Just an idea for a variant rule for metamagic.
The caster use lower level slots to "prepare" metamagic. To do this he prepares (or expends) a spell slot equal to the metamagic feat he wants to use + 1 (so a silent, still, or extend metamagic would use a second level slot, quicken would use up a fifth level slot). Whenever the spellcaster casts a spell he wants to affect with the metamagic he expends the slot he stored the metamagic in too.
Example:
William the 11th level wizard wants to use some metamagic but isn't sure which spells he'll want to metamagic. Instead of using higher level slots he instead decides to prepare metamagic for the day.
He has an intelligence of 18 (to make this easier) and the following spell slots 5 first 5 second 5 third 4 fourth 2 fifth 1 sixth, and the following metamagic feats: Quicken, extend, maximize, still, silent
He prepares the following:
1st
Mage Armor x 2, Ray of Enfeeblement, Enlarge person, grease
2nd
Still Spell, Extend Spell, Silent Spell, Glitterdust, Mirror Image
3rd
Blink, haste x 2, Ray of Exhaustion, Dispel Magic
4th
Stoneskin, black tentacles, D. Door, Maximize
5th
Summon Monster 5, Quicken
6th
Disintegrate
His 11th level sorcerer friend, Joules on the other hand just decides to burn two first level slots to extend her mage armor spell for the day. Later on she really wants to cast two lightning bolts in one turn so she burns a 3rd level slot for the first one then a 5th and 3rd level slot for a quickened one (5th for the quicken spell metamagic, 3rd for the spell that's being cast).
**************************************************************
Thoughts on why to include this idea:
1. It gives spellcasters more flexibility to use metamagic.
2. It still costs something to use the metamagic (you burn spells faster).
3. Lower level slots that have "less use" at higher levels can instead be used to better effect.
You end up losing an extra spell level then you normally would (extending a first level spell costs a second level spell, using this alternate you would spend the original spell plus a second level spell for a net cost 1 spell level higher than normal).
My thought is that becuase you can apply the metamagic 'on the fly' to any spell you have ready for the day it eats up a little more power than normal. Also with this variant I would let people metamagic their highest level spells... that kind of extra bonus costs something though, and I thought that cost was best represented by a slight increase in the cost of the metamagic used.
So you get 3 benefits:
1. You can metamagic spells of higher level than normal
2. You can choose which spell to metamagic on the fly
3. You have more use for lower level spell slots
At the following costs:
1. You burn up spell slots faster.
2. The metamagic costs more than it normally would.
|
S
e
o
n
i
I am scared. :S
I like the basic concept of flexibility of applying meta magic feats to spells on the fly but the cost of it makes my shivers. I am calculation sorcerer that's why I like the concept but finding myself out of spells because of an encounter makes me feel unarmed bathed in blood and spices in the middle of a Orc camp site where the Orc's haven't had anything to eat for days.
While I totally agree with you that Metamagic needs an overhaul, I am not sure this suggestion gets us where we want to go.
He prepares the following:
1st
Mage Armor x 2, Ray of Enfeeblement, Enlarge person, grease
2nd
Still Spell, Extend Spell, Silent Spell, Glitterdust, Mirror Image
3rd
Blink, haste x 2, Ray of Exhaustion, Dispel Magic
4th
Stoneskin, black tentacles, D. Door, Maximize
5th
Summon Monster 5, Quicken
6th
Disintegrate
As I see it, this mage could have prepared 22 spells. Instead, he prepared only 17.
Now, many people are concerned about the 15-minute adventuring day. I'm afraid this suggestion moves us more firmly in that direction.
Further, I am afraid of the "nova" potential here.
This mage, on round 1, could drop Disintegrate and a Maximized Cold Cone (hey, what spell did he plan to maximize, anyway?). Give him an Empower feat and drop a third level slot on it, and he could drop Disintegrate and a Maximized Empowered Cold Cone on round 1.
Sure, that means he rests after his first fight of the day, but he sure does wipe out that encounter with his awesome novaishness.
This could be fairly dangerous, and fairly disruptive to DMs who actually want to hit the PCs with 4 or more encounters in a day.
I hate to criticize and not offer alternatives.
Here's my houserule (well, a package of houserules) for metamagic:
1. All metamagic can be applied ad-hoc. Nobody needs to prepare metamagic.
2. Applying metamagic is a move action.
3. You do not use a higher level slot to use metamagic.
4. Calculate the adjusted spell level.
4a. If you can cast spells of that level, then you simply need to roll a spellcraft check, DC = 15 + adjusted level +2 per metamagic feat you applied.
4b. If you cannot cast spells of that level, then you need to roll a spellcraft check, DC = 20 + adjusted level +5 per metamagic feat you applied.
5. If the Spellcraft check to apply the metamagic fails, you cannot apply any metamagic. You can still cast the spell normally, or cast something else, or abort and use the rest of your action to move, shoot a crossbow, or whatever you want.
6. Metamagic can be disrupted the same as spells. So to add metamagic to a fireball spell, the mage might take damage during his move action while he applies the metamagic. Disrupting the metamagic works the same as disrupting spells, and the DC to maintain concentration is the same ast he DC to apply the metamagic, + the damage done. Casting defensively applies to metamagic.
7. Note that if your metamagic is disrupted or simply fails the DC check, and you continue to try to cast any spell this round, you must attempt another Spellcraft roll to cast your spell (without metamagic), at the same DC check as the check you failed when your metamagic was disrupted or failed.
Example:
Fred the 11th level mage wants to use Maximize on his magic missile spell. The adjusted level is 4, and he can cast a 4th level spell, so he needs to roll Spellcraft DC = 15 +4 +2 = 21. Should be realistically achievable at his level.
