Bonus Spells Known for Sorcerer

[DarkKnightJin]

I was taking a look at Sorcerer, and breaking down why their number of spells known is a bit of an insult..
And I decided to have a look at the spell list in total and set up a (preliminary) list of bonus spells for each Sorcererous Origin to make use of.
It's a first draft, and I'm not 100% set on the spells picked. But it should serve as a nice jumping off point for any DMs that wanna throw their Sorcerer players a bone in the way of spells known.
Like Domain spells, these would not count towards the Sorcerer's spells known, and always be available to them.
Feel free to swap out spells as you'd like, just make sure that there is agreement between the Sorcerer Player and DM about which spells are on the list for the character!

I present to you:
Sorcerer Bonus spell lists, per Sorcereous Origin:


1st - Chromatic Orb
3rd - Alter Self
5th - Fear
7th - Dominate Beast
9th - Dominate Person



1st - Detect Magic
3rd - Mirror Image
5th - Blink
7th - Confusion
9th - Animate Objects



1st - Shield of Faith
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Slow
7th - Guardian of Faith
9th - Hallow



1st - False Life
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Bestow Curse
7th - Greater Invisibility
9th - Enervation



1st - Thunderwave
3rd - Levitate
5th - Call Lightning
7th - Storm Sphere
9th - Maelstrom


Feel free to suggest other spells you'd feel are more thematically fitting for an Origin than the ones I've picked.
I'll update this list when I think to do so if I agree with a suggestion.

Note: I'm well aware that Draconic Bloodline is a bit scarce. This is one that a player and DM should collaborate on making more fitting for the specific draconic type picked by the player most of all.
I've tried to keep things generally useful for the most part, but the Playground's collective knowledge will outdo mine any day of the week.

[Man_Over_Game]

I agree with all of these but the Draconic options. Enlarge/Reduce and Bigby's Hand just don't seem to fit any concept of a Dragon Sorcerer in my head.

I'd use Enlarge/Reduce for the Wild Magic Sorcerer, hands down.

To replace them in the Draconic's list, I'd have the level 2 spell be Alter Self or Enhance Ability, and the level 5 spell be Dominate Person. Those seem more like "Dragon" spells to me.

I agree with pretty much everything else on the list!

[DarkKnightJin]

I agree with all of these but the Draconic options. Enlarge/Reduce and Bigby's Hand just don't seem to fit any concept of a Dragon Sorcerer in my head.

I'd use Enlarge/Reduce for the Wild Magic Sorcerer, hands down.

To replace them in the Draconic's list, I'd have the level 2 spell be Alter Self or Enhance Ability, and the level 5 spell be Dominate Person. Those seem more like "Dragon" spells to me.

I agree with pretty much everything else on the list!

..Not sure why Alter Self and Dominate Person didn't register for me as I watched the lists per spell level.
Thanks for the tip, I'll amend the Draconic list right after this.

[Man_Over_Game]

I had a few other thoughts after I started looking at it.

I'd replace the Storm Level 2 spell from Levitate to Dust Devil or Warding Wind

Shadow has Pass Without Trace, but I'm surprised that Shadow Blade isn't there instead. While I get the context as a utility spell in that slot, the flavor of Shadow Blade with a Shadow Sorcerer is just too strong to pass up.

Slow for a Divine Soul Sorcerer didn't quite sit well with me. Maybe Speak with Dead, Clairvoyance, or Beacon of Hope? The level 4 spell has a lot of choices that fit, between any of the Aura spells, Guardian of Faith, Divination all would work more than Freedom of Movement.

[DarkKnightJin]

I had a few other thoughts after I started looking at it.

I'd replace the Storm Level 2 spell from Levitate to Dust Devil or Warding Wind

Shadow has Pass Without Trace, but I'm surprised that Shadow Blade isn't there instead. While I get the context as a utility spell in that slot, the flavor of Shadow Blade with a Shadow Sorcerer is just too strong to pass up.

Slow for a Divine Soul Sorcerer didn't quite sit well with me. Maybe Speak with Dead, Clairvoyance, or Beacon of Hope? The level 4 spell has a lot of choices that fit, between any of the Aura spells, Guardian of Faith, Divination all would work more than Freedom of Movement.

That's why you're encouraged to tweak it in discussion with the DM/Player as needed.
My aim was to provide a framework. A jumping off point to think about it.

I'll keep the lists in the OP as they are for now, but I appreciate the feedback!

[Skyblaze]

The storm sorcerer levitate should be changed out. Late but it will become obsolete with the 18th level ability. How about gust of wind or warding wind?

Find Steed & Slow seem odd picks for divine soul.

Oh 4th level spell for dragon sorcerers should totally be Elemental Bane.

Last suggestion, shadow's 1st and 5th level spells. I would change those out to Dissonant whispers & Synaptic Static respectively. But thats just me, I don't really see shadow sorcs as much as a necromancer more so a psychic damage and mind controller.

[ImproperJustice]

Cool idea!!!

For Wild I would suggest Polymorph for the level 4 spell in place of Evard’s.

If you go aa high as 6th level spells: Scatter

[Dalebert]

I had an idea similar but I picked two thematic spells per level and allowed the sorcerer to pick one at each level. 5 more spells seems just about right.

[DarkKnightJin]

The storm sorcerer levitate should be changed out. Late but it will become obsolete with the 18th level ability. How about gust of wind or warding wind?

Find Steed & Slow seem odd picks for divine soul.

Oh 4th level spell for dragon sorcerers should totally be Elemental Bane.

Last suggestion, shadow's 1st and 5th level spells. I would change those out to Dissonant whispers & Synaptic Static respectively. But thats just me, I don't really see shadow sorcs as much as a necromancer more so a psychic damage and mind controller.

Considering most characters will never see 18th level.. I'm good. Besides, Levitate also works on objects, something Wind Soul doesn't have.
I'll think about Elemental Bane. Good case to be made that it's more fitting for the slew of elements one can specialize in.
Dissonant Whispers could work, but Synaptic Static is already on the Sorcerer list, where Danse Macabre is not. And for a generally fairly squishy caster, having up to 5 meatshields for a while should be plenty helpful.


Cool idea!!!

For Wild I would suggest Polymorph for the level 4 spell in place of Evard’s.

