Asking the Experts: Best Metamagic Feat?

[Mark]

There's no better think tank for d20 games' mechanics (IMO) than the EN World Rules Forum participants. So I am asking the experts...

What is the best Metamagic Feat and why?

If you have qualifiers that make one better than another for a given situation, circumstance, class, etc., please also include that in your analysis.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Wippit Guud]

What is the best Metamagic Feat and why?

What class, what school, and what spell?

 

[dulsin]

What is the best Metamagic Feat and why?

If you have qualifiers that make one better than another for a given situation, circumstance, class, etc., please also include that in your analysis.

Two come to mind right away.
Offencive
---------
Empower spell: +2 levels +50% for all numeric effects.
Many people like the Maximise spell but that is +3 levels and with the Empower spell it is possible to get a more powerfull efect than a Maximised spell for a lower cost.

Defencive
---------
Silent spell: +1 Level remove the vocal componants
Useing this you can cast under an improved invisibility and be nearly unstopable. You are also immune to the Silence spell.

 

[shilsen]

As for most such comparisons, it depends on the context.

For example, if the character is a high-level cleric (esp. a melee-oriented one), Persistent Spell has got to be at or near the top of the list. Persistent Divine Favor and Persistent Divine Power are just too good.

 

[Vahktang]

In 3.0 it was Extend.
Make that hour/level spell last _days_ at higher level.

In both versions, still spell.
Best way to take down a spell caster: Grapple.

Best way around that: do spells without somatic components.



More later,

Vahktang

 

[SimonMoon5]

In 3.0, Persistent was great for clerics and also for using with Shield. In 3.5, it's probably not worth bothering with, just for Shield.

In 3.0, Empower was great for stat-boosting spells. In 3.5, that doesn't work.

In 3.0, Quicken Spell is okay. In 3.5, the game apparently assumes that you have Quicken Spell, so they neutered Haste.

Some people rave about Sculpt Spell, but I haven't used it myself. Only a +1 adjustment to make spells go exactly where you want (sort of).

 

[SimonMoon5]

In 3.0 it was Extend.
Best way to take down a spell caster: Grapple.

Actually, the easiest way to counter that is with dimension door or teleport, both of which have only verbal components. Now, casting silence on yourself, followed by grappling the wizard...

 

[jgsugden]

There are a high number of variables in this equation, but here are a few answers:

For clerics in 3.0: Persistant Spell allowed a cleric to put up multiple powerful buff spells and leave them up all day. This made him a better fighter than any of the fighting classes, by far.

For wizards and sorcerers in 3.0: Empower Spell being thrown on buffing spells or damage spells a few times over made some pretty impressive totals. An honorable mention goes to quicken spell, though sorcerers needed to grab a second feat (probably arcane preparation from T&B) to use it.

I'll assume that people playing 3.5 are only using things produced after the core books came out ...

For clerics in 3.5: Quicken spell is a very useful feat. Quickened spells do not provoke AoOs, so they can be used in melee combat with no real risk. Being able to cast a quickened divine favor right before combat begins can make a *huge* difference in a bettle, as can a quickened resist elements or some form of travel spell. In addition, being able to use up those high level spell slots while still doing a full attack can be *nice*.

For wizards in 3.5: Quicken is again the king. Two spells per round is a great benefit, even if one is of relatively low level in effect. If you plan out your spells wisely, you'll have plenty to spend. Even if you run out of spells, you can still use scrolls, wands or staffs, so allocating a good number for quickened spells is really nice. Quicken goes off the charts for melee wizards (elrtich knight, spel sword, etc ...) that use up their standard or full round actions on melee attacks.

For sorcerers in 3.5: The psuedo quicken feat in the miniatures handbook is a real candidate, but I like empower spell and I hate the mini handbook stuff . You get to use empower on so many spells as a sorcerer that it is hard to pass up. Empowered fireballs as 5th level spells will be a trend for most sorcerers.

For druids in 3.5: Natural spell is an obvious choice, but it is not really a metamagic feat, so I'll go with quicken spell. Being able to drop spells in the middle of combat with no fear of AoOs while full attacking as an animal growthed creature ... Yesh. The druid can make such great use of his full attack routine that his spells often go to waste or are relegated to use before combat or outside combat.

 

[Wippit Guud]

Well, I'll through in my 2 coppers... if you're heavy into illusions or enchantments, my vote is for heighten spell. Allows you to increse DCs on the spells, sometimes dramatically, especially when combined with school specilization.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

No doubt about it... gotta be Quicken Spell. I believe in 3.0 you could combine it with Haste for 3 spells per round but in 3.5 they made Haste more beneficial to Warriors and less so to the guys that can actually cast it. Still, a Wizard would have to be able to cast 5th level spells to Quicken a 1st level spell. That would make him have to be 9th level at least. So, say he fires off two Magic Missile spells he'll be rolling 10d4+10 damage provided that the target doesn't have the Shield spell up or Spell Resistance. When he gets high enough to cast 7th level spells he can quicken a Fireball. At 13th level he can do this. We're looking at a total of 20d6 if he fires off 2 Fireballs per round. If he is an Evoker he can do this two rounds in a row for a whopping 40d6 over the two rounds when he is 13th level (He'd need to be an Evoker so he'd get the extra 7th level Evocation spell slot at 13th level).