Removing metamagic and metaspell feats?

[Belial_the_Leveler]

How would balance be affected if ALL feats affecting spells were removed? No metamagic, no feats modifying rules for spells (such as natural spell) and so on.

[Extra Anchovies]

Obviously, casters would lose power. A lot of the easy ways for casters to break games is through metamagic and cost-reducers, such as Incantatrix shenanigans or Divine Metamagic.

It wouldn't balance casters and mundanes, almost nothing can. However, it would be a good step towards doing so, and is very easy to implement.

[nedz]

Just remove the cost reducers.

This will rebalance things a little, well metamagic against normal spells anyway.

[Psyren]

This can actually hurt noncasters too. Many buffs or support spells are best used with metamagic, particularly Extend and Quicken. Remove those, and the caster has less incentive to prepare these spells for noncaster benefit. Or he may end up having to prepare twice as many since the spell will end halfway through the day, cutting into the other utility areas for the party.

10 min./level buffs for instance are prime candidates for extension - buffs like Stoneskin, Freedom of Movement and Resist Energy for instance are often more useful on the frontliners who are more in harm's way than the casters themselves. Or the caster will want to prep multiple extended versions to protect both themselves and someone else.

Quickened Spells meanwhile can allow the caster to help allies while still contributing to the overall battle. A Quickened Sanctuary before moving in for a Heal for instance.

Finally, there are metamagics that just plain make life easier for allies, like Selective Spell or Widen Spell to make placing an area spell easier (whether to help as many allies as possible, hinder as many foes as possible, or exclude allies from a harmful effect.)