DnD 5E Clockwork Soul Clockwork Magic Guide

Author: Haen the Heretic

The Clockwork Soul Sorcerer subclass was released in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and gets access to an expanded spell list, much like the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer. At Tabletop Builds, we view the Clockwork Soul Sorcerer as the strongest Sorcerer subclass, edging out the Aberrant Mind largely due to the array of powerful spells afforded by its expanded spell list.

A Clockwork Soul Sorcerer gets to learn 10 additional spells than the base Sorcerer—at level 10, that means 21 spells known compared to 11 for a Sorcerer without an expanded spell list, nearly doubling the typical number of spells known. 

Clockwork Magic, the feature that gives Clockwork Soul Sorcerers their extra spells consist of some solid default options, with the choice to swap them out for abjuration or transmutation spells from the Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell list.  

In this article, we will point out and rate the best spells you can choose via this subclass. Spells that are given by default will be marked.

1st Level Spells

There are 10 spells available for us to swap into: 

• Absorb elements
• Alarm
• Armor of Agathys
• Catapult
• Expeditious retreat
• Feather fall
• Jump
• Longstrider
• Mage armor
• Shield
• Snare

Absorb elements (★★★★★)

1st level abjuration, reaction cast in response to taking acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, 1 round duration. Confers resistance to the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn.

An excellent defensive spell, and one of the staple elements of the defensive capabilities of an optimized caster. This is a Sorcerer spell, but picking it through Clockwork Magic frees up an additional learned spell, which is always welcome.

Alarm (default) (★☆☆☆☆)

1st level abjuration, 1 minute cast (ritual), 30 ft range, 8 hour duration. Undesignated creatures sound an audible or mental alarm when touching or entering a warded area.

We do not have the Ritual Casting feature, and with the very finite number of spells we know this simply is not affordable. You could scribe a scroll of this to let your Wizard take over the task of putting this down before you sleep.

Armor of Agathys (★★☆☆☆)

1st level abjuration, action cast, range of self, 1 hour duration. 5+5/SL temporary hit points to self, deal 5+5/SL damage to enemies that hit you while you have these hit points.

In general, this spell doesn’t do enough to be worth the spell slot and especially isn’t worth using your action on in combat. However, the spell doesn’t take concentration and has a decent duration, making it potentially worthwhile to cast before combat if you know you’ll be heading into a big fight soon.

Expeditious retreat (★★★☆☆)

1st level transmutation, bonus action cast, range of self, 1 minute duration (concentration). When you cast this spell and as a bonus action on subsequent turns, you can take the Dash action.

Kiting wins plenty of encounters, and the ability to Dash as a bonus action instead of an action certainly assists with that job.

Feather fall (★★☆☆☆)

1st level transmutation, reaction cast when you or a creature within 60 feet of you falls, 60 ft range, 1 minute duration. Slows the descent of up to five creatures within range so they fall safely.

This spell shouldn’t be useful often, but it can be a lifesaver when needed. This is on the Sorcerer spell list, but Sorcerers often don’t have the space to learn this spell. Clockwork magic makes this much more affordable however.

Longstrider (★★★★☆)

1st level transmutation, action cast, range of touch, 1 hour duration. Target’s speed increases by 10 ft for duration.

Similar to expeditious retreat, having greater movement speed is a great way to increase your durability in a game where nearly all the monsters are stronger in melee than at range. Becomes more useful as your sorcery points and slots become more plentiful.

Protection from evil and good (default) (★★★☆☆)

1st level abjuration, action cast, range of touch, 10 minute duration (concentration). Aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead have disadvantage on attacks against the target, and the target can’t be frightened, possessed, or charmed by them.

Charm effects from the likes of vampires and aboleths can be rather painful, and giving these enemies disadvantage on attacks is also a solid buff. Worth Twinning when applicable.

Mage armor (★★★☆☆)

1st level abjuration, action cast, range of touch, 8 hour duration. Gives the target AC equal to 13 + its Dexterity Modifier.

Optimally, you have obtained medium armor proficiency from some source, but if you haven’t then this spell provides an AC boost for the entire adventuring day. This is well worth the single 1st level spell slot it costs if the spell can benefit you.

Shield (★★★★★)

1st level abjuration, reaction cast in response to being hit by an attack or targeted by *magic missile*, range of self, 1 round duration. +5 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn and negate *magic missile*.

