More than any other class in Dungeons & DragonsFifth Edition, Sorcerers can be anything. Whether they're channeling the wispy darkness of the Shadowfell or the ancient might of dragons, Sorcerers don't have any of the rigid requirements other classes might have when it comes to the creative flavor for their subclasses. That's because Sorcerer is a wide category, a term used for any spellcaster who draws upon their own inherent magical power. Nowhere is this flair more apparent than with the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, who calls upon the psychic influence of alien powers from beyond the stars.
Players looking at the Aberrant Mind for the first time might be disappointed by seemingly lackluster features, especially when compared to other subclasses from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. However, one of the best parts of D&D is that a dedicated player can make any subclass work with a little ingenuity and a deep knowledge of the game's underlying systems.
Aberrant Mind Build Summary
Ability Scores (in order of importance) | Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Strength |
Race | Variant Human, Custom Lineage |
Feats | Eldritch Adept |
Spells | Quicken, Edlritch Blast, Hex, Agonizing Blast |
RELATED:
Prioritize the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer's Charisma and Constitution
One of the benefits of playing a Sorcerer is that their ability scores can be allocated fairly easily. Charisma should always come first, since it fuels the class' spellcasting. It'll determine the to-hit bonus and saving throw DC of spells, which is pretty important for a primary caster like the Sorcerer. CHA also lets the Aberrant Mind act as the party's "face" in social interactions with good bonuses to Persuasion, Deception and Intimidation.
Second up is Constitution, since it'll counteract the class' normally low hit points and buff up Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration on their spells. Dexterity should come next to boost Armor Class and initiative, while Wisdom and Intelligence can be assigned in any order so long as Strength is left last.
Play Variant Human or Custom Lineage
A good Aberrant Mind build requires a fair number of feats at lower levels. While players normally only get their first feat at level four, taking either the Variant Human race or building a Custom Lineage allows a player to circumvent this. Variant Human is the safer bet since more Dungeon Masters will have heard of it, but players who can use Tasha's Cauldron of Everything's rules have a lot of potential for weird and wacky backstories. The Aberrant Mind could be the child of a mortal and an unknowable eldritch monstrosity, or one of . The great thing about Custom Lineage is that the creative possibilities are endless.
RELATED:
An Aberrant Mind Sorcerer Should Go All In on Psionic Spells
Most of the Aberrant Mind's features are hard to put to good use. Telepathy at first level is nice, but it's hardly going to tip the scales on the battlefield, and resistance to psychic damage is better than nothing, but it's one of the least common damage types. The Aberrant Mind's real potential comes from their Psychic Spells feature, which provides a table of additional spells to the Sorcerer's repertoire. This seems fairly innocuous up until it's last line, which lets the subclass replace those spells on level-up with any "divination or enchantment spell from the Sorcerer, Warlock or Wizard spell list." Using this, players can pick up a powerful enchantment spell from the Warlock: Hex.
Use Eldritch Adept to Steal the Warlock's Thunder
The Hex spell isn't the only thing the Aberrant Mind can borrow from Warlocks. At first level, they can take the Spell Sniper feat as their choice from Variant Human or Custom Lineage. This gives them access to the Eldritch Blast cantrip, while also doubling its range and letting them ignore half and three-quarters cover on their ranged spell attacks. Eldritch Blast is a fantastic spell, but usually shines in combination with the Eldritch Invocation Agonizing Blast. Thankfully another piece of tech from Tasha's Cauldron helps here, as at level four players can take the Eldritch Adept feat to pick up Agonizing Blast for themselves.
RELATED:
Use Quicken Spell to Rapid-Fire Eldritch Blasts
With Eldritch Blast, Agonizing Blast and Hex, the Aberrant Mind's ultimate combo is almost assembled. There's one feature that makes playing a Sorcerer with Warlock powers better than just playing a Warlock, and it's the Quicken Spell Metamagic. Metamagic is one of the Sorcerer class' signature abilities, letting them break some of the rules surrounding their own spells.
Quicken Spell in particular makes any spell a bonus action. This normally can't be used to cast two spells in the same round, but cantrips don't count as spells for that rule, so an Aberrant Mind quickening Eldritch Blast can let off two blasts a round at level four, four at level five when it upgrades to two blasts per spell, six blasts a round at level 11 and eight blasts at level 17. When combined with Hex's bonus 1d6 necrotic damage per hit, all these attacks add up for a truly egregious amount of damage.
