Complete MAge: Alacritous Cogitation Feat

[johnbragg]

ALACRITOUS COGITATION
You can leave a prepared spell slot open to spontaneously cast a spell.

Prerequisite: Must prepare arcane spells.

Benefit: If you leave an arcane spell slot open when preparing spells, you can use that open slot to cast any arcane spell you know of the same level or lower. Casting the spell requires a full-round action. You can use this feat only once per day, regardless of the number of slots you leave open.

I noticed this in Complete MAge when I was looking for something else. Is there a reason this doesn't pop up in "theorycrafting" threads about caster supremacy? "Once per day" and "full round action" are limitations, but for the cost of a feat instead of levels, it seems like a must-have for high-level casters with spellbooks in the petabyte range.

This seems like a RAW and RAI way of accessing Schrodingers Wizard once per day, which is all a really well-run wizard should need.

Is there some reason this feat doesn't get more discussion?

[weckar]

Doesn't really ask for much discussion, as it is rather straightforward. It's limitations disqualify it for use for most shenanigans that require one to cast spellS spontaneously. And with petabytes of spellbooks... well, let's say that with 100 pages per spellbook that's a lot of spellbooks. The only thing that truly warrants discussion here is what 'knowing' a spell entails for a Wizard.

[johnbragg]

Doesn't really ask for much discussion, as it is rather straightforward. It's limitations disqualify it for use for most shenanigans that require one to cast spellS spontaneously. And with petabytes of spellbooks... well, let's say that with 100 pages per spellbook that's a lot of spellbooks. The only thing that truly warrants discussion here is what 'knowing' a spell entails for a Wizard.

Depends on the resolution required for each page. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0306.html

Ahh, there it is. Modern Rosetta Stone (http://rosettaproject.org/blog/02008/aug/20/very-long-term-backup/)

Book of Genesis translated into 1000 languages, carved into nickel plates readable at 750x magnification.

[MisterKaws]

Why? Uncanny Forethought.

[fishyfishyfishy]

It's a weaker version of Uncanny Forethought. If you're looking for spontaneous casting, that feat and the Diviner alternate class feature that allows you to trade a Wizard bonus feat for spontaneous casting of Divination spells are the go-to when it comes to optimization. This is small change.

[johnbragg]

Thanks guys, it doesn't get heavy use because it was superceded by something bigger and badder, Uncanny Forethought.

[weckar]

Honestly, I can see an argument for NOT taking Uncanny Forethought over this. The feat tax is one thing, the caster level reduction another. Especially being a thing you take just for emergencies, Alacritous Cogitation could be as good or better.

[johnbragg]

Honestly, I can see an argument for NOT taking Uncanny Forethought over this. The feat tax is one thing, the caster level reduction another. Especially being a thing you take just for emergencies, Alacritous Cogitation could be as good or better.

Might also depend on your and your table's optimization level. The lower-OP, the less game-breaking this would be.

(OF course, that's true of pretty much every item in 3X, but...)