The primary defensive spell in the game. Like absorb elements, another spell that is already in the list of options for Sorcerer, but being able to take two staple spells via Clockwork Magic essentially means two additional spells known for the class that is the most starved for known spells.

2nd Level Spells

There are a whopping 16 spells available for us to swap into at this level. 

• Alter self
• Arcane lock
• Darkvision
• Earthbind
• Enhance ability
• Enlarge/reduce
• Kinetic jaunt
• Knock
• Levitate
• Magic weapon
• Maximilian’s earthen grasp
• Pyrotechnics
• Rope trick
• Skywrite
• Spider climb

Aid (default) (★★★★★)

2nd level abjuration, action cast, 30 ft range, 8 hour duration. Up to three creatures within range increase their current and maximum hit points by 5+5/SL.

This is one of the best options to rest cast, and an excellent way to make sure your party’s familiars and other summons take a good bit longer to kill. Can be worthwhile even without rest casting if you need to revive several unconscious allies at once, or as a high-level pre-fight casting if you don’t anticipate spells to be effective against your upcoming opponent. It’s never bad to have a ranged healing option, even if it is more slot-and-action-intensive than healing word.

Levitate (★★★★☆)

2nd level, action cast, 60 ft range, 10 minute duration (concentration). Con save, or target rises vertically up to 20 ft, remains suspended for duration. Affected target can move only by pushing or pulling against a fixed object or surface within reach.

A melee enemy up in the air is a “sitting” duck, and levitating yourself puts you out of reach for the multitude of ground-based melee enemies.

Lesser restoration (default) (★★★☆☆)

2nd level abjuration, action cast, range of touch. End either one disease or one of the following conditions afflicting it: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned.

Curing your friends of some nasty conditions like paralyzed is sometimes a really good thing to have, especially if no one else has the capability to do so. Still, it’s significantly preferable for a Cleric or Druid to prepare this spell instead of using one of your precious spells learned on this.

Rope trick (★★★★★)

2nd level transmutation, action cast, range of touch, 1 hour duration. You touch a length of rope up to 60 feet long, creating an extradimensional space that lasts for the duration.

This is for those awkward moments when you don’t want the enemy to stand a chance. Seal yourself in a bunker for 1 hour and peek out to shoot spells and cantrips. This spell also helps if you don’t have a place to short rest.

3rd Level Spells

There are 17 spells available for us to swap into. 

• Ashardalon’s stride
• Blink
• Counterspell
• Dispel magic
• Erupting earth
• Flame arrows
• Fly
• Gaseous form
• Glyph of warding
• Haste
• Intellect fortress
• Magic circle
• Nondetection
• Remove curse
• Slow
• Tiny servant
• Water breathing 
• Water walk

Counterspell (★★★★★)

3rd level abjuration, reaction cast in response to seeing a creature within 60 ft of you cast a spell, 60 ft range. Automatically interrupts the casting of a spell of SL level or lower, otherwise requires a spellcasting ability check against DC of 10 + triggering SL.

Enemies with spells are often the most deadly, due to the power of magic in D&D. Some enemies have deadly spell-like effects that are not counterable, but this spell allows you to negate potential TPKs. Certain adjustments to monsters or table considerations such as a lack of spellcaster enemies might make this spell redundant, but when it matters, it matters.

Dispel Magic (default) (★★★★☆)

3rd level abjuration, action cast, 120 ft range. One creature, object, or magical effect within range, any spell of SL level or lower on it ends. Effects of higher spell levels require a spellcasting ability check against DC of 10 + triggering SL.

Another great tool for negating magical effects. This is used after they are cast, instead of proactively, which makes it a bit worse, but it does have a larger range.

Fly (★★★☆☆)

3rd level transmutation, action cast, range of touch, 10 minute duration (concentration). 1+1/SL targets gain a flying speed of 60 feet.

This is another spell that sorcerers can learn normally, but it remains a useful spell. The fast fly speed this provides can trivialize many monsters, solve problems out of combat, and the spell can be upcast to hit more of the party.

Glyph of warding (★★★☆☆)

3rd level abjuration, 1 hour cast, range of touch, lasts until dispelled or triggered. Stores an explosion or spell inside a glyph, which can be scribed on an object that you cannot move without ending the effect.