Fred the 11th level mage wants to use Maximize and Empower on his magic missile spell. The adjusted level is 6, and he can cast a 6th level spell, so he needs to roll Spellcraft DC = 15 +6 +2 +2 = 25. Should be achievable at his level.
Fred the 11th level mage wants to use Maximize and Quicken on his magic missile spell. The adjusted level is 8, but he cannot cast an 8th level spell, so he needs to roll Spellcraft DC = 20 +8 +5 +5 = 38. Should be quite difficult at his level (11 ranks, +3 class skill, +6 INT, maybe Skill Focus in Spellcraft might give him about a 25% chance).
If Fred got hit during his move action applying those metamagic feats, and took 15 damage, his DC to maintain concentration (in the last example) would be 38 + 15 = 53. This replaces the DC 38 roll he would have tried if he had not taken damage. If he got hit twice, once for 15 and once for 10 damage, his DC would be 63 and he would still just make the one roll at the end of his move action to apply the metamagic.
Fred the 11th level mage wants to use Quicken on his Disintegrate spell. The adjusted level is 9, but he cannot cast a 9th level spell, so he needs to roll Spellcraft DC = 20 +9 +5 = 34. Should be achievable at his level, maybe about a 50% chance, more or less.
It's less complicated than it sounds.
This lets spellcasters actually use metamagic. I don't know about you, but my 3.x casters never bothered. The higher spell slots were almost always better used on the appropriate level spells, rather than metamagically enhanced weak spells, and burning a feat to get weak spells didn't seem wise.
It does seem a bit overpowered, but in my playtesting, casters use this to enhance their low-level crap spells. Who really cares if a magic missile, cast by a level 11 mage at a CR 12 monster, does 35 points? Heck, it's nice that he can use magic missile at his level and not feel like he's wasting his time casting a level 1 spell.
IME, casters who want to tweak their upper level spells and go nova with quickened maximized high-level stuff end up fizzling far too often. It's like the Arcane Failure on armor. Mages can wear chainmail for just a feat, but they never do, because they don't want battlefield fizzles. The risk of blowing a high-DC metamagic check, then risking failing the same high-DC check to cast a spell this round, makes them wary of trying to exceed their limits.
So far this has worked fairly well for me.
I agree this could lead to a bit more 'nova' type playing, but I think something along this lines would get metamagic in play more. If the player wants to 'nova', he'll either learn it wasn't a great idea when he is out of spells, and the party wants to keep going, or a new talk will be had about expectations. I see this as something that can be useful, without nessecarily taking to cost out of metamagic. I could see limiting this further so that a spellcaster can't use it on spells equal to his highest spell level - 1 (so the above 11th level wizard couldn't metamagic his 6th level spells). With my suggestion as it stands right now, I would limit it to just one metamagic effect from a prepared slot (couldn't maximize and empower unless it was prepared as either maximized or empowered).
I have taken and used metamagic in 3.5 both without splat books and with them. Without splat books, I found the metamagics I used the most where Extend spell, Quicken Spell, and Heighten Spell, and I generally didn't bother until around 10th level.
With the splat books I found that i used metamagic much more in cases like the Ultimate Magus, or as a bard when I could expend bardic music uses to metamagic.
My other thought was to give a metamagic point pool based off the number and type of metamagic feats the caster has. This would work like the metamagic mastery universalist feature, however with the appropriate limits. If the metamagic feat cost a spell slot 1 higher than normal they would get 1 metamagic point, if it cost a spell slot 4 higher than normal they would get 4 metamagic points.
I don't like the "double spending" you have to do to use metamagic feat right now (pay once for the feat, pay the second time with the higher spell level) and don't think they are quite powerful enough to justify it. As evidence I would summit that few people use metamagic precisely because they see it as "too expensive".
|
DM-Blake: I am assuming in your example you meant to say he could cast a quickened followed by the empowered maximized yes?
Anyways, my concern with Abraham's system (which I like for it's versatility) is that you can end up applying metamagic to spells that you normally wouldn't be able to.
Of course as long as metamagic rod's continue to function the way they do now, the precedence is already set for quickened 9th level spells and the like. This system makes it infinitely easier and more likely however.
I would be much happier if rod's (and Abraham's system) carried the restriction that spells that normally cannot benefit from certain metamagic(s) due to spell slot "cost" restrictions, likewise, could not benefit from the rod or system's application.
Again I wouldn't mind if there was a restriction on this that prevents people from using enough metamagic to go over 9th spell level.
Maybe something on the lines of:
If the combined spell level total of the spells slots involved is greater then nine then that combination cannot be done.
This would mean you couldn't use this system to metamagic 8th or 9th level spells (since 8 + 2 (minimum metamagic level) = 10 > 9).
My wording probably stinks but I hope the idea is understood.
DM-Blake: I am assuming in your example you meant to say he could cast a quickened followed by the empowered maximized yes?
Anyways, my concern with Abraham's system (which I like for it's versatility) is that you can end up applying metamagic to spells that you normally wouldn't be able to.
Of course as long as metamagic rod's continue to function the way they do now, the precedence is already set for quickened 9th level spells and the like. This system makes it infinitely easier and more likely however.
I would be much happier if rod's (and Abraham's system) carried the restriction that spells that normally cannot benefit from certain metamagic(s) due to spell slot "cost" restrictions, likewise, could not benefit from the rod or system's application.
Of course. I had thought it was implicit, but you're right, I should have been specific.
And I have no problem with spellcasters using their metamagic feats on their hightest level of spells.