Sorcerer Subclasses 5e | Ranked By 2023 (Guide) Archetypes Dnd 5th Edition
Draconic Bloodline, Aberrant Mind, and Divine Soul are a few of the origins, out of 7, from which the Sorcerer Class have to choose a subclass, not just for themselves but for their powers too. Furthermore, these sorcerous origins 5e immensely affect what type of spells and ability you will play in the game. In other words, different origin makes an entirely different Sorcerer. So, it is crucial to get this d&d sorcerer subclasses 5e right or else.
At the 1st level only, you get this option of choosing your sorcerer’s origin, which then molds your spellcasting ability and your personality as well. Moreover, you get additional 5e sorcerer origins features at the 1st, 6th, 14th, and 18th levels. Obviously, all these features and personality types make it crucial to choose the best dnd sorcerer subclass from all the sorcerer 5e subclasses, but what is the best sorcerer subclass? To answer this, let us study all 7 sorcerer origins 5e in detail.
Table of Contents
What are all the D&D Sorcerer Subclasses 5E?
There is a total of 7 Sorcerer 5E Subclasses/ Sorcerer Archetypes 5e. And, all these D&D Sorcerer Subclasses 5e have been explained in this section.
Aberrant Mind
- Source: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- Advantage: The power to use Psionic Spells
- Suggested Race: Yuan-Ti Pureblood, Tiefling, Half-Elf
- Party Role: Defense, Damage
They are the ones whose mind blesses with the powers of aliens, which act as the source of your psionic energy. Furthermore, unlike other 5e sorcerer bloodlines, they get the ability to choose the story of how they got their powers.
Aberrant Mind Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Psionic Spells, Telepathic Speech |
| 6th | Psionic Sorcery, Psychic Defenses |
| 14th | Revelation in Flesh |
| 18th | Warping Implosion |
Aberrant Origins
Firstly, you get the option of choosing your Aberrant origin (How you got your psionic powers) from the given table.
| d6 | Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | Due to Far Realm’s warping influence on you, you believe that a tentacle is spreading inside your brain. |
| 2 | You got your power from the Astral Plane, and it was a psychic wind from this plane that brought you your abilities. |
| 3 | Once, an aboleth dominated your brain. Now, there are only his leftover psychic powers stored in you. |
| 4 | A mind flayer tadpole implanted itself inside your brain. However, the tadpole never grew, leaving you with his psionic powers. |
| 5 | You have faint memories of an imaginary friend who gifted you psionic powers. However, these powers are not imaginary. |
| 6 | Surprise, you have a parasitic twin who lends you his psionic powers. |
Psionic Spells
Furthermore, like many other sorcerous origins 5e, you achieve additional psionic spells, as shown below.
| Sorcerer level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | arms of Hadar, dissonant whispers, mind sliver |
| 3rd | calm emotions, detect thoughts |
| 5th | Sending, Hunger of Hadar |
| 7th | Evard's black tentacles, summon aberration |
| 9th | Rary's telepathic bond, telekinesis |
Telepathic Speech
Now, at the 1st level only, you gain the ability to talk to a visible creature telepathically. Furthermore, the network of this telepathic connection only holds for a gap of a number of miles equal to the Constitution modifier, and it lasts for minutes = your sorcerer level.
Psionic Sorcery
Unlike other 5e sorcerer bloodlines, this subclass excels in its psionic abilities. And, these abilities get a boost at the 6th level with the Psionic Sorcery feature. In simple words, you achieve an ability to choose with spell slot or sorcery points for casting any psionic spell. However, if you decide to spend sorcery points, remember that the “n” level spell requires “n” sorcery points.
Psychic Defenses
Moreover, to increase your command over psionic power, this feature gives you protection against psionic damage.
