Spell to Spell-like Ability

[VolcanicErupt]

Is there a way to turn a Spell into a Spell-like Ability? Particularly the Spectral Hand spell, preferably at will.

Edit: The ask is for my Dread Necromancer, who I want to take to lvl 20. It is still an idea, but I'd like for her to be human.

[Crake]

Is there a way to turn a Spell into a Spell-like Ability? Particularly the Spectral Hand spell, preferably at will.

There's the innate spell feat, though it requires giving up a spell slot 8 levels higher than the spell you want to turn into an at will SLA, so for spectral hand, that would mean a level 10 spell slot.

[VolcanicErupt]

But slots only go up to lvl 9, so that means I couldn't do it, right?

[RaiKirah]

There's the innate spell feat, though it requires giving up a spell slot 8 levels higher than the spell you want to turn into an at will SLA, so for spectral hand, that would mean a level 10 spell slot.

if you don't mind being evil, extreme cheese, and flying DMGs, you can pick up a spell slot of any arbitrary level to fuel Innate Spell via signing a Faustian Pact (FC2 I believe). You can also get other benefits at the same time.

[JNAProductions]

But slots only go up to lvl 9, so that means I couldn't do it, right?

I believe there's an Epic Feat that gives you a 10th level slot for the purposes of Metamagic and whatnot. Should work here.

[Thurbane]

There's a few different ways to do this: if you give us an idea of your character (class, level etc.) we'll be able to suggest better options.

[VolcanicErupt]

Post has been updated with build.

[AmeVulpes]

You said you want to take it to level 20, but if you don't have to be a level 20 D. Necromancer, have you considered Archmage?


Spell-Like Ability: An archmage who selects this type of high arcana can use one of her arcane spell slots (other than a slot expended to learn this or any other type of high arcana) to permanently prepare one of her arcane spells as a spell-like ability that can be used twice per day. The archmage does not use any components when casting the spell, although a spell that costs XP to cast still does so and a spell with a costly material component instead costs her 10 times that amount in XP. This ability costs one 5th-level spell slot.
Gets it at first level, and can take it repeatedly.

[Troacctid]

The disembodied hand warlock invocation is usable at will and has similar functionality. You could pick it up as an eldritch theurge if you're willing to lose a little bit of progression.

[RoboEmperor]

1. Forget Spell-Like Ability
2. Resort to Items

1. Eternal Wand of Spectral Hand is 2/day. Get as many as you desire.
2. Custom Magic Item of at-will Spectral Hand (command word wondrous item) costs 2 x 3 x 1800 = 10,800gp

edit:Thought Spectral Hand was a 3rd level spell.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Presumably, you want the dread necromancer's capstone, lichdom, so level dips aren't an option? It's not easy, it seems, to get spectral hand at will (other than the custom magic item RoboEmperor mentioned, which, if it works, is by far your best option).

I would personally allow permanency to affect spectral hand. It's a houserule, to be sure, but it's worth asking your DM.

[Crake]

I believe there's an Epic Feat that gives you a 10th level slot for the purposes of Metamagic and whatnot. Should work here.

The extra spell slot feat gives you an extra spell slot of one level lower than the highest spell level that you can cast. So with sanctum spell and snowcasting, an 18th level dread necromancer can cast 11th level spells, allowing him to take extra slot for a 10th level spell slot, then he can DCFS either snowcasting or sanctum spell into innate spell for spectral hand at will as an SLA. Depending on his charisma, he may still have a spare 10th level slot by that point, thanks to an extra slot from high cha.

[VolcanicErupt]

Thanks guys. I think the best option for me is to put it on a ring and call it a day.

[Jowgen]

If you were to undeadify yourself, Spellstiching would be an option, though that only gives you a max of 4/day on a 2nd level slot. Combos reasonably well with undead mastery and the corpsecrafter feats, though if you're going for the captstone at 20, gonna have to temporarily resurrect yourself...

[RoboEmperor]

If you were to undeadify yourself, Spellstiching would be an option, though that only gives you a max of 4/day on a 2nd level slot. Combos reasonably well with undead mastery and the corpsecrafter feats, though if you're going for the captstone at 20, gonna have to temporarily resurrect yourself...

What do you mean by this? Spellstitched Undead can have up to 6th level spells. If all the /day is used on Spectral Hand, he can get up to 11 castings a day.

edit:Thought Spectral Hand was a 3rd level spell.

[Jowgen]

What do you mean by this? Spellstitched Undead can have up to 6th level spells. If all the /day is used on Spectral Hand, he can get up to 7 castings a day.

Hadn't considered burning higher level slots on it. The sheer wastefulness was hard to conceive.

[Thurbane]

Is Spectral Hand able to be Persisted?

If so, would a combo of Southern Magician, Extend Spell, Persist Spell, and Divine Metamagic work? Questionable as to whether SM would make SH a "divine spell that you know", but the DM might let it fly...

[ExLibrisMortis]

Is Spectral Hand able to be Persisted?

If so, would a combo of Southern Magician, Extend Spell, Persist Spell, and Divine Metamagic work? Questionable as to whether SM would make SH a "divine spell that you know", but the DM might let it fly...
It's not, because it's got Medium range. And changing the range on it (as with Ocular Spell) would be giving up a lot of the utility :smallfrown:.

[Thurbane]

It's not, because it's got Medium range. And changing the range on it (as with Ocular Spell) would be giving up a lot of the utility :smallfrown:.

Bummer.

Just out of curiosity, assuming SH was a legal spell (or we were discussing another spell that was legal), would the feat combo above work for a Dread Necro?

[ExLibrisMortis]

Just out of curiosity, assuming SH was a legal spell (or we were discussing another spell that was legal), would the feat combo above work for a Dread Necro?
I think it would, yes. You meet all the feat prerequisites, you know the spell in question, and you can cast it as a divine spell. The only issue is the Southern Magician paragraph saying that "the actual source of the spell's power does not change", but considering that the first part of the feat pretty much contradicts that, I think that's a fluffy way of saying "you're not suddenly an Ur-Priest, don't feel bad".

[Rijan_Sai]

The extra spell slot feat gives you an extra spell slot of one level lower than the highest spell level that you can cast. So with sanctum spell and snowcasting, an 18th level dread necromancer can cast 11th level spells, allowing him to take extra slot for a 10th level spell slot, then he can DCFS either snowcasting or sanctum spell into innate spell for spectral hand at will as an SLA. Depending on his charisma, he may still have a spare 10th level slot by that point, thanks to an extra slot from high cha.

Just a little clarification:
The epic feat in question is Improved Spell Capacity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#improvedSpellCapacity)


When you select this feat, you gain one spell slot per day of any level up to one level higher than the highest-level spell you can already cast in a particular class.
Extra Spell Slot goes down; Improved Spell Capacity goes up!

[ezekielraiden]

I second the "ask your DM if you can develop a custom magic item for at-will use." It's not particularly exploitative, and very in-character for the class in question. Make a quest of it, even; perhaps there was a minor artifact that could do this (plus maybe some other benefits), but it was broken by goody-two-shoes adventurers fighting a lich who used it. Now you want to repair it, and hopefully avoid the problems that got it broken in the first place...but there may be reasons that lich was so violently overthrown...