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View Full Version : What's the best metamagic feat without prerequisites? [3.x]



FMArthur
2011-01-19, 09:10 PM
It's a fairly simple question, but perhaps too subjective for the simple Q&A thread. The great Sculpt, Invisible, Split Ray, and I'm sure plenty of others all require one metamagic feat. Is there one that is of a similar level of power that doesn't? If not, what are the best weaker ones? This is for a Wizard doing minimal, if any, metamagic cost reduction.

I'm looking at maybe Still or Sudden Still, for emergencies, or Sudden Widen for a huge conjured disaster once a day. I know Suddens are frowned upon, but I probably won't take anything more than Metamagic School Focus and maybe not even that - so I'm looking for inexpensive adjustments to make them still worth it.

Keld Denar
2011-01-19, 09:17 PM
If you keep a Dim Door handy, Sudden Silence is actually decent. You never know when your DM will ambush you with Evards + Silence...

Otherwise, I'm actually partial to Empower. Its not great for blasting, but its AMAZING for some other things. Empowered Ray of Enfeeblement/Clumsiness is one and a half times as sucky, empowered False Life gives 1.5x as many temp HP, etc.

Actually, Empowered Scorching Ray is pretty decent too, for a 4th level slot, assuming you are right at one of the level breaks where you get your 2nd or 3rd ray. 3 x 6 = 18d6 damage, effectively. Pew pew!

Bakkan
2011-01-19, 10:11 PM
Fell Drain (Libris Mortis) is a nice one, especially at low levels. At 5th level, a Fell Drain Magic Missile can take out 3 1 HD creatures with no save.

Zaq
2011-01-20, 01:51 AM
Honestly, it's prosaic, but Extend Spell is pretty sexy. At medium/high levels you can use it to make 10 min/lv. spells last pretty close to all day, and at lower levels you can use it to make hr/lv. spells last all day.

Also, I agree that the Fell X line is pretty fun if you like that sort of thing. Specialized, sure, but useful. Fell Frighten Sonic Snap is a good use of a 2nd level slot (not Web or Glitterdust, sure, but also less likely to put you directly in the GM's crosshairs).

ericgrau
2011-01-20, 02:45 AM
Extend spell is nice, except that you can extend level 1-3 spells for a measly 3,000 gp and extend is usually best used on low level buffs anyway. So as a feat I don't think it's so hot.

Draz74
2011-01-20, 02:49 AM
I sense much wisdom in this thread. Sudden Still, Sudden Silent, and Fell Drain are all great choices. (And Extend is indeed awesome, and should indeed be used via Rod rather than via Feat.)

Chain should be added to the list of great metamagics that do have a prereq.

Scarey Nerd
2011-01-20, 02:58 AM
Personally, I'm partial to Reach Spell from Complete Divine. Helped me out when I made an Archivist that enjoyed torturing people with inflicts, but wanted to be a safe distance away (He was messed up).

Tvtyrant
2011-01-20, 03:19 AM
I like Split Ray as a good debuff metamagic; combined with enervation its pretty tasty. Its also good with Ray of Exhaustion because it guarantees the opponent will become exhausted in 1 round. As a fifth level spell slot that isn't shabby.

Runestar
2011-01-20, 04:54 AM
If you keep a Dim Door handy, Sudden Silence is actually decent. You never know when your DM will ambush you with Evards + Silence...

Why bother? Suspended silence (spell compendium) does the same thing without a save, and best of all, it travels with you. :smallamused:

Fishy
2011-01-20, 05:31 AM
It's a terrible feat, but my Divinations expert is going to grab Rapid Spell as soon as possible, because making the rest of the party stand around for two hours while I'm Scrying and Divining is super lame.

Killer Angel
2011-01-20, 06:37 AM
As said by others, metafeats to increse utilities are great but...
Quicken spell, 'coz action economy is all.


This is for a Wizard doing minimal, if any, metamagic cost reduction.


Even without reduction... Place a combo in one round, and you'll end the encounter.

Eldan
2011-01-20, 07:54 AM
As said by others, metafeats to increse utilities are great but...
Quicken spell, 'coz action economy is all.



Even without reduction... Place a combo in one round, and you'll end the encounter.

