Can I prepare spells in the wrong level slot?


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Can I use a higher level slot to prepare a lower level spell without a feat? For instance Magic Missile in a level 3 slot.

If I still and silence the Magic Missile when I cast it is it treated as a level three spell?

I swear in 3.5 the answer to both of these was yes. Or I may have just been doing them wrong for years.


TimrehIX wrote:
Can I use a higher level slot to prepare a lower level spell without a feat? For instance Magic Missile in a level 3 slot.

Yes.

Quote:
If I still and silence the Magic Missile when I cast it is it treated as a level three spell?

No. The spell does use a 3rd level spell slot, but it is still a first level spell. Only the Heighten Spell metamagic feat actually changes the spells level.

Silver Crusade

Jeraa wrote:
No. The spell does use a 3rd level spell slot, but it is still a first level spell. Only the Heighten Spell metamagic feat actually changes the spells level.

Well... Boogers! I don't like that at all.

I am going to write my congressman!


TimrehIX wrote:
Jeraa wrote:
No. The spell does use a 3rd level spell slot, but it is still a first level spell. Only the Heighten Spell metamagic feat actually changes the spells level.

Well... Boogers! I don't like that at all.

I am going to write my congressman!

:)

Dark Archive

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Yes, and what's more, you can prepare any old spell in whatever slot and swap it out if you don't like it*

*Arcanist only


On a related question now that we're discussing metamagic feats.

Is it worth it to get quicken metamagic on a wizard at the first opportunity? It seems not really worth it when all you can quicken are level one spells at that point.

Dark Archive

You can't quicken even 1st level spells until you are 9th level.

Is that what you mean? You can take the feat early if you want, in preparation, but it won't be very useful (barring level reducers like Magical Lineage, various Sorcerer stuff).

The first opportunity is obviously at level 1, but there are more immediate needs (Toughness, Improved Inititative for instance) at that level.

The fist level a Wizard gets both a feat and an opportunity to use Quicken is 9th. You might consider it then, seeing as you have enough spells and abilities at that point to ride out an infrequently used Metamagic. 10th level Wizard feat (for me) would be Opposition Research and then you are halfway through the career. Honestly, I'd just use a rod until now. I'd only get it at the 13-15 range, along with the other high-level feats one needs like Spell Penetration.


I would take Quicken spell at 11th or 13th lv. as you can't do much with it with only 5th level slots.

Scarab Sages

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Ganryu wrote:

On a related question now that we're discussing metamagic feats.

Is it worth it to get quicken metamagic on a wizard at the first opportunity? It seems not really worth it when all you can quicken are level one spells at that point.

I'd say a cleric 9 would benefit more from Quicken Spell as the feat at level nine than would a wizard 9 (because Clr 9 could buff divine favor and divine power in one round, or prep a quickened cure light wounds for emergencies, for instance), but it depends on what you're going for. The main advantage for a wizard to a quickened level 1 spell is that it does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but there are so many 5th-level spells to choose from that it probably is not going to be much fun.

Silver Crusade

This cleric took the Quicken Spell metamagic feat at level 9. The combination of traits Magical Lineage (Divine Favor) and Fate's Favored allow Quickened Divine Favor as a 4th level spell that provides a +4 +4 luck bonus. The other use is to replace the 5th level Luck Domain spell with Quickened Truestrike. Both have been very helpful.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
logic_poet wrote:
Ganryu wrote:

On a related question now that we're discussing metamagic feats.

Is it worth it to get quicken metamagic on a wizard at the first opportunity? It seems not really worth it when all you can quicken are level one spells at that point.

I'd say a cleric 9 would benefit more from Quicken Spell as the feat at level nine than would a wizard 9 (because Clr 9 could buff divine favor and divine power in one round, or prep a quickened cure light wounds for emergencies, for instance), but it depends on what you're going for. The main advantage for a wizard to a quickened level 1 spell is that it does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but there are so many 5th-level spells to choose from that it probably is not going to be much fun.

You wouldn't even need to prepare the quickened CLW because you can spontaneously cast it.

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