| hoss20 |
Hello, all. I had a question about the Wizard's Universalist School Metamagic Mastery power. I searched a few threads here and found some answers, but I guess I just need a definitive interpretation of the rules.
At 8th level, you can apply any one metamagic feat that you know to a spell you are about to cast. This does not alter the level of the spell or the casting time. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level and one additional time per day for every two wizard levels you possess beyond 8th. Any time you use this ability to apply a metamagic feat that increases the spell level by more than 1, you must use an additional daily usage for each level above 1 that the feat adds to the spell. Even though this ability does not modify the spell's actual level, you cannot use this ability to cast a spell whose modified spell level would be above the level of the highest-level spell that you are capable of casting.
Now, what I'm reading is; that as a 9th Level Wizard, I could apply Enlarge Spell (if I've taken the feat) on a spell that's level 4 or below. Enlarge Spell uses up one spell slot higher than the spell's actual level and I can currently cast 5th level spells. Really, no different than using a Metamagic Feat in a standard fashion (other than it's spontaneous use). Some of my confusion is in the limits on how many daily usages I would have. It mentions increasing the spell level, but the definition of Metamagic Feats in the core rulebook states that, "In all ways, a metamagic spell operates at its original spell level." The only obvious exception to this would be Heighten Spell.
Did the writers merely use the term of "increasing the spell level" instead of what is used in the feats' individual definitions as, "uses up a spell slot X level(s) higher than the spell's actual level"? I noticed on the d20PFSRD site, that in their Metamagic Feat definitions, they use a "Level Increase" entry.
I have one other question. Do I still have to burn a higher level spell slot when I use this power? If I do, then this power is close to worthless as preparing a spell to be Metamagic isn't the problem; it's having to use up the higher spell slots.
I appreciate any help you folks can give me. If I've missed something somewhere, please let me know where I can find it. Thanks again.