A player building a 1st level Sorcerer character feels that produce flame is a better thematic fit for their character than fire bolt. Are there any serious balance issues with allowing them to take produce flame, which is normally only available to Druids (and certain subclasses of Bard or Warlock) as a cantrip?
In general, produce flame seems like a combination of a slightly nerfed fire bolt with a seriously nerfed light, and the flavor doesn't seem wildly off for a sorcerer, so I'm wondering if there are any strong reasons to reject the request.
Best Answer
This is Fine
Mechanically, Fire Bolt is far superior to Produce Flame with better range and better damage. For utility, Light far surpasses Produce Flame as a source of visible light at double the radius of effect.
The only thing that Produce Flame can do that the other two cannot is the name of the cantrip itself: it can produce a small amount of fire that persists for the duration. This fire, unlike that of Fire Bolt, cannot light anything on fire however, since in Fifth Edition spells only do what they say they do. The main benefit to this cantrip, then, is that you get a both a source of light and a source of damage from one cantrip, great for druids who only have 2 cantrips at level 1.
Thematically, this is a druid spell, but it doesn't stretch the imagination too far to say that a sorcerer (and especially one with a fire dragon bloodline or some similar origin) could realistically replicate this.