Sorcerer houserule: bonkers?

[Asisreo1]

The funny thing about the long rest spell swap is this, over time, gives the sorcerer far more flexibility than the wizard, unless scrolls are plentiful.

Yep, the wizard was designed with a larger variety of spells, but a smaller effective spell list. A wizard has 44 spells they can prepare. Of those 44, 8 of them are guaranteed 1st-level spells which are very likely to drop-off in terms of productivity barring shield and maybe magic missile. Sorcerers can replace their low level spells for relevant spells. If a sorcerer is replacing spells every level, they touch roughly 34 of them.

The flexibility added to the sorcerer may actually be overkill from this variant. I'm sure we'll see alot of "Sorcerer's are wizards but without short rests and with less trap options."

I'll keep my optimism about me, though.

[Aimeryan]

What are everyones thoughts about the Variant Rule for swapping a single spell per long rest?

As I mentioned previously, it kind of goes too far; the issue is not that it is too powerful, but that it allows the Sorcerer to be the guaranteed knows-this-spell-solution with just a Long Rest - well, as long as it is on the Sorcerer Spell List. One of Wizard's niches is to be knowledgeable and likely to have the solution, maybe with a needed Long Rest - Sorcerers would outdo them on this.

The solution for me is to introduce some randomness to the equation for Sorcerers; instead of a straight swap, 'pick 4 spells not currently known, assign each of these to a number on a d4, roll the d4 to decide which one gets swapped in'. The great thing about this is that it shows lack of complete control, but it still allows a Sorcerer to adapt to the situation at hand - albeit, slowly. One of the biggest issues for Sorcerers are Spells Known and this would go a long way to helping with that.

[Kane0]

Would it really be that big a deal, needing a long rest to have the perfect spell ready? How often would you have that sort of situation that wont pass after a long rest?

[Edea]

I feel it can be perceived in a manner that 'fits' fluff-wise.

Sorcerers function by exerting their willpower to manipulate the Weave. When presented with a situation that imposes difficulty or suffering, a sorcerer might subconsciously "wish" that they were able to more easily overcome that problem. That can set up vibrations both within the Weave and within themselves and, if the inciting stimulus is strong enough and enough time passes (i.e. a long rest), even change the way a sorcerer is able to express those desires, such that one spell they 'knew' becomes another one.

My main problem with it is 'which one?'. Codifying that fluff excuse up there into a mechanically balanced rule is challenging. Ideally you'd have the DM to pick the new spell (and spell replaced) for the sorcerer, trusting the DM to shift their repertoire in such a way that it will really help the character out in this new situation. But being a 3.5 refugee, I feel a strong desire of my own to leave this fully in control of the player, and that would probably end up making this whole process feel much less thematic, and more like a band-aid.

[ToastyTobasco]

The funny thing about the long rest spell swap is this, over time, gives the sorcerer far more flexibility than the wizard, unless scrolls are plentiful.

I'm not sure I would say far more flexibility. But Wizards simply need scrolls and most games I come across, the party gets scrolls often enough. Personally, I like Sorc having either flexibility or spells per day over the Wiz for all it gets. That and every other caster but Bard is not

I'll be back on the other comments later, but:

Actually the issue I specify in the OP is about there not being enough metamagic use.

I actually don't mind the small list so much, though think the +1 spell from Divine and Shadow are appropriate.

I would also agree with the lack of MM use. I really enjoy finding new metamagic options in UA or some homebrews.

The small spell list is nice, I just would want a tiny, tiny boost like Xany did for all subclasses. When working out homebrew sorc fixes, adding 10 spells ala domains felt like too much. I really just want to find the spells that would be fun to twist with metamagic rather than be game-breaking or uber nova damage. Sorc really doesnt need a ton of fixes to improve the feel and function. Divine Soul does a hella good job at this, I just want all the subclasses to feel worthwhile. Wild magic though is a bit of a mess as per PHB.

[cutlery]

I'm not sure I would say far more flexibility. But Wizards simply need scrolls and most games I come across, the party gets scrolls often enough. Personally, I like Sorc having either flexibility or spells per day over the Wiz for all it gets. That and every other caster but Bard is not

Sorcerers already have the potential for more spells per day, as font of magic can yield more spell slots than arcane recovery.

And you don't always get scroll access, unfortunately - or if you do, you get real winners like Witch Bolt, Melf's Acid Arrow, or Mordenkainen's Sword.

Anyway, over a long enough time line, swapping one spell per short rest can potentially let the sorcerer a greater variety of spells than many wizards, if they choose to take it. I'd probably change the UA options to 1-2 more spells changed upon level up.

Really though, so long as wizards prepare spells instead of memorizing specific slots, they're nearly broken. Buffing other classes to match is a bad idea.

[Kane0]

Sorcerers already have the potential for more spells per day, as font of magic can yield more spell slots than arcane recovery.

If you’re trying to replicate Arcane Recovery on highest level slots you can get then Font of Magic is basically equal except for a handful of levels where it marginally pulls ahead or falls behind, not counting that your SP also fuels other things.