Free Still Spell? [D&D 3.5]

[Kobold-Bard]

Is there a way to get Still Spell for free? I know Practical/Easy Metamagic doesn't work because they have to be a minimum of +1. Metamagic Rods are too expensive and limited for what I'm looking for.

Any other suggestions?

[Yuki Akuma]

Sudden Still?

[Kobold-Bard]

Sudden Still?

A very good point, I forgot about that. Thank ye kindly.

Any way to do it consistently?

[GreyVulpine]

Arcane Thesis or Metamagic School Focus?

[Optimystik]

Why do you want it? If it's to be a gish, some gish classes let you ignore ACF. If it's to cast while grappled, there are ways around that as well.

[ericgrau]

In case the above is not allowed, you can be a sorcerer and still only the spells that need to be stilled, thus making most of your spells at the normal level for a sorcerer... which is actually only half a level above a wizard with still spells.

Unless you want it to cast in armor for every single spell you cast, in which case you have many more options.

[Kobold-Bard]

Why do you want it? If it's to be a gish, some gish classes let you ignore ACF. If it's to cast while grappled, there are ways around that as well.

I'm playing a paranoid lunatic essentially. He doesn't want people to know he's a Wizard, so I'm looking for a way to Still/Silence as many of his spells as possible (ideally all of them). I have taken the feats, and can live with upping everything by a level, but if there was a way to get it for +0 that would be superb.

Edit: Metamagic School Focus? Where be this from?

[GreyVulpine]

Edit: Metamagic School Focus? Where be this from?

Complete Mage - Three times per day, you get -1 metamagic cost with a specific school.

Edit: Also from CM, the tactical feat, "Residual Magic" lets you cast a metamagiked spell, with each subsequent casting of that spell, have that metamagic applied again without incurring a cost.

[Optimystik]

I'm playing a paranoid lunatic essentially. He doesn't want people to know he's a Wizard, so I'm looking for a way to Still/Silence as many of his spells as possible (ideally all of them). I have taken the feats, and can live with upping everything by a level, but if there was a way to get it for +0 that would be superb.

If that's all you want, that's easy. Get the Conceal Casting skill trick from Complete Scoundrel.

You don't actually apply metamagic to the spell, you just make it impossible to notice you're casting one, with a Bluff Sleight of Hand check.

[subject42]

Wu Jen spell secrets also allow for this.

[jokey665]

I'm playing a paranoid lunatic essentially. He doesn't want people to know he's a Wizard.

It's called playing a psion and hiding your displays. I played a character like that once, minus the paranoid lunatic part. He just liked giving people as little information as possible.

[Raewyn]

It's called playing a psion and hiding your displays.

This is a great suggestion, though some of the Psychokinetic powers (Disintegrate, Energy [Whatever]) will probably emanate from your personage. Or at least, that's how my DM rolls. Just something to keep in mind.

[TheSteelRat]

I do believe that Cityscape has some insanely powerful options with this, namely 'Deceptive Spell' and 'Invisible Spell.' When combined with Silent / Still, they make for some interesting roleplaying applications. Just remember that Invisible Spell has a modifier of +0. Deceptive Spell is a +1 increase though, so Metamagic School (3/day) is probably the best way to go mitigating the level increase. That or get your DM to go with one of the alternate metamagic methods (each +1 = extra spell of same level, etc.

[Signmaker]

If that's all you want, that's easy. Get the Conceal Casting skill trick from Complete Scoundrel.

You don't actually apply metamagic to the spell, you just make it impossible to notice you're casting one, with a Bluff Sleight of Hand check.

Skill Trick, therefore only once per encounter. Useful for high-level spells you can't be bothered to still/silence, though.

[Reluctance]

I vaguely recall there being something in the Rules Cyclopedia about hiding components with a straight Sleight of Hand check. But then, my experience with the book is "I looked through it in the bookstore once".

If you can grab Bardic Music (or get your DM to waive the prereq), Disguise Spell from Complete Adventurer seems like a good fit. It mentions hiding your components in a performance, but I see nothing wrong with hiding them in the deranged rantings of a paranoid lunatic instead.

[SurlySeraph]

{Scrubbed}

[erikun]

Arcane Thesis will reduce all metamagic to a single spell by one spell level. It only works with one spell, though, so probably isn't what you are looking for.

Incantrix (capstone?) reduces all metamagic to all spells, but that's probably a higher level than you are looking for.

Disguise Spell will keep people from identifying your spells, but you still need to be using Perform to cast the spells. You might try taking Perform (lunatic ravings), depending on how appropriate that is.

Ultimate Magus (CMage) can give up spontaneous spell slots to metamagic prepared spells (or the other way around) and ends up with several metamagic feats. If you only need to "disguise" your spells occasionally, you could use it to make Still, Silent spells on the go. (Or even Invisible ones, if that Cityscape metamagic is allowed.)

