomes 0 until the end of your next turn.

The first level ability is terribly situational, making it either OP or UP depending on the setting. In general, resistances don't come until later in the class. I'd like to see something more pronounced here. Even if it was "You learn the Shape Water cantrip" and also something else, that would be better. Maybe a sort of Absorb-elements analog, that requires an active component.

I like Cold-stop, but think it needs to be reworded. Perhaps an overall effect that gives you the option to turn damaging spells into cold damage, and applying the 5 ft movement speed reduction universally, then increasing the speed reduction if you use ANY metamagic on the spells.

Wandering Blizzard is too narrow and underpowered. 14 is the level that Dragon Sorcerers get wings.

Still world is way too underpowered for such a High ability. Yes, it's repeatable, but only 10 times a day (8 from spell slots, with 2 more from sorc points into level 5 slots), and on a class that isn't at all incentivized to get up in their target's face.

Here's my Cryomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?580522-Cryomancer-Bloodline-(PEACH)) if you want to poach any ideas off of it.

Ganryu
2019-03-21, 02:00 PM
The first level ability is terribly situational, making it either OP or UP depending on the setting. In general, resistances don't come until later in the class. I'd like to see something more pronounced here. Even if it was "You learn the Shape Water cantrip" and also something else, that would be better. Maybe a sort of Absorb-elements analog, that requires an active component.

I like Cold-stop, but think it needs to be reworded. Perhaps an overall effect that gives you the option to turn damaging spells into cold damage, and applying the 5 ft movement speed reduction universally, then increasing the speed reduction if you use ANY metamagic on the spells.

Wandering Blizzard is too narrow and underpowered. 14 is the level that Dragon Sorcerers get wings.

Still world is way too underpowered for such a High ability. Yes, it's repeatable, but only 10 times a day (8 from spell slots, with 2 more from sorc points into level 5 slots), and on a class that isn't at all incentivized to get up in their target's face.

Here's my Cryomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?580522-Cryomancer-Bloodline-(PEACH)) if you want to poach any ideas off of it.


To be fair on lvl 14, Wandering Blizzard is thrown on, the key ability they get is an upgraded whiteout, they can stop a total of 84 damage with it, which is pretty hefty.

I do like the suggestions, probably just going to change 1st ability to getting shape water, and a 5 foot thing of frost to set out fires, make something mildly colder.

Any suggestion for Still World changes? Rather than damage, I was hoping it was a strong 'run the hell away' card. Perhaps negate Opportunity of Attacks against the caster during the 'cold'

Vogie
2019-03-22, 08:14 AM
Ah, I missed the White Out upgrade.



Any suggestion for Still World changes? Rather than damage, I was hoping it was a strong 'run the hell away' card. Perhaps negate Opportunity of Attacks against the caster during the 'cold'

There's a lot of ways to create that effect

Negating or creating opportunity attacks, as you mentioned
Pushing back all creatures
Creating difficult terrain
Teleportation
Tying in another protective spell effect as a bonus action, such as entangle, one of the wall spells or magic circle (whenever you cast a sorcery spell at 5th level or above, the air around you warps into icy runes. On your next turn turn, as a bonus action, you can cast Magic Circle at 3rd level, centered on yourself, without providing material components).