If you go aa high as 6th level spells: Scatter

I've only gone up to 5th to keep in line with other bonus spell lists (except Land Druid, I suppose..).
Polymorph is a solid option, but I picked Evard for the extra bit of control. And you can't tell me a bunch of tentacles popping out of nowhere to grope enemies isn't 'Wild Magic' :smallwink:

[Keravath]

I'd agree that Find Steed and Slow don't seem like thematic picks for a Divine Soul sorcerer to me either.

Shield of Faith is ok at 1st level but I'd lean towards either healing word or cure wounds.

3rd: I'd go with Blindness/Deafness or Spiritual Weapon since Find Steed doesn't make much sense to me

5th: Slow? Again I don't really see a tie in to divine soul. I'd suggest revivify, remove curse, aura of vitality

A lot of my picks for divine soul would tend to be cleric related since that is the defining feature of the archetype.

However, one of the constraining factors on the sorcerer is their very restrictive spell list so adding 5 spell options as part of the archetype might well result in significant power creep.

[Man_Over_Game]

I'd agree that Find Steed and Slow don't seem like thematic picks for a Divine Soul sorcerer to me either.

Shield of Faith is ok at 1st level but I'd lean towards either healing word or cure wounds.

3rd: I'd go with Blindness/Deafness or Spiritual Weapon since Find Steed doesn't make much sense to me

5th: Slow? Again I don't really see a tie in to divine soul. I'd suggest revivify, remove curse, aura of vitality

A lot of my picks for divine soul would tend to be cleric related since that is the defining feature of the archetype.

I'd recommend that they remain, uh..."morally ambiguous", as the Divine Soul can still pick an evil deity to gain their powers from. Something like Guardian of Faith is a good example. Remove curse...not so much.

[TyGuy]

Draconic 7th's fire shield leaves out the non cold/fire types. Maybe elemental bane instead?

[Skyblaze]

However, one of the constraining factors on the sorcerer is their very restrictive spell list so adding 5 spell options as part of the archetype might well result in significant power creep.

While I understand why sorcerers have such a limited selection for spells (aka they are able to utilize their spell slots more efficiently with metamagic + con prof), 15 spells in total is extremely limiting. Thats not even 2 spells per slot. I'm currently playing a game where the DM allowed a modified spells known list that goes to a max of 20 spells known and it feels freer (We're lvl 5 currently and I have 8 spells known vs the 6 as in phb). Also, even with a slightly expanded spells known selection, you still can't switch any out when you want to like other full casters, you have to wait until you level. All that said, yes, it does give sorcerers more power.

[sophontteks]

Sorcerers are fine, but the only people seeing their full power are the ones who put a ton of research in. In a casual setting they are really bad. I'd just give them 2 more spells at level 1.

The set spells feels restrictive, but it has flavor. I don't think the proposed lists are well balanced. This probably wouldn't impact a casual game much.

[Sigreid]

I've come to view sorcerer's as being to the casters what the fighter is to the martial classes. What I mean is that they get a narrower range of options that are easier for newer people or people who have trouble keeping track of lots of options to deal with but they can do a lot more with those fewer options than other casters can do with their wider range of spells. What's neat about it is on a mastery scale it has a high floor, and a high ceiling. Pretty much anyone can understand their spells and meta magic well enough to be competent and not a drag on their party in their roll; but someone who fully understands the spells and meta magics available to them can get a lot more out of the class than others expect.

[Fryy]

Divine Soul... thinking Joan of Arc
1: Guiding Bolt
3: Lesser Restoration
5: Revivify
7: Death Ward
9: Holy Weapon

[Fryy]

I like the concept. I think Sorcerers do need a few more spells known. A fixed, themed list (like Clerics get from their domains) seems very flavorful.

I really like your selections for Shadow because they all seem to fit your theme (especially Pass Without Trace since I really would want that on a Shadow Sorcerer!)... but it is also true that most of your selected bonus spells are not available to Sorcerers. So, to be balanced you might want to keep aware of how many of the bonus spells for each origin are available or are not available.

For Divine Souls, I did not think the Paladin spell theme (Find Steed, etc.) works for a non multi classed Sorcerer. They already get the entire Cleric spell list, so choosing only Cleric spells seems good enough to me.

[Fryy]

Draconic Origin is from the PHB, but Absorb Elements is SCAG and XGTE. So, you could potentially break PHB+1 (if it matters to you) if (for example) you chose a Volo's race and had Absorb Elements available. As another example, both Shadow origin and Dance Macabre are from XGTE... so that feels more aligned with the PHB+1 restrictions used by AL and some DMs.

[Aquillion]

Wild Magic seems like it should get Prismatic Spray. Yes, I know it sucks, but it fits. Prismatic Wall would work, too.

[Bjarkmundur]

Hey, looks much better than yesterday :)
Nice work

[fbelanger]

Classes have flaw.
I’m not sure it’s a good thing to level every of them.
Add more spell to sorcerer, add more spell slot to warlock, make everything recharge on long rest, ...
It will make all classes to feel the same pace, the same style.

[strangebloke]

snip



Draconic looks fine, although I would personally prefer to given them 'fear' at 5th level. It's a powerful spell that plays to the draconic theme very nicely while not being "another elemental spell."
Wild is great, if only because it encourages people to use chaos bolt.
Divine Soul is a mess, especially with Find Steed. That needs to go away now. Mounts share spells and Divine Souls have the longest spell list in the game. Just having the paladin steed that early is game-breaking. Having one that early and then being able to stack things like spirit guardians on it is ridiculous. I mean, at third level, you magic warhorse will have more HP than you do! I'd probably go: Shield of Faith, Blindness/Deafness, Slow, Banishment, and then Planar Binding. Dawn is too obviously a goody-two-shoes spell, and Banishment and PB are both really flavorful with the who "I'm the son of an angel" fluff you have going on.
Shadow is very very strong. Armor of Agathys? Yikes, that's a pretty great spell there! Pass without Trace? Oh, well, that's also one of the best druid/ranger spells. I'll also note that shadow sorcs can't see through Hunger of Hadar, so that's a bit of wonkiness. Overall, very flavorful, but kind of too strong on a subclass that doesn't really need it. I would go with: AoA, Darkness, Vampiric Touch, and Shadow of Moil.
Storm is fine.




Sorcerers are fine, but the only people seeing their full power are the ones who put a ton of research in. In a casual setting they are really bad. I'd just give them 2 more spells at level 1.

The set spells feels restrictive, but it has flavor. I don't think the proposed lists are well balanced. This probably wouldn't impact a casual game much.

