The Best Sorcerer Archetypes in Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition (5E)

Creating the perfect Sorcerer is hard work, between creating the right backstory and choosing feats and spells to fit your character. But, the most important part of making any character is choosing the perfect Archetype. A sorcerer’s power is tied to their innate magical ability, their Sorcerous Origin as Fifth Edition calls it, is what determines how your individual character is going to differ from the Sorcerer as a base class. The List below will rank the Sorcerous Origins by how strong their potential is. Let’s get started!

7. Clockwork Soul

The Clockwork Soul is at the bottom of this list, even though personally, I quite like the feel of it. The archetype is intriguing as a more mechanical, almost steampunk type of character that draws a lot of its power and its development from D&D’s Plane of Mechanus, the Lawful Neutral Plane. In other words, you’re the Law and Order version of a Sorcerer. The Clockwork Soul is intriguing, but it misses some of the more essential abilities, but while its abilities like Bastion of Law and Restore Balance are interesting, they don’t have the same level of power as some of the others. Clockwork Soul, however, remains a viable option for those that choose to Multiclass, such as Sorcadin (Sorcerer/Paladin) as Restore Balance is keyed into Proficiency rather than class levels.

6. Wild Magic

Wild Magic is also quite cool, again another one of my favorites. The main problem, however, is that their abilities are completely random, and they don’t scale well as the Sorcerer gains more power. The Wild Magic Table simply becomes obsolete for the most part once the Sorcerer gets higher than level 5. And for characters that are lower than level 5, the Wild Magic tables has led to a few too many TPKs (Total Party Kills) for most parties to get enjoyment over having one in their game.

5. Draconic Bloodline

In previous editions of D&D, almost all Sorceres could trace their bloodline back to Dragons. Because of this, the Draconic Bloodline is essentially, the class, archetypal version of a Sorcerer. This innate magic allows them a little bit of leeway in what kind of resistance and breath weapon they get for damage types, but the reason this Archetype is so low is because its abilities are quite bad. The breath weapon is rarely worth it, and the AC bonus they get at low level, while useful for not having to spend a spell’s known on Mage Armor, isn’t much use past that. They eventually get wings, but at such a late level that it’s essentially useless. I’d personally give this Archetype a pass.

4. Storm Sorcerer

Storm Sorcerer isn’t just good from a flavor standpoint, drawing your power from the Elemental plane of Air, from the bloodline of a Genie or the Fey, or even from a God of Storms such as Talos. But, in addition to all that fun, Storm Sorcerers are very good at their job. Tempestuous Magic is one of the best low level abilities in the game, and the best part is that it never stops being useful. Even at higher levels it automatically frees you from grapples, gets you away from Attacks of Opportunity, and when you pair it with the lightning damage you deal in a small aura when you cast spells, it allows you to run into combat, cast a spell, deal damage to nearby enemies and automatically skip out and auto-disengage before moving behind your frontline.

Pair that with the fact that you gain immunity to lightning and thunder damage and gain a flying speed of 60 feet without even needing wings at all, that makes this Archetype quite handy. If all of that doesn’t convince you, you randomly get an ability that allows you and your companions not to be rained on... what’s not to love

3. Shadow Magic

Perfect for the edgelord character, Shadow Sorcerers trace their bloodline back to the Shadowfell or a powerful undead, or something along those lines. Their magic reflects this ominous nature, granting you the ability to cast and see through Magical Darkness that you cast, and summon a Dark Hound to fight alongside you. You also gain 120 feet of Darkvision, so you can see much further in most dungeons than your party members can. Eventually you gain the ability to Shadow Walk and become a shadow yourself, but these higher level abilities are not as handy at their level as lower level ones, leaving this archetype firmly in 3rd place.

2. Divine Soul:

The Divine Soul is almost the opposite of the Shadow Sorcerers, having a connection to some Divine Being or maybe even chosen directly by a god. These Sorcerers are so high on the list because they gain access to the entire Cleric spell list in addition to the Sorcerer’s. This alone nearly doubles their spell access, giving them plentiful options. They are one of the best healers in the game due to the high number of spells a Divine Soul can cast, but they also gain a few extra abilities including the ability to sprout wings...are you seeing a pattern here?

1. Aberrant Mind

Aberrant Minds are at the top of the list because of how good their abilities are. Psionics, though not used in 5E yet, are one of the most dangerous abilities in D&D historically. Aberrant Mind gains access to spells like Calm Emotions, Mind Sliver, Telepathic Bond, and can control minds and alter other’s perceptions to their will. Aberrant Minds gain their power from the Far Realm or from a powerful Aberration. They have a short range teleport that also provides telekinetic damage. More important for earlier stages of the campaign are their Psionic Spells they can cast without having to use the Verbal or Somatic Components. Not to mention the Revelation of Flesh ability which is just all kinds of creepy.

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• Backstory Ideas for Sorcerers
• Best Feats for Sorcerers
• Best Magic Items for Sorcerers