Heighten Spell, Slaymates, and Early Entry

[Segev]

We’re all fairly familiar with metamagic cheese and Heoghten Spell as means of obtaining early satisfaction of prerequisites based on spell levels one can cast, but this one strikes me as unusual for just how open-ended it is. The question is, what arguments are there to say it doesn’t work? Before we get into whether a DM will let you find or manufacture Slaymates of sufficient number, let’s make sure that having access to their pale auras will permit wary entry.

The biggest argument is one I tend to reject for various reasons, but which I will include for completeness: the question of whether multiple pale auras “stack.” If we assume they do not, then this isn’t open-ended, but it is still -1 metamagic level for heighten spell. And it costs next to nothing save some RP effort to quest for the little tyke.

If we assume that they do stack, it becomes quite open-ended, unless I’m missing something.

Thoughts on this? I bring it up because we almost never see Slaymates and their Pale Aura mentioned amongst spell level manipulation for early entry tricks.

[magic9mushroom]

We’re all fairly familiar with metamagic cheese and Heoghten Spell as means of obtaining early satisfaction of prerequisites based on spell levels one can cast, but this one strikes me as unusual for just how open-ended it is. The question is, what arguments are there to say it doesn’t work? Before we get into whether a DM will let you find or manufacture Slaymates of sufficient number, let’s make sure that having access to their pale auras will permit wary entry.

The biggest argument is one I tend to reject for various reasons, but which I will include for completeness: the question of whether multiple pale auras “stack.” If we assume they do not, then this isn’t open-ended, but it is still -1 metamagic level for heighten spell. And it costs next to nothing save some RP effort to quest for the little tyke.

If we assume that they do stack, it becomes quite open-ended, unless I’m missing something.

Thoughts on this? I bring it up because we almost never see Slaymates and their Pale Aura mentioned amongst spell level manipulation for early entry tricks.

1. Heighten Spell + metamagic cost reducers = questionable.
2. Temporary effect + PrC entry requirement = questionable.
3. Slaymate moves more than 10 ft from you = oops, you lose all PrC abilities (until you reach the prerequisite without it; even then, there can be issues if somebody temporarily breaks your ability to cast spells).
4. Slaymates stacking with other Slaymates = questionable.

[Crake]

1. Heighten Spell + metamagic cost reducers = questionable.

I've never actually heard of anyone using heighten spell with metamagic cost reducers. More often it's with versatile spellcaster (to be able to cast one spell slot higher than normal, FAQ approved) and/or with earth spell, which explicitly lets highten go one step above your highest spell slot. With all of those feats (which would require human + 2 flaws) you could actually get 3rd level spells at 1st level without any metamagic cost reducers. You simply heighten a 1st level spell to 2nd level by spending two 1st level spell slots, and earth spell kicks it up to a 3rd level spell.

To the actual topic in question though, the issue I would present as a DM is that the pre-requisites are requirements for you to be able to do, if someone else is providing you with a benefit, it's not really something you can do. It would be like trying to use imbue with spell ability to qualify for a casting prc.

[magic9mushroom]

I've never actually heard of anyone using heighten spell with metamagic cost reducers.

Because it's questionable. Some of the cost reducers (Dweomerkeeper capstone, Arcane Thesis) specifically state that they don't work on Heighten Spell, and there's the arguments more generally that Heighten Spell doesn't properly have a spell-slot cost to reduce and/or that reducing the cost of Heighten would also reduce its effect. I will say that Slaymate has more permissive wording in this regard than most of the other officially-sanctioned cost-reducers I know (Arcane Thesis, Incantatrix, Dweomerkeeper, Easy Metamagic, Practical Metamagic, Improved Metamagic), in that it hits the spell after the metamagic feat is applied rather than interacting with the spell-slot cost (Arcane Thesis has similar wording, but outlaws Heighten, and Practical Metamagic doesn't mention it directly).

[Kalkra]

I think the argument is that things like Earth Spell and Eldritch Corruption prove that spell level isn't inextricably tied to spell slot, so then Heighten Spell is just like any other metamagic, and able to be reduced by metamagic reducers.