Revelation in Flesh
Since only this dnd sorcerer subclass out of all 7 sorcerous origins 5e has a connection with beings of other realms, only this subclass can benefit from transforming their body with the help of this connection. Furthermore, at the 14th level, you gain a similar ability to transform yourself by spending sorcery points. And, each sorcery point can give you one of the following benefits:
- The power to see invisible creatures
- The ability to fly at the same speed as your walking speed
- The power to acquire a swimming speed of twice the walking speed
- The ability to turn your body and equipment into slimes allows you to pass through tiny spaces as well.
Warping Implosion
Finally, at the 18th level, you gain the ability to teleport yourself to any visible unoccupied space under 120 feet radius. Furthermore, this also causes damage to nearby creatures, and even a successful strength saving throw can’t fully protect them from this damage.
Clockwork Soul
- Source: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- Advantage: The power to gain 10 known leveled spells, which are usually not meant for the Sorcerers
- Suggested Race: Dragonborn, Kalashtar, Half-Elf
- Party Role: Defense, Damage
They are the type of 5e sorcerer origins, who has the force of order within them. To simplify, “force of order” is a power sponsored by Mechanus or other similar planes of existence.
Clockwork Soul Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Clockwork Magic, Restore Balance |
| 6th | Bastion of Law |
| 14th | Trance of Order |
| 18th | Clockwork Cavalcade |
Clockwork Magic
Firstly, like many other sorcerous origins 5e, you achieve additional Clockwork spells, as the below-given table shows.
| Sorcerer level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | alarm, protection from evil and good |
| 3rd | aid, lesser restoration |
| 5th | dispel magic, protection from energy |
| 7th | freedom of movement, summon construct |
| 9th | greater restoration, wall of force |
Restore Balance
Furthermore, at the 1st level only, you gain the power to render any disadvantage or advantage on a d20 roll of a visible creature. However, you can only use this ability for a number = your proficiency bonus.
Bastion of Law
Now, clockwork falls under those sorcerer 5e subclasses capable of protecting not just themselves but also their companions. And, this particular feature helps in that only you gain the ability to create a protective layer around a creature or yourself by expending sorcery points.
Trance of Order
Furthermore, when you reach the 14th level, you achieve the ability to render any advantage on your enemy’s attack useless. Moreover, when you roll a number less than 9 on a d20 die, it will be treated as a 10, given that the aim of the roll is an ability check, attack roll, or a saving throw.
Clockwork Cavalcade
Last but not least, this dnd sorcerer subclass gifts an ability to call the spirits within a 30-foot cube from you. Moreover, these spirits are useful for creating the following effects:
- They can revive a total of 100 hit points
- They have the power to repair any damaged object instantly
- They can end all spells of lower than 7th level on any creatures or objects.
Divine Soul
- Source: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
- Advantage: The ability to use Cleric Spells
- Suggested Race: Kalashtar, Changeling, Half-Elf
- Party Role: Healing, Defense
They come under the rare category of sorcerer archetypes 5e, whose source power is good. In other words, Divine souls, as the name already indicates, have a blessed soul. Moreover, they are also the only one out of all sorcerer origins 5e who drives their power from their righteousness of the soul.
Divine Soul Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Divine Magic, Favored by the Gods |
| 6th | Empowered Healing |
| 14th | Otherworldly Wings |
| 18th | Unearthly Recovery |
Divine Magic
Firstly, this connection to the divine enables you to use cleric spells at the 1st level. However, you also get an option to pick an affinity for your divine power’s source, which also gives you additional spells, as the given table shows.
| Affinity | Spell |
|---|---|
| Good | cure wounds |
| Evil | inflict wounds |
| Law | Bless |
| Chaos | Bane |
| Neutrality | protection from evil and good |
Favored by the Gods
Now, since they are the only ones among the 5e sorcerer bloodlines with a divine soul, it’s natural to think even the gods want to protect that. And, this feature is there just for that particular purpose. You get the ability to add a roll of 2d4 to any failed saving throw or attack roll.
Empowered Healing
Moreover, when you reach the 6th level, you achieve the power of rerolling any number on the dice, given the aim of the die is to determine the number of hit points to revive by a healing spell.
