OSR: Class: Sorcerer

Wizards have mind-guns that shoot spell-ferrets. They train and breed spells.
Warlocks borrow power. So do Paladins.

A Sorcerer's power is their own.

They have turned their souls inward and built a pyre in their hearts. They are more real than the rest of the world. Rare, because their arts cannot be taught, and because they frequently explode. Intolerable, because they cannot abide servitude or obedience. Powerful, because the world reshapes itself to their whims. There are no sorcerers around here; they're all from Foreign Parts and they are all absolutely nuts.

Efflam Mercier

Class: Sorcerer

Starting Equipment: Outlandish Costume
Starting Skill: Foreign Parts

A: Soul Casting, +1 SD
B: Billowing Robes, +1 SD
C: Soul Vision, +1 SD
D: Magic Ward, +1 SD

You gain +2 to Save vs Mind Altering Effects (charm, sleep, mind control) for each Sorcerer template you possess.

If you have a Sorcerer template, your base Save value does not increase. It will always be 5+Charisma Bonus.

Soul Casting
You alter the world through sheer force of will. You need no charms, no runes, no spells, no incantations. Reality is yours to command.

You change the world using your Sorcerer Dice (SD). You gain +1 SD per Sorcerer template to a maximum of 4. Each time you wish to use one of the abilities below, invest any number of your SD. The [sum] of the SD rolled, as well as the number of [dice] invested, may affect the result.

SD can be used any number of times per day. Unlike a wizard's MD, they always return to your pool. However, each time you use your sorcerous powers past the first time per day, add +1 ID (Instability Die) to your pool. These dice do not count towards the [sum] or [dice] of any given power, but they do count towards doubles, triples, and quadruples. Use 2 different colours of dice. You can also add ID to increase the effects of you sorcerous powers.

E.g. Ziwilgo the Sorcerer, level 2, has 2 SD to invest. She wishes to Harm a target and invests both SD. She has used two other sorcerous effects today, so adds +2 ID. Only the 2 SD count towards the [dice] and [sum] of the spell, but all four dice are counted for the purposes of Calamities (doubles, triples, and quadruples.)

Sorcerers don't run out of steam. They have the opposite problem. Like an overcharged locomotive, they sometimes explode. 

Sorcerous Powers
Harm
Deal [sum]+[dice] damage to one target creature or object you can see. Creatures and magical objects can Save to negate. Flavour however you'd like: lightning bolts, beams of light, grasping hands from the underworld.

+1 ID for each prior sorcerous effect you've used today.
+1 ID per additional target.
 
Alter
Make a declarative statement affecting one creature or object you can see. The statement is true for [dice] rounds. The statement cannot cause damage directly (use Harm), move a creature or object, or create new objects or effects (use Create). Creatures and magical objects can Save to avoid being altered.

E.g. "This door does not exist." You can walk through the space the door formerly occupied.
"The dragon is now a mole". The dragon still has all its original abilities and HP, but it might be easier to hit.
"The dragon is made of paper." The dragon is now made of paper for [dice] rounds. If you set it on fire with a torch, it will take extra damage.

+1 ID for each prior sorcerous effect you've used today.
+1 ID per additional target.
+1 ID to affect an area the size of a wagon.
+2 ID to affect an area the size of a cottage.
+3 ID to affect an area the size of a village.
+1 ID to make the effect last for [dice] minutes.
+2 ID to make the effect last for [dice] hours.
+3 ID to make the effect last for [dice] days.

Create
Create something. The creature or object created exists for [dice] rounds. Without adding ID, the creature is person-sized or smaller and has 2 or fewer HD. Objects are person-sized or smaller.  

Creatures created cannot deal damage. You can create objects with magical effects (flying carpets, invisibility cloaks), but created objects cannot deal magical damage (you can make a regular sword but not a +10 vorpal sword of fire) or or provide permanent effects (healing potions only heal for the duration listed, rings of permanent stat gain only work for the duration). You can make a sword that looks like a +10 vorpal sword of fire though.

+1 ID for each prior sorcerous effect you've used today.
+1 ID per additional object or creature created.
+2 ID to create a creature of up to +4 HD.
+1 ID to create an object the size of a wagon.
+2 ID to create an object the size of a cottage.
+3 ID to create an object the size of a village.
+1 ID to create a magical or sufficiently weird object.
+1 ID to make the creature or object last for [dice] minutes.
+2 ID to make the creature or object last for [dice] hours.
+3 ID to make the creature or object last for [dice] days.

Jens Kuczwara

Billowing Robes
If you are wearing an outlandish costume worth at least 10gp, your armour counts as Leather.
If you are wearing an outlandish costume worth at least 100gp, your armour counts as Chain.
If you are wearing an outlandish costume worth at least 1,000gp, your armour counts as Plate.

