The Metamagic Cost Reduction Thread

[pabelfly]

I had trouble finding a good thread with a list of ways to reduce metamagic costs, so I've started this thread.

Base Classes
Hexblade (Impromptu Metamagic) – Can choose one metamagic per day and apply that metamagic without increasing casting cost (Dragon #357)
Sorcerer (Impromptu Metamagic) – Can choose one metamagic per day and apply that metamagic without increasing casting cost (Dragon #357)
Warmage 7, 10, 15, 20 – Sudden Empower, Sudden Enlarge, Sudden Widen, Sudden Maximize as bonus feats
Wizard (Impromptu Metamagic) – Can choose one metamagic per day and apply that metamagic without increasing casting cost (Dragon #357)

Feats
Arcane Thesis (Spellcraft 12, Arcane Spellcasting) – uses spell slot one lower than normal, can’t be reduced lower than original level. May be able to use zero-level to get multiple reductions for other metamagics. (Player’s Handbook 2)
Cerebremetamagic (any metamagic feat) – use power points to pay for a single metamagic, still need to be able to cast a spell of the adjusted level and only works for prepared spells (Dragon #349)
Divine Metamagic (turn or rebuke undead) - choose a metamagic feat, use turn undead to pay for each level increase for that metamagic.
Easy Metamagic (any metamagic feat) – Reduces metamagic cost for a selected metamagic by one, up to one level higher than the spell’s actual level (Dragon #325)
Improved Metamagic(Epic, Spellcraft 30, four metamagic feat) – Reduces metamagic cost for all metamagic feats by one, up to one level higher than the spell’s actual level. Can take multiple times. (Epic Level Handbook)
Metamagic School Focus (Spell Focus or specialist Wizard) - Three times a day, reduce by one level the cost of a metamagic feat applied to a spell of a chosen school
Midnight Metamagic (CON 13, 1st level spells, metamagic feat) – invest essentia to reduce metamagic costs.
Practical Metamagic (Spellcraft 8, 3rd-level spontaneous spellcasting, Dragonblood) – Reduces metamagic cost for spontaneous spells for selected metamagic by one, up to one level higher than the spell’s actual level (Races of Dragon)
Residual Magic (Spellcraft 12, metamagic feat) – after casting a metamagic spell, casting the same spell in the next round will let you add one of the metamagics used last round for free (Complete Mage)
Sudden Empower – Once a day, apply empower spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Energy Affinity (Energy Affinity) – Once a day, apply energy affinity without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Enlarge – Once a day, apply energy affinity without increasing the level of the spell (Miniature Handbook)
Sudden Extend – Once a day, apply extend spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Maximize (any metamagic feat) – Once a day, apply maximize spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Quicken (Quicken Spell, Sudden Empower, Sudden Extend, Sudden Maximize, Sudden Silent, Sudden Still) – Once a day, apply quicken spell without increasing the level of the spell. Probably not the most efficient use of feats. (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Silent – Once a day, apply silent spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Still – Once a day, apply still spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)
Sudden Widen – Once a day, apply still spell without increasing the level of the spell (Complete Arcane)



Prestige Classes
Anima Mage (10/10) – Vestige Metamagic; apply a metamagic without increasing spell level up to three times a day
Dweomerkeeper (10/10) (ECL 15) – Cloak of Mysteries; Reduces metamagic costs by 1, up to one level higher (or zero for a zero-level metamagic) (Complete Divine)
Halruaan Elder (10/10) (ECL 8, 11, 14, 17) – Cost of a metamagic feat reduced by 1. (Shining South)
Incantatrix (10/10) (ECL 13) – Improved Metamagic; Reduces any metamagic costs by 1, up to one level higher (or zero for a zero-level metamagic) (Magic of Faerun)
Magical Trickster (2/3 casting) (ECL 8) – Metamagic Trickster; Once per day, apply a metamagic without altering the spell's effective level (can't be higher than +4)
Mind Mage (8/10 casting, 8/10 manifesting)
(ECL 10) – Compensation; Can spend power points to pay for metamagic level increases. Can spend spell levels to reduce metapsionic cost. (ECL 15) Focus of Discipline – Can pay power points to reduce spell level. Can pay spell slots to reduce power point cost of a psionic ability. (Dragon #313)



Other
Casting on other planes may give metamagic reductions for some spell types

Any suggestions or additions are quite appreciated.

[pabelfly]

Reserved post.

[Beni-Kujaku]

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=972.0

This thread is quite complete. You can take inspiration for this one, but I'm not sure they missed anything.

Edit: nevermind, they missed at least Cerebremetamagic, maybe other things.

[AvatarVecna]

"Metamagic And You: A Thesis" has a big section on metamagic reduction/replacement/mitigation. This includes feats like Mastery Of Day And Night (feats that give free metamagic in specific situations), as well as Divine Metamagic (which lets you spend turn undead attempts in place of raising spell level).

[Biggus]

I can't find a class called Metamagic Trickster anywhere. Are you referring to the Magical Trickster (CSco) and their Metamagic Trick ability?