Otherworldly Wings
Like many other sorcerer archetypes 5e, Divine souls also gain an ability to fly. In simple words, this feature gives you otherworldly wings, which give you a flying speed of 30 feet.
Unearthly Recovery
Finally, at the 18th level, whenever you have less than 50% of your hit points, you can use a bonus action to revive a total of hit points = 50% of your max hit points capacity.
Draconic Bloodline
- Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
- Advantage: The power to use Dragon Ancestor Spell, which controls your Elemental Affinity ability
- Suggested Race: Tiefling, Dragonborn
- Party Role: Damage
They come under those sorcerer 5e subclasses who achieved their powers out of their own choice. In other words, they or their ancestors had a bargain with the dragons to share their powers.
Draconic Bloodline Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Dragon Ancestor, Draconic Resilience |
| 6th | Elemental Affinity |
| 14th | Dragon Wings |
| 18th | Draconic Presence |
Dragon Ancestor
Firstly, you will have to choose what type of dragon gave you your powers. This happens via the below-given table. Furthermore, you also achieve competency in Draconic language.
| Dragon | Damage Type |
|---|---|
| Black | Acid |
| Blue | Lightning |
| Brass | Fire |
| Bronze | Lightning |
| Copper | Acid |
| Gold | Fire |
| Green | Poison |
| Red | Fire |
| Silver | Cold |
| White | Cold |
Draconic Resilience
As with the case with other 5e sorcerer bloodlines, your body starts to change to fit the draconic presence in you. In other words, your hit points maximum increases by 1 point whenever you go up the sorcerer level ladder.
Elemental Affinity
Now, when you reach the 6th level, you unlock the ability to add charisma modifier to the damage of your draconic ancestry spells. Consequently, you can also achieve protection against that same damage for 1 hour by spending 1 sorcery point.
Dragon Wings
Moreover, like all other 5e sorcerer origins, this subclass also achieves the power to fly with a flying speed equal to your walking speed.
Draconic Presence
Finally, at the 18th level, you can spread your dragon ancestor’s aura making other creatures awestruck or frightened by you.
Shadow Magic
- Source: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
- Advantage: The ability to induce disadvantage on the enemy’s saving throws
- Suggested Race: Satyr, Dragonborn, Human
- Party Role: Damage, Defense
Like many other sorcerous origins 5e, they drive their power from the dark and evil places. In other words, they are the creatures of shadows, whose power comes from the ill-light corners of these worlds.
Shadow Magic Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Eyes of the Dark, Strength of the Grave |
| 3rd | Eyes of the Dark (darkness) |
| 6th | Hound of Ill Omen |
| 14th | Shadow Walk |
| 18th | Umbral Form |
Shadow Sorcerer Quirks
This is the first option you get to choose your quirk, as the following table shows.
| d6 | Qurik |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your body is always at a negative temperature (icy cold) |
| 2 | You don’t seem to be breathing while sleeping |
| 3 | Whenever you are hurt grievously, there is barely any blood leaking out. |
| 4 | You have a heart rate of 1 beat per minute |
| 5 | You often treat living beings and corpses in the same manner |
| 6 | You rarely blink, once per week |
Eyes of the Dark
Unlike any other feature among all the 5e sorcerer origins, this feature develops in two parts. Firstly, at the 1st level, you achieve the ability to see in the dark up to 120 feet. Secondly, at the 3rd level, you earn the power to use darkness spell.
Strength of the Grave
Moreover, at the 1st level, you achieve the ability to survive any catastrophe barely. In other words, whenever your hit points drop to zero, you can make them pop up to 1 hit point by making s successful Charisma saving throw. However, this ability doesn’t work against radiant damage or a critical hit.
Hound of Ill Omen
Like few other sorcerer 5e subclasses, this ability allows you to conjure up beings from the source realm of your powers: Shadow Realm. Furthermore, this creature is called the Hound of ill Omen and can target any creature within 120 feet radius from you.