Sorcerers are weak. Yes, they can be built to be powerful with extreme care, but if you extend the same level of care to a wizard or cleric or ranger build, you'll get comparable or better results.

I really like these lists as it gives the sorcerer a bunch of spells that don't necessarily jive with their metamagic choices, but do jive with their theme. This reduces the pressure to take themed spells in your main list, and opens up opportunities for the rest of your spells to be chosen according to metamagic.

[sophontteks]

Sorcerers are weak. Yes, they can be built to be powerful with extreme care, but if you extend the same level of care to a wizard or cleric or ranger build, you'll get comparable or better results.

I really like these lists as it gives the sorcerer a bunch of spells that don't necessarily jive with their metamagic choices, but do jive with their theme. This reduces the pressure to take themed spells in your main list, and opens up opportunities for the rest of your spells to be chosen according to metamagic.
Sorcerers are not weak, and no other build can come close to achieving the things a sorcerer can do. But few players know what that is and fall into trap choices. Even the guides have a lot of bad info. I'd recommend TheUser's guide for accurate info on how to play a sorcerer right:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?526062-New-updated-Sorcerer-Guide!

The main power of a sorcerer is their ability to subtle cast spells. It's completely game-changing. I can practically break the game with phantasmal force and subtle spell alone.

I've got a shadow sorcerer for CoS. It's a perfect game for a sorcerer, where his ability to manipulate others will really shine.

By level 6 I will have the following:
1- Mage Armor
2- Darkness (enhanced), phantasmal force, Scorching ray, Blindness/deafness
3- Fireball, Counterspell, Slow

Level 1 slots are mostly there to be mulched down into metamagic, so we can cast more darkness and hounds. Darkness is a level 2 spell we cast with 2 metamagic. Mulching 2 level 1 spells to cast it is a steal. Mulching 3 level 1 spells for another hounds is also a steal. Mage Armor is my 1 defensive spell besides darkness. Since I'm expecting to be in darkness most of the time, if I'm attacked it will be at disadvantage. 16 AC should be adequate in these conditions.

Enhanced darkness is ridiculous. We already know this from Warlocks with devil's eye. It lasts 10 minutes. If you cast it on an object and enclose the object, the darkness will be inert. Simply uncover the object to instantly turn invisible. Against single targets throw empowered scorching ray with advantage. Throw empowered fireball vs. multiple. We don't always use empower, but it can easily double the damage of these spells when we roll low. Blindness/deafness for non-concentration CC. Otherwise just blast away with firebolt in the cozy warm darkness. There are some real fun combos to be had with this and minor illusion as well, espesially in CoS.

When we aren't running darkness, hounds can be combined with slow to debuff and damage the enemy all at once. This gets better at level 7 when we can use the broken sickening raidiance + hounds combo. They make their save with disadvantage, teammate or hound grapples them, and keeps them in the spells AOE. Since we run cheap metamagics we can do this on multiple encounters pretty easily. This is where players fall into trap options, picking expensive metamagics that drain them too quickly.

For non-combat encounters the PF + Subtle combo will go far. Have illusionary bees attack someone threatening you, and use minor illusion to create the sound of bees for that extra touch. Create illusionary plot devices like documents, gold, lost items, etc. Make even the craziest lie a reality in their minds. Basically own every social encounter and end combat encounters before they even begin for the low low price of a level 2 spell and 1 metamagic. Really puts bards to shame. Even the best deception can't compare to making the deception real in the NPCs mind.

Sure, he gets far less spells then anyone else, but what he does with those spells is pretty crazy. He can't be detected like other casters. He can't be shut down with counterspell like other casters, and the archtype gives the sorcerer a slew of powerful toys as well.

[strangebloke]

Sorcerers are not weak, and no other build can come close to achieving the things a sorcerer can do. But few players know what that is and fall into trap choices. Even the guides have a lot of bad info. I'd recommend TheUser's guide for accurate info on how to play a sorcerer right:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?526062-New-updated-Sorcerer-Guide!

The main power of a sorcerer is their ability to subtle cast spells. It's completely game-changing. I can practically break the game with phantasmal force and subtle spell alone.

I've read TheUser's guide. I'm well aware. Other classes can't do specifically what the sorcerer can do.

But the Sorcerer can't do what they can either. And both the cases that you're bringing up, Phantasmal Force and Subtle Spell, are both the subject of some contention amongst DMs. Even allowing that both those things are very strong, they're not "game-breaking." Something like Healing spirit is game-breaking because it completely invalidates a type of game.

Anyway, I don't want to derail, so I won't be replying to this.

[sophontteks]

I've read TheUser's guide. I'm well aware. Other classes can't do specifically what the sorcerer can do.

But the Sorcerer can't do what they can either. And both the cases that you're bringing up, Phantasmal Force and Subtle Spell, are both the subject of some contention amongst DMs. Even allowing that both those things are very strong, they're not "game-breaking." Something like Healing spirit is game-breaking because it completely invalidates a type of game.

Anyway, I don't want to derail, so I won't be replying to this.

They are a point of contention among DMs because they are game-breaking. If they weren't, they wouldn't be a point of contention.

Warlocks have the same problem. The combos that make Warlocks strong are a "point of contention." The knee jerk reaction is to nerf these combos while simultaneously stating that the class is weak. They are not supposed to be played like wizards. These combos are what make the class good. This isn't directed at you, its just something I've observed a lot around here.

[Sindal]

When i'm dming, I just give this to anyone who picks sorceror:

-Engraved spell-

The magical spark inside of you awakens over time
At levels 1,3,5,7 and 9 you gain one extra spell known and mark it as an engraved spell.
Engraved spells have to fit the following criteria:

-The spell chosen has to match your current highest level of spell slot available
-These spells are almost soul linked to you. As such, you cannot swap these spells out when leveling up.
-If you would already learn an extra spell via your subclass, that spell takes the place of your engraved spell (Like with Divine's lvl 1 bonus, giant soul, shadow auto learning darkness at lvl 3)

This basically lets sorcerers 'pick' their domain spell list.
I've found that 5 extra spells don't really do much to a sorcerers power level. It just lets the player breath a bit

[Fryy]

For non-combat encounters the PF + Subtle combo will go far. Have illusionary bees attack someone threatening you, and use minor illusion to create the sound of bees for that extra touch. Create illusionary plot devices like documents, gold, lost items, etc. Make even the craziest lie a reality in their minds. Basically own every social encounter and end combat encounters before they even begin for the low low price of a level 2 spell and 1 metamagic. Really puts bards to shame. Even the best deception can't compare to making the deception real in the NPCs mind.

