Sorceror Spell Selection

[android]

i know a sorceror can cast a lower level spell by using a higher level slot, that much is outlined in the PH. But can a sorceror learn a lower level spell in place of a higher level one?

For instance, I have a 6th level spell that I am able to learn because I just leveled up. Can I learn a 5th level spell in that slot instead of a 6th?

 

[Crothian]

No, learning a new spell has to of that spell level.

But I'd have no problem of a Sorcerer doing this. So, in the end, like everything, it's up to the almighty DM.

 

[apsuman]

since you are already in a house rules situation here, why not allow the sorcerer to know a lower level spell that has been permanently metamagiced, like a silent fifth level spell? or a quickened first level spell?

g!

 

[Crothian]

since you are already in a house rules situation here, why not allow the sorcerer to know a lower level spell that has been permanently metamagiced, like a silent fifth level spell? or a quickened first level spell?

g!

That's an interesting idea. I think I'd require the metamagic feat to already be known. So, quickened spells are out unless you want the feat just for this purpose.

 

[The Souljourner]

That's an interesting idea. I think I'd require the metamagic feat to already be known. So, quickened spells are out unless you want the feat just for this purpose.

...Or if you house rule that quickened spells aren't subject to the 1 round casting time restriction, which is what we've done for every campaign I'm in. For +4 spell levels, I don't think it's a big deal. I don't think I've ever seen anyone cast a quickened spell, so I don't think it'll be that big of a deal.

But yes, you definitely need to know the feat to learn a spell that way. I like that idea, I hadn't thought of it that way before, but it makes sense.

-The Souljourner

 

[Crothian]

I was willing to house quickened spells work as normal but no one with spontanious casting ever wanted the feat. In the first campaign only silent and stilled where ever used and that was by the sorcerer/rogue. The cleric, bard, and the ranger never took a metamagic feat. The second campaign didn't have any spellcasters (that was fun to DM, seriously). The third the Bard has Disguise spell and the Druid has extend spell. So, in the games I'm in people don't really use metamagic feats. There was actually another short lived campaign in their and the sorcerer in that didn't have any meta magic feats. So, again that reenforces my little tangent from the topic at hand.

 

[Lord Ben]

Really? I LOVE metamagiced spells. Especially with the house rule of them still being a standard action for sorcerors.

5th level quickened shields - you have plenty of them per day why not cast them as free-actions? Do you really need 5 cone's of cold? If you have metamagic feats you don't need to pick a ton of damage spells because you can just use empowered other spells.

And when I DM for my NPC Clerics in the Temple of EE they work awsome too. A 15th level Cleric with a quickened Shield of Faith and Divine Favor gets +5 AC, +5 to hit and +5 damage all for just two free actions.

Fake round one for 15th NPC Cleric in RttToEE: activate shield of faith, drink potion of haste, cast spell resistance. With one action or even surprise action the NPC can get +9AC, and SR27. The next round he can activate divine favor as a free action and still cast two spells or attack, etc.

 

[apsuman]

That's an interesting idea. I think I'd require the metamagic feat to already be known. So, quickened spells are out unless you want the feat just for this purpose.

Or you had the arcane preparation feat.

Or the caster was multiclassed as a wizard, etc...

g!

 

[chilibean]

Personally, I think just allowing a player to "research" a new unique spell that exactly duplicated the effects of a metamagiced spell (including spell level) would be a reasonable solution. Making a sorcerer have the metamagic feat is kinda silly, I think, because they won't have the ability to decide which way to cast it. They MUST cast it at the higher level.

Now as for wizards doing this, I wouldn't allow them to do this with their free spells they recieve when they level up. Otherwise, I think it would be unbalancing.

But to allow a sorcerer to pick a unique spell that just so happened to function exactly like a regular 3rd level fireball spell, except that it was 7th level and had a casting time of "Free Action" seems reasonable to me. Your DM would be wise if he limited the sorcerer to only 1 spell that was a free action per round (just like quicken).

It seems entirely balanced to me to allow a sorcerer to create a new spell called "Quietman's Acid Arrow" that functioned exactly like Melf's version, but had no verbal components and was 3rd level.