If you have a bag of holding or similar item, you can store buff spells inside it so as to trigger them without requiring an action or concentration. How much you will get out of this spell otherwise depends somewhat on the table you’re playing at.

Haste (★☆☆☆☆)

3rd level transmutation, action cast, 30 ft range, 1 minute duration (concentration). Increases the speed and AC of the target, and provides them with a limited additional action.

Haste is a popular spell, but an overrated one. It provides a lot of effects, but it’s rare that all of them are relevant at once. Additionally, the spell has a harsh downside for the target once the spell ends. For a 3rd level slot and concentration, it simply isn’t worth it. See our article on Haste for a deeper dive.

Protection from energy (default) (★☆☆☆☆)

3rd level abjuration, action cast, range of touch, 1 hour duration (concentration). Target has resistance to one of the following damage types of your choice: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder.

Your concentration and a 3rd-level slot are both too valuable to be providing resistance to one damage type to a single ally. Even in situations where you have significant foreknowledge of an upcoming damage type, this spell is much better on prepared casters who have the flexibility to adjust their spell choices.

Slow (★★★☆☆)

3rd level transmutation, action cast, 120 ft range, 1 minute duration (concentration). Slows down up to 6 creatures, reducing their speed and AC, and limiting their actions.

Slow by itself is an okay spell, but it faces stiff competition from hypnotic pattern and fear. Both of these other spells have better effects and will generally last longer than slow since the target gets to repeat the Wisdom save every turn. Slow does have its niche however: It can exclude allies, hits a larger cube than hypnotic pattern (though it can only affect a limited number of creatures), and isn’t affected by immunity to the charmed or frightened condition.

Tiny servant (★★★★★)

3rd level transmutation, 1 minute cast, range of touch, 8 hour duration. Animates 1+2/SL objects that use the tiny servant statblock.

This spell allows you to weaponize magic stone, as well as a few items. They have a +3 Dexterity modifier so giving them regular weapons is also a wise idea, even though they lack proficiency. Use them to make a free attack with +3 to hit and 1d8+3 damage (light crossbow) to deal a bit of damage, throw nets, and spray caltrops at choke points without using up your own actions. You can also use them to operate siege weapons like cannons and ballistae. There might be some DM variability on the type of standing orders the tiny servant can take and so on, so be sure to clear any potential uses with your DM first.

4th Level Spells

There are 8 spells available for us to swap into. 

• Banishment
• Control water
• Elemental bane
• Fabricate
• Mordenkainen’s private sanctum
• Polymorph
• Stone shape
• Stoneskin

Banishment (★★★★☆)

4th level abjuration, action cast, 60 ft range, 1 minute duration (concentration). Cha save, 1+1/SL targets, on a failure a target is banished to a demiplane or their home plane.

This spell only targets a single creature without upcasting and does nothing if the target succeeds their saving throw, but many monsters have poor Charisma saving throws and it completely eliminates the target for the duration (or longer, if they’re not native to the plane) if successful. This spell is also quite good to upcast.

Fabricate (★★★★☆)

4th level transmutation, 10 minutes cast, 120 ft range. Convert raw materials into products of the same material.

Do you like money? If so, mass-producing linen and selling it may be just the thing for you. Make your dreams of ignoring price tags on your favorite spells come true! Check out our complete guide to tools in DnD for more tips. This spell is only used out of combat, and as such is subject to significant table variance.

Freedom of movement (default) (★★★☆☆)

4th level abjuration, action cast, range of touch, 1 hour duration. Target can move freely.

Not a bad get-out-of-jail-free card against specific encounters, and becomes almost a necessity for underwater combats. Per Jeremy Crawford’s Twitter account, you can spend 5 ft of movement to escape a grapple even though your speed is 0 while grappled, though there is no such codified ruling in the SAC. Another spell that preferably would be on a prepared spellcaster’s list, but useful enough that learning it isn’t too painful.

Polymorph (★★★★★)

4th level transmutation, action cast, 60 ft range, 1 hour duration (concentration). Wis save, on a failure (willing targets do not need to roll) transforms a creature you can see within range into a beast of CR equal to or less than the target’s CR or level.

Turn an enemy into a harmless critter, or an ally into a strong beast like a giant ape with a lot of extra hit points. Options like giant ape and tyrannosaurus rex are more impactful early on, so consider swapping this spell for something else as you reach higher levels.