Completely Agree. But what about adding Subtle Suggestion to your toolkit?
*cough* "These aren't the 'droids you're looking for." *cough*

[Bjarkmundur]

Personally I think replys regarding "should this thread exist" are in poor taste.

I don't think it's our place to tell the OP why he shouldn't be doing this, but instead help him in the pursuit of doing it as well as possible.

When posting, the OP has probably made up his mind that this is something that he wants to do, so no need of disrespecting that decision.

A reply which has both, guidence and criticism, that I'm okay with. Or comments regarding how a change might affect casual gameplay, but shooting down a thread in its entirety seems... Out of character for a forum regarding a game which has such variance between tables, and prides itself on being able to be "any kind of game you want it to be".

Sorry about the tangent. ^^

I do like the engraved spell Idea. But allowing a player to retrain these spells is probably a good choice, just to check as many fun boxes as possible.

[Aquillion]

The main power of a sorcerer is their ability to subtle cast spells. It's completely game-changing. I can practically break the game with phantasmal force and subtle spell alone.The value of that varies a lot from game to game and DM to DM, though.


In a "kick down the door" game, it's nearly useless.
In social games, DMs will often allow other classes to use tricks to conceal their spellcasting.

Now, you might say "well, DM's shouldn't allow those tricks"; but I disagree. Subtle Spell is ultimately just one option on one Sorcerer class feature. Constraining the entire game around it isn't worth it (especially in parties with no Sorcerer, ie. where there's nobody to get upset.) DMs should reward cleverness, so stuff like "I conceal my spellcasting in a foreign-language performance" or "I use stealth to hide in the crowd while the rest of the party makes a loud distraction" ought to be valid. The game contains lots of ways to do most things - I don't think it's appropriate to take something that would otherwise work and say "no, you can't do this, because Sorcerers can already do it."

Basically, nothing in the rules really implies that concealing spellcasting is supposed to be that hard or that big of a deal. In fact, the rules emphasize that people don't know when they're targeted with magic.

Subtle Spell still has value as a way to conceal spellcasting reliably and easily, without having to use any trickery and with no risk of failure. But it's ultimately just one out of eight metamagic options. It's not supposed to be the sole defining feature of Sorcerers, and it's not supposed to be the only way to conceal spellcasting, just the simpliest and most straightforward option. Trying to brute-force the game to the point where it's a huge class-defining deal (by making concealing spellcasting a much bigger deal than it ought to be) is a mistake.

If Sorcerers are so dependent on one of their eight metamagic options, that's probably a sign that the class is unbalanced and needs to be tweaked a bit to distribute their power more evenly.

For comparison, Warlocks are all about ranged burst damage. Builds using Sharpshooter can flatly outdamage them - but nobody thinks this makes Warlocks obsolete, because they also do a bunch of other stuff. If "stealth and distractions and trickery can allow you to conceal spellcasting" ruins Sorcerers, that's a problem with Sorcerers, not a problem with using stealth and distractions and trickery to conceal spellcasting.

(And you can see this problem from point one - if Sorcerers are really just about this One Weird Trick, does that mean they're worthless in kick-down-the-door games? Even if you aggressively ban anyone else from hiding spellcasting in any way - which, as I said above, would be a huge mistake - it's still not something that is always needed; if you don't give Sorcerers other stuff to do, they're going to suck in those games.)

EDIT: Also, that guide, like a lot of discussion of Subtle Spell, misses the fact that it doesn't remove the need for material components. If you're in the king's throne room, and you're not allowed to cast spells there, the guards are going to react to you reaching for a magical focus or spell component pouch the same way they would if you reached for a sword.

EDIT 2: From the targeting section of the spellcasting rules:


Unless a spell has a perceptible effect, a creature might not know it was targeted by a spell at all. An effect like crackling lightning is obvious, but a more subtle effect, such as an attempt to read a creature's thoughts, typically goes unnoticed, unless a spell says otherwise.
The spell referenced in the second half is Detect Thoughts, which has full verbal, somatic, and material components. Based on that, my reading is that spellcasting is generally intended to go unnoticed by default and that the interpretation that it doesn't is a mistake made by people trying to find a way for Sorcerers to be useful.

[Skyblaze]

When i'm dming, I just give this to anyone who picks sorceror:

-Engraved spell-

The magical spark inside of you awakens over time
At levels 1,3,5,7 and 9 you gain one extra spell known and mark it as an engraved spell.
Engraved spells have to fit the following criteria:

-The spell chosen has to match your current highest level of spell slot available
-These spells are almost soul linked to you. As such, you cannot swap these spells out when leveling up.
-If you would already learn an extra spell via your subclass, that spell takes the place of your engraved spell (Like with Divine's lvl 1 bonus, giant soul, shadow auto learning darkness at lvl 3)

This basically lets sorcerers 'pick' their domain spell list.
I've found that 5 extra spells don't really do much to a sorcerers power level. It just lets the player breath a bit

I like this. Do you allow the player to pick from any spell list? Like a lightning dragon/storm sorcerer would be able to pick call lightning out of druid's list?

[DarkKnightJin]

Draconic looks fine, although I would personally prefer to given them 'fear' at 5th level. It's a powerful spell that plays to the draconic theme very nicely while not being "another elemental spell."
Wild is great, if only because it encourages people to use chaos bolt.
Divine Soul is a mess, especially with Find Steed. That needs to go away now. Mounts share spells and Divine Souls have the longest spell list in the game. Just having the paladin steed that early is game-breaking. Having one that early and then being able to stack things like spirit guardians on it is ridiculous. I mean, at third level, you magic warhorse will have more HP than you do! I'd probably go: Shield of Faith, Blindness/Deafness, Slow, Banishment, and then Planar Binding. Dawn is too obviously a goody-two-shoes spell, and Banishment and PB are both really flavorful with the who "I'm the son of an angel" fluff you have going on.
Shadow is very very strong. Armor of Agathys? Yikes, that's a pretty great spell there! Pass without Trace? Oh, well, that's also one of the best druid/ranger spells. I'll also note that shadow sorcs can't see through Hunger of Hadar, so that's a bit of wonkiness. Overall, very flavorful, but kind of too strong on a subclass that doesn't really need it. I would go with: AoA, Darkness, Vampiric Touch, and Shadow of Moil.
Storm is fine.



