Sorcerer Casting Quickened Dimension Door

[ckdragons]

Would a 10th level sorcerer be able to cast this spell?

One the villians I going to run is planning to "cast quickened dimension door with her metamagic adept power" to escape. This villian is a human vampire aristocrat 1, sorcerer 10. She has the Arcane bloodline and the Quicken Spell metamagic feat.

Quickened uses 4 spell slots higher than the spell being cast (e.g. quickened dimension door should use 8th level spell slot, which she doesnt' have). The metamagic adept only decreases the casting time of a spell when used with a metamagic feat.

What am I missing or did the designer goof?

Thanks!

[Sesharan]

I don't see the problem. Metamagic adept allows you to cast a metamagic'd spell without increasing the spell level a limited number of times per day. Sounds like something you would want to use with Quicken and a high-level spell like Dim Door.

[Pinky's Brain]

"Metamagic Adept (Ex): At 3rd level, you can apply any one metamagic feat you know to a spell you are about to cast without increasing the casting time. You must still expend a higher-level spell slot to cast this spell."

I'd say the designer done goofed, that said even a quickened DD is hardly a sure thing any more in PF.

[Dr Grecko]

ckdragons wrote:

Would a 10th level sorcerer be able to cast this spell?

One the villians I going to run is planning to "cast quickened dimension door with her metamagic adept power" to escape. This villian is a human vampire aristocrat 1, sorcerer 10. She has the Arcane bloodline and the Quicken Spell metamagic feat.

Quickened uses 4 spell slots higher than the spell being cast (e.g. quickened dimension door should use 8th level spell slot, which she doesnt' have). The metamagic adept only decreases the casting time of a spell when used with a metamagic feat.

What am I missing or did the designer goof?

Thanks!

From the metamagic adept verbiage: "You must still expend a higher-level spell slot to cast this spell."

So I would say no. Not possible for a 10th level Sorc.

Edit - "Ninjas did it"

[Zhayne]

That said ... it's an NPC. They don't have to be restricted by the same rules as PCs. You want him to quick D-Door out, he quick D-Doors out.

[Dr Grecko]

Zhayne wrote:

That said ... it's an NPC. They don't have to be restricted by the same rules as PCs. You want him to quick D-Door out, he quick D-Doors out.

My first experience DM'ing back in 3.5 days, I pulled something similar to this. A pleasant argument then ensued about "breaking" the rules that the rest of the group had to abide by. I never tried to pull something like that again.

While it can be cinematic for NPC's to pull off miraculous stunts like this, I think it breaks your players confidence in you as a DM. I would recommend not doing this. Instead just 5 foot step and D-Door. Or pump up his concentration check if he gets grappled by your players so he can pull off a D-Door to escape.

.02

[BiggDawg]

Zhayne wrote:

That said ... it's an NPC. They don't have to be restricted by the same rules as PCs. You want him to quick D-Door out, he quick D-Doors out.

This is terrible advice. Having your NPCs play by different rules is a sure fire way to aggravate your players. Being seen as an unfair DM is just going to create animosity and resentment which will fester.

There are plenty of ways to have the NPC pull of a Dimension Door without it being quickened. 5ft step as mentioned above or just cast defensively. Maybe he had a contingency spell placed on him from a scroll, or give him a race or a magic item that has the capacity to do that, anything aside from just flat out breaking the rules.

It is a much better idea to be creative within the rules than to break them and alienate your players. Pathfinder is a game where it is set up for the PCs and NPCs to largely use the same rules and is part of the basic social contract for the game. Breaking that social contract is always a bad idea as a GM.

[VRMH]

Can't this NPC have a single-use DD-item?

[Zhayne]

I've always felt that if the rules and story are in conflict, the story wins. I've never had a problem with this in any game I've run. NPCs can have access to abilities it would be crazy to give a PC ... because you can expect the PC to use it to its utmost efficiency, while the DM will (or should, at least) use it for plot-relevant purposes. A PC with, say, at-will intangibility will break the game ... the NPC will only use it when the DM wants him to, to further the story.

Secondly, how are the players going to know it's 'illegal' unless you show them the bad guy's character sheet? They don't know what class or level or whatever else he is/has.

And, of course, VRMH's solution is solid as well.

[j b 200]

Also, how do the players know that the sorcerer can't cast it? How can they know the NPC's level? It's not like you showed them his stat block. Just say he has a quickened metamagic rod.

[Majuba]

j b 200 wrote:

Also, how do the players know that the sorcerer can't cast it? How can they know the NPC's level? It's not like you showed them his stat block. Just say he has a quickened metamagic rod.

ROTFLMAO!

They would hunt him down so fast your eyes would spin, just to be able to sell that thing. Worth a fortune.

Scroll of contingency would be the best option if you really need it.

[Morgen]

I'm a bit more curious why it needs to be quickened if it is just for the villain to escape with?

[Pinky's Brain]

Another option is some monster with a teleportation like Su ability who can take passengers ... with her being CR11 it won't raise EL that much, but can provide a quick escape the first time (second time the party will probably use countermeasures).