[pabelfly]

"Metamagic And You: A Thesis" has a big section on metamagic reduction/replacement/mitigation. This includes feats like Mastery Of Day And Night (feats that give free metamagic in specific situations), as well as Divine Metamagic (which lets you spend turn undead attempts in place of raising spell level).

Five minutes after posting, I realized I forgot Divine Metamagic, of all things.

I really like the Metamagic and You: A Thesis thread. I'll have to look it over properly later.


I can't find a class called Metamagic Trickster anywhere. Are you referring to the Magical Trickster (CSco) and their Metamagic Trick ability?

Yes, fixed my error. Thanks for the correction.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Dragon Wild Shape - Tome dragons (Dr#343) get metamagic cost reduced by one.
Planar Bubble explicitly emulates the magic traits of the targets home plane. Combined with summoning you can get a bunch of free metamagic for a wide variety of spells.

[Biggus]

Metamagic Song feat (RoS p.142)

[Paragon]

The Spelldancer PrC from Magic of Faerûn has some nice metamagic abilities. If you can mitigate the Con damage and fatigue that is (it's easy)

[Kalkra]

Disturbing Spell (Dragon #332) lets you pay Wis instead of the spell level increase of one metamagic feat provided you have enough Wisdom and you're a high enough level to cast the spell normally. No magical healing, must worship the Dragon Below (or something from the Far Realms per the sidebar). Technically works with immunity to ability damage. Probably works with Naberius.

Forceful Magic (Dragon #308) gives once/day -1 to the spell slot of a metamagic-augmented spell. By RAW this can take you below the original level, although everything in splatbooks had that language updated. You can take the feat multiple times for extra uses, but only one use per spell.

Tainted Sorcerer (UA) and Tainted Scholar (HH) have the ability to pay Con in the place of the spell level increase of metamagic. You have to be a high enough level to cast the spell normally, and it seems like it works for multiple metamagic feats at once, although the wording for Tainted Scholar is a bit less clear. You need a Con score, but it doesn't say that you can't do more damage than you have Con. Technically works with immunity to ability damage. Works with magic healing and Naberius. Taint is weird and interactions between UA and other books is weird, so it's not clear if you can still use Tainted Sorcerer.

Metamagic Song (RS) lets you spend bardic music attempts to pay for metamagic. You need the be able to cast the spell normally.

Wu Jens get some free metamagic stuff at various levels, and the Epic Spell Secret feat (web somewhere, I think) which permanently applies one metamagic feat you know to one of your spells with no level increase.

The Mystic PrC (Dragon #274) has a similar Spell Secret feature that gives certain metamagic feats for free to specific spells. Doesn't advance casting at all but it does give bonus spells, which is weird, but something that you saw a bit in early 3.0. Makes a pretty good Epic PrC.

Metanode Spell (CR) lets you subtract the grade of a node from the metamagic cost of your spells provided you're in the node when you prepare the spell (if relevant) and when you cast it.

[Biggus]

Not sure if these count, but there are the automatic metamagic epic feats:

https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#automaticQuickenSpell
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#automaticSilentSpell
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#automaticStillSpell



the Epic Spell Secret feat (web somewhere, I think)


Here: https://web.archive.org/web/20161101074839/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20020811a

[ShurikVch]

Tainted Sorcerer (UA) and Tainted Scholar (HH) have the ability to pay Con in the place of the spell level increase of metamagic. You have to be a high enough level to cast the spell normally, and it seems like it works for multiple metamagic feats at once, although the wording for Tainted Scholar is a bit less clear. You need a Con score, but it doesn't say that you can't do more damage than you have Con. Technically works with immunity to ability damage. Works with magic healing and Naberius. Taint is weird and interactions between UA and other books is weird, so it's not clear if you can still use Tainted Sorcerer.
More or less the same thing for Maho-Tsukai (Oriental Adventures) with Maho Metamagic

Dark Scholar (The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde) - Book Mastery class feature: if the book in question is the Book of the Stilled Tongue, it removes verbal components from the all of your spells (except for the two highest levels), effectively giving them automatic free Silent Spell; since it required Knowledge (history) 14, it's unlikely to get it before the ECL 11 (Primary Contact feat aside)

How about the various magical items and locations - would OP include them?

[pabelfly]

How about the various magical items and locations - would OP include them?

Sure. Looks like I've got plenty of work to do too

[Thurbane]

Would you include classes that emulate metamagic effects, without technically being metamagic as such?

For instance, Duskblade gets Quick Cast, which is essentially free Quicken; and Anima Mage gets Vestige Casting, which is a 1/day Quicken+ (immediate casting time) with Silent and Still thrown on top as well.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Divine Conduit (DrComp) - expend TU uses to let allies apply their metamagic feats for free
Heartfire Fanner (Dr#314) - bardic music lets an ally apply a free +2 metamagic feat he has, can also share metamagic feats the bard has

[Endarire]

What about Metamagic and You: A Thesis (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=972.0)?