Shadow Sorcerers already learn Darkness from their "Eyes of the Dark" feature. So putting it on their 'domain' spell list is just screwing this origin out of a spell.. Vampiric Touch is a decent one, though it'd probably depend on your DM if they'd let you Distant it or not.. It is a 'better' spell in that it has the downside of a short range, forcing a bit of risk/reward. I'll put VT on it, and re-evaluate the 2nd level spell.

As for Divine Soul: I totally forgot that Find Steed allows spell sharing between you and the Steed. Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I also failed to realize this would give the Sorcerer access to a magical Steed 2 levels before the Paladin would. While the Bard being able to pick up Greater Steed before the Paladin is one thing.. Another class getting arguably the Paladin's first chance before the Paladin is just a big no-no.
Banishment is something I considered, and will reconsider. I'll also have a look at the 5th level spell, but I'm not sure Planar Binding would really be anything that a Sorcerer would want at all. Even Divine Soul.

[Fryy]

Just IMHO... Shield of Faith is a concentration spell. Sorcerers and Clerics would probably have better options for concentrating and expending 1st level spell slots. It just seems strictly sub-optimal for Sorcerers and non-melee builds.

I forget if it has already been mentioned above, but how about Dragon's Breath from XGTE for the Draconic origin?

[Sindal]

I like this. Do you allow the player to pick from any spell list? Like a lightning dragon/storm sorcerer would be able to pick call lightning out of druid's list?

generally:Nah.

While I understand the whole lightning issue for storm sorcerer, I feel that 'taking spells from other classes' starts to lean too much on the bard's schtick of taking spells naturally.
Lightning bolt is a spell, after all. Gotta appreciate what you got to work with and i don't find the sorcerers spell list to be 'that' terrible that you'd absolutely have to seek elsewhere for good options.
Though since it's my own homebrew rule I won't be apposed to be asked 'Can I have this spell, it'll really fit my character' and making a judgement call.

Otherwise: Sorcerer spell list (and cleric, if your divine soul)

[Fryy]

Divine Soul is a mess, especially with Find Steed. That needs to go away now. Mounts share spells and Divine Souls have the longest spell list in the game. Just having the paladin steed that early is game-breaking. Having one that early and then being able to stack things like spirit guardians on it is ridiculous. I mean, at third level, you magic warhorse will have more HP than you do!

Spirit Guardians is centered on you, but (unlike Invisibility, for example) does not target you. So, your magical Steed would not also get Spirit Guardians.

Note: Oath of the Crown Paladins all get Spirit Guardians at 9th level, I believe. Also, a Lore Bard could get both Find Steed and Spirit Guardians at level 6. So,.there are already two ways to get both spells by RAW.

[strangebloke]

Banishment is something I considered, and will reconsider. I'll also have a look at the 5th level spell, but I'm not sure Planar Binding would really be anything that a Sorcerer would want at all. Even Divine Soul.

Darkness and PB are not great spells for a sorc, no, but these are bonus spells. I wouldn't normally expect them to be the best spells possible, just flavorful, useful spells. Divine Soul and Shadow Sorcerer are already the two most powerful options.

Still, I'm with you on darkness, having thought about it more, since darkness cast as a spell couldn't be seen through and that would mess people up.


Just IMHO... Shield of Faith is a concentration spell. Sorcerers and Clerics would probably have better options for concentrating and expending 1st level spell slots. It just seems strictly sub-optimal for Sorcerers and non-melee builds.

I forget if it has already been mentioned above, but how about Dragon's Breath from XGTE for the Draconic origin?

There is in theory a bit of awkwardness with Dragon's Breath. If someone was scrupulous about piracy but didn't own Xanathar's but did own the PHB and wanted to use this homebrew... but that's admittedly an edge case.

Shield of Faith can be cast on other people, and can be twinned. Efficient concentration-based twinnable buffs are the bread and butter of a divine soul. The party monk and rogue will not complain about having +2 AC apiece, and it would only cost you a 2nd level spell.

Spirit Guardians is centered on you, but (unlike Invisibility, for example) does not target you. So, your magical Steed would not also get Spirit Guardians.

Note: Oath of the Crown Paladins all get Spirit Guardians at 9th level, I believe. Also, a Lore Bard could get both Find Steed and Spirit Guardians at level 6. So,.there are already two ways to get both spells by RAW.
According to JC its not RAI, but it is RAW. The range of the spell is (self) which means that it targets (self).

The problem isn't specifically that interaction. The issue is that they have access to tons of interactions like that. Dragon's breath, etc. etc. and the issue here is that it would be default for divine souls to get access to a steed by level 3. At that point the warhorse is a huge force multiplier and probably has more HP than you do.

[Fryy]

According to JC its not RAI, but it is RAW. The range of the spell is (self) which means that it targets (self)

Hmm. I see. But then that means a level 6 halfling Lore Bard (with Spirit Guardians, Find Steed) riding a medium mount could actually do 6d8 15ft radius per round for 10 minutes indoors? Wow.

[Fryy]

Shield of Faith can be cast on other people, and can be twinned. Efficient concentration-based twinnable buffs are the bread and butter of a divine soul. The party monk and rogue will not complain about having +2 AC apiece, and it would only cost you a 2nd level spell.

Ok. I completely understand your point about twinnable buffs. But would you be likely to want to use twinned Shield of Faith at mid levels or higher (5+)?

[strangebloke]

Hmm. I see. But then that means a level 6 halfling Lore Bard (with Spirit Guardians, Find Steed) riding a medium mount could actually do 6d8 15ft radius per round for 10 minutes indoors? Wow.
Correct. Its a very strong combo. Crown Paladin's can do the same thing at level 9.

Combos like this are a huge part of the Lore Bard's strength. If you dont' break things wide open like this, you'll still be powerful, but tricks like this are what put the Lore Bard over the top as one of the best classes in the game. And giving that to the Divine Soul for free (and earlier, at level 5) is pretty crazy.


Ok. I completely understand your point about twinnable buffs. But would you be likely to want to use twinned Shield of Faith at mid levels or higher (5+)?
Yeah, sure.

Gotta use those low level slots for something, and if you lose concentration mid-combat, you don't neccesarily have another spirit guardians or Holy Aura or whatever to push out. Twinned SoF is probably better in some situations than Bless, depending on a variety of factors.

Overall, while it certainly gets weaker, it isn't bad.

