1: Does the bloodline mutation "blood intensity" increase the spell slot level needed to cast a spell?
2: Does the bloodline mutation "blood intensity" increase the casting time needed to cast a spell?
3: Can I combine a blood intensity spell and quicken spell to cast the spell as a swift action?
1. No.
2. No.
3. Yes.
My first instinct was to agree, on the basis that it's not really metamagic, but re-reading the ability I see it "functions as" the feat, so I'm not 100% sure anymore.
I hope and think blahpers is right, but I now have doubts.
No issue with point 3, though : no reason it shouldn't work.
That was my issue, it says it functions as, so does that mean it is used in the same way as a metamagic feat, including the casting time and slot increase?
Or does it only function as the "benefit" of the feat, and doesnt follow the metamagic rules?
Ugh, a metamagic-like ability.
My feeling is that "otherwise" functions as the Intensified Spell feat would include the spell level increase. Let's look at the feat in question:
An intensified spell increases the maximum number of damage dice by 5 levels. You must actually have sufficient caster levels to surpass the maximum in order to benefit from this feat. No other variables of the spell are affected, and spells that inflict damage that is not modified by caster level are not affected by this feat. An intensified spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.
So, the first sentence is pretty similar to Bloodline Intensity. But there are a lot of following sentences, ending with a sentence specifying you use up a spell one level higher. So, if the last sentence doesn't apply, then what about the others? Would the Bloodline Intensity still restrict you to not exceeding your own spell level? Would other variables of the spell now be affected, as they aren't with Intensified Spell? And worst, would Bloodline Intensity modify the damage dice of spells that don't receive extra dice from levels? This could be killer with something like magic missile, for something like 7d4+1 damage per missile. And that's just a level 1 spell. I'm sure there are many worse examples out there.
We can also compare to the Blood Piercing versus Piercing Spell situation.
There's (partial) overlap here too, but none of the language Intensity has. No reference to the feat, stacking, metamagic in general or anything - and both Intensified and Piercing are from big, important books much older than MTT, so I assume it's no accident.
Both those "Piercing" things should then stack (which I admittedly did not realize before, nor did I really expect it), and be a "free" effect : no casting time or spell slot change.
For when you really want to punch gaping holes in something's SR.
So, I'm guessing Blood Intensity does end up working like the feat. Downsides included.
It's still easy enough to handle, it's sensible ... Can give more than the feat but with its own uses per day limitations. I'm fine with that.
With that, I'll change what I said earlier to :
Yes, as it's written I believe it should be treated like a metamagic feat when it come to both cast time and spell slot needed.
Which i guess also applies to things like Magical Lineage, Spell Perdection, etc.
Quickened still overwrites any metamagic cast time lengthening.
4: So its essentially a metamagic feat that increases cast time and spell slot level - Is this the closest i'll get to an official ruling on this?
5: If it functions as intensified spell (a metamagic feat), does it function as a intensified spell would for prerequisites and effects such as for the spell perfection feat as well?
Thus if we were to take that idea, then a bloodline bonus feat such as a metamagic feat taken as a bloodline power (not just a mutation) would not have to follow the metamagic rules. I think you can see the fallacy in that line of reasoning.
Indeed; that fallacy is that while a bloodline power is not a feat, a feat granted by a bloodline power is. Blood intensity is not a feat at all; it does not inherit the costs of a feat, just as holding an archon's torch doesn't require verbal components to produce its archon's aura effect.
Keep in mind, it's not metamagic rules that increase the level of the spell. It's the text of the feat itself. You can't throw away that part without throwing away the rest of the text, which is obviously not the intent.
6: So if it functions as a metamagic feat to increase spell slot level (which i'm still not 100% if it actually does), does it work with abilities like magical lineage which reduce metamagic level, despite not being a metamagic feat?
7: What about the arcane bloodline arcana? (+1 to DCs for metamagic feat modified spells)
8: What about abilities like the Harrower's Harrow Casting? ("A spell may not be affected by both Harrow casting and a metamagic feat.")
9: Did we ever establish if/how it works with Spell Perfection's prerequisites and effects if it functions as a metamgic feat despite not being a metamagic feat?
Reading it as functioning with metamagic feat rules instead of just reading it as "similarly to the intensify spell feat" opens up a real can of worms regarding questions... Are we sure the ability is meant to function as the feat with the metamagic properties inherent to metamagic feats, including cast time adjustments, spell slot level and possible interactions with everything else that references metamagic feats?
Spell slot modifification comes from the feat text itself, so it’s in a different category than metamagic rules. The ability doesn’t need to be metamagic in any form for that spell slot adjustment to still be in effect.
This all comes down to the question of how similar the ability is to metamagic feats. Everything else flows from there.
Either it works as one, in almost all aspects (although it's still not one, so no good for prereqs).
Or it doesn't, at all, and you get free intensified++ spells at no cost a few times per day.
There's a variety of opinions here, and little chance for anything official. It's a Companion thing, for one, plus it's getting late in the life of PF1.
My final advice would to see with your gm, explain your opinion, maybe point them here if they want more arguments. see what they think.
And if you're the gm, which of those two possibilities are you more comforfable with ?
A bit of a cheap answer, but still probably the best.
Arcane Bloodline 3rd level ability.
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. You can use this ability once per day at 3rd level and one additional time per day for every four sorcerer levels you possess beyond 3rd, up to five times per day at 19th level. At 20th level, this ability is replaced by arcane apotheosis.gives a standard design for a 3rd level bloodline ability.
Not increasing both the slot and casting time while adding a metamagic feat effect would go beyond the standard design for this kind of ability.
Sure it is. For one thing, not all 3rd level bloodline powers are created equal. For another, as doomman47 pointed out, the arcane bloodline ability is better than the mutation in that it supports any metamagic feat.