D&D: Preview ‘Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen’s New Subclass – The Lunar Sorcerer
Sorcerers get a powerful new subclass in the form of the Lunar Sorcerer, released in the upcoming Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen.
Magic and moons go hand in hand in the world of Krynn. After all, this is one of the original D&D worlds that feature magic moons that wax and wane and wield their terrible influence on the tides of the arcane. There are three, all in all, Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari. Each corresponds to a flavor of magic, good, neutral, or evil, and each figures heavily into Krynn’s mythos.
So you better believe WotC has a new D&D subclass that’s based on the idea of the moon being magic. The Lunar Sorcerer is a new contender for the strongest Sorcerer subclass, based entirely around bonus spells alone. But on top of all of that, they get a ton of cool abilities that make them adaptable and have more endurance than your typical Sorcerer. What’s more, they’re not even tied to the actual phase of the moon anymore. So no worries about tracking your campaign world’s lunar cycles.
Dragonlance Introduces the Lunar Sorcerer
For starters, the Lunar Sorcerer subclass highlights just how powerful bonus spells are for Sorcerers. Because Lunar Sorcerers gain a grand total of 16 extra spells on top of the normal Sorcerer. That’s way more than any other Sorcerer subclass gets. And what’s more, they get access to good spells. Here’s a look at the list of their bonus spells from the Heroes of Krynn Unearthed Arcana:
It’s worth mentioning, they don’t gain all of these at once. Lunar Sorcerers pick which phase of the moon they’re resonating with thanks to their Lunar Embodiment ability, which lets you choose which phase of the moon you’re aligned with at the end of a long rest. When you choose a phase, you get to cast the associated 1st-level spell once per day without expending a slot.
So a 1st level Sorcerer aligned with the New Moon could cast dissonant whispers for free.
On top of that, they gain the sacred flame cantrip, but better, thanks to Moon Fire, their other 1st level ability. This lets them target two creatures within 5 feet of each other at no extra cost.
At 6th level, the Lunar Sorcerer really comes into their own, though. With Lunar Boons, they reduce the cost of Metamagic on spells associated with their current phase by 1 point. Down to a minimum of 0. This means you can cast Distant Spell or Subtle Spell versions of your spells, for free.
Meanwhile Waxing and Waning lets you spend a bonus action and one sorcery point to shift your Lunar Embodiment phase without having to rest. And when you shift phase, you can cast a 1st-level spell from your new phase without expending a spell slot. So for 2 sorcery points, you gain 2 bonus spells and can change up your abilities.
At 14th level, Lunar Empowerment gives you a choice of buffs depending on your lunar phase. Boost your allies’ skill checks, your own stealth, or defenses as you see fit. And with Lunar Phenomenon, the 18th level ability, you can channel all of that energy into a dramatic bonus action that unleashes the power of the moon on your friends and foes, debilitating enemies and bolstering allies. You can use each iteration of a Lunar Phenomenon once per day (or for 5 sorcery points if you have already used it).
All of which makes this one of D&D’s strongest subclasses. It’s head and shoulders above the rest. So hopefully the Sorcerer will see some love in an upcoming One D&D playtest packet.
And here I thought Wizards came from the moon