Stone shape (★★★☆☆)

4th level transmutation, action cast, range of touch, instantaneous duration. Touch a stone object that is less than 5 feet in any dimension and form it into a shape.

Stone shape is an interesting spell that is, similarly to some illusion spells, both highly situational and subject to DM fiat. In dungeons, caves, or areas where you are otherwise surrounded by stone, you might be able to tunnel through walls or block off hallways, doorways, or entrances. Touch a stone wall next to an enemy and you might be able to create stone restraints that stop them from moving, or a cage that prevents Small creatures from escaping. There are Object Statistics rules in the game that provide AC and hit points for several materials and sizes, including stone. You could also later learn wall of stone and slowly build up a fortress or something along those lines during downtime. As with any “creative” use of a spell, talking with your DM beforehand as opposed to springing new uses of this spell unsuspecting onto them mid-session is advised.

Summon construct (default) (★★☆☆☆)

4th level conjuration, action cast, 90 ft range, 1 hour duration (concentration). Summons a Construct Spirit with a statblock that can take one of three forms of your choice.

A summon spell introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, this construct just isn’t that great. It has an unimpressive hit point total, just okay defenses, and it offers little to no utility. Stone is your best option, as it can reduce enemy speed and take away their ability to use their reaction.

5th Level Spells

There are 7 spells available for us to swap into.

• Animate objects
• Control winds
• Passwall
• Planar binding
• Skill empowerment
• Telekinesis
• Transmute rock

Animate objects (★★★★☆)

5th level transmutation, action cast, 120 ft range, 1 minute duration (concentration). Animates a number of objects depending on their size under your control.

When you want damage, this spell will provide a good amount of it. Tiny objects deal a respectable amount of damage for a spell of this level. It’s hampered against creatures with resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, but in some situations or party compositions where Legendary Resistance reduces your effectiveness, this can be a good spell to utilize. Hold on to your silver coins for those rare situations where silvered weapon damage comes in handy.

Greater restoration (default) (★★★★☆)

5th level abjuration, action cast, range of touch. Reduce target’s exhaustion level by one, or end one of the following effects: charmed, petrified, a curse, a reduction to one of the target’s ability scores, one effect reducing the target’s hit point maximum.

Like with most spells that are “reactive” casts as opposed to proactive ones, it’s preferable for a prepared caster to have this spell than for you. Still, greater restoration is a great spell for someone in your party to have.

Planar binding (★★★★★)

5th level abjuration, 1 hour cast, 60 ft range, 24 hour duration (higher slots increases duration). Cha save, or a fey, fiend, celestial, or elemental is bound to serve you for the duration.

Use this spell to bind summons from other players, or monsters the party has knocked unconscious or captured instead of killing. This spell can quite frankly break the game, as you can bind an army of summons to do your bidding and accomplish tasks for you. Talk to your DM about how far you want to, can, or should take this spell for the sake of the enjoyment of everyone at your table.

Telekinesis (★★★★☆)

5th level transmutation, action cast, 60 ft range, 10 minute duration (concentration). Grants the ability to move objects and creatures telekinetically.

Throwing objects around is decent utility, and more importantly it requires an ability check, not a saving throw, and therefore doesn’t have to deal with Legendary Resistance. Wall of force does most of its job better at the same level, but it’s still a good spell.

Transmute rock (★★★★☆)

5th level transmutation, action cast, 120 ft range. Transform rock into mud or mud into rock. Slows and restrains creatures.

A great non-concentration area of effect control spell. Similar to plant growth, but with the potential to restrain creatures in the area on a failed Strength save, a bit like entangle or web. Creatures can end the restrained condition with an action, but that cost means they have basically no way of leaving the affected area aside from flight or a teleport such as misty step. Since you never want to use this spell on flying creatures, teleports are one of the only reliable ways for creatures to escape. Pair this with web or any other crowd control spells to create a zone of death. Additionally, you can push enemies that do manage to escape back in with eldritch blast.

Wall of force (default) (★★★★★)

5th level evocation, action cast, 120 ft range, 10 minute duration (concentration). Creates an invincible wall that blocks creatures from passing, that can be shaped like a dome or sphere.

In practice, probably the best 5th level spell available to you from this feature. Cutting encounters in half, or just erasing part of the encounter by pairing it with a persistent damage area of effect spell is an excellent way to save the whole party’s resources.