I have a player who wants to play an incantatrix prestige class from 3.0
http://dndtools.eu/classes/incantatrix/
Is this class overpowered in pathfinder or is it safe to let him play?
Do you mean the Magic of Faerun 3.0 version of the class (which you linked), or the 3.5 Player's Guide to Faerun update? The latter is vastly more powerful (but the 3.0 version is really good too). Either way, "overpowered" really depends on what they do with it, and how this compares to what the other characters can do, but the Incantatrix is a class so powerful that it's easy to smash all but the highest-power campaigns to pieces with it without much effort. It's also a class new players like to gravitate towards without really understanding it because they read on the internet that it's the most powerful PrC in 3.5.
Ask the player to give you a list of tricks they want the character to be able to use, then evaluate what they'll be allowed to do based on that: Walking around with every spell in the game active on themselves at once is probably too much, but a once per day free Quicken Spell on themselves is probably alright. Make it clear that you're trusting them to ONLY use the class for what they've listed, and that breaking this trust will not be taken kindly.
Crazy overpowered.
I have to disagree with Craft Cheese on the order of the munchkinism. In my opinion, the 3.0 Itx you linked is the uber-broken PrC. After it's introduction, every wizard and sorcerer of every player in our group sought that class.
When they revisited it in 3.5, they chopped out half of the multirole over-awesomeness of the class....which was good. It then seemed like much more of a choice, particularly against ALL the 3.5 PrCs, new and revised.
In fact, long ago, I worked up a 5-level PrC (such things existed before Pathfinder) to fill in the extraplanar stuff they yoinked out of the original.
I think the 3.5 from PGtF is still a solid PrC.
History The 3.0 Incantatrix and 3.5 Incantatrix were among the most powerful prestige classes ever published by Wizards of the Coast within their respective editions. While the 3.0 version was comically good to the point where there was very little reason not to take it, the 3.5 version was one of those prestige classes that when run by a GM without a strong hand could quickly snowball out of control with use of Metamagic Effect.
I never had experience with the 'gamebreaking' aspects of the Incantatrix, because any of the GMs I played under would have probably smacked the teeth out of my mouth if I'd gone for cheese with it, but in theory the power is there and more readily accessible and harder to prevent without an outright ruling than other more powerful 3.0/3.5 tricks like Circle Magic.
Balance As I said, these were among the most powerful classes of their respective editions, and I think you can say pretty easily that even the less powerful 3.0 version your player wants to use is overpowered within the context of the Pathfinder system. Three bonus feats in 10 levels, full spellcasting progression, reduced metamagic cost for all metamagic feats, instant metamagic that makes the universalist ability look like a joke, immunity to two of the deadliest attack types in the game for spellcasters (death effects & energy drain), bonus vs. the SR of outsiders, and a bunch of incidental goodies as well make this prestige class one that removes any real inclination to stay in the wizard or sorcerer class for any length of time.
If you were to allow it I would recommend at the very least losing one level of spellcasting at level 1 and perhaps another level of spellcasting at level 6. As it stands, there is no trade off for the abilities it grants (which are greater in scope and power than any core class).
TL:DR Yes, this class is overpowered. I don't think the 3.0 version will break your game, but it is much better than the existing options in Pathfinder.
The 3.0 was a Strange thing with good powers but not really a focus and no place in the World. The 3.5 version had better focus but still no place in the World. And both will be OP in pathfinder with the equivalent of magic linage on every Spell and the free metamagic.
I suspect you will get a nasty surprise if you allow it at the table.
But if you decide to go with it. Please tell us how it turns out:)
The 'Trix was broken to Hell and back in 3e, and PF only made spellcasters better. Seriously recommend a big fat 'no way'.
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thanks guys. thats what i was thinking as well, but wanted a second opinion before i shut him down