Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BM15 08-29-07, 03:58 PM	Ever since I started playing D&D back when 3.0 first came out, the one class that always jumped out at me was the Sorcerer. Charismatic, dangerous and exotic, it was the one class (aside Fighter) that I really wanted to jump into. I had a lot of fun with my Sorcerer too, until the DM told me I couldn't move and use a Metamagic-ed spell in the same round... and that Quickened Spell would mean absolutely nothing to me. That hurt; sure, I got more spells a day than the Wizard, but he knew many, many more than I. I could cast whatever spell I knew on demand, but the Wizard could do so much more with that one spell (via Metamagic). To top it off, the Wizard got feats and all the Knowledge skills. To me, the Sorcerer felt a little... left behind, when compared to his book magic cousin at least. Over the years I have scanned the suppliments for something that would give a Sorcerer the ability to make use of Metamagic as a Standard Action (or whatever action the spell may be), or for Free with Quickened. Finally, after years of books and the 3.5 Revision, Players Handbook II offered the answer: Metamagic Specialist This is a a fine trade off for the familiar, especially if you can take the Obtain Familiar feat at level 3, which is a head and shoulders better ability than Summon Familiar as you use ALL your Arcane Spellcaster levels to determine the familiar's strength (15 Sorcerer, 5 Archmage w/ full powered familiar and good Metamagic anyone?) rather than just your Sorcerer level. This really allows you to have your Metamagic cake and eat it with your familiar too. However, some Dungeon Masters can see this just as well as someone playing a Sorcerer can and may knock it down as cheese (it is, but it gives the Sorcerer a fine power boost; I would cease my arguement right here if the DM's I play with would let me have this nice combo). Hence, I offer the following feat line that reverses the process (ie, you start with the familiar and can learn to weild metamagic without using up larger actions): The Spontaneous Metamagic Feat Tree: Spontaneous Metamagic Prereqs: The ability to cast spells spontaneously; one other Metamagic feat. Effect: A number of times per day equal to 1 + your Int modifier (minimum once per day), you may cast a spontaneous spell using a metamagic feat without taking the standard full round action. Improved Spontaneous Metamagic Prereqs: Spontaneous Metamagic, the ability to cast 3rd level Spontaneous spells. Effect: You may now cast a spontaneous metamagic spell 3 + your Int modifier times a day (minimum once per day). This effect overlaps with (does not increase) the benefits of the Spontaneous Metamagic feat. Advanced Spontaneous Metamagic Prereqs: Improved Spontaneous Metamagic, the ability to cast 5th level Spontaneous spells. Effect: You may now cast a spontaneous metamagic spell 5 + your Int modifier times a day (minimum once per day). This effect overlaps with (does not increase) the benefits of the Improved Spontaneous Metamagic feat. This feat tree looks a lot like the Metamagic Specialist presetned in PHB2; that's the point. It is meant to be used in a setting where such a Sorcerer is prohibited. It also addresses the oddity of a Sorcerer giving up a familiar, gaining Metamagic Specialist, and then at level 3 taking Obtain Familiar for a better possible familar progression should he go into a PrC. This feat tree takes up a considerable number of feats to fully flesh out (not to mention you still must take the Metamagic feats to use up these uses a day). To me, it works well if the oft mentioned house rule of granting Sorcerer's the Wizard feat progression (Heritage and Metamagic choices only). And why don't Sorcerer's begin with Eschew Materials?
tarkin 08-29-07, 04:15 PM	1. There already exist a feat that lets you cast without increasing the time. Accelerate Metamagic, from Races of the Dragon. And then there is the Prepare spell feat that lets you prepare a spell with a metamagic pre-applied. 2. Sorcerors do not have Eschew Materials because they are not Psionicists or Warlocks. Sorcerors have the same type of relationship to Wizards that Barbarians have to fighters. I.E. They are very similar with slight difference in abilities. Like a Wizard, he casts spells, using the same verbal, smatic and material components. Gandalf from LotR is a Sorceror (As per Tolkien, he got his magic from being related to magical creatures, not from study). Yeah, they wrote the fluff text a bit strangely for Sorcerors, making people think they were like psionicists or warlocks. They are not. They are Mages that have an inherited ability to cast spells but lack the training that a Wizard has. Hm. New Prestige Class coming up.
Jackmojo 08-29-07, 04:44 PM	Just to add to tarkin's list of "things which do this already" there is a feat in Complete Mage (I think its called "Rapid Metamagic" which lets a you cast spells an unlimited number of times per day with no change to the normal action required (specifically called out by the designer as letting quicken spell work correctly). Jack
BM15 08-29-07, 06:27 PM	Thanks for picking my arguement apart, because if you two didn't I'd have never heard of this - Just to add to tarkin's list of "things which do this already" there is a feat in Complete Mage (I think its called "Rapid Metamagic" which lets a you cast spells an unlimited number of times per day with no change to the normal action required (specifically called out by the designer as letting quicken spell work correctly). Godsend I never looked through Complete Mage; now I wish to buy it, just with the knowledge that is in the book. A feat is much easier for some of my DM's to swallow than swaping of class features and is placed at earliest level 9, furthering the case for it. Thanks guys.