[Bjarkmundur]

I keep rechecking this thread, and it's always just slowly inching its way to a more "official" looking lineup of spells.
I'll check again in a day or two, and then add it to my "minor fixes and fun Houserules" folder :)

[DarkKnightJin]

I keep rechecking this thread, and it's always just slowly inching its way to a more "official" looking lineup of spells.
I'll check again in a day or two, and then add it to my "minor fixes and fun Houserules" folder :)

I keep making little tweaks based on the feedback provided by the community.
I've nixed the Find Steed thing. I love the spell for flavor, but I agree it was doing something that should NEVER occur.

Sidenote: sharing Spirit Guardians, if allowed by the DM at your table.. wouldn't do 6d8, save for half, because anybody can only be affected by 1 copy of a spell or magic effect at a time.

[HamsterKun]

When I DM I personally just have it where you get bonus spells known for any class where's it's applicable up to your spellcasting ability modifier. Keep it simple and straightforward.

[sambojin]

I let people play similar to this, but probably even more power creepy:

----------
Sorcerers get 1/2Cha mod (rounded down) of floating known spells. They are of a level one lower than the highest level you can cast and know as a Sorcerer spell. These spells must be off the Sorcerer list (and only the Sorcerer list, no Divine access). They may be changed at the end of each long rest.
-----------

I know people will go "No! That's WAY too powerful!". And in some ways it is. It gives you 1-2 sort-of normally prepared spells, that can be anything, off your entire list. But only near your max lvl spells. That you can change each day. So as good as divine classes in some ways. But the floats are stuck at max spell lvl-1. To try them out, that's the point. So it's not as good as you'd think, but still pretty good.

But, it lets you try things out. It lets you alter your flavour a little if a campaign swings from combat'y to intrigue'y to "we honestly need to do everything, and there's three of us, and one's a fighter, the other's a sorceror (me). The rogue doesn't show up some days, so the DM runs him."

It saves you being locked into a build. There's no trap choices when you can give things a go. Maybe some stuff is better than you thought it'd be in your campaign. Maybe it's bollocks. This lets you find out.

If you think that's too easy on the Sorc, try having to guide new players into not dumb spell choices. You, the DM, are essentially railroading their character, because they don't know better. This isn't a good basis for players trying out a fun, good class that they're not familiar with. But when they can screw themselves for an entire level or two because their spell picks were poor, I think a little flexibility is warranted. It is one of the challenges of the class, yes, but one that can be irritating as a DM and as a player. Especially in pickup or AL games, but ones not played by highly experienced or knowledgeable players.

I've always played it as "Inspired Magic", in which this crazy or clinical sorcerer who is slowly learning of their inbuilt abilities, also just "makes stuff up", pushing at the walls of reality and twisting the weave with their ego, just because they can.

You can always nerf it down a bit to just one spell if you think it's too good at two. But one spell at a lvl1-3/16Cha start then 2 at lvl4 (or lvl8 without maxxing Cha at creation and ASI'ing it ASAP), has never seemed over the top. You can also just say "It takes a Sorcery Point to cast either of these spells as well", just to add a little cost to the versatility. But it is max spell level-1, so whilst amazing, you'll often find players just use it as one-two more known spells that they constantly use, but got to try first. Once they've found the ones they like. It's just that you never have to feel bad for taking a campaign, or even a particular adventuring day, in a different direction (with a little foreshadowing), so the poor Sorc isn't stuck in a "but I don't do that" situation of your own devising.

One floating spell is a godsend to a Sorc. Two is just because I like having a few different tangents available in any adventure from time to time, and as a player that primarily plays Druids, I tend to think "Well, I could do something there" when designing stuff as a DM, not "I probably should foreshadow a change of tack and plot at least one level early, so the Sorc isn't buggered". Not every level of Sorc spells is great for this, but the player will have a better knowledge of what they can do with what they've got, rather than hitting and hoping (or choosing and losing).

And, yes, Bards are good enough that they don't need this. They have tonnes of stuff to do in any situation that is reliant on class abilities, not spell lists. Sorcs kinda don't. Both have Charisma, but honestly, so can anyone.
Aren't Fighters stuck like this sometimes? Kinda. But they are f'ing amazing at what they do due to their class abilites. They do not have the option of being a bad Fighter, just shades of "pretty good at fighting, maybe great, and maybe good at some other other stuff too".

[sambojin]

Oh, and that's not a typo on the description of "Inspired Magic". The spells you have as floating prepared spells are always from the level-1 from the max you can cast. As a Sorcerer. No prepared spell multiclass shenanigans. This helps the Sorc bit, not the 17 odd levels of Pally you put in :)

Oh, and cantrips aren't lvl-zero spells, they're cantrips. This actually kicks in at Sorc 3 for goodies, I kinda mis-nomered the lvl1-3 Cha stat thing. You'll be happy on how balanced this is for multi-classing. It only applies to the maximum level of Sorc spells you can cast too. So, a 3lvl dip gets you, umm, not much. Some extra lvl1 Sorc spells prepared (somewhere between 0 and 2) and some actually good Sorc stuff. But it's very good on a bigger Sorc mix, and far better on pure Sorc, which is the point.

I probably should have mentioned all that a bit more. Doesn't seem so unreasonable if I had. Will edit.

It's meant to be your ego shaping itself, but always a step behind your true power. Yes, this means you can prepare +2 8th lvl spells at character lvl17. But it also means you'll have a floating spell or two of 2nd lvl at character lvl 5-6. And of 3rd at character lvl7-8. You basically get to try out a tonne of stuff before you lock them in, but still have plenty of options at around the play level you're at each day. Not every Sorc spell lvl works well for this, though most of them are OK. But it means that you're reshaping your character when you change your actual known spells each level-up, and you come into that with plenty of knowledge of what they can and can't do. Not your top-line-just-learned spells (ie: 1 of, mostly), but the ones that you think "I wonder if I did make the right choice there?". Which is a lot nicer and more fun to play as, for everyone, experienced or not.

[Bjarkmundur]

Aren't there some sorcerers that gain bonus spells known from their subclass? Does this stack on top of that or?

[Spiritchaser]

I’m not sure if you’re concerned with multiclass or not, but a glaive toting vhuman sorcadin with shadow of Moil, which quicken allows you to set up with a bonus action, is going to be very strong.

Yes darkness already allows something similar, but this is often even better. Throwing AoA in there too could make for a VERY strong package that kind of stomps on the toes of a hexblade.

