Pathfinder Class Overview: The Sorcerer

So it’s here, Pathfinder. Wizards of the Coast decided to forge a new direction with 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons while Paizo took the 3.5 rule set and forged Pf from them. Paizo released their core rulebook a couple months ago and they are set to release the Bestiary this week. In Pathfinder, there are some rules that remain the same compared to D&D 3.5 edition while there are some radical changes and additions to the rules.

Today, I’m going to review the changes made to the sorcerer class in Pf. Before we delve into the changes made, let’s review the Sorcerer in 3.5 edition shall we? First, I’m not going to say the sorcerer class was a bad class but when the 3.5 Player’s Handbook says the following: “A party with a sorcerer should strongly consider including a second spellcaster, such as a bard, cleric, druid or even a wizard to make up for the sorcerer’s lack of versatility” it really undermines your confidence as a player when you are choosing a class to play. And they don’t just say ‘you should consider a second spellcaster,’ they say ‘you should strongly consider a second spellcaster’. Translation: playing a sorcerer is going to be a challenge for you and your party. Plus, let’s not forget the nearly blank table of special abilities gained each level.

Now onto the changes to the sorcerer class in the Pf core rule set. There aren’t so many changes in the Pf sorcerer class compared to the volume of additions. The two minor changes are the hit die is now a d6 instead of a d4 (bard, ranger, rogue, sorcerer and wizard got hd buffed in Pf) and you no longer get a familiar (save for certain situations).
The biggest addition to the Pf sorcerer is the concept of bloodlines. In the 3.5 edition rules, there were vague references of where a sorcerer obtained their power, stating most likely there was dragon heritage in the sorcerer’s family tree. Pf took this concept and expounded on it by not only saying you have a heritage rich in magical abilities but you can explicitly choose that heritage (or bloodline as they call it) for your character. The choice you make has an impact on the abilities you have at 1st level and impacts the abilities you get as you gain levels.

These bloodlines grant a bloodline power at 1st, 3rd, 9th, 15th and 20th levels and a bloodline spell every other level starting at 3rd level. The spells are in addition to your normal plethora of spells available to use by the sorcerer. They also get bonus feats mixed in there.

There are a total of ten bloodlines available to the PC. Some of the more interesting bloodline options to choose from are aberrant, abyssal, infernal and undead (um, undead, really?). Of course, there are choices you would expect to see like draconic, elemental and arcane.

I like this. I like it a LOT. This gives the sorcerer more abilities at early levels, allows sorcerer characters to be more unique from each other and opens a huge door of role playing possibilities. I especially like role playing aspect of this. As one of the players pondered bloodline choices and discussed them with me, I enjoyed coming up with future role playing scenarios for his character. He also explored the role playing options too with respect to other characters in the party. For example, what would the party dynamic be like with a Paladin or Cleric and an undead sorcerer bloodline? Can an abyssal sorcerer keep the inner demon in check? He (the player) also tends to chaotic neutral characters adding another dynamic to the equation. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
Ok, so now we have briefly discussed the fun part of the changes, onto the tough question. Is the sorcerer now overpowered? The additions improved the playability of the class and added great roleplaying scenarios but it feels like they added too much. I think the class needed a small bump in abilities to make it great and instead got crammed with so much, players might forget some of their abilities. Unfortunately, whether or not the class is overpowered will be difficult to gauge for a while. The Pf Bestiary is still not out yet (another release delay, grrr) and so this leaves idle speculation.

That’s my musings on the sorcerer class in Pf. Up next, Keep of the Shadowfell and Crypt of the Everflame smackdown! I’ll review the first modules of both 4e and Pf versions and let you know my thoughts about each.

Possibly Related Posts:

• 2010 ENnie and my iPad
• Looks like it is ENnie time again
• Stop, stay out of the light
• Dwarven Forge Does it Again
• Small LFR con in Orlando FL July 4th