Sorcerers and components

[Erik]

Is it just me or does anyone else find it odd that the Sorceror has to use spell components in order to cast spells?  I know it makes sense for the rules, but for practical purposes, it seems odd.  The fact that their power is natural and is from within them, and the fact that they are descendants of powerful beings such as dragons or other such creatures makes it seem odd that they would need material components.  Dragons can cast spells, but why don't they have to use components?  Sorcerors are supposed to be similar.  Just seems silly to me... "Yeah I have innate spell powers but I need material components in order to use them."  What?!  

[Palin the Wizard]

I agree, Erik. The same with Bards. They ability are nearly the same as the sorcerers.
But that would give them a *very* big advantage, when compared to Wizards. Wizards would be nearly useless, except they get their spells 1 level before the sorceror do. And, that they can get to learn more than sorcerors. But still, it would be a *big* advantage. (In games which uses components, anyway)

[Zoras]

As beings who no longer have the pure blood-line of magical creatures, Sorcerers do not possess the innate ability to wield magic by sheer will alone as their ancestors did. Not only that, but most sorcerers often 'adapt' their spells from what they have seen other spell-casters (namely Wizards) do, and since magic is a risky business where the slightest alteration can cause drastic consequences, most sorcerers prefer not to tempt Fate and try a spell differently from how it was shown them.

Just my explanation.

Wizards become far more powerful at later levels, when one's advancing power allows you new opportunities to explore and challenge the Planes themselves. There are MANY spells which are near essential to survival on the Planes, and it is a safe bet that a Sorcerer who started on the Prime Material would not have any spell slots left in which to learn these new ones. A Wizard, however, could just add them to her repetoire and take up a new role.

[Lord Bane]

Heh, always count on Zoras to think 20 levels ahead

His explanation sounds rocksolid though.

[Erik]

Zoras said:

As beings who no longer have the pure blood-line of magical creatures, Sorcerers do not possess the innate ability to wield magic by sheer will alone as their ancestors did. Not only that, but most sorcerers often 'adapt' their spells from what they have seen other spell-casters (namely Wizards) do, and since magic is a risky business where the slightest alteration can cause drastic consequences, most sorcerers prefer not to tempt Fate and try a spell differently from how it was shown them.

I don't recall reading that Sorcerers adapt their spells from watching wizards.  I assumed they were trained by other sorcerers or beings.  And what about the sorcerer who was raised by a dragon or who served another magical being?  
I completely understand the rules and why sorcerers and bards have to use components to keep things balanced...it still seems silly to me.  And by components, I mean the whole deal...verbal, material and somatic.  I suppose they just aren't powerful enough as Zoras said, and they need a vessel or a means to instigate their inbred power.

[Zoras]

Yes. Most sorcerers learn their skills from an older Sorcerer or another magical being, such as Dryads, Dragons or even Outsiders. Depending on how your individual DM wants to run Sorcerer magic in their campaign however, they might rule that Sorcerers need to be guided in order to learn new spells as they level up. For example, if a Sorcerer was a sea elf and wanted to learn Fireball as their new spell, the DM could overrule it and state that there is no way the sea elf would be able to learn a spell of such context in an underwater world.

In my own campaigns, I allow Sorcerers to choose new spells by observing the spells cast by friends and enemies, and attempting to shape their own magical power into a similar spell. So while they can learn new spells as shown them by Wizard or Bard friends, they can also learn spells by having read descriptions of them on scrolls or in spellbooks. They cannot learn completely off-the-tangent spells unless they have SOME idea of how to go about it.

Of course, the Sorcerer can also go into seclusion and undertake a period of research like a Wizard, focusing and tuning their magical ability until it produces the effect they desire.

Another path I created for innate spell-casters is the 'Essence' idea. Using this method, if a Sorcerer battles or interacts with a particular creature, say, a Fire Elemental, he would gain some of the creature's spiritual powers, adding it to his own spirit and thus enabling him to learn and wield fire spells in the future.

I welcome any other ideas that others have come up with.

[Feraess]

...and I'm still against the whole idea of sorcerors.

If you cannot decide wether it's innate or learned, surely they haven't put enough effort into it.

I was curious about the comparison between bards and sorcerors though, could you explain the link?

[Zoras]

Hmm, I guess it makes sense for me because of the way I envision Wizards learning magic. In my world, Wizards 'draw' their magic from the Inner Planes, and shape them using mystic words and gestures, into the various spells that we know. Its similar to the system used by Final Fantasy 8. The magic doesn't come from the Wizard. He is merely the manipulator and artisan.

Sorcerers are different, since the magic they wield comes from within themselves. It is fueled by their own life source, which is both a boon and a bane. However, they need to be taught the way in which to shape this magic, the same way a Wizard does. Some teach themselves, but the safest way is to have somebody else guide you.

Wizards draw the magic, while Sorcerers possess it to begin with, but the same formula can be used for shaping the spell to your needs. Does it make more sense now?

Bardic magic is a different area altogether. The key to 'drawing' magic is in the Word, an ancient 'phrase' (for lack of a better term) that holds the secrets to Creation and Destruction. All spellwords have a part of the Word, and some spells, like the various Power Words, are actually short sections of the Word that enforce its power on a target.

Music too, is part of the Word, but because of its deeper nuances and fluctuations, it can be used to draw and shape magic at the same time, unlike Wizards who do it beforehand. The drawback to doing this is that since music tends to follow specific patterns and flows, the types of magic that they can produce is limited. (Hence the restriction that Bardic magic must have a verbal component.)