Arcane Heritage (Sorcerer)
Art Credit: https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/235389/magic-strixhaven-mystical-archives-brainstorm
There are many different types of sorcerer subclass available for players in 5th edition D&D, but none of them are particularly fitting for a sorcerer seeking a more nonspecific and open-ended (or even generic) type of sorcerer. That was the inspiration for the universally-applicable sorcerer subclass, the Arcane Heritage sorcerer, which we're previewing today from our upcoming and final compendium of homebrew content, Legends of Prestige and Prowess! A variety of life events have delayed our previews somewhat, but don't worry, we're still going strong!
The Arcane Heritage subclass was designed with the goal of distinguishing itself from the chaos of the Wild Magic sorcerer (which some players find undesirable and doesn't fit all character concepts), based on a relatively simple concept: what if sorcerers had the ability to unleash their spellcasting power much like a barbarian unleashes their rage? Following this idea, the Arcane Heritage sorcerer has features that mostly revolve around invoking this short-term power and adding effects to it as the sorcerer levels up.
At level 1, this subclass grants the sorcerer a form of extra toughness in the form of their Sorcerous Ward, fitting the general format and balancing guidelines that most sorcerer subclasses adhere to. Like the barbarian's rage, however, the Arcane sorcerer must choose carefully when to expend this potent defensive resource and when to save it for another battle. To make the most of the power inherent in the feature, they must often make this decision at the very start of battle by evaluating the enemies before them and calculating the danger, adding some decision-making complexity to the choice.
As this sorcerer subclass gains levels, the power of their Sorcerous Ward grows. At level 6, when sorcerers often gain offensive power through their subclass features, the Sorcerous Ward of the Arcane Heritage sorcerer becomes not only a defensive feature but offensive as well. At this point it truly functions like a barbarian's rage, serving both offensive and defensive needs. Finally, at level 18, the arcane sorcerer gains bonus sorcery points when using their ward, allowing them to fully utilize the different spells and metamagic options they have learned while gaining levels and spell slots. At the same time, they finally gain an additional usage of their Sorcerous Ward each day, giving them more flexibility in how and when they unleash their true power.
To help round-out the gameplay of this homebrew sorcerer subclass, these sorcerers also gains some constant benefits from their subclass features that don't rely on them using their once-per-day Sorcerous Ward. At 1st-level, they gain a minor "ribbon"-style feature (as many sorcerer subclasses do) to aid in the noncombat pillars of gameplay. This feature allows them to excel at Arcana checks and other magical investigations without having to invest in Intelligence (which is often a nearly-useless ability score for sorcerers) or expend any of their precious spell list learning noncombat spells. They also gain a minor boost to the reliability of their damaging cantrips at 6th-level, allowing them to function more smoothly even without their daily resources. And at 14th-level, they gain the powerful feature called Wild Talent, allowing them to trade sorcery points for the limited ability to cast spells that they haven't permanently learned.
And of course, like all our sorcerer subclasses, this subclass comes with an optional list of subclass spells that you can use if your DM wants to. This subclass's spells focus on generic magical effects and teleportation. Our compendiums normally print these spell lists in an Appendix at the end of each book (where you can also find our curated lists for official sorcerer subclasses), but for previews we include these lists among the subclass features. Be sure to look forward to more previews of homebrew content for 5e Dungeons and Dragons, including subclasses, spells, monsters, and more. And stay excited for the release of the upcoming Legends of Prestige & Prowess compendium!
