I've never liked Heighten Spell . . .

[Destil]

That's the thing, though - why shouldn't those be as powerful?

Flexibility.

 

[Destil]

Where does it say that a Heightened Spell can get through a globe of invulnerability?

A (minor) globe of invulnerability supresses spells of a certian level or lower. Most meta-magic does not change the spell's accual level. Heighten spell does. So a minor globe that keeps out 3rd level spells is useless against a +1 heightened fireball (4th level) or a +2 heightened melf's acid arrow. Other effects that deal with 'spell levels' (a rod of absorbition or spell turning) would likewise be affected.

It's not a simple 'Heightened spell are not affected by globe of invulnerability' rule, but rather a function of how the two interact, since the're defined in terms of spell levels. A +1 heightened melf's acid arrow is still blocked by a minor globe, for instance.

 

[Spatzimaus]

That's the thing, though - why shouldn't those be as powerful?

To expand on the one-word answer Destil gave:

Let's pretend that a metamagicked Fireball was as powerful as the attack spells of a given level. Okay, my Sorcerer takes Fireball at level 5... and never takes another damage spell again. After all, I can Sculpt, Energy Substitute, Admixture, Empower, Maximize, Twin... and, of course, Eschew so that I don't need to carry a crate of bat guano. This is a bad situation, since there's no longer a need for useful high-level spells.

To keep things balanced, the high-level spells MUST be more powerful than any permutation of a lower-level spell. But, that isn't to say you should never use metamagic on lower-level spells; even though a metaFireball is less powerful than, say, Delayed Blast Fireball, it still has its uses, since you can choose which metamagics to use. A Heightenedx3 Charm Person is less powerful than a Charm Monster (same DC, same slot, more targets), but you don't HAVE to triple-heighten it. Maybe Heighten twice and Extend... who knows.

 

[Terraism]

To keep things balanced, the high-level spells MUST be more powerful than any permutation of a lower-level spell. But, that isn't to say you should never use metamagic on lower-level spells; even though a metaFireball is less powerful than, say, Delayed Blast Fireball, it still has its uses, since you can choose which metamagics to use. A Heightenedx3 Charm Person is less powerful than a Charm Monster (same DC, same slot, more targets), but you don't HAVE to triple-heighten it. Maybe Heighten twice and Extend... who knows.

Good point. I was looking at it from the point of view that since they both take up the same slot, WITH that slot, they should be as powerful. I understand your example with a sorcerer never needing another damaging spell again; makes a good deal of sense. I tend to have sorcerer's learn metamagicked versions of spells, as opposed to applying the feats at any time, so I didn't even think of that.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Interpretation, and a problematic one at that... A heightened fireball as 7th for 20d6, save DC +17 (and a 7th level spell that has all the side perks, like not being affected by globes), or a empowered empowered fireball, 10d6 + 1/2(10d6) + 1/2(10d6) = 20d6, save DC +13. This would make empower quite pale in compairson...

Your comparison is slightly incorrect. The 14th level wizard casting fireball heightened to 7th level would do 14d6 at DC17+, OR casting a double empowered fireball would do 20d6 at DC 13+.

Don't forget, the spell cap only comes into effect when the caster level exceeds the spell cap... the 7th level heightened fireball from a 20th level caster would do 20d6 and at that point would be better (because of the DC), but at every point up to that the double empowered one does more damage but at a slightly lower DC.

Hence, I think it is nicely balanced, and actually makes heightened a useful general purpose metamagic spell.

Cheers

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

The heighten feat breathes new life into the sorcerors repertoire of ever so limited spells known. More flexibility is good.

For wizards, it too can add a bit of omph to their highest level slots when their highest spells known are a bit thin as well.