Arcane Fusion, GAF questions

[Triangle Man]

So, I just recently got GAF with my Sorcerer because I've been enjoying my AF so much since I got it (though there are some things I'm still not sure about). With that said, I have a few questions:

Can I cast GAF and use AF as one of the spells to be able to cast three (I think) spells with that one spell slot?
Is there anything a caster is not allowed to cast with GAF or AF (such as spells with XP costs, etc.)?
And finally, a question that relates to both - Do the spells activate at exactly the same time, or do the activate one after another, and you choose which activates first?

Also, are there any super-awesome combos that I should know about?

[DeAnno]

You can use a GAF to cast an AF (5th level, taking up GAF's 7th level cast) and any other 4th level spell you have, getting 2 4th level spells and 1 1st.

The biggest restriction on AF spells is that all the spells you cast with it must have casting times of 1 standard action or less. This means metamagic spells normally can not be shoved into an Arcane Fusion.

There are two big combos with Arcane Fusion, both involving other action advantage spells. The less horrible one is using Arcane Spellsurge, which shortens the casting time of spells so you can use metamagic inside an Arcane Fusion (and additionally cast even more spells per round, especially since Arcane Fusion itself become swift).

The other (arguably broken) combo is a Nova-Chain involving Arcane Fusion and Celerity. This chain relies on the fact that Celerity does not resolve and daze you until the action you use with it is completed. First, cast AF or GAF. Then, use the spell you get that isn't 4th level (so either 1st or 7th). Then, use the 4th level spell to cast Celerity again, and inside that Celerity recast AF or GAF. You can keep repeating this to get a 7th level spell for each 8+ spell slot and a 1st level spell for each 5+ spell slot. Once you finally stop jamming in the Celeritys, they all resolve in a big chain and daze you simultaneously (but with overlapping durations, so still for only a round).

More generally in play, Arcane Fusion and it's greater cousin are often used to jam out a targeting effect like True Strike or True Casting as you use the other half of the Fusion to cast an attack spell.

[Fearan]

Throw in a little Arcane Thesis (AF and GAF) and Practical metamagic(twin) for Twin GAF each for Twinned AF(Twinned MM and MM in each) and Twinned MM.
Boom. Use metamagic specialist to reduce casting time of your spells

[faceroll]

Sanctum Spell lowers the level of a spell by one, outside of your sanctum. That should allow you to cram a few more Arcane Fusions in there.

[Runestar]

The other (arguably broken) combo is a Nova-Chain involving Arcane Fusion and Celerity. This chain relies on the fact that Celerity does not resolve and daze you until the action you use with it is completed. First, cast AF or GAF. Then, use the spell you get that isn't 4th level (so either 1st or 7th). Then, use the 4th level spell to cast Celerity again, and inside that Celerity recast AF or GAF. You can keep repeating this to get a 7th level spell for each 8+ spell slot and a 1st level spell for each 5+ spell slot. Once you finally stop jamming in the Celeritys, they all resolve in a big chain and daze you simultaneously (but with overlapping durations, so still for only a round).

That sounds so M:TG'esque....:smallamused:

So what are some of the more popular spell combinations? I realise this spell is a little hamstrung by you needing to know the spells you want to cast (and sorcs only have so many spells known).

Eg: dimension anchor+forcecage (traps the fighter and leaves him unable to teleport out).

[DeAnno]

So what are some of the more popular spell combinations? I realise this spell is a little hamstrung by you needing to know the spells you want to cast (and sorcs only have so many spells known).

In one campaign I was in, GAF = True Strike + Twinned Maximized Force Orb (there were reducers involved) for Touch Attack+20 ignores concealment to deal 120 damage was pretty common.

[Tyndmyr]

So, I just recently got GAF with my Sorcerer because I've been enjoying my AF so much since I got it (though there are some things I'm still not sure about). With that said, I have a few questions:

Can I cast GAF and use AF as one of the spells to be able to cast three (I think) spells with that one spell slot?

Yes. With Sanctum Spell, etc shenanigans, you can do even crazier things.


Is there anything a caster is not allowed to cast with GAF or AF (such as spells with XP costs, etc.)?

I don't recall any restriction on xp costs. So long as it fits in a standard action, you should be good. If using metamagics as a spont caster, you should already be utilizing a way to make that not kill your actions.


And finally, a question that relates to both - Do the spells activate at exactly the same time, or do the activate one after another, and you choose which activates first?

Im not quite certain what is RAW for this. Realistically, at the table, I resolve them one after another, in the order the caster prefers. It all happens in a very, very short amount of time, yes, so having the caster declare all targets before resolving any of them is quite reasonable.

[DeAnno]

The RAW is right in the spell:


Both Spells take effect in the order you choose, as if you had cast them one after the other

[prufock]

The other (arguably broken) combo is a Nova-Chain involving Arcane Fusion and Celerity. This chain relies on the fact that Celerity does not resolve and daze you until the action you use with it is completed. First, cast AF or GAF. Then, use the spell you get that isn't 4th level (so either 1st or 7th). Then, use the 4th level spell to cast Celerity again, and inside that Celerity recast AF or GAF. You can keep repeating this to get a 7th level spell for each 8+ spell slot and a 1st level spell for each 5+ spell slot. Once you finally stop jamming in the Celeritys, they all resolve in a big chain and daze you simultaneously (but with overlapping durations, so still for only a round).

Does this actually work, though? Leaving aside the fact that I would never use this or allow it, Celerity uses up your swift action from the next round, and you only get 1 swift action per round.

[DeAnno]

Does this actually work, though? Leaving aside the fact that I would never use this or allow it, Celerity uses up your swift action from the next round, and you only get 1 swift action per round.

When cast as part of an Arcane Fusion, you don't have to pay any actions for it (or spell slots), since you theoretically already paid for Arcane Fusion. The spells cast by Arcane Fusion just happen, no actions needed.

Also, it's honestly a lot more limited than a typical Psion nova, if perhaps simpler to pull off.