Is this feat OP?

[LamentoftheLost]

Arcane Manipulation

( Lost Empires of Faerûn, p. 6)

[General]

You are learned in the arcane ways of Netheril, where masters of magic once molded and shaped arcane energy to their own will.
Prerequisite
Wizard level 1,

Benefit
When you prepare spells, you can break down up to three existing arcane spell slots to create a specified number of lower-level spell slots. (A 0-level spell counts as 1/2 level for this purpose, so a 1st-level spell slot could be broken into two 0-level spell slots.) The sum of the levels of all the new spell slots must equal the level of the original. The number of spell slots you can create in this manner is otherwise unlimited. Spell slots that you break down into multiple lower-level slots remain that way until the next time you prepare spells, at which time you can choose to restore your spell slots to normal or break them up again.

Normal
A character can always choose to use a higher-level spell slot to prepare a lower-level spell, but any "remainder" spell levels are lost.

Even though it can only be taken at first level, would this feat be over-powered for pathfinder even if modified for Pathfinder's cantrips or not allowing this feat to add cantrips at all?

[Neils Bohr]

I don't think this feat would be inherently OP, even with allowing cantrips having a few extra wouldn't be a game changer.
I think the biggest issue would be characters with spell specialization, you'd be giving them extra uses of their specialized spell. This may still not be game changing, because it's nothing a pearl of power couldn't do.

[Create Mr. Pitt]

Yeah this is really no big deal. By the time a caster can afford the spells to do it, the higher level spell slots are the much more valuable commodity, while they are unlikely to run out of lower level slots even if taxed. Nothing game breaking here.

[Rub-Eta]

LamentoftheLost wrote:

Even though it can only be taken at first level

It can not only be taken at first level. In Pathfinder rules, that prerequisit means "level 1 and up".

And no, it wouldn't be too powerful. It's useful at early levels where they can get two 1st level spells instead of a 2nd level spell. It's not worth a feat later, dropping a 6th level spell for 2 3rd level spells or a 5th and 1st level spell is for the most times just a bad deal. The only useful part, by then, would be the ability to sacrafice low level spells for a wider variety of cantrips per day. But I'm not gonna spend a feat on that.

I also think it's strage that it states "The sum of the levels of all the new spell slots must equal the level of the original". It should be okay with lower as well.

Flagged for being in the wrong forum.

[LamentoftheLost]

Whoops, I could have sworn I placed it in the Advice forum... must have hit the wrong link on my tablet.

Thanks for the answers, friends.

[Java Man]

There is a discovery in ultimate magic called split slot that does this, basicly a feat requiring 5 wiz levels.

[My Self]

What would be OP is merging lower-level slots into higher-level slots. In a high-level short adventuring day, you might end up never touching any slots below 6th level after you cast your daily buffs. But splitting high-level slots more efficiently is not broken. Shapechange is significantly more valuable than Form of the Dragon III, Undead Anatomy VI, and Giant Form III cast individually and those are all 8th level spells being compared to a 9th level spell. Shapechange has all 3 of them together beat on duration, has the versatility of being any of the three (and more) practically at will, and can be used for 24 hours in a stretch via a Ring of Continuation. But Shapechange aside, it's not broken to split lower-level slots like this. It just lets you get more milage out of higher-level slots expended to cast lower-level spells.

[SheepishEidolon]

There are some level 1 spells which can still be attractive at medium levels. I am talking about Grease, Obscuring Mist, Detect Secret Doors, Identify, True Strike (with specific builds), Charm Person, Floating Disk, Magic Missile, Ray of Enfeeblement, Reduce Person and Vanish - at level 9 or so the feat would nearly turn them into cantrips.

Action economy takes its toll - in combat Quickened Spell might be better. But out of combat or when a battle is closing, you suddenly can do a lot of additional actions.

[Cyrad]

The value between spell levels is not 2-for-1. And as others point out, there's a lot of low level spells that are very useful at all levels of play, so being able to double, triple, or quntiple your amount of low level spell slots is not trivial. This would also be insanely powerful for abilities that require sacrificing spell slots.

At the very least, I think it's way too useful as a feat you can just get at 1st level.

[Sara Marie]

Removed some posts that were outside the community guidelines.

[Manly-man teapot]

"Is this ... overpowered?"

Source: Lost Empires of Faerûn - the answer is probably yes.

Source: (anything) of Faerûn - the answer is probably yes. Forgotten Realms writers fapped hard to wizards.

But this specific feat? I would probably never use it if I had it for free.

[Anthony Adam]

Rub-Eta wrote:

LamentoftheLost wrote:

Even though it can only be taken at first level

It can not only be taken at first level. In Pathfinder rules, that prerequisit means "level 1 and up".

And no, it wouldn't be too powerful. It's useful at early levels where they can get two 1st level spells instead of a 2nd level spell. It's not worth a feat later, dropping a 6th level spell for 2 3rd level spells or a 5th and 1st level spell is for the most times just a bad deal. The only useful part, by then, would be the ability to sacrafice low level spells for a wider variety of cantrips per day. But I'm not gonna spend a feat on that.

I also think it's strage that it states "The sum of the levels of all the new spell slots must equal the level of the original". It should be okay with lower as well.

Flagged for being in the wrong forum.

That strange bit is simply to allow you to do things like this...

A sixth level spell changed into slots for 1x1st and 1x5th = 1 + 5 = 6

or 1xfirst, 1xsecond and 1xthird, 1 + 2 + 3 = 6

It doesn't say the spell levels have to be broken evenly and reinforces that with the statement. It saves you having to worry about spare leftover levels when splitting odd levels spell slots. It also means you have to use all levels of the level being broken down.