I was just about to say that. It's also more versatile than just about any other metamagic feat. You can quicken almost anything, but many other things can only be added to specific spells. I mean, I love Explosive Spell, or Invisibile spell, but for optimization, you probably can't beat Quicken.

Ernir
2011-01-20, 08:31 AM
It took that many posts for someone to mention quicken? Wow.

If there's only one metamagic you can take, that should probably be it, the only reason it's not very good to qualify for other metamagics is how much of a high-level trick unmitigated Quickening is.

Kaww
2011-01-20, 09:34 AM
It's a terrible feat, but my Divinations expert is going to grab Rapid Spell as soon as possible, because making the rest of the party stand around for two hours while I'm Scrying and Divining is super lame.

If you are epic Rapid Spell True Resurrection + Chaos flask = True Resurrection for 100gp. :smallwink: It's worth a feat...

FMArthur
2011-01-20, 09:37 AM
It took that many posts for someone to mention quicken? Wow.

If there's only one metamagic you can take, that should probably be it, the only reason it's not very good to qualify for other metamagics is how much of a high-level trick unmitigated Quickening is.

You hit the nail on the head, though: it is quite exclusive to mid- to high-level casters. I would only say it actually starts being worthwhile when you can quicken second level spells. I was thinking about feats to take well before that, to be used as prerequisites for Sculpt and Invisible during lower-level play. It'd be better to retrain the feat you choose earlier into Quicken later than to just start with an inert or ineffective Quicken.

Actually, looking at the feat retraining description in PHII, it looks like you can just retrain the original metamagic to anything else without losing your other metamagic feats if they satisfy each other's requirements. It probably makes RAI angrily pack up and leave in a huff though.

Person_Man
2011-01-20, 10:36 AM
Here are a few out of the box suggestions, some of which aren't quite metamagic, but are nonetheless very effective for casters:

Anything that raises caster level: There are a bunch (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872350/Raising_Caster_Level) of Feats and items that raise the caster level of certain types of spells (or all spells under certain conditions), and most have few or no prereqs. Using one isn't that big of a deal. But if a mid level build sinks 2+ feats and a good hunk of gp into this, you can generally raise your caster level 50%ish for a certain spells, drastically increasing everything that depends on it (range, area of effect, damage, Save DC, etc). A good example is the much maligned Wu Jun. With his Elemental Mastery class ability, 2 magic items, and 2 feats, he can add +8 to his caster level with Fire spells.
Arcane Strike: Burn arcane spells to gain an untyped bonus to hit and damage. Complete Warrior pg 96.
Extraordinary Concentration: This Feat allows you to maintain Concentration on a spell as a Move Action (normally a Standard Action). If you beat the DC by 10 or more, you can maintain concentration as a Swift Action. It's a huge action advantage when used with certain spells.
Extraordinary Spell Aim: Exclude one creature from spell area. Very handy for when you don't want to hit your allies with your Fireball or whatever. Although this can be replaced by Spellguard Rings, if you have a large-ish party this can be a more efficient substitute. Comp Adventurer pg 109.
Mobile Spellcasting: If you cast a spell as a Standard Action, you can make a Concentration check to move as part of the same action. A big action advantage. Comp Adventurer pg 111.
Minor Shapeshift: As long as you have any Polymorph spell of 4th level or higher memorized, you can spend a Swift Action to give yourself temporary hit points equal to your Hit Dice. Great for Gish.
Draconic Claw: I'm cheating a bit on this one because it requires Draconic Heritage feat, but you can get that for free by playing certain races. This feat gives you a claw attack as a Swift Action whenever you cast a Standard Action spell. This doesn't deal much damage, but can be used to trigger secondary effects that depend on melee attacks like Knockback, Knock-Down, Sand Dancer, Staggering Strike, etc. Comp Arcane pg 77.

dextercorvia
2011-01-20, 10:58 AM
There is nothing wrong with Heighten spell, especially for a Sorcerer. If you are throwing around SoX's, chances are you can only target one save with your highest level spell known.

Eldariel
2011-01-20, 11:06 AM
Extend Spell is prolly what you want. A very good feat, especially once you get past the first 3 spell levels. Quicken Spell is the other option. Those two are personal favorites and feats I always pick up Core.

Gnaeus
2011-01-20, 11:16 AM
Rapid spell for anyone who summons.
Retributive spell works like quicken with a lower cost, but only if you just got hit.