Sorcerer with Spell Point Variant

[RSP]

So my DM approved using the DMG SP variant for Sorcerers for our next game. I’m planning a WM Sorc, using Subtle and either Extended or Empowered.

I know what I’m planning to play, and I don’t think it’s even as powerful as a standard Wizard would be. But just so we know what’s possible, and to know what to worry about, what, if anything, using any RAW metamagic option and DMG SP variant, can be OP or “broken” with a straight Sorc, no multiclassing?

[Greywander]

Off the top of my head, you'll get a lot more castings of lower level spells. For example, by forgoing a 4th level spell (6 spell points) you'll be able to cast Shield three times (2 spell points). In other words, you'll get a lot more mileage out of your lower level spells like Shield and Absorb Elements. Instead of having to burn higher level slots on these spells when you run out of 1st level slots, you'll be able to burn just 2 spell points as long as you have spell points left. Remember that a typical caster only gets four 1st level slots.

Are you treating sorcery points as separate from spell points, or are you lumping them in together?

[RSP]

Off the top of my head, you'll get a lot more castings of lower level spells. For example, by forgoing a 4th level spell (6 spell points) you'll be able to cast Shield three times (2 spell points). In other words, you'll get a lot more mileage out of your lower level spells like Shield and Absorb Elements. Instead of having to burn higher level slots on these spells when you run out of 1st level slots, you'll be able to burn just 2 spell points as long as you have spell points left. Remember that a typical caster only gets four 1st level slots.

Are you treating sorcery points as separate from spell points, or are you lumping them in together?

Yes on the pooling of points.

As to the other point, yes, SP is more efficient than Font of Magic. FoM would have that 4th equal 2 Shields. Just pointing out that more than 4 1st level slots is something already doable for a Sorc.

[MaxWilson]

Are you playing in Eberron by any chance? Jorasco Extended Aura of Vitality is fairly powerful.

[RSP]

Are you playing in Eberron by any chance? Jorasco Extended Aura of Vitality is fairly powerful.

Not doing Eberon and I’m unfamiliar with the books

[MaxWilson]

Not doing Eberon and I’m unfamiliar with the books

Jorasco halflings are a subrace of halfling that get certain spells (notably: Cure Wounds, Greater Restoration, Aura of Vitality) added to the spell list of any spellcasting class they take, in your case to the sorcerer spell list.

However, that doesn't matter because you're not in Eberron, and you're not open to multiclassing to get it other ways (Lore Bard, Paladin).

I can't think of many really exciting things to do with Extended Spell (e.g. you can't Extended Shield because Extended Spell only doubles duration of spells that last at least 1 minute but less than 24 hours, and you can't Extended Animate Dead for the same reason), but it's at least convenient for Animate Objects in some cases so you can pre-cast it before entering a building and even have time to fly your objects around to the back, without worrying about running out of duration before the fight even starts. Having a minute and a half to set up an approach before a potential fight is less... claustrophobic than having only thirty seconds. Extended Foresight + long rest is cool, but again that takes multiclassing, so...

Really, spell points doesn't change much when it comes to metamagic combos. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[RSP]

Really, spell points doesn't change much when it comes to metamagic combos. Sorry I can't be of more help.

I appreciate the attempt. For the purpose of this post, I’m curious if any of the metamagics break anything with SPs, not just the ones I’ll be selecting.

[Celaeno]

In the current game I play in, I have a lvl 12 WM sorc and use the alternate spell points instead of spell slots, along with Quicken, Twinned and Heighten for metamagic. The big change as already mentioned is that you can use your lower level spells more often without having to burn higher level spell slots. Since you have a very limited spell selection that can limit your utility compared to a wizard, it kind of balances out in play. I also use metamagic more often, especially for higher level spells as I can replenish them more often from my point pool without worrying about how many of each spell slot I can cast. That said, quickened, twinned and heightened are fantastic metamagic to pick up and can really help out with your spell utility. Twinned spell on haste and polymorph have helped our party out of several binds, and as the only arcane spellcaster in our group, throwing out a second spell with quickened has saved the party as well. Heightened is great when you have that one enemy you really need to make sure fails their spell save at least 1 round. Also think about picking up spells that have good out of combat utility at times. Telekinesis is fantastic for that, as is polymorph.

To me at least, spell points make sense for a sorcerer. They are drawing on innate magic reserves, so it makes sense that if you want to spam a lot of lower powered spells you can do a lot more of them than if you were drawing on your reserves for higher spells. That's just me though :)

[Kane0]

Pooling SP and SP is one of the greater things IMO, you can much more fluidly use both spells and metamagic.

What it actually 'breaks' is the raw number of spells per day you can cast if spamming low to mid level spells bothers your DM, and it renders Font of Magic useless.