My player's character, a 4th-level Wild Magic sorcerer, cast magic missile as a 2nd-level spell after having previously used Tides of Chaos. Since she had used Tides of Chaos, I had her roll on the Wild Magic Surge table to recharge the feature. She rolled a 07, the dreaded self-fireball. As her character had only 4 HP left, and failed his Dexterity saving throw, he instantly died a spectacular death.
In retrospect, could she have potentially saved her character from instant death by using Tides of Chaos again on the Dexterity saving throw against fireball?
My understanding of the rules was that Tides of Chaos recharges after the wild magic surge is resolved. However, I recently noticed it says that you get it back after rolling on the Wild Magic Surge table, which is arguably complete before the fireball goes off.
Is there any clear rule about this, or is it up to the DM's judgment?
Best Answer
Yes, she could have taken advantage on the save
There isn't any text outside the sorcerer class that further defines how the ability works, but the text is pretty clear. You get the use of the feature back after the DM has you roll on the table, which is before any of the results of rolling on the table happen. Rolling on the table, in this case, caused her to regain the feature and cast fireball on herself-- there is no reason to hold the timing of the fireball preferrentially.