More flexible metamagic feats

[battlebaby]

I used a house rule for some metamagic feats: like Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell.

I halved the feat benefit so the caster can stack up to 2 times Empower Spell and Enlarge spell.

Enlarge spell increases spell duration by 50% (maximum of 2 stacks for 100% more spell duration) and uses 1 spell slot higher (maximum of 2 spell slots higher with 2 stacks)

Same for Empower spell: increases spell damage by 25% (1 stack, maximum of 2 stacks for 50% more damage) and uses 1 spell slot higher (maximum of 2 spell slots higher with 2 stacks)

Maximize Spell, Quicken Spell, etc effects are not divisible so the rule not applies.

Please, post your feedback/thoughts.

[Majuba]

I like the idea for Empower (there was a Fortify Power feat for psionics that did 25% at +1 - making it either or is a great idea), but Enlarge is already only +1, so halving the benefit at still +1 doesn't work...

+50% for 0 adjust? No, then it's almost an auto feat to enlarge all spells... maybe +0 as a full round action - penalty for wiz/clr, not for sorc... maybe. Ideas anyone?

You could do Widen at 50% for +2, 100% for +3.

Maximize, perhaps Max of die at +3, Max-1 at +2, Max-2 at +1 (sucky for d4's).

Fireball (10d6 average):
Norm|+1 Emp|+1 Max|+2 Emp|+2 Max
_35_|__44__|__40__|__52__|__50__

That'd work. (slightly worse than empower, but guaranteed)

Quicken....... I hesitate greatly, but maybe Move action at +3, or Standard (from full-round) also at +2? Move is nearly as good as swift really.

[Majuba]

You know I'm really thinking about house-ruling this in, though I'm a bit concerned that Maximize will over-shadow Empower. Perhaps allow Empower to go up to +75% for +3.

Thinking more about it, I'm a bit less sure. Spell levels have different gradations - the odd ones are usually the better attack spells, even the better miscellaneous. Allowing a +1 meta-damage can conflict that a bit, kinda "fool" PCs to be over-dependent on damage spells. Still, it's not like they're overused feats.

[udalrich]

Majuba wrote:

You know I'm really thinking about house-ruling this in, though I'm a bit concerned that Maximize will over-shadow Empower. Perhaps allow Empower to go up to +75% for +3.

I'd be less concerned here. With the current rules, any spellcaster focusing on direct damage should take Empower and ignore Maximize, at least until he gets the ability to do it without adjusting the level of the spell.

With the graded versions of Maximize, it's about equal with Empower. Empower gives you a slightly better average for a much more variable result, so I'd say the feats are balanced against each other, which is a definite improvement over the current situation.

Allowing Empower to go to +3/+75% probably does make sense. Maximizing a d6-based spell gives you +71% damage over an average, non-metamagic roll, so it continues the theme of "almost as good as empower but more consistent".

For the record, with other dice sizes, the average gain of the various maximized options are:

d4: -20% +20% +60%
d8: +33% +55% +77%
d10: +45% +63% +81%

I need to find myself a spell that uses d10s and maximize it.