DnD 5e Wild Magic Sorcerer Redesign: Ramping Surge

 Introduction: Wild Magic by the Book

The wild magic sorcerer origin is intended to provide feelings of chaos and powerful magic, but I have often found that it's primary mechanic is forgotten or is wildly (heh) underutilized. As it stands in the Player's Handbook of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, the rules are as follows:

Wild Magic Surge

Starting when you choose this origin at 1st level, your spellcasting can unleash surges of untamed magic. Once per turn, the DM can have you roll a d20 immediately after you can cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher. If you roll a 1, roll on the Wild Magic Surge table to create a magical effect. If that effect is a spell, it is too wild to be affected by your Metamagic, and if it normally requires concentration, it doesn't require concentration in this; the spell lasts for its full duration.  

Sounds awesome! Random magical effects happening when I cast a spell? Sweet! Wait, there's more?

Tides of Chaos

Starting at 1st level, you can manipulate the forces of chance and chaos to gain advantage on one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. Once you do so, you must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Any time before you regain the use of htis feature, the DM can have you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table immediately after you cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher. You then regain the use of this feature.

Great, so I can also get advantage when I need it, and there is another opportunity to get another surge roll. It looks all well and good, but there is a glaring issue (in my opinion). And that is the fact that both of the mechanics rely on the DM's intervention. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any significant class mechanics that rely on this DM and player back and forth scenario.

As intended, I believe the sorcerer origin is meant to function with this back and forth. The player casts spells as normal, or uses Tides of Chaos and the DM can then chime in at opportune moments, have them roll a surge and get the Tides of Chaos back again. Rinse, repeat. What I have found in my time in the past 6 years playing, but DMing primarily, is that this feature often gets forgotten or mixed up amongst the rest of the minutia of running the game. There are NPCs to worry about, plot hooks to drop, encounters to plan, accents to badly impersonate, rules to remember mostly, and much more. It eventually results in the Wild Magic Sorcerer being forgotten about.

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My Solution

Since my first encounter with Blades in the Dark I became an advocate for player facing mechanics. Players are people too, and generally they're pretty smart. Smart enough to handle a change or adjustment to mechanics I imagine. In the case of the Wild Magic Sorcerer, this proposed change would alter how Wild Magic Surge functions in play to accomplish a few goals:

1.  The mechanic would not rely on the DM's input, but would rely on tracking by the player,
2. It would cause Wild Magic Surges to happen more reliably,
3. It would not be too complex for new players to grasp,
4. It would employ some form of rolling and randomness to maintain the "spirit" of the rules.

Ramping Wild Magic Surge

Starting when you choose this origin at 1st level, your spellcasting can unleash surges of untamed magic. Each time you cast a spell above first level you will roll a die. The size of the die will depend on how far along the track you are. Initially, the die will be a d20, decreasing in size down to a d2 or a coin. After making the roll, consult the die. If it any result other than one, you decrease the die size one step. d20 -> d12 -> d10 -> d8 - d8 ->d6 -> d4 -> d2. On a result of one, a Wild Magic Surge occurs and the die is reset back to the d20. 

I liked the idea of the Wild Magic becoming increasingly likely as time went on, leaning into the "surge" potion of Wild Magic Surge as if the magic is brimming from the caster until it bursts forth with reckless abandon. I have tried this mechanic out on only a handful of occasions, but it was well received.

The Tides of Chaos mechanic remains the same in this case, the only thing changing is Wild Magic Surge. 

If you or a player you have is playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer give this a try! Slap it on an NPC villainous sorcerer and let chaos reign.