[3.5] Best feats for an incantatrix

[jiriku]

I'm designing a blastomancer sorcerer/incantatrix, and I need some metamagic feats.

Which feats to take? I'm looking at the following so far, but might take others

arcane thesis: enervation
arcane thesis: greater arcane fusion
residual magic
rapid metamagic
practical metamagic (twin spell)

sculpt spell
extend spell
persistent spell
chain spell
twin spell

I don't expect to need quicken spell, as I'll be playing a dragonborn githyanki and using planar bubble, thus auto-quickening my spells whenever I want.

Can you improve on these feat choices?

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

I'd thesis an Orb of X instead of (or along with) Enervation, as it benefits from the caster level bump, and you'll be able to use it (with energy sub) on most things immune to energy drain. Enervation isn't really 'blasting' anyway, though having a few metamagic-enhanced enervations prepped isn't a bad idea.

[jiriku]

Hmm, the DM allows flaws, so I could maybe pick up a couple flaws and grab arcane thesis (orb of acid) and energy substitution (sonic).

Is substituting things to sonic really worthwhile, or would I do better to just take orb of sound deal a little less damage, and save the feat for other uses?

[Myrmex]

Go with orb of fire for stun, and sub it for cold. Then pick up the piercing cold feat to break cold immunity. Energy sub is always worth it if you're abusing arcane thesis.

You can also get Iron Will for a few thousand gold by writing "Otyugh Hole" somewhere into your backstory.

[Glimbur]

Hmm, the DM allows flaws, so I could maybe pick up a couple flaws and grab arcane thesis (orb of acid) and energy substitution (sonic).

Is substituting things to sonic really worthwhile, or would I do better to just take orb of sound deal a little less damage, and save the feat for other uses?

Can't substitute in Sonic anymore. You could just use Orb of Fire and take Searing Spell to get through resistances and such. Is there a reason that isn't as good as Piercing Cold?

[tyckspoon]

Can't substitute in Sonic anymore. You could just use Orb of Fire and take Searing Spell to get through resistances and such. Is there a reason that isn't as good as Piercing Cold?

Searing Spell is actually the better of the two. Piercing Cold doesn't work on things with the Cold subtype, while Searing Spell has no such clause. So you can use Searing Spell to create Fire spells that are so hot they can burn Fire Elementals. Piercing Cold is technically a little easier to get, because Searing Spell is marked as a region-specific feat ("Wastes"), but other than that I don't know of any compelling reasons to favor Cold-subbed + Piercing Cold over just using Searing.

[jiriku]

Ok, so depending on what the DM allows, I can pick up energy sub (cold) and piercing cold or searing spell. Orb of fire for the stun. Heck, with searing spell I might just take the energy sub (fire) and pyromaniac flaw, cackle madly, and call it a day.

Shame about the sonic, I was wanting something that could do full damage to objects. On the other hand, when you empower/maximize/twin a 15d6 spell, it's hard to imagine what sort of object would stand up to that.

I'm really interested in fell drain. If I had to drop one of the feats on this list to make room for it, which would you drop?

[Radar]

(...)
I'm really interested in fell drain. If I had to drop one of the feats on this list to make room for it, which would you drop?

IMHO arcane thesis on greater arcane fusion won't help much, since there aren't many metamagic feats that can be effectively used on it and since you exploit residual metamagic, it can be twinned at no cost at all. Unless there is some nice trick, that i don't see (quite possible actually).

Just my 2cp.

[jiriku]

IMHO arcane thesis on greater arcane fusion won't help much, since there aren't many metamagic feats that can be effectively used on it and since you exploit residual metamagic, it can be twinned at no cost at all. Unless there is some nice trick, that i don't see (quite possible actually).

Just my 2cp.

Twinning it was exactly what I was planning to do. I picked arcane thesis because I couldn't figure out any other way to get a twinned GAF down to a 9th level spell slot. But if there's a better way, I'm open to it. How can I do it for free? I know incantatrix will give me free metamagic twice daily, but I think that's capped at virtual 9th level spells. Residual will twin it for me every other round, but only if I can successfully twin it in the previous round on my own. Greater metamagic rod of twin spell is an option, but costs a godawful amount of gold that I was hoping to put into a cloak of displacement and boots of teleportation and a crystal ball.

[Arbitrarity]

Easy/Practical metamagic let you take Twin spell down an adjustment.