[Foryn Gilnith]

Nonverbal Spell (Planar Handbook) can disguise verbal components as, say, normal speech. Or orgasmic moans. Or singing.
Invisible Spell (Cityscape) can make the spell results, if not the casting, invisible.
Rules Compendium page 117 can let you cast spells unobtrusively. If your Sleight of Hand check succeeds against a viewer's Spot check, they won't notice the casting.
Conceal Spellcasting (Complete Scoundrel) can let you cast spells unobtrusively. Which Sleight of Hand can do without a skill trick. Uh... As far as I can tell, this makes attacks of opportunity impossible, or something.

[Glimbur]

Runesmith, from Races of Stone, lets you still your spells. It still looks magical though.

Have you considered being a Psion instead, if you want to be doing things with no obvious cause?

[taltamir]

I'm playing a paranoid lunatic essentially. He doesn't want people to know he's a Wizard, so I'm looking for a way to Still/Silence as many of his spells as possible (ideally all of them). I have taken the feats, and can live with upping everything by a level, but if there was a way to get it for +0 that would be superb.

Edit: Metamagic School Focus? Where be this from?

I have done that before, it is an interesting character concept that is penalized very heavily by the rules...
Talk to your DM to get you some custom ability / class that does lets you still and maybe silence spells for free.
When you think about it, both are horribly sub par and almost never come into play; compared to all the good metamagic out there, you are gimping yourself enough and it should be a minimal investment to develop such a character.

[Kobold-Bard]

I have done that before, it is an interesting character concept that is penalized very heavily by the rules...
Talk to your DM to get you some custom ability / class that does lets you still and maybe silence spells for free.
When you think about it, both are horribly sub par and almost never come into play; compared to all the good metamagic out there, you are gimping yourself enough and it should be a minimal investment to develop such a character.

So would allowing Practical Metamagic work for Still and Silence be ok in peoples opinions? Costs 4 feats so in my mind it seems ok, but then again, I'm the one who wants to do it.

[erikun]

Ask your DM. S/He might allow it strictly for flavor reasons, especially in exchange for four feats. After all, most monsters don't roll spellcraft checks anyways, so not knowing what spell is being cast only impairs counterspellers.

Do note that you character will still have the "caster look" on their face when actually casting a spell. Easy enough to hide in a crowd, but don't expect monsters on an open battlefield to just ignore you.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

So would allowing Practical Metamagic work for Still and Silence be ok in peoples opinions? Costs 4 feats so in my mind it seems ok, but then again, I'm the one who wants to do it.

I'd allow it.

For actually concealing that you're a wizard, I'd go with mundane disguises. If you can get your party in on it, this is considerably easier.
Holy Symbol+Robes+no spellcasting=adept or healer waiting for the end of combat
Rough homespun clothes=Squire
Fancy gear, maybe an oh-so-ornate blade, and an obvious aversion to combat=rich noble being guarded while he 'adventures' with his dad's employees
Lot's of magic gear, wands, robes, no armor, and an obvious aversion to combat=Monk

Any of those should have you classed as a non-threat and hopefully ignored.

[Zaq]

How important is the Wizard component of this? A Shadowcaster can permanently Still everything they do for the cost of one feat (which can be a bonus feat), and mysteries are Silent anyway. Of course, the drop in power from Wizard to Shadowcaster is prodigious, but still.

[taltamir]

mundane disguise FTW...

Oh... make a POINT to make gestures and noises while casting your stilled silenced spells... AND despite having eschew materials, wear a component pouch you randomly pinch stuff out of...

that way, when you are captured, they take your pouch (which you didn't need) and bind and gag you (no use) :)

It would be hilarious if they cast silence on you, not know you are just randomly mumbling while "casting".

And yea, WOTC was concerned about someone using eschew, still, and silent (And taking the penalties) to cast spells without anyone knowing... so they made an explicit rule that whenever someone casts a spell that is stilled, silence, and eschewed components (or just a few if it was missing certain components to begin with), they get a special "look of intense concentration" that makes it "completely apparent" to anyone (even non casters / uneducated monsters) that you are casting a spell.

ask your DM if a mundane mask could cover this...

[Biotroll]

I have done that before, it is an interesting character concept that is penalized very heavily by the rules...
Talk to your DM to get you some custom ability / class that does lets you still and maybe silence spells for free.
When you think about it, both are horribly sub par and almost never come into play; compared to all the good metamagic out there, you are gimping yourself enough and it should be a minimal investment to develop such a character.

I second that. And if your DM still thinks you should pay some price (more then feats) you may try to convince him, that you will pay in caster levels intstead of level slots. For example -2 caster levels for any stilled spell (but still in same slot) so at level 10 when you cast stilled fireball you make 8d6 damage intstead of 10d10? Dunno, just a thought.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Or just take Skill Training (Sleight of Hand), max the skill, and use that to hide your casting from everyone?

[Fcannon]

For verbal components, you can take Nonverbal Spell from the Planar Handbook. It makes it so any noise you make-regular conversation, singing, grunting, etc.-fulfills the verbal component of your spell.