[TheUser]

1st - Chromatic Orb
3rd - Alter Self
5th - Elemental Weapon
7th - Elemental Bane
9th - Dominate Person



1st - Chaos Bolt
3rd - Mirror Image
5th - Blink
7th - Evard's Black Tentacles
9th - Animate Objects



1st - Shield of Faith
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Slow
7th - Guardian of Faith
9th - Hallow



1st - Armor of Agathys
3rd - Pass Without Trace
5th - Vampiric Touch
7th - Shadow of Moil
9th - Danse Macabre



1st - Thunderwave
3rd - Levitate
5th - Call Lightning
7th - Storm Sphere
9th - Maelstrom



I like the idea but the execution needs a bit of balancing with some caveats in mind.
1) Stick to the sorcerer spell list. This might sound silly but if you keep the spells inside the sorcerer spell list you avoid a lot of overpowered shenanigans that the game's designers tried to avoid (quicken with vampiric touch or call lightning for instance). It makes this type of homebrew a lot easier for DM's to swallow if the spells are all ones that the Sorcerer could already access (so Divine Soul still gets bonus cleric spells).
2) Stick to spells inside the PHB or the +1 book that the class can be found in. This makes it so that a player doesn't have to fish through multiple source materials and that players can have the feeling of something that presents as AL legal in their head which sounds more balanced on paper.

Ok so let's revisit the list with some modifications. (Bold where changes were made)
Draconic Bloodline:
1st - Chromatic Orb
3rd - Enhance Ability
5th - Fear
7th - Dominate Beast
9th - Dominate Person

Let's face it, your draconic picks sucked (not that dominate beast is a big winner or anything...). Alter Self, Elemental Weapon and Elemental Bane are all circumstantial picks at best. This keeps the theme of a Draconic Sorcerer without being terrible.

Wild Magic:
1st - Detect Magic
3rd - Mirror Image
5th - Blink
7th - Confusion
9th - Animate Objects

Honestly this one you were super close. I would've kept Chaos Bolt if it was in the original PHB just thought that Confusion made a better spell that had more "randomness" than Evard's Black Tentacles.

Divine Soul:
1st - Protection from Evil and Good
3rd - Spiritual Weapon
5th - Spirit Guardians
7th - Banishment
9th - Greater Restoration

I just loaded it up with spells on the cleric list that were a) useful and b) not committed to a particular godly theme. Shield of Faith, Guardian of Faith and Hallow all have a "Good Aligned" feel to them, where as this list can be associate with a Good, Evil or Neutral god (maybe not Greater Restoration but meh).

Shadow:
1st - Sleep
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Clairvoyance
7th - Greater Invisibility
9th - Enervation

An entire rework because your old list was extremely overpowered and cherry picked amazing spells from multiple classes. Needed toned down a bit. I'll admit, finding thematic sorcerer spells relating to "Shadow" magic, was pretty hard. Clairvoyance was a stretch but I thought "expanding one's own consciousness into the shadows of distant places" could work. I also wanted features that worked well with the Shadow Hound at level 6, hence why Blindness/Deafness and Enervate. All in all it's a big reduction in power but Shadow is already what I would consider the strongest of the subclasses.

Storm:
1st - Thunderwave
3rd - Shatter
5th - Thunder Step
7th - Storm Sphere
9th - Synaptic Static

I really liked your Storm list! It's just that some of the options were too strong (Call Lightning with Quickened Spell for instance). Getting Synaptic Static is a bonus though. I might actually consider picking the subclass if it came with these spells.

Anyway, food for thought. I am only one man, with one opinion to give. Let me know what you think.

[DarkKnightJin]

I like the idea but the execution needs a bit of balancing with some caveats in mind.
1) Stick to the sorcerer spell list. This might sound silly but if you keep the spells inside the sorcerer spell list you avoid a lot of overpowered shenanigans that the game's designers tried to avoid (quicken with vampiric touch or call lightning for instance). It makes this type of homebrew a lot easier for DM's to swallow if the spells are all ones that the Sorcerer could already access (so Divine Soul still gets bonus cleric spells).
2) Stick to spells inside the PHB or the +1 book that the class can be found in. This makes it so that a player doesn't have to fish through multiple source materials and that players can have the feeling of something that presents as AL legal in their head which sounds more balanced on paper.

Ok so let's revisit the list with some modifications. (Bold where changes were made)
Draconic Bloodline:
1st - Chromatic Orb
3rd - Enhance Ability
5th - Fear
7th - Dominate Beast
9th - Dominate Person

Let's face it, your draconic picks sucked (not that dominate beast is a big winner or anything...). Alter Self, Elemental Weapon and Elemental Bane are all circumstantial picks at best. This keeps the theme of a Draconic Sorcerer without being terrible.

Wild Magic:
1st - Detect Magic
3rd - Mirror Image
5th - Blink
7th - Confusion
9th - Animate Objects

Honestly this one you were super close. I would've kept Chaos Bolt if it was in the original PHB just thought that Confusion made a better spell that had more "randomness" than Evard's Black Tentacles.

Divine Soul:
1st - Protection from Evil and Good
3rd - Spiritual Weapon
5th - Spirit Guardians
7th - Banishment
9th - Greater Restoration

I just loaded it up with spells on the cleric list that were a) useful and b) not committed to a particular godly theme. Shield of Faith, Guardian of Faith and Hallow all have a "Good Aligned" feel to them, where as this list can be associate with a Good, Evil or Neutral god (maybe not Greater Restoration but meh).

Shadow:
1st - Sleep
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Clairvoyance
7th - Greater Invisibility
9th - Enervation

An entire rework because your old list was extremely overpowered and cherry picked amazing spells from multiple classes. Needed toned down a bit. I'll admit, finding thematic sorcerer spells relating to "Shadow" magic, was pretty hard. Clairvoyance was a stretch but I thought "expanding one's own consciousness into the shadows of distant places" could work. I also wanted features that worked well with the Shadow Hound at level 6, hence why Blindness/Deafness and Enervate. All in all it's a big reduction in power but Shadow is already what I would consider the strongest of the subclasses.

Storm:
1st - Thunderwave
3rd - Shatter
5th - Thunder Step
7th - Storm Sphere
9th - Synaptic Static

I really liked your Storm list! It's just that some of the options were too strong (Call Lightning with Quickened Spell for instance). Getting Synaptic Static is a bonus though. I might actually consider picking the subclass if it came with these spells.

