Retributive Spell + Familiar = Punch Birds to Quicken Spells!

[Reize]

I came across an interaction between Retributive Spell (PHBII) and the Share Spells ability of the familiar and would like to see what people think of it.

A retributive spell, for +1 adjustment, stays dormant for 24 hours or until the caster is hit in melee.

Because share spells allows a caster to cast personal range spells on his familiar, a wizard should be able to able to cast a retributive fox's cunning on his familiar. When combat begins, the familiar flies over the wizard, provoking an attack of opportunity, and the wizard bops it with his staff. The retributive spell goes off, and the wizard now has +4 int, consuming the wizard's attack of opportunity but the familiar's swift action for the turn and effectively quickening the spell.

Furthermore, because the wizard remains the caster of the spell, he has effectively cast it on himself. So, as per share spells, it may also affect his familiar as long as it remains within 5 feet.

TL;DR Punching an owl reduces metamagic costs by 3
So, opinions? Refutations?

[Fouredged Sword]

This works, in an odd sort of way.

I imagine a retributive time stop would be a nice spell.

Or just have the familiar peck itself. By hitting itself in melee you could have a whole buff list go off on the first round of combat.

[Reize]

I realize Quicken Spell is a much cleaner approach but:
retributive spell is only +1 adjustment,
this means a spontaneous caster can effectively quicken one spell per day without rapid metamagic,
and it doesn't consume the caster's swift action, meaning he could conceivably still cast a quickened spell that round.



Or just have the familiar peck itself. By hitting itself in melee you could have a whole buff list go off on the first round of combat.

I think the wizard needs to attack since, unlike symbionts, share spells only goes one-way. If the familiar pecks itself then all the buffs only affect the familiar, sadly.

[Chronos]

The Retributive Spell feat specifies that you can have only one spell stored that way at a time, so you couldn't have a whole buff list (unless, maybe, you have multiple familiars). And it also says that "A retributive spell can target only the attacker that triggered it, even if the spell would normally allow you to target multiple creatures.", which might override being able to share it to your familiar, too (though buffing yourself is probably more important than buffing your familiar anyway).

[Flickerdart]

The more hardcore builds mitigate Quicken to 0 anyway, and wouldn't want to waste a feat on Retributive for a 1/combat thing that requires them to have a familiar, and lower power level games might look askance on someone using this sort of convoluted trickery to get ahead. There's definitely a mid-op sweet spot where this is useful, though.

[Piggy Knowles]

The more hardcore builds mitigate Quicken to 0 anyway, and wouldn't want to waste a feat on Retributive for a 1/combat thing that requires them to have a familiar, and lower power level games might look askance on someone using this sort of convoluted trickery to get ahead. There's definitely a mid-op sweet spot where this is useful, though.

Actually, in higher powered games I'd probably almost always keep a familiar over Abrupt Jaunt or similar effects. Abrupt Jaunt is a nice defensive maneuver, but imbue with spell ability and an extra buddy to ready actions or trigger contingent spell effects means that a familiar is probably way more useful to me if I'm going for all-out power.

I'm still not sure I'd toss this one in unless I had a plethora of feats, but it's still a neat find.

[Chronos]

Or give up the familiar for Abrupt Jaunt or whatever, but then just get it right back via Obtain Familiar.

[Piggy Knowles]

Or give up the familiar for Abrupt Jaunt or whatever, but then just get it right back via Obtain Familiar.

Yeah, that works too. Just depends on feats.

[Spuddles]

Obtain Familiar, get a Draconic Familiar, then retrain Obtain Familiar for Retributive Spell. Pick up a Loredrake Spellhoarding Tome Dragon as your familiar- fifth level wizard casting with all sorcerer Conjuration & Divinations known. Make the spellcraft check to master your familiar's spellbook. Cool, youve got all divinations & conjurations for the price of a feat.