What rule am I missing?

[weckar]

I was looking over some books looking for good build ideas, when I decided to open Magic of Incarnum again. Normally I don't bother with it, for a number of reasons, but I thought: 'eh'.

Now, in the feats section I came across something that was.... interesting. Now I know I am missing some rule that makes this combo NOT work, but I want to know where to find that rule. I found it especially interesting because these feats are on following pages. Anyway:

Assume I'm a preparing spellcaster. Wizard, Cleric... Take your pick.
Now I am also of a psionic race, or have some psionic talent. Fine.
Otherwise, I have a number of feats. The important thing is that I have a few good metamagic feats. Also, I have Midnight Metamagic and Psycarnum Infusion.

...

So, when preparing spells I make sure I have a psionic focus. I expend it for Midnight Metamagic. Suddenly I can apply all my metamagic to all my spells for free. No spell slot increases. At all.
Every spell quickened and chained? Yes please.


So, what's the rule?

[Deophaun]

Not sure how you're getting that.

Psycarnum Infusion lets you treat your Midnight Metamagic feat as if it had your maximum essentia investment. Let's say you're level 20 and have taken no levels in a meldshaping class. That means Midnight Metamagic is treated as having 4 points of essentia invested in it. You can then use that essentia to buy off four levels of metamagic adjustment per day. So, you'd only be able to get off 1 quickened spell or 1 chained and 1 stilled spell that way per day.

[ScionoftheVoid]

You're missing that Midnight Metamagic has a maximum essentia capacity - which is the base described in the table of essentia capacity by level, possibly plus one if you have the Improved Essentia Capacity feat. Psycarnum Infusion doesn't give you infinite essentia for the purpose of that feat, nor does it remove the normal cap on how many points of essentia you can invest in it, it just fills it to capacity.

The relevant bit of Midnight Metamagic that you're looking for is: "You can apply the effect of this feat to as many spells as you can afford to invest with essentia [...] as long as you know all metamagic feats applied and you have sufficient essentia capacity to do so." Emphasis mine.

[weckar]

Ah, right. As said, I don't open this book much...

So, at low levels (where this combo would matter most) you can only cut off 1 spell slot level PER DAY?

Back to the drawing board =p