Anyway, food for thought. I am only one man, with one opinion to give. Let me know what you think.

I used some of the suggestions, but I expressly picked the Divine Soul spells I did because they DON'T have a 'Good Aligned' feel. Hallow also Desecrates. Shield of Faith isn't just for 'good boys', either.

But, as outlined in the OP.. Every DM is free to tweak this list as they see fit.
I'm just providing a themed framework to go off of.
As for Call Lightning.. Sure, they can Quicken it for 2 Sorcerery Points.. And get 2 Dex Saves for it on the first round. It's still an action every round to call down another bolt. Unless they want to burn a 3rd or higher level slot and 2 Sorcery points every round to get the double saves.. But they'll run outta thunder pretty quickly with that approach.
..Plus it just feels wrong that a STORM Sorcerer can't call down lighting from a thunderstorm.

[Bjarkmundur]

I’m not sure if you’re concerned with multiclass or not, but a glaive toting vhuman sorcadin with shadow of Moil, which quicken allows you to set up with a bonus action, is going to be very strong.

Yes darkness already allows something similar, but this is often even better. Throwing AoA in there too could make for a VERY strong package that kind of stomps on the toes of a hexblade.

When adding something to the game, you do so after talking to your group.
No homebrewed or Houseruled material is ever going to be abused via multiclass.
If I as a DM decide to give my players a bone with some bonus features, it is so disrespectful if one would decide to abuse it against me and the fun of the group.

[Bjarkmundur]

I like the idea but the execution needs a bit of balancing with some caveats in mind.
1) Stick to the sorcerer spell list. This might sound silly but if you keep the spells inside the sorcerer spell list you avoid a lot of overpowered shenanigans that the game's designers tried to avoid (quicken with vampiric touch or call lightning for instance). It makes this type of homebrew a lot easier for DM's to swallow if the spells are all ones that the Sorcerer could already access (so Divine Soul still gets bonus cleric spells).
2) Stick to spells inside the PHB or the +1 book that the class can be found in. This makes it so that a player doesn't have to fish through multiple source materials and that players can have the feeling of something that presents as AL legal in their head which sounds more balanced on paper.

Ok so let's revisit the list with some modifications. (Bold where changes were made)
Draconic Bloodline:
1st - Chromatic Orb
3rd - Enhance Ability
5th - Fear
7th - Dominate Beast
9th - Dominate Person

Let's face it, your draconic picks sucked (not that dominate beast is a big winner or anything...). Alter Self, Elemental Weapon and Elemental Bane are all circumstantial picks at best. This keeps the theme of a Draconic Sorcerer without being terrible.

Wild Magic:
1st - Detect Magic
3rd - Mirror Image
5th - Blink
7th - Confusion
9th - Animate Objects

Honestly this one you were super close. I would've kept Chaos Bolt if it was in the original PHB just thought that Confusion made a better spell that had more "randomness" than Evard's Black Tentacles.

Divine Soul:
1st - Protection from Evil and Good
3rd - Spiritual Weapon
5th - Spirit Guardians
7th - Banishment
9th - Greater Restoration

I just loaded it up with spells on the cleric list that were a) useful and b) not committed to a particular godly theme. Shield of Faith, Guardian of Faith and Hallow all have a "Good Aligned" feel to them, where as this list can be associate with a Good, Evil or Neutral god (maybe not Greater Restoration but meh).

Shadow:
1st - Sleep
3rd - Blindness/Deafness
5th - Clairvoyance
7th - Greater Invisibility
9th - Enervation

An entire rework because your old list was extremely overpowered and cherry picked amazing spells from multiple classes. Needed toned down a bit. I'll admit, finding thematic sorcerer spells relating to "Shadow" magic, was pretty hard. Clairvoyance was a stretch but I thought "expanding one's own consciousness into the shadows of distant places" could work. I also wanted features that worked well with the Shadow Hound at level 6, hence why Blindness/Deafness and Enervate. All in all it's a big reduction in power but Shadow is already what I would consider the strongest of the subclasses.

Storm:
1st - Thunderwave
3rd - Shatter
5th - Thunder Step
7th - Storm Sphere
9th - Synaptic Static

I really liked your Storm list! It's just that some of the options were too strong (Call Lightning with Quickened Spell for instance). Getting Synaptic Static is a bonus though. I might actually consider picking the subclass if it came with these spells.

Anyway, food for thought. I am only one man, with one opinion to give. Let me know what you think.

I actually love this. Not as fun, but it draws the line where a line needs to be drawn. Your design goals and intent are on point. 5 stars.

[MagneticKitty]

I vote for protection from energy for the draconic sorc.
Edit: forgot they got kinda a meh version of this built in....

I think the sorc needs this boost in spells xD

[DarkKnightJin]

I vote for protection from energy for the draconic sorc.
Edit: forgot they got kinda a meh version of this built in....

I think the sorc needs this boost in spells xD

I felt they needed this boost as well, hence my making of the thread.
Hopefully, some Sorcerers out there get to enjoy some fun 'origin' spells and not have to worry about being shafted with just 2 more spells known as a 1/3rd caster.
And Bard gets their 15 spells known at *11th* level. And 2 of those are from ANY spell list..

[TheUser]

I actually love this. Not as fun, but it draws the line where a line needs to be drawn. Your design goals and intent are on point. 5 stars.
Thanks man, I always appreciate positive feedback.
I always like to remind people who homebrew that it should always have design goals to reign in system glut and power creep as much as possible.

[Bjarkmundur]

Thanks man, I always appreciate positive feedback.
I always like to remind people who homebrew that it should always have design goals to reign in system glut and power creep as much as possible.

Exactly, it's much easier for a DM to replace underpowered options that overpowered.
Can you imagine a player coming to you with this thread, and you have to nerf all of his lists.
I'd much rather have a player come to me with this list and swap out some spells to make it more powerful, and now the player loves me ^^

[Aquillion]

Belatedly, I just recalled that there's a RAW option to get a bonus spell known as a Sorcerer, though it's somewhat pricey:

If you take Magic Initiate for a spell that's on your class list, then you can treat it as a spell known. This can effectively be used to free up a Spell Known slot as long as you had a 1st level spell you wanted to keep known anyway, while also getting you the two bonus cantrips.

[Bjarkmundur]

I'm about to have a session 0 with a Runechild Sorcerer. What would you recommend?