Soul Vision
You can see the souls of living creatures. This allows you to guess the approximate location of invisible creatures. You can also immediately tell if a person is possessed, undead, protected by the Authority, or a spellcaster. The price for this gift is your connection to others. You permanently lose 1d6 Wisdom (as the constant scrutiny of souls warps your mind) or 1d6 Charisma (as you become callous and jaded). 

Magic Ward
Reduce all incoming magic damage by 2. Does not apply to self-inflicted damage. Once per day, negate the effects of a spell that targets you. Does not apply to spells generated by Calamities.

Chenthooran Nambiarooran

Sorcerous Calamities

Doubles
1	Brightly coloured sparks fly from your ears.
2	You make a noise like a thunderclap.
3	A strong wind billows around you, extinguishing all torches and candles within 20'.
4	You act last in the next initiative round.
5	You broadcast your current emotional state. Everyone in a 60' radius must Save or experience your emotional state.
6	Take 1d6 damage.
Triples
1	Effect targets adjacent target instead (harms next nearest person, alters wrong thing, creates related but not identical item).
2	Teleport 1d6x10' in a random direction.
3	A random spell is also cast on your target.
4	Take 1d6 damage. You are flung 1d10' in a random direction.
5	Add +1 ID to all rolls for the rest of the day.
6	Take 2d6 damage.  If reduced to 0 HP or below, explode. 3d6 damage, 20' radius.
Quadruples
1	Lose 1d6 permanently from a random Stat.
2	Effect is reversed (harm heals, alter in opposite manner, create the opposite of what was intended).
3	Effect is maliciously altered (harm targets an ally, alter makes the target more dangerous, create something inconvenient).
4	A random spell is also cast, targeting you.
5	Roll on the Death and Dismemberment table (1d6 for location, 1d12+previous injuries for severity). HP is not reduced.
6	Take 3d6 damage. If reduced to 0 HP or below, explode. 5d6 damage, 50' radius.

Jens Kuczwara

Mechanical Notes on the Sorcerer

At level 1 you have an infinite-use magic missile. Wow! Overpowered, right?
Well, possibly. The problem is that you might explode. You are not stealthy, not subtle, and not inclined to use your brain when you could use your powers. Unlike a wizards, who must carefully chose when to deploy their powers, sorcerers are full-speed all the time.

You gain a few powerful abilities, but your Save never increases, making you more vulnerable than most classes. Your stats are also likely to decrease (though you could, feasibly, alter yourself to have higher stats temporarily).

You can heal people using alter, but the wounds reappear when the duration expires. Reality will, eventually, override your impositions.

2018/10/14 - the doubles/triples/quads tables have been revised based on playtesting.

Who Are You?

You are a Sorcerer. Elves might be arrogant, but you operate on another level entirely. Your pride, sense of self, and sheer bloody-mindedness override reality. You brook no competition; there can be only one sorcerer in any given party, city, cabal, or cult. You will accept no master and believe in no law but your own. To the feudal system, you are an Outlaw. To the Church, you are an appalling spectacle, and should be put in your place (or in the ground) before you harm anyone else.

You might be tempted to optimize your Sorcerous Powers, but consider... is that what a power-addled, overconfident, and utterly self-assured sorcerer would do? Would they do the best thing or the coolest thing?

Generate a name here if you're stuck.

You can say, "I'd like to make a bridge from here to here" when using a sorcerous ability, but you are also free to shout, "Stones! Heed the word of Ziwilgo!" Sorcerers tend to chew scenery.

Simon Pape

Outlandish Costumes and Ambient Sorceries

Roll once on each table when you gain your first Sorcerer template.

1d10	Outlandish Costume	Ambient Sorcery
1	Long woven cloak of many colours.	Clap hands to take 1 damage and teleport 1'.
2	Thick coat made of human skin and hair.	Can read any language, but must read out loud.
3	Living full-body tattoos of scenery, birds, clouds.	Thumb or nose can glow as brightly as a candle.
4	Turban and billowing silk robes.	Cross legs and close eyes to hover 2' off the ground.
5	Three conical felt hats stacked inside each other.	If you hold your breath, you weigh as much as a feather.
6	Coat made of pierced sea-shells.	Pleasant, exotic, spicy smell. Can turn on and off at will.
7	Nude, save for a few modest scraps of leather.	Invisible to birds.
8	Extraordinarily long eyebrows and fingernails.	Rain or snow will not fall on you.
9	Geometric robes with silver symbols.	Do not need to eat or drink. Eat 1 gold piece per day instead.
10	One strip of cloth wound around your entire body.	Invisible to cats.