Post/Author/DateTime	Post
jpryorsd 03-31-06, 08:51 PM	I'm playing a Changeling Recaster, currently 2nd level Recaster, and approaching 3rd. I'm having trouble understanding the Metamorphic - Time write-up. It seems clear enough to me, but it seems useless, especially when compared to the other 2 metamorphic abilities, which are fabulous. I'm wondering if I'm misunderstanding something and would appreciate some clarification. It says "you can cast any spell that normally has a casting time of 1 standard action and a duration longer than 1 round as a swift action." I'm thinking of when I would want to cast a Quickened Spell. It would either be when I'm in trouble or when I want to get off an extra spell. So far, so good. But, as written, it only applies to spells with casting of 1 action and duration of longer than 1 round. So which spells are those? Take Mirror Image, for example. I could get it off fast, which would be nice, but it only lasts one round if I do so. That's useless. Take another useful spell: Magic Missile takes 1 action to cast, but has a duration of instantaneous, so the ability doesn't apply. Summon Monsters, for example, has a cast time of 1 round and a duration of more than 1 round; again, the ability cannot be applied because the cast time is not 1 standard action. Can anybody provide an example for when this ability would be useful? I'm stumped. I can't come up with a single useful example. I think it's a misprint. Please help! John
Blackwood 04-12-06, 03:28 PM	Can anybody provide an example for when this ability would be useful? I'm stumped. I can't come up with a single useful example. I think it's a misprint. Please help! John It is not a misprint it is merely not overpowered. It basically lets you mimic a number of the swift spells that they have added in recent books. Some example uses: Expeditious Retreat: for when you need to move double speed *this* round Fly: one round of flying as a swift action to move around a battlefield Invisibility: great if your goal is just to have someone attack from concealment. How often does a rogue use up Invisibility within one round anyway in combat? Grease: if using on an object to make someone drop it, or to just trip enemies briefly without hindering the fellow party members. False Life: if you are confident you are going to be attacked in the next round Spectral Hand: if you only want to deliver one touch spell at range, get this as a swift, then cast the other spell normally, all in one round. Yes, the lower duration makes the spell less useful, but in exchange it is *swift* and thus doesn't take your standard action, nor does it take a slot 4 levels higher like using the quicken metamagic feat would. I hope that the above ideas have openned your eyes to the usefulness of the class feature.