[Emperor Tippy]

The only use for Energy Sub is to grab the additional -1's from Arcane Thesis.

Dip 2 levels of Archmage to pick up Mastery of the Elements and Arcane Reach (3 levels to grab Spell Power as well).

If you are going to use the Orb of X line then you want to grab Energy Admixture. With Energy Sub, Arcane Thesis, the Incantatrix cap, and Easy Meta it is only a +1 spell level but it doubles your total damage dealt.

If you want to pick up some feats, go Elf and use the Dark Chaos Shuffle to pick up 4 more.

[jiriku]

Practical Metamagic I have. Dragon Magazine is out, so I don't have access to Easy Metamagic. Likewise, the DM interprets Arcane Thesis as applying on a per-metamagic basis, so +0 metamagics remain +0, they don't become -1.



So with Incantatrix 10, practical metamagic, and arcane thesis (greater arcane fusion) I can twin a GAF in a 9th-level slot.

I dunno what the Chaos Shuffle trick is, but I need to remain dragonborn githyanki in order to qualify for practical metamagic and quicken spells for free in a planar bubble.

so, is there truth to this rumor? Can I twin a GAF without taking arcane thesis?

[Myrmex]

Chaos Shuffle uses two 8th level spells to turn an elf weapon proficiency feat into an Abyssal Heritor feat, and then back into any feat you qualify for, such as Invisible Spell.

Question about Planar Bubble trick- do you get to choose when your spells are quickened or not? If not, then you're going to be quite limited in casting more than one spell per round.

[lsfreak]

Likewise, the DM interprets Arcane Thesis as applying on a per-metamagic basis, so +0 metamagics remain +0, they don't become -1.

Just so we're clear, that does contradict the errata, which applies on a per-metamagic basis and CAN lower metamagic to -1 (but the spell as a whole can't go below +0). Though capping it at +0 is something many/most DM's houserule.

[jiriku]

Chaos Shuffle uses two 8th level spells to turn an elf weapon proficiency feat into an Abyssal Heritor feat, and then back into any feat you qualify for, such as Invisible Spell.

Question about Planar Bubble trick- do you get to choose when your spells are quickened or not? If not, then you're going to be quite limited in casting more than one spell per round.

From the SRD (emphasis mine):

Enhanced magic. All spells and spell-like abilities used within the Astral Plane may be employed as if they were improved by the Quicken Spell feat. Already quickened spells and spell-like abilities are unaffected, as are spells from magic items. Spells so quickened are still prepared and cast at their unmodified level. As with the Quicken Spell feat, only one quickened spell can be cast per round.

The quickening effect is voluntary.

I'm building the character partly to playtest the theory that with the UA LA-buyback rules, the quicken effect is worth more than the lost casting from the mitigated +2 LA.

Although I'm still on the fence about becoming dragonbon to get Practical Metamagic. The combination of free quickens plus arcane fusion and GAF plus cheap twinning means I could potentially use two 9th level spell slots to nova off four 7th level spells and four 5th level spells, or twelve 4th level spells and twelve 1st level spells, or thirty-six 1st level spells. I don't know many opponents who can walk away from 180 empowered fell drain magic missiles, especially if i pre-screen enemies with greater arcane sight to ensure they don't have any magical defenses up. But eating a +2 LA and then wiping away 90% of the benefits with the dragonborn template is just...painful.

[Thinker]

The only use for Energy Sub is to grab the additional -1's from Arcane Thesis.

Dip 2 levels of Archmage to pick up Mastery of the Elements and Arcane Reach (3 levels to grab Spell Power as well).

If you are going to use the Orb of X line then you want to grab Energy Admixture. With Energy Sub, Arcane Thesis, the Incantatrix cap, and Easy Meta it is only a +1 spell level but it doubles your total damage dealt.

If you want to pick up some feats, go Elf and use the Dark Chaos Shuffle to pick up 4 more.

When did you start posting again? o.O

[Emperor Tippy]

When did you start posting again? o.O

Yesterday. I saw that Kallisti was running a tippyverse game and decided that it was interesting enough to get me to log in.

[jiriku]

I successfully convinced the DM that Easy Metamagic is full of win. Good times. I like how you think with Energy Admixture. That goes on the list.

Are you the fellow who invented the Tippyverse about which I've heard so much? What is the Tippyverse anyway?