Shadow Walk
When you reach the 14th level, you unlock an ability to teleport to a free space within 120 feet.
Umbral Form
Last but not least, at the 18th level, you achieve an ability that is common in most of the sorcerer origins 5e to transform in your author’s form: Shadowy Form. Consequently, this form protects you against any damage except radiant and force damage, and it also enables you to travel through other creatures and objects.
Storm Sorcery
- Source: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
- Advantage: The ability to cast spells that cause lightning damage
- Suggested Race: Changeling, Satyr, Half-Elf
- Party Role: Damage
They, as their name already indicates, thrive in storm energy, making them a crucial part of a ship’s crew. However, we still consider them the worst of all 7 sorcerous origins 5e as its features show (You are allowed to disagree; we may be wrong).
Storm Sorcery Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Wind Speaker, Tempestuous Magic |
| 6th | Heart of the Storm, Storm Guide |
| 14th | Storm’s Fury |
| 18th | Wind Soul |
Wind Speaker
Firstly, at the 1st level, you gain expertise over the Primordial language.
Tempestuous Magic
Again, at the 1st level only, this dnd sorcerer subclass gets the ability to fly up to 10 feet without evoking any opportunity attacks.
Heart of the Storm
Now, when you reach the 6th level, you become resistant to thunder and lightning damages. Furthermore, whenever you use a lightning or thunder spell, all enemies within a 10 feet radius suffer damage = half of your sorcerer level.
Storm Guide
Since all other sorcerer archetypes 5e can control things related to their power, it’s is no shocker that this origin also gets the ability to control the weather at the 6th level. In other words, you can rain stop for a particular 20 feet sphere, and you can control the direction of winds.
Storm’s Fury
Whenever an enemy attacks you with a melee weapon, you can counter-attack with lighting damage by electrifying the melee weapon. Furthermore, the enemy has to make a Strength saving throw or suffer damage = your sorcerer level.
Wind Soul
Like all other sorcerous origins 5e, you gain complete control over your powers at the 18th level. In other words, you become immune to lightning and thunder attacks, and you achieve 60 feet of flying speed, and so on.
Wild Magic
- Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
- Advantage: The Power to use Wild Magic Surge
- Suggested Race: Tiefling, Half-Elf
- Party Role: Damage
Unlike other sorcerer origins 5e, this dnd sorcerer subclass drives their power from the raw forces of chaos. However, this chaotic magic can be hard to control and prevent from leaking out of the body.
Wild Magic Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Wild Magic Surge, Tides of Chaos |
| 6th | Bend Luck |
| 14th | Controlled Chaos |
| 18th | Spell Bombardment |
Wild Magic Surge
Firstly, at the 1st level, you gain the ability to create a random magic effect out of the untamed magic leaked while spellcasting.
Tides of Chaos
Secondly, at the 1st level, you achieve an advantage on one saving throw, ability check, or an attack roll.
Bend Luck
Now, when you reach the 6th level, this dnd sorcerer subclass grants you the power to add a roll of 1d4 as a bonus or penalty to a creature’s attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw.
Controlled Chaos
Moreover, at the 14th level, you get the ability to roll twice on the wild magic surge table (you can use any one of the two rolls).
Spell Bombardment
Finally, like every other sorcerer archetypes 5e at the 18th level, your attacks become deadly. In other words, whenever you roll the maximum number on any dice made for spell damage, you get to roll again and increases the already lethal damage by adding the second roll.
What is the best Sorcerer subclass 5E?
Divine Soul is the best DnD Sorcerer Subclass out of all the 7 D&D Sorcerer subclasses 5e/ Sorcerer origins 5e. However, Clockwork Soul and Aberrant Mind are also up there with similar ratings, choosing any of these 3 guarantees in a strong Sorcerer. Furthermore, we think Storm Sorcery is the worst dnd sorcerer subclass among all the 5e sorcerer origins.
