5 Backstory Ideas for Your Sorcerer in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)

The Sorcerer is the quick-casting, highly volatile arcane caster. Unlike the Wizard, the Sorcerer didn’t learn their magic through study. Instead, inherited bloodlines surfaced, whether passed down each generation, or dormant for centuries. The Sorcerer benefits from being able to twist their spells with metamagic or by being able to vary the number of spells they can cast each day. However, they lack spells known overall. The Sorcerer has lower HP than most classes, and has to be protected in combat, but will pay off by high damage ceilings. Now it’s time to come up with a few quick backstory ideas to help bring your character to life. Here are five intriguing ideas to use in your game, or to build off of to create a unique character you’ll love to play.

#1: The Dragon Awakened

In earlier editions of D&D, almost all sorcerers were assumed to have draconic blood passed down over generations. Since then, this common assumption has been phased out, but remains one of the most obvious and primary archetypes chosen by new sorcerers. This draconic bloodline is often taken to be chromatic in nature, but could just as easily be from a metallic line. Like most bloodlines, determine if your character’s parents were magical and where this magical power came from. Were they from a family of Sorcerers with draconic magic, or was the bloodline dormant for some time, only showing itself in your character. As sorcerers don’t often know they are magical ahead of time as they don’t study like wizards, did the magical awakening cause any damage, or did the character know about it ahead of time?

For many sorcerers, their awakening might cause them to change life plans suddenly as they learn to grapple with their new gifts. For others, they knew all along the moment would come and had a plan and mentoring ready. Decide which fits your character best. Determine if your character or his family knows the Dragon progenitor of his bloodline, or has any communication with them or their kin. As dragons live for millennia, it’s possible that a dragon that spawned a bloodline might continue to keep track of what happened to their great-great-grandchildren. If you do this, work with your DM to include it so they aren’t blindsided by the inclusion of a draconic patron in your backstory. They might also have ideas on who that dragon could be in their world.

#2: The Forgotten Heir

Perhaps no one knows where the magic of the royal line of the fallen empire or kingdom came from, but the royalty of that place always had powerful magic. Forced to flee persecution when they were overthrown, your character is born to a life on the run. Maybe you even managed to hide who you were for a time, but when the magic manifested itself, the change in physical features and the magic you wield is obvious for anyone who once knew the power of the crown. Are you working to retake your crown, or simply fleeing to stay alive? Do you know of your ancestry, or was it kept from you to keep you safe?

As a Forgotten Heir, does rescuing your former people from whomever overthrew your family plague your every day? Or, do you simply wish to leave all of that behind, but the usurpers know as long as you are alive there's a chance they will be overthrown. Does your character have any of the wealth or sacred items that were cast down to them? And who managed to get them out of the kingdom before your family was overthrown? If you choose this story, work with your DM to determine what family you could have belonged to and how it would fit into their narrative.

#3: The Treasure Hunter

Spending your early years diving off the coast looking for long forgotten treasure, or pursuing ancient burials along ancient maps, you are a Treasure Hunter. Unlike most sorcerers, a bloodline doesn’t reside within you. Instead after a fateful expedition you found a mysterious object that seems to have granted you unique abilities. What is this treasure that you found? Where did you find it, and who did it once belong to? Consider what job your Treasure Hunter had before their find, and how did the new eruption of magic within them change their life?

Maybe the item they were looking for was part of a larger set, and now they seek even more power as they seek out the additional pieces. Perhaps they stole the treasure map that led them to the item, and now another party is involved and wants it back, even if that means extracting the magic from your sorcerer’s dead body. How did your character know where to look, and what other clues may they have found? Work with your DM to find out what kinds of ancient ruins or wrecks your character might find, and what kinds of items would work within their story..

#4: The Summer’s Child

Born in the height of summer, everyone always knew there was something different about your character, but it wasn’t until the magic emerged that their suspicions were confirmed. The Summer’s Child is blessed by a Deity of the Sun or by the Summer Queen of the Fey Titania. Perhaps your character is a changeling, switched at birth by faeries, and your blood is that of the fey. The Summer’s Child lives in between two worlds, belonging to none. This idea also works for the Winter Fey just as easily.

Consider whether your character knows exactly what happened to them when they were younger, and consider if they knew where their power comes from at all. Do they seek to find their way to the Feywild or get in contact with the deity that blessed them? Were they treated differently as a child, maybe they were even spurned and kicked out of their village? Either way, they couldn’t escape the fact that they are inherently different, and maybe that’s why they left home to adventure.

#5: The Void

Somewhere beyond the planes is a darkness, chaos and madness seethe beyond the light of the planes. There lies the Far Realm. Your character could be touched by that void and changed forever. Perhaps a tear in the fabric of reality briefly affected your home and left you changed. Maybe a terrifying nightmare left you with the ability to manipulate the magic of the world in a unique and terrifying way. Maybe your character is possessed by someone or something from beyond the pale, something that takes over when your character needs to cast a spell. Consider what the ramifications of this unending madness might be for your character and how they have coped with seeing what no other mortal has.

Does your character know what they saw? Are they trying to figure out what their encounter with the Far Realm means? Maybe they saw something so truly terrifying that they don’t want to figure out what it means, instead trying to escape the fate of the entire world, now seemingly meaningless. Or maybe they seek adventure for a way to fix themselves, to rid the influence from their body that this sickening touch of the void has inflicted upon them. Whatever the cause, the Far Realm’s pull is inexorable, and the consequences for standing on the precipice are never good. Make sure you talk to your DM about using this idea, as it can set the campaign on a much different, and much darker trajectory.

If you like this article or any others I have written, consider liking, subscribing, tipping or pledging here on Vocal as it really helps me continue writing! These articles are designed to help you build the best Sorcerer character you can! If you're looking for more help with your character, simply check out the links below!

• Best Feats for Sorcerers
• Best Magic Items for Sorcerers
• Sorcerous Origins Ranked

To check out the other articles in this backstory series, follow the links below!

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Wizard