Cheese? Totally, but is it game breaking?

[HoboGod]

The Metabreath feats of the Dragonomicon are only applicable to breath weapons whose time between breathes is expressed in rounds. Draconic Breath in Complete Arcane allows you to expend an arcane spell and convert it into a breath weapon. Metabreath feats cannot be applied to a breath weapon of this form because spell slots are expressed in days. However, if the DM were to use the spell recharge variant in Unearthed Arcana, spells WOULD be expressed in rounds and Metabreath feats could apply.

I think it would be pretty cool to see a sorcerer who specializes completely in breath weapon attacks, but as a DM, is this safe or suicidal? A 6th level sorcerer using a quickened breath could deal 10d6 damage in a single round casting their 2nd and 3rd level spells consecutively. Or, with maximize breath, just deal a flat 36 damage in a single round. That's pretty scary at level 6 if you ask me. A CR 6 ettin would need to make a fortitude save.

On the other hand, with 5 feats and little cheese (Arcane Thesis, Practical Metamagic, Spell Focus, Metamagic School Focus, Maximize Spell), a sorcerer can cast maximize on her highest spell slot as well. With 6 feats, a sorcerer can also grab Empower Spell and maximize + empower her highest slot.

I'm completely torn on this. Is this cheese too much or just enough?

 

[Deset Gled]

I once played a character with almost the exact build you describe. He had Draconic Heritage and Draconic Breath, and used Maximize Breath and Heighten Breath to augment the breath weapon (he also had Draconic Flight, and would have gone for Quicken Breath for his next feat if the game hadn't stopped). Both myself and the DM didn't notice the expressed-in-rounds limitation of the Draconic Breath feats (because it's buried earlier in the chapter, and not noted in the individual feats) until after the game disbanded.

The build is far from overpowered. If anything, its underpowered. The amount of feats you have to sink into the build is extremely limiting. While you're building up your breath weapon, your fellow party members will be joining PrCs and finding much more powerful combinations. Meanwhile, you're sinking everything into a short range, static elemental attack that is nerfed by a reflex save (not to mention evasion). If you were a sorcerer focused on attack spells with knowledge of your enemy and access to the right splat books, you could probably find a spell better than your breath weapon to use for any situation. Also, you could go for Metamagic feats instead of Metabreath feats, and use the same abilities on a wide variety of attack spells.

The feats themselves aren't even that great, and have steep requirements. Taking Draconic Breath requires you to dump a feat on the Draconic Hearitage, which is barely useful. Heighten Breath stops you from using your breath weapon for a couple of rounds, and Maximize Breath takes a full action to pull off, so both are inherently limited. Quicken Breath makes you wait 4 rounds before you can use a breath weapon again, cannot be combined with Maximize Breath, and requires a whopping 19 Con to take.

There are two real reasons to go with the breath build: 1) Having the breath weapon (and other Draconic feats) helps free up some of your precious Spells Known to allow you take some utility and/or fun spells most sorcerers can't afford to take, and 2) It's really frickin' cool. This is really a build for flavor, not for min/maxing.

 

[DumbPaladin]

I'm not sure it's even cheese ... as mentioned, evasion/improved evasion/ring of evasion pretty much takes care of the breath weapon, as do a couple different spells in the Spell Compendium. And god forbid someone casts Suppress Breath Weapon on you ...

I think the combo could work great at times, but agree with the previous poster that there are quite a few ways to completely shut down the character.

 

[Dandu]

Whether it's too powerful or not depends on what power level the rest of the game is set for.

 

[Jhaelen]

The Metabreath feats of the Dragonomicon are only applicable to breath weapons whose time between breathes is expressed in rounds.

I don't allow metabreath feats for pcs, period. I don't care if it would be broken or not, to me it's obvious the feats were never meant to be applied to anything but true dragons - and I don't allow true dragon pcs.

 

[Deset Gled]

Whether it's too powerful or not depends on what power level the rest of the game is set for.

True. My claim that the build is underpowered assumes that players have access to the Complete series of splatbooks, and that the DM will use some augmented or improved monsters. Given the sources of the feats needed, this seems very reasonable.

 

[HoboGod]

I don't allow metabreath feats for pcs, period. I don't care if it would be broken or not, to me it's obvious the feats were never meant to be applied to anything but true dragons - and I don't allow true dragon pcs.

Not necessarily true, the description of metabreath feats notes that something like a hell bound, an evil outsider with a breath weapon, would qualify for these feats. Besides, if you start allowing PCs to take monster feats like improved natural attack when they obtain natural weapons, it's fair game to let them take every monster feat for which they qualify.

However, I digress. It's very reassuring to hear that this build might be weaker than I assumed, not stronger. I expected things like the clinging breath and lingering breath feats or some of the metabreath spells would set off red flags. The true flaws of sorcerer that makes wizard more popular are not solved in this build (spell variety and lack of bonus feats), so it makes sense that it wouldn't be game breaking.

 

[Jhaelen]

Not necessarily true, the description of metabreath feats notes that something like a hell bound, an evil outsider with a breath weapon, would qualify for these feats. Besides, if you start allowing PCs to take monster feats like improved natural attack when they obtain natural weapons, it's fair game to let them take every monster feat for which they qualify.

Well, yes, but since there are no hell hounds or evil outsiders among the allowed pc races, it doesn't change anything.

And who said I allowed improved natural attack for pcs?

The only player in my group using material from the MM is the druid, who needs to have the stats ready to summon his animal farm.

 

[Persiflage]

The concept is as cool as all-get-out, but game-breaking? My mileage says "Hell, no"; it wouldn't stack up power-wise in any of the games I'm playing in or running. I get that some groups play lower power games, but I can see this one trick proving to be less than spectacular at mid-to-high levels, even in quite a conservative campaign.

The main problem I foresee is having the space and manoeuverability to use your breath weapons round after round without endangering other characters. If there are metabreath feats to overcome this problem (and if you have the feat slots spare to take them) then it sounds viable.

 

[TanisFrey]

Well, yes, but since there are no hell hounds or evil outsiders among the allowed pc races, it doesn't change anything.

And who said I allowed improved natural attack for pcs?

The only player in my group using material from the MM is the druid, who needs to have the stats ready to summon his animal farm.

And if someone wanted to play a Half-dragon Human, would you let them?