Is Magic in the Blood Money in the Bank?

[prufock]

The Magic in the Blood feat allows you to use your racial spell-like abilities 3 times per day if they were originally 1 per day. This is a great feat, depending on your race, but not stupidly broken or anything. Is it possible to really abuse this feat?

Some commonly-cited best buys for this feat are:
- Whisper Gnome: 4 decent SLAs usable once per day each. LA 0
- Magic-Blooded: 4 utility SLAs usable once per day. LA 0
- Half-Fey: SLAs depending on hit dice, which is quite a list by level 20. Total you get 10 SLAs once per day. Mostly enchantment/illusion. LA +2
- Phrenic: Like the Half-Fey, based on hit dice (every 2 HD), but not as many 1/day SLAs overall - "only" 8. LA +2

So you can get some pretty good stuff for a +4 level adjustment overall. But maybe there's better? What else could we slap on this chassis?

Do Heritage feats work? Specifically, Magic in the Blood says racial SLAs, so I'm thinking no, as written. If they did, the Fey Heritage line has some 1/day SLAs as well.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Necropolitan (LM) + Spellstitched (CA)
Distribute the 1st and 2nd level spell-like ability uses at 3/day and 1/day, all others just split it evenly so each is 1/day. All of those become usable 3/day with Magic in the Blood.

[nedz]

Fey Heritage, and Fiendish Heritage, derived SLAs are debatable.
These certainly have all the hallmarks of racial SLAs, but the feats don't state that they are.
I guess its a DM call, so YMMV ?

[Runestar]

Check the feat's region requirements. Only a few races are allowed to take the feat, namely the plane touched, fey'ri (as per the PGTF errata), drow, spirit folk and certain dwarf/gnome subraces.

Apart from the fey'ri (which comes with a debilitating +3LA anyways) and possibly drow, these races have only very weak 1/day SLAs that don't really benefit much from being able to use them 3/day.

So it isn't really possible to abuse this feat, IMO.

[nedz]

Check the feat's region requirements. Only a few races are allowed to take the feat, namely the plane touched, fey'ri (as per the PGTF errata), drow, spirit folk and certain dwarf/gnome subraces.

Apart from the fey'ri (which comes with a debilitating +3LA anyways) and possibly drow, these races have only very weak 1/day SLAs that don't really benefit much from being able to use them 3/day.

So it isn't really possible to abuse this feat, IMO.

Half-Fey/Half-Dwarf from the appropriate region ?

[Gavinfoxx]

I always liked combining Magic Blooded with Magic in the Blood. My Transhuman guide used both.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z9NJIs751Af3i0IEIJwCkIp9H9YFiZYZ7u-wmYVaheI/edit

[ericgrau]

It seems like it would combo extremely well with quicken spell like ability. When D&D combats are so short blowing a turn to cast the same thing a 2nd time isn't that impressive. Casting the same thing 3 times while having all your normal actions on top of that OTOH is phenomenal.

Half-fey has the greatest number of abilities but, well, they're enchantment. Not wasting on your turn on an enchantment might be the one thing to semi-salvage it I suppose. Or quickened glitterdust is nice, but at ECL 14 it comes a bit late.

Whisper gnome might do better because silence is very useful and they are only LA 0. At level 12 you can quicken silence, move next to the caster, then ready an action to follow the caster. Boom, shut down. Granted, you are also effectively shut down, but it's nice against major foes and it makes him wide open to your allies.

Either way it's a mid to high level move. Maybe something with a good 1st level spell could be even better with quicken + magic in the blood. Like true strike or ray of enfeeblement.

[Spuddles]

Check the feat's region requirements. Only a few races are allowed to take the feat, namely the plane touched, fey'ri (as per the PGTF errata), drow, spirit folk and certain dwarf/gnome subraces.

Apart from the fey'ri (which comes with a debilitating +3LA anyways) and possibly drow, these races have only very weak 1/day SLAs that don't really benefit much from being able to use them 3/day.

So it isn't really possible to abuse this feat, IMO.

Can't you take a regional feat with 2 ranks in know local?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Can't you take a regional feat with 2 ranks in know local?

Not since PGtF was printed.

You can still pick one of the races listed in the prerequisites, and pile on templates that give spell-like abilities.

[gorfnab]

Whisper Gnome + Rogue + Magic in the Blood feat + Silencing Strike feat

Drow SLA based E6 build (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5111.msg73307#msg73307)

[prufock]

Necropolitan (LM) + Spellstitched (CA)
Distribute the 1st and 2nd level spell-like ability uses at 3/day and 1/day, all others just split it evenly so each is 1/day. All of those become usable 3/day with Magic in the Blood.
Nice combo!


Fey Heritage, and Fiendish Heritage, derived SLAs are debatable.
These certainly have all the hallmarks of racial SLAs, but the feats don't state that they are.
I guess its a DM call, so YMMV ?
I'm in the No camp on this one, personally. Racial SLAs are SLAs granted by your race; feats are not your race. Though with a lenient DM they could be pretty nice.


Check the feat's region requirements. Only a few races are allowed to take the feat, namely the plane touched, fey'ri (as per the PGTF errata), drow, spirit folk and certain dwarf/gnome subraces.
I don't often play FR (only once ever!) so I may be a bit ignorant on this one, but aren't regions and race two different but interconnected things? IE, can you not have a Whisper Gnome of "the Great Dale, Thesk, or Underdark (Northdark)" as required for the feat?
If not, that's cool. We can still apply templates, which is where you get most of the real power anyway. Half-Fey Phrenic Gnome is still pretty nice.