Looking for help with a caster who doesn't understand his powers build.

[Jmarsh56]

I have an idea for a character who is a caster of some kind (cleric, sorcerer, warlock maybe bard) who is completely oblivious to how their magic works or where it even comes from.

The one that I have come up with that fits best so far is the cleric who is so delusional that they actually believe that when they pray for something their god immediately answers (ie they use a spell slot when they pray for a spell effect).

There is the warlock who doesn't know they entered a pact and can't begin to explain why these things are happening to and around him, maybe he thinks its a demonic possession of some kind.

I like the idea of it being one of the iconic stupid races such as orc, goliath, kobold but I'm not set on that.

I would appreciate any feedback/input on this as I am kind of stuck on those 2 but would love to hear other ideas on this.

[Constructman]

Possible build: Wild Magic Sorcerer with the Aberrant Dragonmark feat (or if your table allows 3rd party and homebrew content, the Child of Khyber race from the Morgrave Miscellany).

Most of what you're describing could work for any spellcaster except for Wizard, it's just a matter of description and roleplaying.

[Jmarsh56]

Oh for sure, I'm not worried about the mechanics of it. Just wanting to poke the collective internet brain for more ideas of how to flavor it.

[Constructman]

One thing that comes to mind is that they could be extremely suspicious or even afraid of other spellcasters. In the case of the delusional Cleric, they might dislike Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards for "stealing divine power". In the case of the tormented Warlock, they might mistake other spellcasters of all stripes as also being possessed, or worse, being Fiends or malevolent Fey in disguise. Of course, this can't be to such a large a degree that it causes OOC friction at the table, but if it's just subtle expressions of caution or dislike, it can add to their character.

[Jmarsh56]

One thing that comes to mind is that they could be extremely suspicious or even afraid of other spellcasters. In the case of the delusional Cleric, they might dislike Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards for "stealing divine power". In the case of the tormented Warlock, they might mistake other spellcasters of all stripes as also being possessed, or worse, being Fiends or malevolent Fey in disguise. Of course, this can't be to such a large a degree that it causes OOC friction at the table, but if it's just subtle expressions of caution or dislike, it can add to their character.

I do like that, I guess druid could work too. Maybe an elf who believes themselves to be a reincarnation of a powerful fey. But the same reincarnation idea could also be applied to the cleric as well. But those get away from my original thought.

[Navmaxlp]

I have a character concept I haven't played yet that is very similar. A dwarf miner comes across an artifact and when he touches it is visited by a god. The god was expecting someone else but with little other choice bestows clerical powers on him and sends him in search of a powerful weapon created by the god and lost. The dwarf knows he has the powers but not how to use them or even really what the powers are. His clan sends him off both to gain glory/favor and to protect the clan from accidental harm.

Feel free to use

[Grod_The_Giant]

Sorcerer seems most appropriate.

[Kyutaru]

I think a Kobold Warlock would be ideal. Their spells don't need to be prepared or learned and they can fire them off ridiculously often. He doesn't need to understand magic to use Eldritch Blast, it just kind of happens any time he points his finger in a certain way. I even see him being the timid type that runs around terrified while activating spells as a natural instinct reaction to danger. Someone's coming towards him, he blasts them. He doesn't do it intentionally. He just throws up his arms in defense and magic shields appear, or he feels the need to run and hide and suddenly he's invisible.

Heck, maybe he actually is demonically possessed by his pact holder. The demon is protecting him by using the spells in his stead while he's just desperately trying to survive. You know how many episodes Naruto went before he realized he had demonic warlock powers?

[Jmarsh56]

I think a Kobold Warlock would be ideal. Their spells don't need to be prepared or learned and they can fire them off ridiculously often. He doesn't need to understand magic to use Eldritch Blast, it just kind of happens any time he points his finger in a certain way. I even see him being the timid type that runs around terrified while activating spells as a natural instinct reaction to danger. Someone's coming towards him, he blasts them. He doesn't do it intentionally. He just throws up his arms in defense and magic shields appear, or he feels the need to run and hide and suddenly he's invisible.

Heck, maybe he actually is demonically possessed by his pact holder. The demon is protecting him by using the spells in his stead while he's just desperately trying to survive. You know how many episodes Naruto went before he realized he had demonic warlock powers?

I had a though along those lines too. A thief who finds a dagger or whatever that upon picking it up bestows/curses him with the powers of a hexblade. And uses magic based on his needs at the time without even really knowing he did it.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

There is the warlock who doesn't know they entered a pact and can't begin to explain why these things are happening to and around him, maybe he thinks its a demonic possession of some kind.

I have a warlock character waiting for a proper game that will do this. He entered a pact of the Archfey (tome), but thinks he's just The Hero of his own adventure, explaining his magic as just useful skills he picked up from his Hero Training Guidebook (the tome). His eldritch blasts all look like arrows he fires from his "bow" (arcane focus), which was the thing I most wanted for him.

[Skylivedk]

My Warlock made a deal with Shar. If he doesn't erase important being from collective memory, his own starts to suffer... Also, as part of the pact he can't remember that he made it.

[MrStabby]

Most characters who don't know how to get the most from their powers seem to be sorcerers who want to blast everything.

[Vogie]

Another option is the UA School of Invention Wizard... only using the reckless spell tables when casting. You may want to expand the tables, as IIRC it was released prior to Xanathar's

[Dr. Cliché]

Play a Mystic. Not even the DM will understand how your powers work.

[strake]

Not a pure caster, but could easily fit into this concept of not really understanding their magic.

Variant Human Eldritch Knight - starting with magic initiate. Take cantrips and spells that can be explained away with some instinctive talking to yourself. For example.
Magic Initiate (druid)
Guidance - "alright, focus, you got this" while he lays his hand on their shoulder
Shillelagh - "be one with the wood, strike hard, strike fast"
Longstrider - "quick feet, long strides, come on let's move!"

Then when you get to the Eldritch Knight part - again stick to cantrips and spells that don't have obvious magical effects to the EK.
True Strike - "ok, wait, watch, aha, there's the weakness"
Blade Ward - "wait until they close, be ready to absorb that first hit"
Friends - "Look, friend, I really need your help"
False Life - "we're in dangerous territory, keep your head on swivel"
Identify - "here, let me hold it, I've got a knack for guessing what these things are"
Knock - "Open you stupid door" as he really puts his shoulder to it
Invisibility - "don't look my way, I'm just a flicker of the candle shadows"
Darkvision - "ugh, I wish it wasn't so dark" rubs eyes, blinks them, and can now see better
Things like that.

So obviously he's mostly a fighter, but all the magic is an instinctive thing that can often be explained as just being lucky or good, and most of that type of magic won't need a spell DC or be improved by stat modifiers so you can get away with a crappy magic stat if you want to be clueless or dumb or whatever.