Metamagic guides for wizards and clerics?

[paladinguy]

I'm new to casters, and I'm reading a little bit about how metamagic stuff is insane, but I don't understand metamagic at all. Are there good guides that will explain to me like i'm an idiot why metamagic is really good and excatly how to abuse it for a wizard and a cleric? :)

thanks.

[Captain Xenon]

well, a lot of things are available as rods. in many cases having the rod is better, as it rods dont effect the level you prepare the spell at.

heighten spell can be very useful. it lets you increase the save DC, but does more than just that. some effects will only cancel spells below a certain level. if you have a heightened continual flame, then darkness wont dispel it.

also heighten spell is a perquisite for preferred spell, which allows a wizard to spontaneously cast one spell.

still spell has a lot of use- removing the somatic component would let you cast even in armor, but also means you dont need a hand free.

the problem with a lot of metamagic, is how many levels it increases the spell. metamagic is useless before 3rd level, because you dont have the slots for it. widen spell is 3 higher (so a 1st becomes a 4th), and quicken is 4 higher (so a 1st becomes a 5th). so each metamagic has a different minimum level at which you can effectively use it, but you can technically get the feat before that level. a wizard who only gets metamagic feats will be even weaker at lower levels, but potentially more dangerous at higher levels because of it.

[Azixirad]

The meta magic feats are pretty self explanatory, it really depends on your character concept, like all feats pick a direction and go with it.

The example that comes to mind is an evoker wizard focusing on fireball. IMO go with empowered, intensified, dazing and quicken or maybe you want to focus on cold spells and rime combo.

You are not an idiot, just go with your concept and eliminate 75-80% of the options and you should be fine.

[Reynard_the_fox]

If you go to the Guide to the Class Guides and take a look at the Metamagic sections, you should get a pretty good idea of what some of the better and worse metamagics are and some strategies for them. Here's a quick rundown, though.

USES OF METAMAGIC

1) Increase Save DCs
Metamagic like Heighten, Persist, and Bouncing make your Save-Or-Suck spells more likely to connect. Even though a 5th level spell may be more devastating than a 3rd-level one, enemies are more likely to fail their saves against a Persistent 3rd-level spell than a regular 5th-level one.

2) Get Around Casting Restrictions
Metamagic like Silent Spell and Still Spell are useful for casting when you otherwise can't (e.g., you're grappled, or in a zone of Silence). Some metamagic lets you affect enemies with spells that normally wouldn't affect them. Quicken Spell is a must-have for any high level caster - it lets you cast spells as a swift action, and therefore get off twice as many spells per turn.

3) Increase Damage
Metamagic like Maximize and Intensify Spell are vital for any blaster build - a metamagicked Fireball is going to be way more damaging than a non-metamagic high-level blast.

4) Spell Slot Versatility
Say a sorcerer picks Wall of Stone as his first 5th-level spell. If he has no metamagic spells, those 5th-level spell slots are going to essentially be wasted when there's no stone around. However, if he has Persistent Spell, he can simply use those slots to cast more powerful 3rd-level spells instead.

Two other things you should be aware of:

SPONTANEOUS VS. PREPARED CASTERS

For a prepared caster, you need to pick what metamagic you want to apply to spells when you prepare them; then you cast them normally. For a spontaneous caster, you can apply any metamagic at any time, but casting the spell becomes a full-round action instead of a standard action. So if a sorcerer knows Silent Spell and enters a zone of silence, he can still cast anything he wants - just as a full-round action and at one spell level higher than normal. If a wizard enters a zone of silence, he can only cast the spells he specifically prepared with Silent Spell that morning, but he can move around while he does so.

METAMAGIC RODS

Whether you're spontaneous or prepared, a metamagic rod can apply one type of metamagic to any spell you cast 3 times per day. This doesn't increase the casting time or level of the spell. Lesser rods can be used with any spell of 3rd-level or lower, regular with 6th or lower, and greater rods with any spell level. Rods tend to be especially useful for prepared casters; in the example above, a wizard with a Silent Metamagic Rod can cast any spell he wants silently - for example, Dispel Magic to get rid of the zone of silence.

So there you have it! Beginner's guide to metamagic.